Touring - why not a shock seatpost?

I was just wondering, in the debate between the steel and aluminum crowd, why not have a shot seatpost like the mtn bikes on a still aluminum frame for touring? would seem you get the best of power transfer AND bump absorbtion. just curious...

Probably because they bounce up and down a little when pedaling.

Many sus posts are intended for occasional weekend leisure riders. If you use them a lot the post will wear out and develope a wobble.

Probably a saddle with springs does the same job with less chances to fail.

My Specialized Sequoia came with a shock seat post which wore out after about 1,500 miles. It developed an annoying wiggle. I replaced it with a standard carbon seat post. The shock absorption seems about the same. As I told the LBS, who the h*ll sits on the seat over a big bump anyway.

I once used a 1-X suspension seat post and it worked like a charm for many many many miles. I had no complaints except for maybee it was a little heavy but not a huge deal. I havent ridden one since. Just seems to be a little bit of overkill and I have toured many many miles since and havent noticed that I dont have a suspension seat post. The Thompson post is great and I like it more than the sus post actually.

My Specialized Sequoia came with a shock seat post which wore out after about 1,500 miles. It developed an annoying wiggle. I replaced it with a standard carbon seat post. The shock absorption seems about the same. As I told the LBS, who the h*ll sits on the seat over a big bump anyway.

I've got about 1500 miles on my sequoia and my seatpost seems to show no signs of wear, but that could be that it's been so gradual I didn't notice.

I used to poo-poo suspension seatposts but I kind of actually like this one (except for the grease that's on the seatpost that ends up on my hands and clothes sometimes). After this ones worn out i'll probably try the carbon one like you did.

Probably a saddle with springs does the same job with less chances to fail.

This is exactly what I found, I toured extensively with a high-end suspention seat post and did not like it very well and switched to a sprung Brooks with regular seat post.

The Brooks is the better option but I like the suspension seat post on my Jamis tourer. The frame gives a plush ride but I find the seat post with a slight bounce makes it even plusher. That's the trick to a suspension seat post in that you lock out most of the bounce and keep only a little. Mine was one of the more costly versions but I can ride more miles with it on than off.

By the way, I still stand up on the large potholes.

They don't all wear out! One word Thudbuster. The best present you will ever buy for your butt. Way way better then any spring seat.

The Thudbuster ST is nice for road use. The Rock Shox seatpost is pretty good too. I have about 1600 road miles on one with no problems. You need to have 4 to 6 inches between the seat rails and the frame for most shock posts.