General Cycling Discussion - Cheap seatpost - steel or aluminum?

Hi. I need to buy a new seatpost for an old steel roadbike. Should I pay $5 for a steel post or $10 for an aluminum one? Does it make much of a difference? It's gonna go into an old 10-speed steel road bike that I'm going to use to get between school and my apartment on wintery Chicago roads.

Bear in mind that I'm a poor graduate student, so please don't try to convince me to buy a $60 quality post. It's not gonna happen. (I totally understand the value of paying for quality, but seriously -- graduate student.)

Thanks.

For a ride to class bike always buy the cheapest of everything that you can find. It'll be less tempting to steal and, when it eventually does get stolen, it won't hurt so bad.

Buy the five dollar seat post and take the five dollars you saved and invest in mutual funds :eek:

What? you don't want a $200 carbon fiber seat post? What's these forums coming to?

Seriously, buy the cheaper steel post. Just make sure you apply grease to the inside of the seat tube and put a thin layer on the post before insertion so that the thing won't rust and seize inside your frame later; it can rust on the outside all it wants, just don't let happen on the inside! Don't forget to wipe off any excess grease that will ooze out once the seat is in place.

Then use the $5 for your school books or supplies, not a mutual fund since I don't any mutual fund company that will take a $5 investment...I know the Nachoman was kidding about that remark.