Folding Bikes - Thudbuster LT on it's way (I hope) for my Vitesse

I saw one going for a reasonable price on ebay, had considered buying one for the last couple of years but couldn't justify the price. I think the model I'm getting (assuming the ebay seller isn't going to rip me off) is a few years old, I've heard people mentioned Cane Creek reinforced some aspects of the design a few years back and I think this model is prior to that, but I'm expecting it to be functionally the same. It's going to add a lot of weight as my current SDG seatpost and saddle are a combined weight of about 500 grams so I'm hoping the added comfort is well worth the weight penalty.
Will be very interesting to see how it rides, a shame that London is currently ankle-deep in snow as I may be limited to, er, sitting on it indoors and imagining I'm riding.

The elastomers provide the cushion. As long as they are still pliable you're good to go. Hopefully you'll get the old unused elastomers that went with it. Recommended colors and color combinations for various weights.

I have like 4 Thudbusters and there are some of those elastomers I'll never use. I use the Blues and Blacks. If you're not as heavy as me and use the gray ones I'll send a couple of them to you if you need them.

John

Wow, that's a very kind offer. From the pics it looks as though all the elastomers have been worn to some degree so I may well take you up on the greys. I'm guessing I'm around 10 stone so I'll probably need at least one grey in the mix.

All but one of your Dahons have a Thudbuster?

I have one TB on my Ignio foldy bike. My Speed TT and Jetstream XP don't have one.

I do have 4 of these things I think and a million gray elastomers I think. I use one Blue and one Black. I like it a little stiffer than for my proper weight.

John

I like the Thudbuster LT I have on my new Tikit. chagzuki: Hope yours works well on your Vitesse.

Got it this morning and it appears to be in great condition, all looks fairly unworn to me including the elastomers. Unfortunately there's way too much snow and ice around for me to ride at the moment so I can only stare at it. I think I got a bargain in terms of price, the compromise is that it's the silver version and my bike is all black; does look a little silly.
It weighs in at 770 grams, not as heavy as I thought it'd be. I could use an ultra-lightweight saddle with it as the post ought to provide enough comfort and potentially I could run thinner tyres.
First disappointment: I think I'd heard this mentioned but not registered it properly, the seat post tapers towards the top so when folded I can barely get enough post insertion to keep the chainring off the ground. Is the most recent Thudbuster design like this or is it just older models?

It strikes me that it'd be useful for Dahons to have a rest thingy as Downtubes do so that they're not balancing on the seat post. That way, when keeping the seat post extended to wheel the bike you could lay it down whenever convenient without having to put the post down. That'd solve the thudbuster tapering issue too. I wonder if there's anything I could attach to the kickstand bracket (I took the kickstand off).

Thorusa lists the weight of the current version at 920 grams, that's a big difference. Weird. But also: "The seatpost is no longer butted (smaller diameter) near the top. Allowing you to clamp the Q/R in the all compressed ( folding) position"

So I don't know which year they remedied this rather glaring problem but I'm going to need a home made fix, a shim of some sort around the top inch of the post. The battery has gone on my calliper, bugger.