... to the handling of the bike as well as Machka's butt!

Yes, we finally got to fit the Thudbuster to the Santana Arriva. We had had the Thudbuster sitting around for about three weeks -- the delay was do to the seatpost shim not arriving with the main package from Wiggle, and having to be sent later via ordinary mail (and that is no reflection on Wiggle who are an excellent outfit with their customer service).

The Thudbuster is the short-linkage version with the softest (I think) block in it. I fitted it on Friday night, and moved the Brooks B17 back 5mm, but otherwise the saddle position was the same as with the original-equipment Tracer seatpost.

We went for a 31km ride yesterday, and I waited until about half way through before asking Machka if she "felt that bump". Well... I got the reply: "What bump?"

Excellent!!

But one thing I did notice was that the bike's whole disposition over significant bumps has changed. It's no longer squirrelly in the rear end as it comes off the bump. This is probably due to the different damping characteristics of the Thudbuster. So there are benefit for me as well.

With the Tracer, Machka also was having problems keeping a moderately high cadence with low pressure on the pedals. We held around 32km/h on a recent slight downhill with the Tracer, and she was quite uncomfortable, asking that we change to a higher gear so there was more pressure on the pedals.

We emulated the same circumstances yesterday with the Thudbuster on board, and again no problems.

I figure it has something to do with the rebound damping on the Tracer so that it was coming back up as Machka's butt was starting the next downward cycle. I also wasn't inclined to fiddle around much with the tension screw underneath the Tracer post because that might have taken forever and we still might not have found the sweet spot.

So, props to Cane Creek for producing a seatpost that delivers what it promises. It is expensive, but we figure that the bike is going to be around for a long time and cover vast distances, so getting it right now is going to be worth the effort and expense.