I wasn't thinking too much about the back end compliance when i rode it so i cant speak to the effectiveness of the SP and clamp design. I'll pay attention to it next time i ride it, and maybe i'll take my 2016 along to swap back and forth for an hour.
Today i purposely rode hard and fast over sewer covers and drain grates quite afew times concentrating on the shock design. These manhole covers had several inch drops and i know they would be significant hits on my 2016...Enough that it would rattle me and possibly wrench my steering. So the first time i rode through one i slowed to what i would normally do. The hit was so subdued it surprised me. So i just started picking up the speed and running thru each of these covers and over grates and anything with sizeable bumps and the steering didnt jerk out of control .. It just pushed right through it. Very impressive.

I dont want to sound overly positive so here's some balancing feedback. The bike felt slow.. Maybe better words would be it felt too soft with little road feel. It was an elite 102 group with praxis crank and i think 28 tires. Was it really slow, most likely not , but it felt sluggish. I tried diving into a corner a few times and i was fooled.. It didnt corner as tight as I expected. There would be a learning curve like most bike changes.

Also, it put me in a more aggressive position on tops than my 2016. I'd be interested to know if it could be adjusted to get me upright enough to be comfortable for longer rides given the hardware thats in my neck. Sounds like the geo is moving toward Tarmac which i couldnt handle. I'd also be interested to see what happens on climbs.. Particulary when leaning on the bars and working them hard.

Can anyone explain the beavertail piece of the shock system? There's a tongue attached to the headset facing toward the seatpost and integrated into the design of the frame that swivels back and forth with the steering. When the wheel is straight the beavertail meshes into to the top of the frame. It sticks out side to side when steering left or right. Weird.