Fi'zi:k

Cyrano Seatpost

The Italians just about own the saddle business. What is largely unspoken is that many Italian teams quietly run Italian seat posts on their team bikes as well. Selcof. Ever heard of them? Take a hard look at the photos you see of the Giro d'Italia and you'll find them (often stickered otherwise) all over the place. Now with the Fizik Cyrano, Selcof has some serious competition. Considering how integration is becoming ever more popular in the bike world, it's surprising that few saddle manufacturers have gone the route of making seat posts as well. Fizik proves yet again to be ahead of the curve.

The Cyrano is not only light but does a great job of cradling ultra-light saddle rails, and it's incredibly easy to adjust. There are two critical elements to the Cyrano's functionality. One is the cradle. Unlike most seat posts, which almost bite seat rails in two places on each side, the Cyrano has a lower clamp and upper clamp, both of which are smooth and long. The lower clamp half is 45.5mm in length. This means the bottom of the saddle rails are supported for this entire distance, distributing loads over a much greater area thus making rail breakage almost impossible and reducing clamping force. The second key element is the thumb-wheel micro adjusting mechanism in front. This little steel wheel is attached to a steel clamping bolt so that you can easily micro-adjust the tilt of the saddle. There are no teeth to engage as on many seatpost clamps.

The Cyrano seatpost is also reversible. So it can be run with the clamp in front for those who want a forward time trial position or with the clamp in back for a more traditional road position. The post has 25mm of clamp offset. The clamp is designed to work with all modern seat rails. It can accommodate traditional round rails as well as Fizik's 7x9 ovalized braided carbon rails and other manufacturers' oval rails that are up to 10.3mm tall. It has also been designed so you don't have to disassemble the post before installing or removing a saddle.

To minimize weight, the post is 3D forged -- an extrusion process that leaves the post with a strong head to attach the clamp up top, and then varied interior wall thicknesses along the length of the post, thinner on the sides and thicker in the front and back. They've also finished the bottom of the post on a bias that both saves weight and makes the post easier to install.

Being a Fizik, the post isn't designed to disappear on the bike, but stand out. The aluminum post is anodized a glossy Black, with the Fizik logo in both Black and White. There are also measuring marks on the back of the post. The lower half of the clamp is anodized black while the top is matte Silver. The post comes with a silicone ring for marking your post height. The Fizik Cyrano Seatpost is available in four diameters (27.2, 30.9, 31.6, and 34.9mm) and three lengths (270, 330, 400mm).