SR suntour suspension seat great! what about handlebar stem?

[radex5owner]

I just replace my seat post to the SR Suntour suspension seatpost and love it! I have a radexpand5 and no suspension forks because of the adjustable forward handlebar.  I know they make suspension stems for bike now, how anyone installed them on their rad ebike and found it worth the cost.  Some of my fingers can go numb on a longer more bumping Portland OR road!  Thanks!!

[handlebar]

I hadn't heard of a suspension stem. I used risers on both bikes to get the handlebars several inches higher than seat level. That reduces the downward pressure on my hands, and they can move lightly up and down with the bars on bumps.

[Veggyhed]

I'm seriously contemplating upgrading my seat post to the sun tour suspension post. I only use my bike for commuting so I never go off road. I take it that it is well worth upgrading to the suntour post?

SR Suntour SP12 NCX bike Suspension Seatpost with Cover (27.2mm x 350mm) https://a.co/d/4zMsmz0

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[handlebar]

I bought a suspension post and a big padded seat with springs shortly after I got  my Radrunner 1. I found little improvement.

Then I remembered how GI's loved English bicycles in WWII. Although they ran twice the tire pressure of American bikes, they were more comfortable. The key was the seating position, about 12" farther aft than American bikes. The rider's butt moved aft, but his weight didn't. More of his weight was on his legs, absorbed bumps.

I replaced the suspension post with a layback. I bent it to get the seat farther aft and cut a plywood brace. What a difference!

People had been fooling with bicycles for centuries before James Starley made one that worked. Hard 26" wheels rode too rough. A 60" carriage wheel would roll more smoothly, but it was too heavy for a bicycle. Starley used wire spokes to make large, light wheels. It would have been safer to sit farther back, but with front-wheel pedaling, pedaling from farther back meant worse swerving. It was perilous to sit close behind handlebars that were more than 5 feet off the ground.

As better drive chains became available, you didn't need a high wheel to go fast. People began building bikes with equal-sized wheels of about 26" They were safer, but nobody liked them because they were so much rougher than high-wheelers.

In 1885, Starley's nephew John revolutionized bicycling with the Rover, which was both safe and incredibly comfortable. He realized he could move the seat back without moving the rider's weight back. Now the rider's legs served as shock absorbers. Later, pneumatic tires were icing on the cake.