For those that don't frequent the ISR forums, I thought I'd repost my reviewette...
"My rSeat EVO3 has finally arrived!
That's the good news...
...the bad news is that a few bits and pieces were missing. Minor stuff. Just a few nuts and bolts and a gear shifter 'chopstick' (I believe they're called). Sadly, that sort of thing always takes the edge of a new purchase, but there you go.
I should say that none of this was rSeat's fault (I assume) - the box was torn in a couple places and a few smaller pieces went walkabout somewhere between Bulgaria and Surrey thanks, no doubt, to the lovely men and women at UPS. I'm gonna give rSeat a shout about it tomorrow*. So far the customer service has been excellent.
Anyway, other than that the packaging was pretty robust - I think I was just a little bit unlucky.
That said, there were a couple of nicks and scrapes on the paintwork edges. I don't know whether this was because I chose a white frame and it shows more obviously, whether the paint's a bit thin or whether it was UPS again. Only living with it will tell. In the meantime, Mr Tippex will cover up those nicks...
Okay, it's been requested that I give you guys my first impressions on the rig, so here goes.
The C-clamp is solid as a rock. I've got a CSR Elite attached to it which is not short of power and the wheel doesn't move one bit.
On to the alleged frame flex. I have a set of CSPs attached to the pedal plate and I can safely say that I didn't feel any flex in the rig as pointed out by Darin when I stomp on the brake. For comparison, I'm 5' 11". My CSP's are moded with tough springs all round and I didn't experience any severe movement in the pedal plate. To be honest, even if I HAD had a problem with the plate moving, I never envisioned it as a huge issue - what's stopping you putting a brick under there? Anyway, no brick needed - to me, it feels solid.
The seat is very comfortable (I'm a 32" waist), but I did notice that the seat base is still a little skimpy on the old foam. Again, as Shaun pointed out, an easy fix.
In terms of quality, the whole thing feels pretty well made. The only issue I'm finding it that the seat very slowly slips back away from the pedals with extensive use. I inked in a line on the tubing as a guide to where I like the seat, and after a good old session, I notice the line is about 3/4s of an inch back. You actually barely notice this and, once again I'm sure if placed some masking tape over this small area (on the tubing inside the other tubing) the friction ptroperty would go up and it wouldn't happen.
One thing to watch out for is the plastic bungs that protect the inner tubing. One of mine fell off (easily reattached), so you might make sure yours are definitely in place (you need to feel inside the tubing, as I say) before you tighten the whole thing down, as these are the things that stop the tubing from being marked.
So, am I happy? Very.
My only other shortlisted rig was the Forza 4 Playseat (this specific model has no awkward centrepost, has an adjustable pedal angle plate and works with the CSPs). Its foldability also probably makes it a lot more storeable - the rSeat is not light (but then, I've not known anything else to compare it to).
Darin, who HAS tried both, seems to think there's no comparison, but if storability is a big thing for you you're probably better with the Playseat.
Personally, I wouldn't swap my white rSeat for anything else. Trust me, it looks ruder in person than in the picture above.
Right, that's it... my first rig review (albeit an off-the-peg one)!
If I've forgotten anything you want answering about the latest model, feel free ask away...
Cheers,
Snotty
* UPDATE: New bolts were sent out the next day. If only most Internet Service Providers had this level of customer service..."