Specialized Pave Seat Post noise

Long time no update! My back injury kept me off the bike most of the season, but I am finally starting base and hoping that I will be able to race this year. Ok, I know that nobody cares so here is an update that may actually help a few people. My Specialized SL3 Roubaix did not come with a seatpost and I opted for the Specialized Pave post. I had read quite a bit about it and it seemed to be all positive. I went with the S-Works version to go along with the bike and from the start I would get this cracking sound when I would hit rough road or when I moved around on the saddle. It drove me crazy for most of a year. I replaced my saddle and put tons of grease on the rails, cups, and clamp assembly. I tore the bike apart and rebuilt it to make sure it was not coming from somewhere else on the bike and I could never figure it out. Finally, I found the noise and I think this may be a problem with more than just my bike.

If you look at the lower left of this diagram you can see that the there is a slot that the receiving bolt's tab must go through. My post came pre-assembled and the arrow on the bolt was in the 9 o'clock position rather than at 6 o'clock. It would not turn and I assumed that the tab went through the slot and then rotated to lock in place. That is not the case. I tried to turn the bolt to get it out and put grease in there as it was the only part I had not lubed. It would not move by turning it and I was afraid to put too much force on it so I ordered a new set from my local shop. Guess what? It came the exact same way. I showed it to the mechanic and it turns out the bolt comes straight out with a tap from a rubber hammer. When we examined the clamp assembly there was a depression where the bolt had been tightened and the tab had dug into the metal. Apparently when it was put together at the factory, they did not align the tabs and just tightened it down. I took the one on my bike apart and it was exactly the same way. Once apart I used lithium grease and aligned the arrows and the noise is gone. The chances of me being the only one to get the assembly in this condition are pretty remote in my opinion so I would guess others are having the same problem. So if your Pave seat post is driving you crazy, see if your post was improperly assembled like mine.