SM+ question: 700x35c -or- 700x38c for Chicago year round commuting?

someone wrote:

You are absolutely right, Sir! It IS bent!!

Bent seatposts are a sad fact of my cycling life.

Thomson Elite posts are a sure cure, though they are expensive by
seatpost standards. I have used an almost 12" exposed section of
27.2mm Thomson post when my weight exceeded 400 lbs., and that
post never failed.

Another option that should work fine for you (at a more appealing
price point) is the Kalloy 350mm 4130 heat-treated chromoly steel
post. Oddly, these are not as resistant to bending as Thomson
posts, but they are more than strong enough for your application.

How does a seat post fail in one month of use? Bad steel? Bad
match with the frame? Both?

Long extension with a laid back seat angle plus a good sized rider.
It's basic lever physics. In a perfect world Electra would sell a
24" version of this bike, but as it's a one size fits all deal,
you're going to have to find a post that's stronger as you're out of
the expected "range" that it's supposed to fit.

Bending is not failure as I see it. However, operating at yield
stress (the stress that leaves permanent bends) leads to fracture,
which is a significant failure because it generally causes serious
injury. With todays sloping toptubes, seat posts must be excessively
long and are operating at stress levels not incurred with "old
fashioned" frames with horizontal toptubes at reasonable height with
which thin walled aluminum seatposts worked well without fail.

The Kalloy should work--provided it's long enough.

Jobst Brandt