Gravity Dropper Classic
Dropper seat posts have become standard equipment on almost every trail bike worth its salt, but the trailblazer for it all was the Gravity Dropper. I got mine about 5-6 years ago and am not looking back. Time to put my two cents worth on record.
Two things up front. One, I love this post. Two, I am not sponsored by them, bought my own.
With that out of the way I’ll get on. My post is the original Classic with 4 inches of travel with three positions. A drop of 1 inch and then the rest 3 inches. I ride in the first drop all the time, raise the saddle 1 inch on steep uphills and drop it 3 inches in technical and fast. While not officially recommended, I have ridden this way from the beginning and have had no problems because of it.
Saddle lowered
This post has improved the fun factor on all trails tenfold. I do not use it only for technical sections but all the time, when the trail gets fast and twisty, down and jumpy or just fast, I find that lowering the saddle makes the trail more fun. On the uphills, the UP position as I described earlier, helps control the bike, when it gets really steep.
This is probably one of the most reliable post out there but ironically, I decided to finally review this one because it cracked.
I weight between 75 kg to 82 kg, depending how honest I feel, which is about normal weight for a seat post like this. Still, you would expect that this kind of failure would be a game over but I don’t think so. This was not a catastrophic one, it did not just break away. The post stopped working properly, i.e. the saddle was not coming back up which surprised me since it had worked flawlessly for about 6 years. On inspection, I noticed that the upper shaft was a little bent and on closer inspection, I discovered a crack. To put this into perspective, given how easy it is to service and repair this post, and a fantastic service, this is not a problem. For comparison, my friends have gone through about 3 different posts for the time I have ridden this one, so yes, I consider 5 to 6 years of consistently flawless operation reliable.
The inner workings are very simple and effective. Basically a shaft inside a tube with a spring and a magnetic trigger mechanism. It is extremely simple to service and can be done in minutes at home. Fixing mine took about 20 minutes once I got the parts in the post. My routine is to clean and grease the post when it starts to feel a bit rough and replace the cable when it gets stiffer to operate. The only thing that can cause the post to misbehave is the locking ring holding the shaft mechanism. This can loosen a bit during use and throw the trigger mechanism out of alignment. I found that a bit of blue locktite on the threads solves this. Do not use red locktite though, as that is too strong.
Saddle lever
Saddle lever
The saddle lever fits nicely under the bar for a 1×10 or 1×11 set up. You need to order a specific lever position with your post. Like the post, the lever is a simple affair that works very well. The cable connection bolts are at the lever so the cable ends there.
Other features that I like are: – The stationary cable. The trigger mechanism is in the lower post and does not move with the saddle preventing potential rubbing with the bike or the rear wheel. and as I mentioned above. – The three positions and the options it gives me. -It is supported by a good website with plenty of information to help maintain it and extensive supply of parts. – The service is excellent and fast.
The only thing I do not like is: – It came with one size and needs shims to fit. But that is history as they have started to make it in different sizes now.
When comparing to the posts in the market today, this one looks a bit like a relic but that is just skin deep. Under the skin, this is a simple and effective design that does what it’s supposed to do and does it well and consistently. So, if you can get around the looks and the little bit of clunkiness, this is still one of the best dropper posts out there, which explains the fact that it is still out there.