# The Best Dropper Post For Your Mountain Bike



## 772268 (Jun 8, 2014)

I can confirm that the Bike Yoke IS in fact 'thee' best not electronic post made hands down. I can say this because I have tried every single one made...including SDG...which was 'thee' worst even if cheap. However, the electronic Rockshox post is just as good as the Bike Yoke in terms of reliability and actuation / smooth function, though it does cost more of course, it has allowed me to remove yet another cable...which is very nice as I am now down to just two brake line cables on my Evil. ..For whatever reason, the NON electronic Rockshox post was not even close to how nice the electronic version is...and it also failed on trail a handful of times. But the electronic version is flawless and works incredibly well and is also very very smooth just like the Bike Yolk. If you have the money I highly recommend the electronic Rockshox post over the Bike Yolk, especially if you are considering going with electronic shifting in the future, as they will use the same battery, so it's like having a spare with you at all times. Never thought I would be all electronic on my MTB but I have to say it is fantastic, especially the preciseness of the shifting and lack of cable and need for dickering with cable tension and replacement which is a real pain in the ass unless you replace your cable every--single--year.


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## Josh_Patterson (Sep 9, 2019)

Thanks for the feedback, Arn! I'm glad to read you're loving the BikeYoke Revive.

The Reverb AXS is a very cool dropper, but it didn't make the cut because it's prohibitively expensive for most mountain bikers and it's not as easy to bleed air from the system on the trail as the BikeYoke.

Ride on!

Josh


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## Josh_Patterson (Sep 9, 2019)

By "all comers" I assume you mean RockShox in this instance. Value is part of the assessment in any test. If a brand is going to charge a premium for a product, it better back it up with outstanding performance. When compared to the Revive, which is arguably the Reverb's closest competitor in terms of price and features, the Reverb (both electronic and hydraulically-actuated) requires more maintenance and is not as easy to service on the trail. Neither version of the Reverb has a vent valve that's as quick to use as the Revive. The Reverb AXS requires to you remove your seatpost from the frame to access the vent valve, while the standard Reverb required you to remove the saddle. We're not saying the Reverb is a bad product, but price+reliability+servicabilty makes the Reverb a hard sell against the latest crop of droppers.


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## Josh_Patterson (Sep 9, 2019)

I clearly laid out the shortcomings of the aforementioned posts and why they didn't make the cut in my previous comment. As always, you're welcome to choose the product that best fits your needs (and budget).


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## Josh_Patterson (Sep 9, 2019)

Bill,

Thomson makes a very reliable dropper. Unfortunately, the company has not kept up with the times and doesn't offer a dropper with more than 150mm of travel. If riders don't need/want more than that, Thomson is still a solid option.


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## JPHOYLE (Sep 24, 2005)

I have been running the Bike Yoke for a couple of years now and it has performed flawlessly. The rarely needed bleed is super easy and only takes a minute, if that.
Every other dropper that I have used have had some sort of reliability issues. Not the Bike Yoke.


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## Josh_Patterson (Sep 9, 2019)

Initially, BikeYoke's dropper relied on a 4mm allen to bleed. Since then they've started offering the Revive with an integrated mini-reset lever, so you don't even need a tool anymore. The mini lever is retrofittable and owners of the original Revive can purchase it on-line.)


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## mdavenpo2000 (Jan 6, 2007)

THE BEST? HERE YOU GO: Brand-X Ascend II dropper post, $135. Brand-X is Chain Reaction Cycles house brand out of the UK. I have one and it is light in weight, lightest on your pocketbook, functions as it should, and is durable. Consistently ranked as one of the top posts by BikeRadar, MBR, ...

Buy this dropper, save your money for some tasty pints.


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## Dave_C1 (Aug 31, 2020)

yup. I have 2 of Brand-X Ascend dropper posts on 2 different bikes. super reliable. bought it to replace My Specialized command post failed around 1-year mark. replaced it with Brand-x in 2016. 4-years later and >1000 miles, Brand-X is still going strong.


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 1996)

I have the OneUp V2 now. The stack height is amazing. Even shorter than the original OneUp allowing more drop for any frame!!


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## bcriverjunky (Jul 8, 2014)

I'll stick with my 9point8 droppers.


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## Muggsly (Nov 9, 2005)

The best dropper for now is the one you can find in stock. That being said I am extremely happy with my OneUp dropper and love that I can change it's height extremely easily. I was a bit nervous buying a dropper that was so much cheaper than the rest but all in all it has been amazing. OneUp really stands behind their products and I am a fan


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## MTBeing (Jan 11, 2012)

My TransX oem on my '19 Timberjack works perfect. Never done a thing to it. Not even sure I can adjust the return rate, but I never felt the need.


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## provin1327 (Mar 31, 2013)

I think "the best" depends on your height. I'm 6'4" and the 210 Oneup dropper was a game changer. I wish they made a 230!


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## Antimatter (Jan 3, 2018)

Thomson Elite Covert. Zero side to side play, super reliable. However, you have to send them in for servicing (although they don't require much of it) because they don't sell rebuild kits. I hear that the recent batch isn't so good and if so, that's disappointing.

Otherwise Fox Transfer. There's side to side play but not much of a big deal unless you're infected with OCD of such things.


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## Nick_M (Jan 16, 2015)

From Experience Reverb/Race Face /One up/ etc.. were working fine out of the box on local trails, then after 7 day in a row at bike park start having issues and required rebuild service;

So the best one is the easiest to services with service kit availability ( same as suspension)


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## Koban (Aug 8, 2021)

Josh_Patterson said:


> By "all comers" I assume you mean RockShox in this instance. Value is part of the assessment in any test. If a brand is going to charge a premium for a product, it better back it up with outstanding performance. When compared to the Revive, which is arguably the Reverb's closest competitor in terms of price and features, the Reverb (both electronic and hydraulically-actuated) requires more maintenance and is not as easy to service on the trail. Neither version of the Reverb has a vent valve that's as quick to use as the Revive. The Reverb AXS requires to you remove your seatpost from the frame to access the vent valve, while the standard Reverb required you to remove the saddle. We're not saying the Reverb is a bad product, but price+reliability+servicabilty makes the Reverb a hard sell against the latest crop of droppers.


And how often do you need to access the the vent valve?

I ride with the AXS 100mm and 150mm for over a year without touching the vent valve. Yep once I had the luck that the batterij went out of juice at the end off the ride.


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## Jeremy05 (Oct 31, 2020)

For everyone using the bike yoke dropper what lever do you use? Is the Bike Yoke lever as good as the PNW or Wolf?


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## terryatthebikewallet (Dec 24, 2020)

Quick question for those with Bike Yoke experience. I believe the head of the cable starts at the lever for these posts, is that right? I.e. you have to use a 'knarp' / barrel clamp that clamps under the seatpost. ? I much prefer the other way round with the head of the cable under the seatpost where you cut and clamp the cable at the lever/handlebar. I'm close to ordering a seatpost for my new build and wanted to confirm this. The Bike Yoke weights are hard to ignore.

Thanks for your time.

-=terry


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## Jeremy05 (Oct 31, 2020)

You are correct on the bike yoke cable. I thought about changing levers on my bike yoke, but to do so I would have had to pull the entire cable out from the seat post.


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## terryatthebikewallet (Dec 24, 2020)

Jeremy05 said:


> You are correct on the bike yoke cable. I thought about changing levers on my bike yoke, but to do so I would have had to pull the entire cable out from the seat post.


Thanks for the reply, Jeremy. 

I've been thinking about the cable orientation on droppers a lot lately as I'm starting to accrue parts for a new build and looking to see if I can shave weight with the dropper. Hence Bike Yoke coming to mind.. I understand the cable head bushing that is utilized by companies like Fox, RaceFace, CrankBros, etc. is too large to fit inside the actuator receptacle thingy under traditional dropper posts (i.e. Bike Yoke), but surely there is another way to afix the head of the cable in there. I don't have a post on me like this but would love to take measurements and see if/what could be done to orient the cable the 'right' way 

-=terry


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## Jeremy05 (Oct 31, 2020)

Terry,
Is there a reasons that you don't want to use the locking cable end on the bike yoke dropper post? As for the lever side, you just cut the end off the cable end at the lever and then it would easier to change levers. I have attached some pictures below of my Bike Yoke lever vs PNW loam lever cable connections. Hope this helps.

*Bike Yoke Lever:










PNW Loam Lever:*









*Bike Yoke Dropper cable connection:*


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## terryatthebikewallet (Dec 24, 2020)

Jeremy05 said:


> Terry,
> Is there a reasons that you don't want to use the locking cable end on the bike yoke dropper post? As for the lever side, you just cut the end off the cable at the lever and then it would easier to change levers. I have attached some pictures below of my Bike Yoke lever vs PNW loam lever cable connections. Hope this helps.


Oh Jeremy. Thank you for inadvertently slapping me upside the head  What you said makes total sense! The barrel clamp / knarp becomes the new cable end once you cut the head off the cable (@ the lever end). Argh. I'm so embarrassed I never thought of it this way. FWIW, I was always the kid left in class finishing assignments/tests while the others had long since finished and already released to the playground. 

-=terry


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## Laupe (Jan 9, 2022)

terryatthebikewallet said:


> Quick question for those with Bike Yoke experience. I believe the head of the cable starts at the lever for these posts, is that right? I.e. you have to use a 'knarp' / barrel clamp that clamps under the seatpost. ? I much prefer the other way round with the head of the cable under the seatpost where you cut and clamp the cable at the lever/handlebar. I'm close to ordering a seatpost for my new build and wanted to confirm this. The Bike Yoke weights are hard to ignore.
> 
> Thanks for your time.
> 
> -=terry


I am probalby too late, but yes that is true about the knarp


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## Laupe (Jan 9, 2022)

Jeremy05 said:


> Terry,
> Is there a reasons that you don't want to use the locking cable end on the bike yoke dropper post? As for the lever side, you just cut the end off the cable at the lever and then it would easier to change levers. I have attached some pictures below of my Bike Yoke lever vs PNW loam lever cable connections. Hope this helps.
> 
> *Bike Yoke Lever:
> ...


How is it easier to change lever? I still think the other system is better


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## bikedrd (Jul 8, 2004)

Laupe said:


> How is it easier to change lever? I still think the other system is better


On my bike yoke set up, the cable has no head. I've clamped both ends.


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## Jeremy05 (Oct 31, 2020)

bikedrd said:


> On my bike yoke set up, the cable has no head. I've clamped both ends.


What I was trying to say is that you could just cut the cable end off at the lever side and then you can easily change to a different lever as long as you have enough cable length. They way my bike yoke is right now I can not remove the lever without disconnecting the cable from the dropper end. 

FWIW I have started to like he bike yoke lever. I purchased a I-spec EV adapter for the bike yoke so it mounts directly to my brake lever, which makes the bars a little cleaner. I tired to do the same with my PNW, but their adapter does not work well. The PNW adapter will put the dropper lever too far to the right side making it hard to reach. With the bike yoke you could purchase the adapter for right side or left side mount. The left side adapter worked perfect (See picture below).


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