Decided to treat me and my bike and finally got a RockShox Reverb dropper seat post for my Orange 5. I’ve always struggled with confidence once the terrain gets steep. Can a dropper post fill some of my many skill gaps?
As one of the most popular upgrades, there are dropper posts available from all the big brands.
After doing my research, reading reviews and asking mates, it came down to a choice between two. The RockShox Reverb (hydraulic and the market leader) and the Brand X Ascend (cable controlled, budget friendly with a good reputation for low maintenance).
The RockShox Reverb was the winner, as Chain Reaction Cycles had a decent deal (£159.99, RRP £268.99).
Out of the box it was very easy to fit. My Orange 5 does not have internal cable routing so it was a case of getting out the cable ties. But it fits neatly and was ready to ride in an hour.
When seated on the saddle, I do not notice a difference between riding with a dropper post and riding with a regular post. There is no movement in the saddle. It feels rock solid. Because of the set up of my bike controls (quite old skool – I still run a triple chain ring!) to deploy the seat post I have to take my right hand off the handlebars to press the lever. This is never ideal – so I find myself being quite cautious where I use it.
Knowing the local trails well gives me time to deploy the dropper post. But it doesn’t feel like second nature yet. Also because I am quite light-weight it takes quite a lot of pressure on the saddle to get it to drop.
These niggles aside, the dropper seat post is certainly a lot less faff compared to a regular seat post. I find myself using it more and more in places, where in the past I would have ridden with the seat post up because I didn’t want to stop to adjust it. It has definitely added to the enjoyment and I wish i’d got one sooner!
Positives: Easy to fit out of the box, excellent build quality and looks great. Definitely has given my riding a confidence boost.
Negatives: Need to put quite a lot of pressure on the saddle to get it to drop. Not natural to use it yet – more practise needed!
Unfortunately, locally (where riding has been limited to this year due to Covid-19) we don’t have loads of long, steep downhills where a dropper post really comes into its own. Fingers crossed for more opportunities soon to properly test how it feels!