Paul Petch

Gravity Dropper seatpost mini review

Behold….a $430 seat post!

It’s tricky to justify $400+ for a seat post isn’t it? and I’ve battled to get the cash together for this puppy for some time as well as the whole “need” and “want” but last week I finally picked up a Gravity Dropper post from BikeHQ for a steal at $430 (Retail for 2009 is $510!) with much excitement! With two other players in the “drop post” market (Crank Brothers Joplin and Specialized Command Post) it has taken me some time to decide on what I wanted. What was the final decider for me was that the majority of riders I know ride with a Gravity and have had zero issues, and it ships in a 27.2 diameter so would fit the Wolf with a shim as well as the Cove if required…. how cool is that!

Out of the box

First impressions are that it is a quality bit of kit and with no fancy packaging (brown cardboard box) and instructions (which are extremely detailed) the whole package felt “industrial” which I loved :) The machining of the post is fantastic and looks to be very well made indeed and strong too. The area that clamps to the seat rails looks very similar to a Thomson post in its simplicity and adjustability.

The 27.2 post with a 3″ drop took 5 minutes to setup and requires the handlebar mounted lever to be pushed forward while the seat is un-weighted and then you place your weight onto it to lower it. To return the post to its original height you once again un-weight it and “tap” it with your arse with lever forward. The fact that it does not return at pace if you push forward or drops while seated feels a tad foreign at first but makes sense….as it simply stops sudden “ups or down”. Once fitted there is not really anything else to do…. other than go ride :)

For the posts maiden voyage I took it to the Scotts Saddle track on the Southern Alps at Mount Hut. This ride had a few hours of grueling climbs as well as short and sharp technical “spins” and of course many an opportunity to drop the seat on nasty technical downs. After some slight adjustments of the post height and also seat angle and position during the initial climb I took to it like a duck to water…..and it just simply worked.

You have to experience what it’s like to adjust seat height on the fly….it was fantastic to keep up the “flow” on all sections of the trail. No more exploding knees on the short technical parts of the trail and no more seat tapping your arse and trying to push you over the bars when dropping down stuff….it was a great feeling. From efficient pedaling to aggressive and low slung monster in seconds. Interestingly, even on an unfamiliar trail I was able to anticipate each section ahead of time (climb, descend, drop off, etc) and whether I required full extension or compression without really having to put any real thought into it. As for the operation of the post it kind of reminded me of a SRAM shifter….with its operation being solid, definite and with an audible “clunk!” as it set into the desired position…which inspires confidence.

Negatives?

So what are the meh? The bolts that you tighten to secure the seat to the post are a bit on the long side that equates to at least one of them “sticking out” enough to touch the underside of the seat under load. Infact, the contact force is quite minimal but is exactly where the WTB seat’s gel “thingy” resides…..which is not too clever. An easy fix is to cut the bolt length down or to replace it with a shorter one.. but this small fix should be part of the package with either a long or short set of bolts as standard. Out of the box there is also a tiny amount of play both “up and down” as well as “left to right”. Interestingly, if you tighten the “seal cap” at the base of the seat post shaft it stops… but so does the seats ability to drop:D I found that there is a sweet spot that provides a tiny amount of play without sacrificing the posts primary role…. to drop! The truth is though that you do not feel it at all out on the trail which simply makes you forget about it…..well I did anyway! Spencer also has a Gravity Dropper and after close to 2 years this “play” is more noticeable, but again cannot be felt on the dirt. I also had a few occasions where the lever did not provide the audible “clunk” and drop (or rise)…. which was annoying just as you were either going to drop off or power up stuff. For both negatives- I’ll be sure to keep an eye on them…as either could become a real problem in the future.

Summary

What I thought would simply provide a higher degree of confidence and comfort, I predict will also elevate my ability to ride stuff in the future that I would never usually consider. Put frankly, the construction, fit, finish and operation of the Gravity Dropper are first class. Yes there seems to be a little bit of “play” out of the box and you could also consider the price an issue too. Regardless, after just a single ride I cannot imagine how I have got by without one to date!

I’ll be sure to post some updates once I have given this gem a thorough thrashing :)

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This entry was posted on Saturday, February 7th, 2009 at 9:42 am and is filed under Bike & Gear Reviews and tagged with Gear and Reviews, marin. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.