[Closed] Dropper/NotDropper. Orbea's latest offering.

I'm in

I like it, may be good for the winter hardtail

I just had a cable of a set length from the clamp to the seat (old inner wire and some electric wire joiner things). 50p in parts and worked pretty well.

This seems like it wouldn't be far off the cost of a cheap dropper post.

Don't use a dropper but if i was going to I'd use a dropper.

I really like the seatclamp but the best bit about a dropper is the remote and being able to move the seat on the move at a moments notice.

I reckon if they somehow made a remotely operable clamp release mechanism and fitted a return spring inside the post, they'd be onto a winner there !

I like that, but it's hard to imagine it'll work smoothly after 5 minutes of scottish mud.

That is bloody awful. Waste of company time and money, who exactly is that aimed at?

Confused......

So you open the quick release and then can move the saddle up and down? Isn't that the exact same scenario as if you had a qr and normal post?

The slot keeps the saddle orientated correctly and there are stop bolts top and bottom to limit the post. The idea is that it makes dropping and raising quicker because there will be less to do.

I don't think it's the worst idea...

Not as good as learning just to ride your bike with the saddle at the correct height though if you don't want the weight of a dropper.

I can't justify buying a dropper (especially since 27.2mm ones are more expensive and uncommon) that costs more than the rest of the bits on my bike and I'm happy with my QR clamp.

I'd definitely be interested in something like this. It makes sure the saddle is straight and means I don't have to wipe the mud (that delicious Scottish mud which Northwind mentioned) off the back of my post to see the height gauge to make sure I get it at the right height for climbing. I think it solves problems which you don't realise were problems, until they're gone.

to make sure I get it at the right height for climbing. I think it solves problems which you don't realise were problems, until they're gone.

As long as your preferred climbing height is exactly on one of the 50mm increments. And it's not full of mud. And the slot is on the back of the seatpost. And the slot is not offset slightly so the nose of the seat points at your grip on the bars.

Or.........

Yeah, I'm in. 🙄

bigblackshed - Member
As long as your preferred climbing height is exactly on one of the 50mm increments. And it's not full of mud. And the slot is on the back of the seatpost. And the slot is not offset slightly so the nose of the seat points at your grip on the bars.

Check the article linked in the OP. You can adjust it much more finely than every couple of inches. Set the screw closest to your preferred height, then you adjust the height of the sleeve which sits against the screw, letting you get the height just right. Not sure I get your point about the slot not being offset though.

Saw the review of that over at [url= http://www.bikerumor.com/2015/06/25/new-orbea-digit-manual-dropper-seatpost-is-a-game-changer/ ]BikeRumour[/url]. They claim it's a "game changer" and that it "makes so much sense you wonder how it hadn’t ever been done before." Reading it I wasn't too sure if the review was a piss take.

The comment about the slot being slightly off set is pretty black and white really.
Its a silly idea. Reinventing something that already exists with something that is crap in comparison. And the mud in slot worries would be my concern too. If I had one, which I probably would not.

Makes sense to me. OK its not as simple to opperate as a dropper but it looks a lot quicker than a QR post where 90% of the faffing is in sorting the height out for climbing and getting it straight each time.

And whilst its not died yet I really don't trust my Reverb's sealing, you can almost see daylight through the tolerances!

The slot being offset. Mine on both bikes happen to be at the front, brilliant design so the mud can't clog it up and gunk up and scratch the seatpost. And neither of them are exactly inline with centreline of the frame, thus the seat would not be aligned straight.

If you want a dropper, buy a dropper.

bigblackshed - Member
The slot being offset. Mine on both bikes happen to be at the front, brilliant design so the mud can't clog it up and gunk up and scratch the seatpost. And neither of them are exactly inline with centreline of the frame, thus the seat would not be aligned straight.

Ahhhh, I misunderstood. I thought you meant the slot on the post, not the slot on the actual frame. Okay, I'm with you now.

Well, I like it.

I'm not gnarl enough to justify spending hundreds on a Proper Dropper, but being able to get the seat out of the way occasionally with minimal faff would be handy. I'd have one I reckon, if the price was right.

I quite like the idea. I'm sure if it had 'Santa Cruz' written on it people's opinions would be different.

Yeah, I like it too. Am in the habit of taking a spare normal seatpost when I take my bike away with me as a backup for the reverb (which has been known to fail...).

This would be a good backup.

I don't think it'll work on either of my bikes though - Soul has a front facing slot and my Remedy has two offset slots.

Looking at it, could you not drill a hole in the seatube at the back in the right place?

The cleaner way would be have a seatpost that is oval and a matching shaped seatclamp that has a built in shim that extends into seatube. 27.2 oval post in bigger seatpost for example. Then have a stopper that stops against shim inside frame when it's lifted. It would look normal except for slightly oval post and be better in mud.

nice simple idea.

How did no one invent this 10-15 years ago?

How did no one invent this 10-15 years ago?

Circa 1989.
[img] [/img]

If I still lived somewhere where I needed to change the seat height every half hour instead of every few minutes, the Orbea thing would look great. The keyway is a good idea, I'm a little surprised no one's done that with matched clamps and seatposts before.

I made something similar last year from a Titec Scoper telescopic seatpost. Put a keyway in the back to keep the tophalf inline, robbed a spring loaded button thingy from am old crutch, drilled a couple of holes for min and max then fitted a spring to help it raise back up. Still got a clamp to secure the tophalf but when on a ride where you'll use it just crack it off and it locates on the 'crutch button'.
Far from petfect but worked fine over this last 12 month, plus it didnt cost a great deal.
Would still quite like a Stealth Reverb though.

CaptainFlashheart - Member

Circa 1989.

The hiterite didn't do the same job this does, and didn't really work at the job it was supposed to either tbh.

the same job this does,

Lower post, then return to the right height, while keeping the saddle straight? Seems about the same to me!

(I agree that the Hite Rite was a bit shit, though. As I suspect this will be when introduced to mud!)

When Boblo and I were touring down the Pacific Coast last September we stumbled upon Josh Angell. We were having a burger and he came over to chat seeing our bikes.

We talked about heading down to Marin and of bikes and all the stuff you shoot the breeze about. We got talking about reto stuff and the scene in Fairfax in the seventies. I've met Joe Breeze, Charlie Kelly, Alan Bonds, Charlie Cunningham and Jacquie P. Jacquie has been to stay with us here at Moont Towers.

So Josh introduced himself and told us of how the Hite Rite came about. Various guys had tried to make something to raise and lower their seat posts. They were all too complicated. Josh had in idea based on a hand exerciser.

He wasn't sure if it would work so he swung the idea past Joe and they made a couple and they worked well. They patented it and it went into production. The first generation were stamped Breeze and Angell. Something happened thereafter and Josh sold his share of the patent and the production to Joe in exchange for a bike.

They remain good friends.

[img] [/img]

It's a great idea.

If they could an insert for the seat post to act as a spring-stop then you could spring load it too.

Then you might as well stick a little motor on the QR bolt with a button on the bar that you hold to keep the clamp open.

Then you could move all the clamping mechanism inside the seatpost out of the way of the mud.

Would solve all the issues with dropper posts if you could get back to proper mechanical clamping without relying on seals and damping cartridges.

CaptainFlashheart - Member

the same job this does, Lower post, then return to the right height, while keeping the saddle straight?

I know that's what it was supposed to do, but it didn't really did it? Unless you had perfect fit and no mud. We were all dead jealous of my mate's but there was a reason we all called it the hite rong. This thing's got its focus more correct imo, it's not that hard to raise a seat manually but it's hard to get it in the right place.

How come I had never heard of THIS!
[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

Remote dropper, c.1989!

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/now-that-was-a-bike-1990-mantis-valkyrie.html

That bike is enduro green too... don't tell me people were enduroing back then?! 😮

I like it too. Droppers are £££. I bet this is also lighter.

The keyway is a good idea, I'm a little surprised no one's done that with matched clamps and seatposts before

Manufacturing expense, necessarily heavier seatpost. If you start with round, plain tube that's a lot of machining to get strength or a lot of unnecessary material left over. Or expensive tooling to draw custom tube.

Then it's unsealed allowing grit in to your seat post/tube interface. So either tolerances are tight to stop comic amounts of play or your tolerances are wide enough that it doesn't seize with the slightest bit of grit. Frame tolerances aren't good enough for cross-compatibility between fabricators, etc.

Thought about this several years ago with my Hexham mates but decided you'd might as well buy a gravity dropper 🙂

I like it too. Droppers are £££

Yeah, but the cheapest droppers are (IME) not fit for purpose. This one also does something few droppers do with the range of movement.

(I still don't think it'll work in the real world but I think a lot of the other criticisms are unfounded)

Positives over a dropper:
You can clamp it in a workstand.
You can fit a bikepacking saddle bag.
Adjust the drop to a repeatable amount below max (again useful for bikepacking so that the bag doesn't hit the tyre).
Ride-ruining failures are less likely.

If it's reasonably priced (i.e. <£60) and fits many frames, then I like it for my adventure bike

Yeah, but the cheapest droppers are (IME) not fit for purpose

So if it were tmars or nothing, what would you do?

Nothing. My Tmars lasted about 3 hours.

Well not nothing, I'd fit a normal seatpost.

You still have a broken one?

Had 2 years use out the tmars on the wife's bike. Not full on, extreme use but plenty of riding. Much better than the alternative of a fixed seat post and probably cheaper than this hite-rite2 thing

molgrips - Member

You still have a broken one?

Sent it back, full refund on account of it was shit. Doesn't mean they all fail o'course but £60 isn't cheap when it doesn't work and something that works brilliantly is £130 or so.

What works brilliantly for £130 in 27.2?

Gravity dropper from germany. Only gets you a Descender rather than a remote but upgradable later if you want. Remote is better than lever but lever is better than doesn't work.

Seems like a lot of people do get on fine with the Tmars ones...

As you can buy 3 for the same price as the budget gravity dropper option it's worth a chance IMO.

Tmars are £60 or is there a cheaper one?

Northwind - got a link?

The price seems to fluctuate quite a bit but you should be able to pick one up on eBay for £50 if you can wait for delivery.

That bike is enduro green too... don't tell me people were enduroing back then?!

Well, they were riding bikes and having fun, but I don't think the marketing departments were quite as involved at the time! 😉