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As thread title.
For sticking on the hardtail, but would like to be able to whip it out and stick a non dropper seat post for when doing a bit of bikepacking.
Brand-X seem to the the go-to for value, but not sure how easily they are removed and the externally routed models seem to only go to 150mm drop.
Or there's the "XL" Ascend 2 which goes to 170mm and is external...and on for £130 on CRC. Any experiences?
Thanks!
Obvious choice if you can afford it is Rockshox or Magura wireless dropper
Pnw I think do a long travel externally routed dropper. Although most the stealth routed posts can just have the cable popped out I believe- would a cork around that not do to stop the loose cable from.rattling in the frame without the post.
the giant dropper is cheap, not quite that long, but can be routed internally or externally and has a fairly quick release for removing the cable (takes maybe a minute) so you could remove the post and leave the cable in situ, if you have internal routing available otherwise
I really like my Ascend 2 XL (170mm, 30.9). I wanted a longer drop than my 125mm reverb. I was thinking it would feel nasty compared to the reverb but I've been really impressed. Granted the finish isn't quite as polished but feel and functionality are great (IMO). Can't really comment on longevity yet but I hear they're easy to home service.
The main issue you'll have is making sure you have enough slack cable to be able to feed it back through the seat tube to be able to slide the post up and get to the connector.
If you have an external routed bike with bolt on cable guides then that's going to be a massive faff. Plus you might need to remove the lever from the bar.
Reverb AXS/Magura Vyron is the answer.
If it's just for bike packing, why don't you just not press the lever?
I've just fitted the brand x 170mm external post, it's a good bit of kit, I got it for less than £100 delivered from Bike24 in germany recently.
It depends on your cable routing, but if you used some velcro cable ties for the cable you could pop it on and off easily enough.
Keep the dropper and use a rack. I've got the Thule one, it's very robust, takes seconds to git or remove once initially set up.
Oneup V2.1 dropper has the drop you want and is pretty quick to detatch the cable from.
Many thanks all. As ever, great selection of ideas and suggestions. Cheers.