Lightweight XC dropper?

I meant to say I might just get a dropper instead of the carbon.

I would recommend starting with a BrandX dropper with the longest drop you can fit then see how much drop you actually use. My experience (of starting out with a 100mm travel GravityDropper nearly 20 years ago and not understanding why anyone needed more drop) is that it's much better to have more drop than you think you'll need. Once you know how much drop you actually use when riding, then buy an expensive lightweight post and keep the BrandX as a spare.

You also might be able to shave a few grams by buying a 30.9 mm post and shimming it to 31.6 mm. Even if it doesn't save any weight, it'll still fit a bigger range of frames if you want to swap it to a new bike in the future.

I've got a 100mm Brand X on my rigid.
Works well, if a little slow.
No idea what it weighs, which isn't very helpful sorry.

DT Swiss do a very lightweight dropper. I think there's 2 versions, alloy, and carbon. It's only 60mm drop but if you've not had a dropper pose before, it should be enough to make a difference for XC.

Looking at the specs, it's lighter than a basic alloy non dropper post.

one up are good for the money circa £160-180
https://www.oneupcomponents.com/products/dropper-post-v2?variant=19543531094113
(31.6) 90mm 430g / 120mm 450g / 150mm 500g / 180mm 545g / 210mm 590g / 240mm 668g

versus Brand X Ascend
Weight: 535g (31.6mm/ 125mm), 605g (31.6mm/ 150mm)

reverb 120mm 31.6mm 592g.
*weights exclude cabling and lever

There is a short drop xc version of the fox transfer I#ve been looking at for my spark when I get the funds. Last time I looked at the dt swiss it was big money

I had a bigger dropper on a nomad and don't see what the fuss is about with huge drops. Sure if you are doing proper DH you want the saddle right out of the way, but for most stuff I ride (nothing more extreme than afan) a few inches is all you need as even the downs have peddally bits in. And probably bad technic but I often grip the saddle with my knees to help keep stable on really rough stuff.

I also found with infinite adjustment posts I was constantly messing about trying to get it to the right height. I think a post with one or two set positions would suit me better

The Bikeyoke Divine SL is very light and duly expensive, comes in 3 drops and can be cut to length too to shave weight. Don't have one, but is on the lightweight XC dropper list...

The Fox Transfer SL only locks at the fully extended or fully dropper positions. On an XC bike I really value having a small drop most of the time I use it and a bit drop more in extreme cases. If you have quite a traditional geometry XC bike then you will find that even a few cm drop will feel like a ton of change and free up your body to move. Check out the gravel dropper reviews for the best comparison to a dropper on a XC geo bike- most feel a dropper isn't required too much and a small drop is all you need. The Fox is also generally reviewed badly for the play and lack of reliability.

The three best light droppers for weight, ease of maintenance, smooth function and robustness are the KS Lev Ci, 9point8 Fall Line R and Bike Yoke Divine SL. All are available in a range of drops and sizes.

I have a 31.6 KS Lev Ci somewhere in the garage which I haven't used since going full rigid SS. Only a small 75mm (?) drop but it really transforms the descending on the Procaliber I used it on. I was skeptical, but a like I said above, I really believe you don't need a lot of drop on an XC geo bike and a few cm gives you that extra wiggle room in the oh sh.. moments

You also might be able to shave a few grams by buying a 30.9 mm post and shimming it to 31.6 mm. Even if it doesn’t save any weight, it’ll still fit a bigger range of frames if you want to swap it to a new bike in the future.

Shims are surprisingly heavy and lowest weight is almost always the correct sized seatpost.

Extra bonus of the Bikeyoke Divine SL is the bit which goes in the frame can be easily swapped out for different diameter tubes if you ever change the frame

I also found with infinite adjustment posts I was constantly messing about trying to get it to the right height. I think a post with one or two set positions would suit me better

Mostly agree with this and I have found this more of a problem with longer drop seatposts. I think on the short drop KS Lev Ci I used, I did just use full drop or full extension and it really simplifies use of a dropper. With short, but a bit longer (100-125mm), dropper posts it is easy to find that "little bit of drop for most occasions" and "a bit more because sh.. that looks steep" setting 🙂 I don't find 125mm drop useful at all on an XC geo bike and never used that one at full drop.

I've got a 125 31.6 KS Lev Ci that came with a bike and I like it.

That said the 100mm Lev Integra is pretty light for an alu dropper and barely any heavier than the Ci.

plenty to go at there thanks guys, I shall do some research tonight. Don’t think I really need more than 100mm to be fair as I have a trail bike for the more techy stuff and this will just be used mainly for NYM moorland riding and the like. 

Shims are surprisingly heavy and lowest weight is almost always the correct sized seatpost.

Some droppers, I'm thinking specifically of X-Fusion, just thicken the outer casing as the internals are identical. This makes them a lot heavier than the slimmest dropper plus shim.

Yes, but XFusion and light weight dropper don't go together anyway.

Bike Yoke Divine SL is 20g heavier 30.9 to 31.6.

A 30.9-31.6 shim is around 40g.

In the context of the light weight droppers suggested by the thread title getting the correct size can save a weight (if you care about such things).

A 30.9-31.6 shim is around 40g.

I make the volume of a 100 mm long shim as a fraction under 7 cc. Aluminium is 2.7 g/cc, so you're talking about less than 20 grams for a shim. If you use a plastic one, you're talking more like 10 grams. You can save a few grams by using a shim on a smaller post.

DT Swiss is still the lightest one at 369g.

I make the volume of a 100 mm long shim as a fraction under 7 cc. Aluminium is 2.7 g/cc, so you’re talking about less than 20 grams for a shim. If you use a plastic one, you’re talking more like 10 grams. You can save a few grams by using a shim on a smaller post.

I take it back. 30.9 to 31.6 shims are indeed 10-20g

go on www.r2-bike.com, have a look at the dropper posts, filter by drop and order by weight.

pick one and see if you can get it cheaper elsewhere. They are pretty competitively priced though.

Thanks Lovewookie.

Eight pins posts are one of the lightest out there i think. But they are most definitely not cheap. You’ll have to drill your frame.
They are outstanding posts though!

Hi , I realise this thread is 6 months old but I found it useful recently having just bought a Gen1 Supercaliber in the sales and needing a dropper for it without adding too much weight. Figured this might assist someone else…

Anyway. After reading and googling I bought a OneUp dropper in 30.9 dia and a USE shim (10g) to take it out to 31.6 seat tube dia.

The stock alloy post that came with the bike weighs 394g.  The OneUp dropper (in 90mm drop spec - can also be had in slightly heavier 120 or more) weighs 378g.  Yes I needed to add cable and lever but it’s still not much of a weight penalty.  A word of warning : the 90mm post is quite short, so if you’re long legged make sure the total length of the new post is enough once the minimum insertion length is taken account of.

<br />As the bike has a remote twin suspension lockout lever on the LHS of the bars (where a  front derailleur lever would be if it wasn’t 1x)  I needed a 2x compatible lever - PNW supply one and it’s a little thing that weighs not much at all.

Anyway, hope this helps someone else in the future. Thanks to all for the advice above. 

My bike  came with a fox transfer SL. It lasted about 18 months before becoming sticky and not returning properly.

You can't really home service them either. For the price of a service I bought a brand x one as I needed it in a hurry. Not got round to replacing it.

From distant memory I think the PNW comes in light.

I've got a transfer sl on my epic Evo.... 100mm travel, but that seems fine on an xc/marathon orientated bike.. plus it's light!

DrP

I've got a carbon KS Lev which I like.... although it did stop working at one point and needed a service under warranty. Has been good since. 4000 miles on it.

I have a carbon Lev which is fine, although if you can find one the 100mm Alu Lev are a bit lighter.

+1 for Carbon lev. Trouble free for 3 years.

For info… the 90mm One Up is now for sale (see classifieds!) It really was too short and I wish I had measured a bit more carefully/ tried to be less of a weight weenie.  Ive replaced with the 120 drop version which is only marginally heavier.  They get good reviews and hopefully it will be good for me.