If you’ve been shopping for a dropper seatpost over the past few years, chances are that you’ve considered some form of KS model at one point or another. As a company pretty much dedicated to making height-adjustable seatposts, KS have been one of the big players in the market, with their latest LEV dropper being one of our favourites here at Singletrack Towers.
New for 2017 however, will be a very special version of the LEV. Called the ‘Circuit’, the latest option in the LEV range will have wireless electronic activation. No cables, no messy internal routing, just a button on the bars, and an electronic motor on the post activating the locking mechanism. During Eurobike, Singletrack was on hand to check out the new LEV Circuit to see how it all works.
Following two years of development, the LEV Circuit dropper post from KS has been thoroughly refined to what you see here. The goals have been reliability, but also quick activation – an issue that can be present when wireless signals and servo motors are called into action.Internally, the LEV Circuit is almost identical to the regular LEV. It’s air sprung, and uses a hydraulic damper to control movement and lock the post in place when you release the trigger. The difference? An electronic servo motor on the back of the post takes care of opening and closing the valve. There’s also a rechargeable battery in there, which we were told will provide enough juice for 600 hits. Depending on how much you use your dropper during a ride, your battery life will vary.The KS LEV Circuit will be available in multiple travel options and either 30.9mm or 31.6mm diameters. Production is scheduled for January 2017, with the finished product being available for purchase around mid-March.Like the existing KS LEV, the Circuit model gets the updated twin-bolt head, with a machined alloy stanchion that’s black anodized for stealth properties.At the other end of the dropper is the remote. Modelled on KS’s excellent Southpaw remote, what you’re looking at here is a simple switch. The lever talks to the post via Bluetooth 4.0, and KS have been careful to ensure the lever provides a tactile ‘click’ when you press it, so you get sufficient feedback when on the trail.Same clamp design as the Southpaw remote.In use, the KS LEV Circuit does have a small amount of lag compared to a regular dropper post. It takes about one second for the post to move after you’ve pressed the button, though that’s purportedly quicker than the Magura Vyron. KS are also confident that they’ll be able to make the activation quicker come production time, so expect a slicker operation by the time these babies hit the shops.KS also had their full line of dropper posts on display at Eurobike, including their brand new 170mm travel option for the LEV (that’s the humungous one on the left).KS have been steadily improving their dropper post line since they introduced their first model over five years ago.Maybe not so interesting to mountain bikers, but our drop bar friends will dig this; it’s a dropper post designed for cyclocross and gravel bikes.It’s called the Zeta, and it has a different way of mounting to your bike. The post sits flush inside the frame, right down to that small collar at the top of the outer shaft.Then you pull off the head of the post, and cut the inner shaft down to the correct length. It’s kind of like the Integrated Seat Post design that some road bike manufacturers use such as Giant and Look. But it’s a dropper post. Once you cut the post, there are two internal spacers inside the post that you can add or subtract to adjust the total height, and two spacers you can fit underneath the removable head. In total, that leaves you with 45mm of vertical adjustment, so even if you cut the post too short, there’s a bit of flexibility built in.Cutting guide on the upper shaft of the Zeta dropper post.
With 23 years as Editor of Singletrack World Magazine, Chipps is the longest-running mountain bike magazine editor in the world. He started in the bike trade in 1990 and became a full time mountain bike journalist at the start of 1994. Over the last 30 years as a bike writer and photographer, he has seen mountain bike culture flourish, strengthen and diversify and bike technology go from rigid steel frames to fully suspended carbon fibre (and sometimes back to rigid steel as well.)
Anyone else think the idea of having to cut your dropper post to length is a bit off-putting?
If you wanted to have one dropper that you could swap easily between frames, then a wireless one seems to be ideal – except that you have to cut it to length, meaning that if the frames have different seat tube heights, you’re stuffed.
I think you’re mixing up the three different posts here. One is wireless, and you don’t cut it. One is cable operated, and you don’t cut it.
The last is cable operated too, and you cut it. It’s a replacement for integrated seat masts. If that’s your thing, then this should be right up your street.
Anyone else think the idea of having to cut your dropper post to length is a bit off-putting?
If you wanted to have one dropper that you could swap easily between frames, then a wireless one seems to be ideal – except that you have to cut it to length, meaning that if the frames have different seat tube heights, you’re stuffed.
I think you’re mixing up the three different posts here. One is wireless, and you don’t cut it. One is cable operated, and you don’t cut it.
The last is cable operated too, and you cut it. It’s a replacement for integrated seat masts. If that’s your thing, then this should be right up your street.
What happens if your mate has one too – what stops his lever talking to your post?