Longterm Review | FSA Flowtron Dropper Post

After six months of testing, James Vincent delivers us his verdict of the FSA Flowtron dropper post

Which has revolutionised trail riding more; 1x drivetrains or dropper posts?

Now there’s a question.

Sure, 1x drivetrains have made gear shifts easier, cockpits less complicated and given frame designers free reign over suspension layout, but I’d argue that it’s the humble dropper post that’s done more to make day-to-day trail riding a more enjoyable experience.

There’s nothing that makes riding easier than dropping your saddle out of the way to let you move around on the bike more. Even weight-conscious World Cup XC athletes are getting in on the action lately, proving that the extra grams a dropper post brings to their superlight carbon race machines are worth the trade-off.

Droppers have been made that much more appealing now that most are all pretty mature designs. Gone are the days of the clunky but reliable Gravity Dropper, or the original Rockshox Reverb with its tangle of hose sticking out from the head of the post playing havoc with your cable routing.

We’re well into a golden age of refinement, where it’s expected that a modern dropper post will be as integrated as possible and just work. There’s no room in the marketplace anymore for a saggy post, or excess play at the saddle. Even Crank Brothers have nailed it and delivered one of the greatest posts of all time with the Highline I tested recently.

All of which makes the job of reviewing them that much harder – we all know that 9 times out of 10 a dropper post will work out the box, but what’s less obvious and arguably more important is how it’ll work after nearly a year of being used and abused with minimal maintenance and jet washed with gay abandon.

Fortunately, you’ll be pleased to know that the FSA Flowtron Dropper Post I’ve got here on test excels in every way. It hasn’t skipped a beat, goes down when I need it out the way, and comes back up again when I need to sit down. It has a socking great lever (with a tuneable feel) that you just can’t fail to hit with your thumb no matter how rough the trail, and there’s minimal wobble at the saddle after more than 6 months heavy use.

FSA Flowtron Dropper Post Specs

• Travel: 125mm, 150mm (tested)
• User replaceable Wintek aluminium cartridge
• Cable actuated design
• 3-pin brass keyway internals
• One-piece alloy stanchion and head
• Twin-bolt saddle clamp
• 1x specific handlebar remote
• Diameter: 30.9mm (tested), 31.6mm
• Confirmed weight: 585g (post) & 48g (lever)
• RRP: £279.95

It’s an internally routed cable activated dropper, and is available in 30.9mm or 31.6mm diameters, with either 150mm or 125mm drop.

Compared to FSA’s previous post design, there are improvements across the board – the Flowtron relies on the familiar and dependable Wintek alloy cartridge for the up and down action (a saving of 100g), has three round brass keys to keep everything lined up (the previous post only had two). And there’s a new one piece, low stack, zero setback twin-bolt head up top to attach your saddle to.

One pretty unique feature of the Flowtron, is the three position spring tension on the actuator cam, that allows you to fine tune the feel of the post. However, most riders (myself included) will be perfectly happy with it in the middle position, and shouldn’t feel the need to change anything, as the lever has a light but positive action right from the get go.

The return speed isn’t adjustable, but is fast without being dangerously so (Specialized, I’m looking at you…), and stops with a reassuringly solid action.

The cable is clamped at the lever, which makes fitting and adjustment nice and easy. It’s an internally routed post only – there’s no option for external routing, but that’s not the drawback it used to be, as most recent bikes (even those with external routing everywhere else) will have the provision for an internally routed dropper post.

The post is on the weightier side of things, at 585g with the lever adding an extra 47g, but this is really splitting hairs of what is an excellent post.

The only drawbacks I’ve encountered, are that the latest round of dropper posts to hit the market (BikeYoke Revive, OneUp, CrankBrothers Highline) are available with more travel (up to 200mm+), making the 150mm drop of the Flowtron seem a bit short in comparison. Perhaps FSA will introduce a longer travel option down the line.

Also, the collar around the top of the post likes to work its way loose sometimes, but it’s quick and easy enough to tighten by hand, and doesn’t appear to have had any impact on the performance or durability of the post. Finally, the bolt holding the lever in place on the bars has gone a little rusty where the anodising has worn off. Yes. I’m having to pick holes in the appearance of a bolt to find flaws in this post!

Overall

The bottom line is that this is a solid and dependable dropper post. While it isn’t filled with the latest tech or the longest drop, it is well worth considering if you just need a well priced post that will last you a good long time without issues.

Running on similar internals as my previous favourite post, the CrankBrothers Highline, the FSA Flowtron has a quicker return speed and lighter lever feel. I would like to see FSA add a longer drop option, because with a little more travel, this might be all the dropper I’d ever need.

Review Info

Brand:	FSA
Product:	Flowtron Dropper Post
From:	windwave.co.uk
Price:	£279.95
Tested:	by James Vincent for 6 months

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