Dropper seatpost- under saddle lever actuated. What are my options?

New project bike is lurking.
Frame hasn’t got a dropper port, and I’m happy to go for under saddle actuation to keep things cleans. It’s a 31.6mm seatpost.
What are my options? I really want between 150-180-ish drop

I found the the KS eTen dropper, but it’s only 125mm…

It makes no sense to me, as my seat goes up and down multiple times, unless you are maybe making a jump bike that you want to pedal to the park

there’s no way i could safely actuate a dropper post while in motion

it’s pretty easy to drill or route an external post, or go wireless even

just my 2p, not what you asked

Drill a hole in the frame for a cable or go for an external cable. Either is fine and way better than not having a remote lever. Making it way less functional just for clean lines seems odd to me, but them some people route brake hoses through the headset 🙂

Personally dont mind lever actuated and never really saw the issue of raising/dropping it on the fly for general trail/xc riding back in the day but Id consider a external post or drilling instead from the perspective of maintenance; I had a couple of KS Dropzones and, to be fair to them, they were very reliable but the lever/remote mechanism did get a lot of mud/debris build up given where it was sited under the saddle which required proper cleaning out every now and then. Ive a brandx external on my hardtail now and it barely gets any mud around the cable entry area

there’s no way i could safely actuate a dropper post while in motion

It’s really not that difficult – just sometimes needs a bit of anticipation. FWIW I’ve been pondering a lever-actuated post for my gravel bike, because I’ll regularly be swapping it out for a non-dropper. I’m waiting for the 27.2mm KS dropper to become available, currently scheduled to be January. The bigger diameters are available already

depending on budget, a wireless dropper would do the job?

Is headset cable routing an option?

I can only think of KS. I use an old 27.2 100mm drop on my rigid mtb, it’s great for that.

Externally routed?

I resisted external routing. Now i have it on my gravel bike it’s fine. My cable just goes through the frame bag Velcro loops

Hite-Rite

Actually, that may not have enough drop.

Thomson do a decent under saddle lever, but I’m not sure how big a drop they do. But really just get an external one, they are a doddle to take on and off as required

It’s really not that difficult

Depends on the situation, had one back in the day (under the saddle lever) wouldn’t want to go back to it now – especially on techy stuff

Go Old Skool and get a Quick Release! 😉

Thanks all!
I’ll have a think and decide.

I have a 27.2 under seat dropper I had on my old camino… worked well but sold the bike. Was one of the cheap ones ribble sold off. Anybody after one for not much money send me a message

I was thinking along the same lines a while back then gave up. Currently not running a dropper at all. I use a hex key on the clamp (prefer that to QR). Admittedly don’t ride that far on the MTB these days or that often… If legs still have energy from commuting then do a ride with the seat all the way down, doing lots of standing pedalling, until they can’t take anymore then raise it right up to optimum seated pedalling position. More often though will just put it at “trail height” which is obviously a compromise but works adequately for most local stuff. However, dropper would be much better 🙂

I don’t think anyone makes one longer than 125mm, or I’d probably have one (they are not hard to use on the short of XC/trail riding I do, where I lower my post 10 times an hour or something).

The best available is the KS Dropzone I think. Max 125mm travel like the eTen, but lighter and I think more serviceable and reliable. May be discontinued now but plenty still available.

KS used to do a budget thing called the Exaform Speed Up or something, which went up to 175mm or 200mm travel. They were really bad though. Non-hydraulic friction based design, which didn’t extend automatically but rather needed pulling back up (which was tricky to do on the move). Mine broke within weeks, and the replacement also broke.

Thomson do a decent under saddle lever, but I’m not sure how big a drop they do

I’m not sure you can still get those, particularly on this side of the pond, plus I think they only work on the external dropper version of the posts. I was vaguely after one a while back and came across someone still selling them, but can’t remember who.

Very nice posts, but not really user serviceable/fixable, which means a £100-odd bill if they stop working.

Edit: aftermarket from the US
Thomson Dropper seatpost lever

Bit of a tangent, but I think under saddle lever droppers would be perfect for gravel bikes, but instead I had to get mine plumbed into the frame & under the bar tape – with a stupid lever on the inside of the drops.

With an under-saddle one, I could whip the seatpost off and replace with a standard one for different types of ride.

Yes, I know there are some in 27.2mm, but there wasn’t much choice of quality ones and my nice PNW post was under £100 in a closing down sale.

Exaform Speedup?

I’ve a 175mm one for my DJ, it’s 100% manual, no return spring but it gets the job done.  There might be a sprung version now…

With an under-saddle one, I could whip the seatpost off and replace with a standard one for different types of ride.

Exactly my reasoning. Unlikely I’d want it fitted for a bikepacking trip (seat bag limits drop anyway), but there are some rougher, steeper routes where it’d be handy.

Another fan of under seat droppers for gravel bikes. Don’t want the faff of a lever and cables etc, for something I don’t use very often. Wouldn’t be without a lever on the bars for MTB, but for a drop bar gravel bike I’d rather have the simplicity.

KS E-Ten and Exaform Speedup, which are the same post seem OK – I have one because of some obscure reasons. But they’re all setback posts, which might not be what you’re after.

I’d drill the frame and get an internal dropper myself.

I have an under the seat lever on my rigid MTB currently, it’s an old X-fusion post that can run either an under the seat lever or an external cable and over the years I’ve used it both ways on lots of different bikes.

TBH the crotch grab maneuver to operate a dropper is not a particularly great way to use a dropper (whatever anyone might claim), it suits simplicity and reducing the part count of the bike but its a long way from optimal. I may yet decide to fit a bar lever again, but currently it marginally reduces the mechanical faff associated with the bike.

The external routed BX/Trans-X/XLC cheapo jobs that you can pick up do the uppy/downy job better with out the need to drill a frame, hence I have an XLC branded one on my older FS bike currently, the trade-off is some cable management, but I think it’s worth it.