Talk to me about gravel bike dropper levers

I’m wanting to fit a dropper to my gravel bike and I’m after a good lever that can be used from the hoods.

My main hand position is on the hoods, rarely on the tops or in the drops, as such a ‘traditional’ 1x dropper lever wouldn’t work for me.

There’re a few different options out there including the PNW drop bar lever and the Pro Discover lever that look they could do the job, but I’m also a tight Yorkshireman and £45+ for a lever is a bit painful. Anyone got a good recommendation or experience of using them? Also am I missing some aliexpress bargain?

ta muchly

Like you I didn’t want to spend it, but in the end I went for a Pro. Nothing else on the market… yet….seems as good. However, the new crank brothers one looks good and is a bit cheaper. Not available yet though.

Have you got a single ring up front with an unused shifter mechanism in your LH lever?  A bit of tinkering with a junior hacksaw and/or dremel will get you a dropper a lever for free.

Once you fit it can you post a photo of how it works with your hand on the hoods and doesn’t get in the way of your fingers? I can’t quite work out how that type works without being in the way.

I’ve got the brand x one that goes next to the stem, not an ideal position.

I have the GRX left lever that operates a dropper on my bike, it’s the best option but a little pricey.  I have a PRO one going spare, still boxed with cables.  Could do you a nice price on it if you want it.

Have you got a single ring up front with an unused shifter mechanism in your LH lever?  A bit of tinkering with a junior hacksaw and/or dremel will get you a dropper a lever for free.

Running Apex x1 system so no lever to use.

@Mister-P – PM inbound

@phil5556 – Yep i’ll post something when I’ve fitted one. I’m wanting to have a setup where i can trigger easily without having to move my hands much

For reference i’m looking to fit a PNW Coast Suspension dropper. Gives me the dropper for the tech and hopefully will stop big shocks going into my brittle lower back

@Mister-P if Mr Spawn doesn’t take that lever off you, can I have second refusal please. Similar dilemma. Ta.

My main hand position is on the hoods, rarely on the tops or in the drops,

You can get proper rowdy on the drops with a dropper getting the saddle out of the way.

I’ve surprised a few folk at the local bike park on my gravel bike, on the drops, saddle down. Unfortunately I also ran out of talent and went knuckles first into the ground and the gloves I was wearing provided very little protection. Maybe we need gravel specific gloves with added protection across the knuckles?

I’ve got a Easton something something lever for dropper posts. Mounts just inside the brake lever and has two position release so works on drops and hoods without taking my hands off the bars.
Wasn’t particularly cheap but worth it IMO.

(And I’m running 2x)

I had a demo bike that had one of those “just inside the drop” levers on. It worked, but for me anyway, was far from ergonomic to use. Using it from the drops necessitated moving my whole hand to reach it, and there was something wrong with grabbing it from the hoods, but I can’t remember what.

My own bike has the GRX dropper brake lever on and that’s the *right* answer. Simple and intuitive. I thought SRAM were releasing a similar version, or you can rip the ratchet out of a 2x lever.

You can get proper rowdy on the drops with a dropper getting the saddle out of the way.

So much this. It’s such a secure position compared to being on the hoods. Set the bars up so you can descend comfortably from the drops and work everything else around that.

I think I’ve got a couple of Brand X ones that I need to sell. Drop me a message if they are of any use please.

I think ultimately I’ll replace the apex mechanical brake setup with a hydraulic one and get either the SRAM or Shimano integrated dropper lever.
In the meantime I’m buying the pro lever off mister P so will feedback on that

I’m also going to take on board what folks are saying about riding more in the drops. Will definitely try to do more, I’ve a few friendly bridleways and tracks to try and get my eye in.
I think it comes from being late to bikes with drop bars and not setting up my old road bike properly

I think it comes from being late to bikes with drop bars and not setting up my old road bike properly

Good stuff. If I was speccing a bike from scratch now I’d definitely buy an integrated lever. But £200+ for a replacement (and it wouldn’t properly match unless I replaced the GRX 600 the other side too. is too much. The Pro is still a compromise – just a lot less compromised than something like the Brand X one.

What’s your saddle to drops height difference? On road particularly people tend to set up their bikes to look fast lent against the cafe wall, and therefore new venture on to the drops. We are not all young flexible pros sadly and making your bike look like a pro’s is not going to make you ride like a pro.

A quick update after my first ride with the dropper last night

@Mister-P – the lever works great thank you. It’s a bit stiff when trying to actuate it in the drops but using it as a trigger pull works great.

@phil5556 – I spent a bit of time setting it up to fit me. On the hoods I’m pulling the dropper ‘trigger’ with either my second or third finger comfortably. You’ll see from the photos that i left a gap between the bottom of the shifter and the dropper lever. That allowed for a turn of the bar tape and somewhere to put my fingers.

The PNW Coast dropper post itself took a little getting used to because it’s got the built in suspension. To get it soft enough to absorb the bumps I set my seatpost 1cm higher than usual and used the first 1cm as sag, I’m not getting any pedal bob with that, but it was compliant enough that I was able to stay seated on a really bumpy stretch of tarmac that I normal have to stand for. The post saved my lower back where I have my slipped disc, the jolts that cause me the pain and muscle contraction were soaked up by the post

Finally – the Kinesis Jo Burt bar tape looks ace and feels bloody good

  

That is some jazzy bar tape!

https://road.cc/content/review/kinesis-signature-bar-tape-jo-burt-edition-277573

It’s this tape – I got it from Merlin https://www.merlincycles.com/kinesis-jo-burt-series-handlebar-tape-204619.html

Feels great and makes me think of Mint Sauce when ever i look at it

After chipping in on this thread earlier, I got a similar Fox one of eBay, mounts below the levers and also has the two paddles to work from the drops or hoods. Works great and doesn’t interfere with the rack/barbag combo on the handlebars.

I’ve set it a touch too close to the lever, so I can’t properly wrap my fingers round when on hoods, but I reused, and need to freshen up the tape, so I can lower it down then. Also loving the JoB bar tape!

I spent a bit of time setting it up to fit me. On the hoods I’m pulling the dropper ‘trigger’ with either my second or third finger comfortably. You’ll see from the photos that i left a gap between the bottom of the shifter and the dropper lever. That allowed for a turn of the bar tape and somewhere to put my fingers.

Ahaaaa! It all makes sense now. I think any pictures I’ve seen before make it look like it sits up higher just about touching the hood rubber without any space for your fingers.

I’ve just been for my first decent ride since fitting my lever and found that next to the stem works fine for me so I’ll probably leave it as it is

Ahaaaa! It all makes sense now. I think any pictures I’ve seen before make it look like it sits up higher just about touching the hood rubber without any space for your fingers

Yeah, all the pictures i saw were like that too, but when i played about with it, dropping it down a couple of cm it made it much more comfortable to use.