Dropper posts are becoming standard equipment on mountain bikes nowadays, and even hard-to-categorize bikes like The One from Coastline and The Stuntman from Raleigh offer a dropper post in the OEM spec.

If you think Hite Rite when you hear dropper post, or keep your technical riding constrained to cyclocross courses, perhaps you don’t see the need for a dropper post. We won’t try to convince you they’re essential. And frankly, sometimes on not very technical terrain we find them to accelerate leg fatigue spending more time out of the saddle. But they’re here to stay, undoubtedly make some riders on some terrain faster and can fill a need even for cyclocrossers and gravel cyclists, especially when faced with a long descent or timed segment (think Grinduro segment #4).

We had our first look at MAGURA’s innovative ANT+ wireless Vyron eLect dropper post at 2015 Interbike, and at this week’s 2016 MAGURA Press Camp, we got our first ride on it. Before diving into our impressions, let’s dig into the numbers.
 
The Vyron weighs about 600 grams, depending on which of the two diameters (31.6 or 30.9mm) you’re weighing. That’s about 300-400 grams heavier than a lightweight alloy post.

The post offers 150mm of travel, in unlimited increments. The travel is actuated through a simple handlebar remote button that communicates with the seatpost via ANT+ wireless technology.

The built-in battery is a Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery, an older battery technology than the popular lithium ion batteries found in many devices currently. NiMH may be older, slower charging, heavier technology and more memory than lithium ion batteries. But they’re also more durable and affordable than lithium ion batteries, and less temperature sensitive. After all, it can get quite warm inside your frame on a hot day.

  

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By ANDREW on Cyclocross Magazine