Dropper posts are the best thing to happen to mountain biking since Charlie Kelly and the Repack Run. A good post makes riding more fun. These days, I think I’d almost rather ride a rigid with a dropper than a full suspension bike without one.
Of course, they’re great until they go wrong. Most posts use internal floating piston (IFP) hydraulic internals. These require perfect sealing, and at some point in our wet and dirty way of life that seal is likely to be compromised, at which point you acquire an extra 15mm of unwanted, uncontrolled ‘suspension’. Worse, many posts require a trip to the workshop (or further) to be serviced—less than convenient when you’ve just unpacked your bike after a flight to your dream riding destination.
The Bike Yoke Revive with its unique reset valve
Bike Yoke’s Revive post has been designed for reliability, minimising unnecessary maintenance. So what’s different? Well, to start with, the Revive doesn’t use an IFP to separate the air and oil within the post. This doesn’t just remove the need for hermetic seals, but also helps reduce friction. Oil and air can still mix, but if this happens, a Bike Yoke post can be ‘revived’. Immediately. Anywhere. In your garage, at the airport, trailside. Just below the seat clamp is a neat little reset valve. If your post ever develops that deflated, squishy feeling, simply open the sprung valve with a 4mm Allen key, depress the saddle, close the valve and you’re back in action.
What else? Well, from start to lustrous finish, the Bike Yoke team have paid serious attention to detail here. Frothing unboxers will obsess over the smart packaging, akin to something that might house fine single malt. The finish of the post itself is superb and the level of attention to detail outstanding. Cable cutting instructions are etched on the base of the post, the cable actuator can be rotated to allow the flexibility to clear seat tube obstructions, the 2-bolt clamp is immaculately executed, and side-to-side play is limited by a longer bushing and six pins to keep the saddle straight and true.
The Revive’s sleek lines make for a good looking post
Bike Yoke have kept the stack height of the post extremely low, and at 435mm, this 160mm drop post is shorter in overall length than some 150mm posts—making a longer drop post accessible to more riders and allowing you to get the seat well and truly out of the way. It’s also relatively lightweight at 525 grams for the 160mm post in the 30.9 diameter.
The Revive is simple to set up; I was out and riding within a half hour of breaking open the package. The Triggy under-bar shift lever is beautifully made, light, and compatible with Avid matchmakers or you can use the clamp included in the kit. The action of the post is incredibly fluid and the lever requires a very light touch. Removing the seals required to ensure the integrity of the IFP allows the post to move through its infinitely adjustable travel in a buttery smooth manner that ends in a soft top-out clunk that lets you know your seat is back at full height. It’s a joy to use on the trail and has so far performed faultlessly.
To date I’ve only had to use the revive function once, following a flight to Rotorua, and the process really was as simple as advertised—a tweak of the revive valve and the post was rock solid again after a single compression.
It’s great to see that Bike Yoke offer a wide range of service kits and spare parts for the post. Their site features some useful how-to videos for those keen to service at home. Further, should you wish to transfer your Revive post to a new bike, you can also swap out the lower tube unit for a 30.9 or 31.6 alternative. The post is available in 125, 160 and 180mm drop variants to fit 30.9, 31.8 and 34.9 diameter seat tubes, and there’s also an over-the-bar 2x remote available if front derailleurs are your thing.
This post is a strong product. It’s the best dropper I’ve used yet; well-designed, beautifully finished, and easy to live with. While there’s not a lot to dislike, my only (very minor) disappointment is that the click-in Revive tool that’s supplied to lock into the valve using an O ring doesn’t fit quite as well as I’d like, and I’m not sure how long it would stay in place out there in the rough and tumble of the real world—especially as it seems it could easily catch on your shorts. Fortunately, it’s not necessary to leave in place as a 4mm Allen key works just fine. Otherwise, this is pretty much the perfect post: light, lots of drop, well made, and with a unique feature to solve a genuine problem. Full marks.
