Review: OneUp Components Dropper and Remote

Dropper posts are typically a tough item to review; they work, or they don’t. In the case of the OneUp Dropper, the company not only delivers a lightweight post that is reliable, but OneUp Components has also managed to provide riders even more travel from their dropper.

First, OneUp shaved every millimeter the company could off the post itself to create what OneUp claims to be the shortest stack height and total-length of any dropper. Next, the OneUp Dropper has travel reducing shims that adjust the total travel by 10 or 20 mm. Meaning, for those that typically can only get away with 100 mm of travel, you will probably be able to get 150 mm with the OneUp Dropper, and if that is a smidge too much, drop it down to 140 mm with a 10 mm reducer shim. Either way, that’s a win-win.

OneUp Components Dropper Post (V2.1)
Price: $209
Travel Lengths (mm): 120, 150, 180, 210
Diameters (mm): 30.9, 31.6
Routing: Internal
Online: oneupcomponents.com

The internally routed OneUp Dropper V2.1 post is available in either 30.9 or 31.6 diameter and four travel lengths from 120 mm to 210 mm. OneUp offers a replaceable cartridge for $60 and claims that the Dropper is easy to service by even the average home mechanic.

To keep the cable actuator as minimal as possible, OneUp chose a design where the cable housing initiates the actuator instead of the cable itself. Some bikes, such as the Santa Cruz low shock mount models, require the V2.1 actuator. The V2.1 actuator relies on the cable to actuate the dropper so you may achieve a smoother actuation overall since the cable doesn’t interfere with friction from internal routing like the housing does.

At the time of this posting, OneUp Components has informed that since the company was able to create a cable actuator without any added length, all new posts moving forward will come stock with V2.1, and V2.0 will be discontinued.

OneUp Components Remote (V1)*
Price: $49
Clamp Options: bar clamp, SRAM MatchMaker X, Shimano I-Spec II, Shimano I-Spc EV
Online: oneupcomponents.com

OneUp Components sells the carbon remote separately for an additional $49 and it is available in Shimano I-SPEC II and EV, SRAM Matchmaker X, or standard 22.2 bar clamp. *For our review, we tested Dropper Post Remote V1, which has now been replaced by V2. The only difference between the two versions is that V1 is constructed from carbon, and V2 is constructed from aluminum.

ON THE TRAIL
I have often struggled with finding dropper posts that work with my 27-inch inseam and have never been able to exceed 100 mm of travel out of my droppers. Looking at the OneUp Dropper Post Selector Guide, I was within millimeters of being able to run the 150 mm OneUp Dropper on my size small Pivot LES hardtail. Once installed, I had to remove one row of shims to drop the travel down to 140 mm. The post is butt up against the bottle cage mount but turned out to be a perfect fit.

Regardless of weather conditions or how clean my bike was during the last five months, the OneUp Components Dropper never showed hesitation while riding. When there were days between rides, I found that the initial drop was a bit sluggish to return, but a simple drop and return in the parking lot before a ride was all that was needed to keep things smooth during the ride. Best of all, compared to other posts that I have used, the OneUp Dropper has less play in the saddle, giving it a more solid feel keeping the feedback to your bum at a minimum.

The OneUp Remote is also a favorite for my small hands with the triple mounting holes. It has been tricky finding a remote that doesn’t have an exaggerated throw and the OneUp light-action remote feels spot-on.

CONCLUSION
Our 150 mm / 30.9 mm V2.1 post came in 12 grams lighter than the claimed 500 grams making it one of the lighter posts we’ve seen at the 150 mm travel length. As with most OneUp Components products that have found their way on my bike, they just simply work. No longer am I in fear of my dropper failing mid-ride or having to deal with a slight amount of play at the saddle.

That’s not to say I don’t appreciate being able to get the saddle lower and out of the way; I do, trust me, but man, you can’t beat a quality product that you don’t have to think about while riding.

Words by Jessica Nelson | Photos by Scott Williams