With their PRO component brand, Shimano had already made inroads to affordable mountain bike cockpit with their everyman alloy Koryak XC & trail line-up. But now to add to their stems, bars, and fixed posts, PRO are introducing a new dropper seatpost to get the most out of technical off-road riding. The cable-actuated dropper give mountain bikers 120mm of infinite saddle adjustment with a integrated cockpit option and stealth routing…
The new PRO Koryak dropper post could be a pretty important development as it is the first suspension component (the air cartridge at its heart) to come under the Shimano umbrella. It’s not clear whether Shimano set up a new division just to deal with cartridge design or brought specialists into their regular cockpit component design team.
In any case the alloy post is said to offer a smooth drop, paired with a fast rebounds via its replaceable air cartridge. That gives the post infinitely adjustable 120mm of throw, with the post available in 30.9 or 31.6mm diameters and a zero offset head. Shimano says that in addition to the cartridge, bushings will be readily available to make the posts easy to service for smooth dropping for a long time.
Working with their own integration Shimano has developed two bar mounted remotes depending on your cockpit setup. A typical two-position up/down thumb lever can be mounted on the top of the bar on either side in addition to your normal controls. Or a more push-button lever that mounts via I-Spec II to the left brake for those running 1x drivetrains or Shimano’s new Di2 Syncho Shift setup. Either way the setup runs on Shimano’s Optislick cable and housing for a smoothly-actuated, internal routing setup.
The Koryak dropper claims a total system weight of 520g, including the remote and cable/housing. (It’s worth noting when you compare dropper weights that sometimes only post weight is quoted.) The posts will be available later this autumn through regular dealer channels.
