Sitting quietly atop the Ritchey Timberwolf 27.5 hardtail trail mountain bike was a prototype dropper seatpost that, if all goes to plan, should launch later this summer.
Final spec won’t be announced until then, but the basics are: It’s a 3-position, pneumatic operation post that’ll be available in 31.6 and 30.9 diameters and 100 and 125 millimeter drop options. There’ll also be a 2-position 80mm dropper. The taller of the two will have an initial drop about 1/3 of the way down, plus all the way up and all the way down. The 80mm post will just have all the way up and down.
Why create a dropper post? Ritchey’s new marketing director Fergus Tanaka said they wanted to offer a solid performing post that’s affordable, so it should get OE placement and be attractive aftermarket. Which makes a lot of sense for a brand that has virtually every other cockpit part available…
We felt very little rotational play on this rideable sample, on par with other good dropper posts.
It’ll have a one-piece forged saddle clamp head and shaft, with air pressure adjust valve on the bottom.
The lever may end up being metal or reinforced, this plastic one felt a little flimsy. But the pad size was good, and the mounting bracket is thin so it won’t take up much bar space. Weight is TBD, as are price and full technical details.
Until now, Ritchey’s bikes have been sold only as framesets. But, since all they really needed was a drivetrain to make them complete, they’ve started offering complete bikes. Naturally, everything else will be from Ritchey, but look for:
- Ultegra on Logic road ($3,500) and Swiss Cross cyclocross ($3,800)
- XT on the P-29er ($3,800)
- X0 on the Timberwolf ($4,500)
They’ll also be offering limited edition Heritage Paint on some models, including the Breakaway travel bike.
Choose from Urban Camo, Camo, Sunshine Fade, and Red, White & Blue (not shown). All are customer painted by Rick Stefani at D&D Paint.
