At this point, it’s pretty much expected that at a certain level your new mountain bike will include a dropper post. That’s great for consumers since dropper posts are awesome, and you’ll definitely want one on your bike once you learn how to use it. The challenge for bike brands though, is what travel dropper posts to spec on what size bikes? Not every rider on a medium frame will be able to utilize a 150mm travel dropper, but you don’t want to short change the riders who can. What’s a brand to do?
If you’re Salsa Cycles, you work with your dropper post supplier to find a clever solution – the TranzX YSI05 Travel Adjust dropper post. This is certainly not the first dropper post with easily adjustable travel, but it’s interesting to see that these will be stock on all Salsa bikes with the exception of the Rangefinder.
Thanks to a stepped travel bushing, no tools are needed to change the dropper’s travel. Simply lower the post, remove the mid cap, reset the travel bushing, and reinstall the cap. Each post has a maximum travel adjustment range of -30mm in 5mm increments.
That means that a 125mm post can be adjusted down to 95mm, the 150mm post adjusts down to 120mm, and so on. It appears that Salsa’s bikes will be equipped with the YSI05 which does not have a valved cartridge for pressure adjustment. TranzX lists a valved YSI13J version as well, while both models have a replaceable cartridge system. Weight for the YSI05 is claimed to be 575g for the 30.9mm/150mm post, or 595g for the 31.6mm/150mm post.
Currently, it seems that these posts are OEM only but Salsa mentions that they will be available aftermarket in 30.9 and 31.6mm diameters soon.