The Bike Yoke Revive dropper seat post now joins posts from Fox, e*Thirteen, OneUp, PNW, RockShox, RaceFace, KS and TranzX in the list of droppers compatible with Aenomaly Constructs’ SwitchGrade. Replacing the stock rail clamp atop the post head, the SwitchGrade clamp offers on-the-fly saddle tilt adjustment. There are three positions to choose from; -10°, neutral and +12°, accessible via a lever positioned just under the nose of the saddle (or under the back of the saddle).
Aenomaly Switchgrade for Bike Yoke Revive
The latest Type 4 SwitchGrade is designed specifically for the popular Bike Yoke Revive dropper, said to have been one of the more challenging seat posts to design a SwitchGrade around due to its smaller post head dimensions. Its design demanded the engineers at Aenomaly Constructs take a slightly different approach in order to keep the stack height to a minimum while also leaving sufficient clearance between the top of the clamp and the underside of the saddle.
The SwitchGrade for the BikeYoke Revive features a unique base that departs from the quad-scallop design seen on Aenomaly’s other models. The Type 4 model sees the introduction of dual asymmetrical bridge structures for added strength, ease of installation, and to reduce the SwitchGrade’s overall size. This one weighs a claimed 163g, with a net gain in weight of around 100g.
If you’ve read this much and are still wondering what the SwitchGrade’s raison d’être is, here’s a quick overview. Basically, the team at Aenomaly Constructs, like many riders before them, recognised there are ride quality and performance advantages to be had from running one’s saddle at an aggressive downwards or upwards tilt angle; especially, in scenarios involving steep terrain whether you’re climbing up or riding down.
Switching the SwitchGrade’s position to a nose-down tilt should, theoretically, help make steep technical climbing a little easier as it should prevent your bum sliding rearwards off the back of the saddle when the gradient tips up. You can focus on driving down through the pedals while the increased height of the saddle’s rearward portion should allow the rider to keep weight over the front more easily and prevent loop-out scenarios.
A riding scenario that may benefit from the Switchgrade’s nose-up position is descending, specifically on steep technical terrain where clearance over the dropped saddle is paramount to good technique and thus, good bike control. Tilting the saddle through 12° to bring the rear portion down gives the rider more of that all important clearance so they can move around the bike more freely, and get lower to the bike’s centre of gravity when the terrain demands it.
Riders of full suspension bikes should bear in mind how much clearance they have between the rear tire and the back of the saddle when the bike has been pushed through all of its rear wheel travel. Aenomaly Constructs give a ball-park idea of how much the positive tilt drops the rear of saddle as around 30mm.
Just how much tire-saddle clearance you lose will depend on the length of the saddle and how far along its rails you have it clamped. Dumping air out of the shock and cycling the bike through its travel should give you a good idea as to whether there’s enough room. Do also bear in mind that the Switchgrade adds around 8mm of stack height to your post.
Pricing & Availability
The Type 4 SwitchGrade for the Bike Yoke dropper seat post is available to purchase now at a retail price of $295 CAD in the Blackout colorway only. It is compatible with saddles running 7mm tubular rails only. Current lead times are 4-6 weeks.
