This new BikeYoke Revive 3 is a third generation of the dropper seatpost that I measure all other droppers against. The changes are small and incremental. But the lower stack upgrade means that you might be able to fit a bit more dropper travel in your bike, and you can even upgrade your existing Revive.
Plus, there’s a super limited edition in silver if you want to trick out your mountain bike, while supplies last…
BikeYoke Revive 3.0 mountain bike dropper seatpost
While other posts promise to be the lightest, the simplest, or the cheapest, the BikeYoke Revive simply promises to work. No squishy IFP, no sticky mechanical friction, no hard-to-service internals. The Revive was built to last, to be more serviceable, and ultimately more sustainable.
And the Revive 3 is no different.
In fact, the internals (and much of the external bits) are exactly the same. It’s just tweaks on the outside that make it better. And your old post can totally get upgraded, too.
What’s new?
The most obvious update is the BikeYoke Revive v3’s new saddle rail cradle. By dropping the rails within the same seatpost head design, you can fit an extra 5 millimeters of travel in the same overall stack. Maybe that will let you move up to a longer travel dropper over what you currently have in your frame.
The other big more compact update is a revision to the 360° rotatable actuator design at the bottom of the dropper, reducing overall length by 10mm so you don’t need quite as much room inside your frame either. BikeYoke describes the Revive 3 actuator linkage as improved, making it smoother with positive feedback at the remote. The updated linkage also works with a new slide-on barrel so you don’t have to mess with a barrel set screw anymore.
At the same time, BikeYoke has moved to a new skinny 3mm housing to route your mechanical dropper remote, with a 0.9mm shift wire inside. That smaller diameter housing is easier to navigate around tight bends, while still plenty stiff to manage smooth dropper actuation. Housing, wire, ferrules & cable end are included with your dropper.
Tech details
The core of the Revive 3.0 dropper post tech is the same proven & patented Revive user-bleed hydraulic internals that lets you remove any air that sneaks past the seals for smooth action, longer.
The new BikeYoke Revive 3.0 comes in 3 diameters (30.9, 31.6 & 34.9) with the two smaller sharing a 25mm upper slider. And the 34.9mm dropper gets its own larger 28mm upper tube. It comes in 4 travel lengths (125, 160, 185 & 213mm) and is also travel adjustable. You can internally reduce travel in 5mm increments with plastic clips you can snap onto the post shaft once you fully take it apart.
The head is a classic 2-bolt design, built to fit round 7mm and oval 7x9mm saddle rails. BikeYoke says overall stack height is now just 37mm. Claimed weights range from 460g for a 30.9 x 125mm travel post up to 690g for a 34.9 x 213mm post.
My 31.6mm x 213mm post has a claimed weight of 650g, but weighed a real 641g on my scale including its barrel.
Revive 3.0: Setup & Review
How many MTB dropper posts have you been using regularly for more than 5 years, and are still going strong? I can maybe only think of a BikeYoke Revive. Ever since the first one in 2016, the simple Revive function – turn the lever, push the post down, air bubbles be gone – means these posts just keep working, season after season. The BikeYoke Revive just works.
I like that I can adjust the internal air pressure (after removing the saddle cradle) to my ideal fast return with a nice top-out thunk. The lowered stack height is nice. And the new actuator linkage was easy to set up.
It was easier to route the new 3mm housing inside my frame for the new Revive 3. But, since I put it into a steel frame that requires the cable to exit & reenter at the bottom bracket, it isn’t as perfect a seal since my cable port plugs were designed for 4mm housing. That’s less an issue for the most modern bikes. (And you can always use standard shift housing). But even bikes with fully guided routing tubes might experience some rattle with this narrower new housing.
Riding with the new Revive 3.0
I put this 380€ 31.6 x 213mm post onto a bike that has seen several different posts that I’ve tried out. My other Revives have all ended up on other bikes where the original post started misbehaving for one reason or the other – bouncing air in an IFP, issues with air in hydraulic remote lines, a wireless dropper with some hard-to-diagnose bug, a post that stopped dropping in -10°C weather for some reason. The list of dropper failure modes is seemingly endless.
Anyway, the Revive just works.
I installed it in the bike, push the button and it goes up and down smoothly without any additional thought. You really shouldn’t need to think about a dropper. It should just disappear underneath you. I expect that just like every other Revive that I’ve ridden (with the same internals), this one will keep doing so, with only simple maintenance.
Plus, spare parts are cheap – 20€ rebuild kits. And regular service is simple (as long as you have a set of circlip pliers) – whether you do it yourself or drop it off at your friendly neighborhood bicycle repair shop. So, I have a feeling the Revive 3.0 is going to stay put on this Jeronimo Txabardo for quite a while.
As an aside, taking normal ride photos doesn’t really work to show droppers (if you don’t stop and pay attention). They always seem to be hidden from view. Out of the way, one might say.
Review of the updated Triggy Alpha, too!
And the new Triggy Alpha Long remote is also really good.
In fact, that new remote that spins on a big bearing also has a new trick little detail. A little pocket machined into the lever catches and holds the end cap that I clamped over the shift wire, so it doesn’t catch your finger no matter where your hand goes. It’s an incredibly tiny little detail, but clear evidence of BikeYoke designer and “Overlord of Operations” Stefan Sack’s meticulous attention to detail. I love it.
I also appreciate how adjustable it is. Paired with the I-Spec EV Adapter that fits my Shimano brakes, my cockpit is nice and clean. And I get the exact position I want with the remote before it touches my left thumb. That brought my remote setup cost to 80.90€, including an extra shift wire.
BikeYoke Revive 3.0 & Revive Max 3.0 – Pricing, options & availability
The new BikeYoke Revive 3 dropper post is available now starting at 350€ in 30.9 & 31.6mm diameters. Or for 370€ in the Max 34.9mm diameter. For that price you can pick either 125mm or 160mm of travel. Stretching out to 185mm adds an extra 30€ or to 213mm for 50€ over the base price, depending on diameter. BikeYoke also hinted that a post even longer than 213mm is in the works!
BikeYoke offers plenty of remote options too. Their standard direct matchmaker mount Triggy starts at 45€, while the new Triggy Alpha that I’m using is 65€ in either short or long lever variants. Separate clamps and I-Spec adapter mounts are also available for 6-20€.
BikeYoke is all about building components that last. They also continue their upgrade service program with the Revive 3.0. So, now when it’s time for the annual service of your current Revive dropper, if you send it to an authorized service center, when you pay for the “regular full service”, they will upgrade your earlier iteration Revive to the full version 3.0 features for NO extra cost. Wow!
Read more about the BikeYoke full Update Service Program, here.
Revive 3.0 in Limited Edition Silver, too!
Last summer BikeYoke showed us an electronically-actuated prototype Revive dropper with a sliver lower tube. (And yes, that electronic dropper is moving ahead at “full speed” to an eventual release). And apparently, everybody loved it. I feel like we have too much fully blacked-out kit on our bikes these days, right?
So, BikeYoke decided to make a limited edition batch of the new Revive 3 in silver, too. (Btw, we’re told the slider can only really ever be black or gold due to BikeYoke’s hard anodization process.) Just 250 total Revive 3 droppers will be made with a sliver lower tube. The don’t even cost any extra! And they are available now in all shapes and sizes, through “selected distributors and dealers and from BikeYoke’s webshop” while they last.
