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DT Swiss D 232 drops lightweight carbon XC dropper seatpost in 27.2 & 30.9mm

2020 DT Swiss D232 dropper post, D 232 One lightweight carbon XC MTB 60mm travel stealth internal routing dropper seatpost 27.2mm or 30.9mm
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DT Swiss takes their new 232 XC suspension platform in a new direction with the surprise addition of the D 232 One dropper seatpost. It wasn’t really a surprise that DT Swiss was working on an overhauled XC suspension platform, I spotted the World Cup-winning fork last summer. But this upside-down short-travel carbon dropper seatpost dropped out of the blue…

DT Swiss D 232 One lightweight carbon XC dropper seatpost

2020 DT Swiss D232 dropper post, D 232 One lightweight carbon XC MTB 60mm travel stealth internal routing dropper seatpost 27.2mm or 30.9mm

It feels almost like a broken record, but World Cup XC courses really have gotten more difficult, with more techy climbs & steeper technical descents. So, bikemakers adapted more aggressive trail-inspired geometry, and component makers followed with more capable gear to back it up. DT Swiss’ new 232 One XC suspension does just that – prioritizing stiffness, longer travel & supple performance over ultimate light weight.

But the top pros are even running dropper seatposts on their full-suspension XC bikes in some races, so DT figured they would get in the dropper game. Dropper posts are essentially very similar to one leg of a suspension fork, so it’s not a huge stretch.

2020 DT Swiss D232 dropper post, D 232 One lightweight carbon XC MTB 60mm travel stealth internal routing dropper seatpost 27.2mm or 30.9mm

But DT Swiss looks at XC mountain biking as an opportunity to win World Cups (and send athletes to the Olympics this year), so they doubled down on what XC racers really needed in a dropper: just enough short travel to get the saddle out of the way, light weight to not waste the hard fought gram-counting gains made elsewhere on their race bikes, 27.2mm post compatibility for the tons small diameter seatposts out there, and a simple mechanism with internal routing that would be easy to keep sliding in all conditions.

D 232 dropper – Tech details

2020 DT Swiss D232 dropper post, D 232 One lightweight carbon XC MTB 60mm travel stealth internal routing dropper seatpost 27.2mm or 30.9mm

The result is a fully mechanical, upside-down dropper post offering 60mm of travel and weights as low as 369g.

Inside a simple steel spring returns the post to the extended position and a series of steel balls are actuated from inside the lower (by a release mechanism pulled by straight-pull DT Swiss spoke!) The balls lock into the hardened steel race when the post is extended up, or into the alloy upper when the post is dropped and resting directly on the top of the lower stanchion.

2020 DT Swiss D232 dropper post, D 232 One lightweight carbon XC MTB 60mm travel stealth internal routing dropper seatpost 27.2mm or 30.9mm

The whole thing slides on glide bushings at the top of the slider and the lower collar, kept straight by a single keyway in the upper.

Without any internal hydraulic or air pressure, you can open the D232 post without any tools, then get inside to clean it, re-grease and have it sliding smooth in under five minutes. You don’t even need to take it out of the bike.

2020 DT Swiss D232 dropper post, D 232 One lightweight carbon XC MTB 60mm travel stealth internal routing dropper seatpost 27.2mm or 30.9mmThe upside-down orientation limited overall travel to 60mm, which DT’s XC pros felt was plenty for cross-country racing (with a minimum of 210mm post extension making it probably not very gravel bike compatible). That freed up plenty of space in the lower slider for the mechanical actuation mechanism, which was easier to fit in than pressurized air or hydraulic cylinders. But it also meant that DT Swiss could share the same slider & upper construction, while adding either 27.2mm or 30.9mm carbon shafts below to fit almost ever XC bike on the market!

The DT dropper is internal routing only, with a simple cable-actuated quick release at the base of the post. DT Swiss developed their own compact, light-action remote lever, but it will work with most all remotes if you already have one you prefer.

D232 dropper – First Impressions

2020 DT Swiss D232 dropper post, D 232 One lightweight carbon XC MTB 60mm travel stealth internal routing dropper seatpost 27.2mm or 30.9mm

So far, I’ve only had a few hours to ride the new DT Swiss dropper post, mostly underground in a dis-used German silver mine on surprisingly technical and at times steep rocky, man-made trails. The mechanical actuation of the D232 dropper was smooth & fast. And the two-position (up or down) 60mm of travel was plenty to get behind the saddle on the steepest trails you are likely to ride on a short travel XC bike.

As it stands, the DT Swiss D 232 One dropper post feels like the perfect amount of short, light dropper travel for a lightweight mountain bike. And when I got home, I immediately started measuring seatpost extension on all of my XC, gravel & cross bikes to see which ones it would fit (sadly there wasn’t enough extension on most horizontal toptube gravel & CX bikes).

DT Swiss D232 dropper – Pricing & availability

2020 DT Swiss D232 dropper post, D 232 One lightweight carbon XC MTB 60mm travel stealth internal routing dropper seatpost 27.2mm or 30.9mm

The 60mm travel DT D232 dropper comes only in a 400mm post length, with 27.2 or 30.9mm lower seatpost tubes and 0mm offset. The dropper features a carbon lower tube, carbon upper saddle rail clamp & cradle, and titanium clamp hardware. The upper slider and lower stanchion are bolt aluminum.

2020 Canyon Lux CF SLX with DT Swiss 232 suspension and D232 dropper seatpost

DT Swiss claims a weight of 369g for the 30.9 dropper, without cable or the 16.9g alloy L1 remote. The premium lightweight D 232 One dropper post retails for $566 / 499€ including the remote, and will be available aftermarket through regular DT Swiss retailers from the start of April 2020.

The dropper will be available exclusively on complete mountain bikes from Canyon for 2020, who is replacing KS droppers on all of their top-spec XC race bikes this season – starting with a Limited edition Canyon Lux CF SLX 9.0 DT LTD, which is available now in very limited quantities.

DTSwiss.com

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23 Comments
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DH
DH
4 years ago

Brilliant. Apart from the price – look forward to the Al version.

Carl B
Carl B
4 years ago
Reply to  DH

Same here! Can’t wait for the budget version at around half the price. I like that there is no hydrolics in this dropper post, should be very reliable.

Craig
Craig
4 years ago

This is exactly the product I’ve been searching for my hardtail. I only use 60mm of dropper travel so this is perfect.

jj
jj
4 years ago

This will please the bikepacking-crowd. Finally a solution to mount a seatpack and still be able to drop the saddle out of the way. Nice!

Josh
Josh
4 years ago
Reply to  jj

That was the first thing I thought of too. Pretty cool solution.

Dinger
Dinger
4 years ago
Reply to  jj

It may only work for tall guys. With a 29er wheel, 60+mm between the top of the tire and bottom of a big seat bag can be hard to come by.

Syl
Syl
4 years ago

Perfect for gravel bikes too

b
b
4 years ago

Why would this not be as applicable to gravel bikes?

offrhodes
offrhodes
4 years ago

@DH I agree, hopefully an aluminum version is not far away

UTEtility
UTEtility
4 years ago

DT has done it again – Swiss perfection.

Jackalope
4 years ago

Use of a straight pull spoke to actuate the release of the dropper. I love it.

Bob
Bob
4 years ago

This is perfect!

But no 31.6 for my Scott Spark, what are me and Nino going to do. 🙁

UTEtility
UTEtility
4 years ago
Reply to  Bob

D 232 ONE Dropper Details

Travel: 60mm
Diameters: 27.2mm, 30.9mm (31.6 possible with shim)
Positions: Two – up & down
Total length: 400mm
Offset: 0mm
Mechanism: All mechanical
Weights: 369g (30.9mm diameter, w/o shift cable and cable shell)
Price: 499 EUR or 566 USD
More info: DT Swiss

Bob
Bob
4 years ago
Reply to  UTEtility

Seatpost shim?? Groce.

edge
edge
4 years ago

smart and simple to flip the mechanism.

Tim
Tim
4 years ago

What is the min insert for the dropper?

Bas Simons
Bas Simons
4 years ago

yes! a dropper that i can use with my beloved saddle bag 🙂

Cryogenii
Cryogenii
4 years ago
Reply to  Bas Simons

So apart from the internal routing it’s a bit like the FRM and JBG2 posts.

JtotheC
JtotheC
4 years ago

Does it double as a shock (or cock) pump? Cuz it sure looks the part. But hey, it’s only ugly when you’re not on your bike, right?

VeloFreak
VeloFreak
4 years ago

finally, someone figured out that a spring can be used for this, no need for an air chamber. Next; put the spring on the outside, and you have a 1988 dropper post which will be lighter and cheaper.

John
John
4 years ago

Looks great! But it’d go on my old 26″ bike that I love for nostalgia but only use a few times per year. So… just have to hide the cc statement from my wife! Now, DT, please make some lightweight 26″ 80mm forks for my old bike!

Jack
Jack
3 years ago

fall line r dropper is better for the weight and price

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