Along with the Gold Awards for the Taipei Cycle d&i awards, there’s a number of other noteworthy products worth checking out. Some of them are very interesting. Given that their full unveiling at the Taipei Cycle show has been postponed, some of the details are still limited but the awards give us a glimpse into the future!
RST Stem Shock
At this point, we’ve seen a number of integrated suspension into the front end of gravel and road bikes, but the RST Stem Shock manages to do it in a new way. Instead of building it into the frame, or requiring a special stem, the Stem Shock plugs into your current fork’s steerer and provides a mounting point for a standard stem.
The lower part of the Stem shock inserts into the inner diameter of your steerer tube and appears to lock in place with a clamp at the top. Then, stems mount to the upper section with an adjustable angle of 0 or +/-4°.
Stem shock provides 20mm of travel, and effectively adds 50mm in height to your steerer tube. The Stem Shock weighs in at a claimed 380g.
KS LEV C12
Want a lighter dropper post that’s still durable? The KindShock LEV C12 claims to have increased strength while maintaining its low weight by using high compression molded carbon fiber. Available in 65/100/125/150/170 travels, the 65mm version is claimed to weigh just 328g.
TranzX YSI15 Integrated dropper for standard frames
We’ve seen a few integrated dropper concepts over the years, but the catch has been that they require a specific frame design. What if you could get the benefits of an integrated dropper for any frame you already own? That’s what the TranzX YSI15 seems to offer. The special integrated collar/seat post clamp replaces the one on your bike giving you the most travel length possible.
Better still, the YSI15 seems to have a very simple and infinite travel height adjustment. If we’re to believe the first graphic, this is not for dropper post actuation. Instead, the small lever under the seat looks like it allows you to set the height limit for the post. Meaning if you bought a YSI15 in 170mm travel, but could only use 163mm of that, you could set the height limit with the lever, and the post wouldn’t extend past that when you used the actuation lever at the bar. Compared to other height adjust posts, the YSI15’s adjustment is infinite meaning you can perfectly dial in your needed height.
Between the semi-integrated nature of the post and this clever height adjust feature, the YSI15 looks like it could provide the most usable travel of any dropper post out there.
