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TPE15: KS Zeta dropper seatpost for road bikes, plus prototype wireless dropper post

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KS Kind Shock wireless dropper post remote prototype

KS is focusing on all categories for dropper posts, not just mountain bikes, which helps explain the new Zeta model for road bikes. They’re also working on all manner of buttons, levers and methods for making those posts drop, like this prototype wireless dropper.

Shown above, the electronic dropper doesn’t have a formal name yet, but it’s in development. It functions the same as the others, but with an electronic valve rather than a mechanical valve and a NFC wireless remote control.

Right now, it’s a proof of concept to gauge interest and see what sort of battery interfaces make sense. It could integrate with Di2 or e-bike batteries so there’s not a separate battery pack required. The one above had a rather big, ugly battery pack attached to the seat tube just out of the pic’s lower edge.

KS Kind Shock wireless dropper post remote prototype

It works by simply holding the button down and compressing the post, so it’s not a motorized system. The real advantage is that you get rid of the cable.

No particular timeline for launch, it’s in a holding pattern until they figure out the battery issue. But they’d like to see it go to market next year.

KS Kind Shock Zeta road and cyclocross dropper seatpost

The new KS Zeta road dropper post is going to production, though, and it sits flush inside the frame so it looks like a regular seatpost at first, until you use its 25mm of drop.

KS Kind Shock Zeta road and cyclocross dropper seatpost

Instead of the sliding the seatpost of most droppers, this one has a carbon shaft with seatmast topper. Once you’re fit to the bike, you trim the carbon piece to length and attach the mast topper. The topper maintains 5-8mm of adjustment, too, so after-the-fact adjustments are still available should you change saddles in the future.

KS Kind Shock Zeta road and cyclocross dropper seatpost

The active parts are all hidden inside the frame for a very clean, smooth appearance befitting a road bike. Or cyclocross. Or gravel.

KS Kind Shock Zeta road and cyclocross dropper seatpost

The remotes shown are two options here looking at, but with some bikes going to 1x drivetrains for cross and gravel, they (or you) could even figure out how to integrate the action into a left side shifter lever.

KS Kind Shock Zeta road and cyclocross dropper seatpost

They’re also looking at their own mechanical lever that fits somewhere closer to the bend in the bar that would let you reach it from both the tops and the drops.

KS-Kind-Suspension-front-suspension-headshock-for-road-city-bikes01

Here’s something we don’t see much in the U.S. KS has made suspension forks for Cannondale, Argon 18 and Kuota, among others, for years, mainly for road and city bikes.

KSsuspension.com

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18 Comments
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BMW
BMW
9 years ago

An E-Fat bike AND a head shock road bike….9 days early guys.

Steve
9 years ago

How does the mast topper attach to the post on the road bike?

Joe
Joe
9 years ago

Why would you need a road dropper post?

Jack
Jack
9 years ago

We truly live in the Golden Age of Rube Goldberg Crap. It’s exhilarating.

Stampers
Stampers
9 years ago

Cyclocross bikes w/ a dropper?!?

Calvin
Calvin
9 years ago

That dropper should be integrated into XC mountain bikes!

silverlining
silverlining
9 years ago

Road dropper name? How about the electric slide. The dance no one ever wants.

muf
muf
9 years ago

tbh id like a dropper like that on my XC.

on the CX, not really I guess. I could see how its sometimes interesting to have.. but thats basically when I XC with the CX 😉 (which is relatively rare)

so yeah.. that dropped in a XC seems quite nice.

The front fork suspensions look ugly but i suspect they might do the job tho. heck even on CX this time.

Dr. Sartorious
Dr. Sartorious
9 years ago

All droppers with non-black inner tubes need to be banned for ugliness.

EP
EP
9 years ago

After using a multi position Gravity Dropper for years most often in the 1″ down or full up position I am still waiting for a lightweight mini dropper for off-road use. Hopefully this one is “trail rated”!

Gian
Gian
9 years ago

I wish I could lower and raise my seat while riding my road bike.

-Things I’ve never, ever, said.

JBikes
JBikes
9 years ago

I second “EP”. I have a fox doss, and my most used setting is the 40mm drop. So much so that I am thinking of modding my lever to only provide that option. I dp could be made much lighter at low drop levels (realize GD has this)

As for a road bike, I am still trying to think when I’d want this. CX? no, same thing.

Mattbyke
Mattbyke
9 years ago

On super steep desents with my road bike I wish I had a one inch drop. As it is now, I just stop and lower.

DSull
DSull
9 years ago

A 1″ drop on my road bike when descending steep mountain roads would be nice actually. Now if only they could find a way to give me slightly wider tires and handlebars and hydraulic disc brakes too. That would be awesome. Wait, I just described my mountain bike.

BEERandSPOKES
BEERandSPOKES
9 years ago

I think we’re finally at that moment where we need to say to ourselves “Yeah we can do that, but really should we?”

wako29
wako29
9 years ago

Um, shouldn’t we all take a step back and realize that we said the same thing a number of years ago when companies first debuted dropper posts for MTB? Now, many people (myself included) couldn’t imagine riding one without a dropper. I would FOR SURE love to try one, especially for a CX bike. Oh, and pro tip: if you don’t want it – nobody is making you buy it.

Sam
Sam
9 years ago

road dropper-How about for the descents so you can get as low as possible without having to sit on the top tube. maybe if it added a trivial amount of weight, but it probably adds a lot.

Andy
Andy
9 years ago

How many people are running QR clamps on their road bikes?

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