Vertical droppers have always been light, but now their new Helium Race is even lighter, shedding 15-30g more with a new carbon shaft and carbon-reinforced clamp head. This is clearly a dropper post just for the weight weenies and racers out there – designed & refined with multiple World & Olympic XC Champs Tom Pidcock & Pauline Ferrand-Prévot who raced prototypes of the Helium Race dropper at Worlds last summer. But with travel options from 60-120mm, 4 overall length options & 2 seatpost diameters, this ultralight dropper could be a killer option to add to high-end lightweight gravel bikes too, without really suffering much of any dropper post weight penalty!
Vertical Helium Race ultralight carbon dropper seatpost

It looks like Vertical might be their own biggest competition in the competition for the World’s Lightest Dropper title. They started at a really light 304g at the end of 2022, then had already dropped down to 281g nine months later. Now, it’s officially eighteen grams lighter – “weight reduction without compromising performance, reliability, or durability“!

The new lightest dropper is as light as 263g for the 320mm long x 60mm stroke 30.9 version. But even their longest, biggest 410mm x 120mm stroke 31.6 version still weighs just 325g.
(Just for some very unfair comparison to give a bit of context: The much longer new RockShox Reverb AXS 2.0 dropper that I just tested this spring weighed a whopping 735g – 537.2x200mm 31.6 post with battery. And the BikeYoke Revive 3.0 I reviewed around the same time weighed 641g – 566x213mm 31.6mm post. But for something closer to compare, my lightweight BikeYoke Divine SL post weighed 386g – 400x80mm 30.9, which Vertical can now beat by >80g!)
So, how did it get so light?

What’s new essentially boils down to a slimmer outer carbon lower tube and a lighter carbon-reinforced clamp head.

Vertical only offers 7 sizes and 2 diameters, but that allows them to optimize each dropper’s construction to shed as much weight as possible. Each post gets a size-specific carbon lower tube that is thinned where it won’t be clamped and 90° carbon reinforced where it will be clamped. Plus, the new Vertical Helium Race gets a new abrasive finish at the clamping area for better grip & limited slip even at lower clamping forces, much like friction paste. Those revised carbon lower updates are said to save up to 30g on the larger sizes.

A new ‘Carbolink’ rail clamping system also saves a bunch of weight from the 2-bolt head. Inspired by Thomson’s classic clamp, the new Helium Race combines the strength & security of a 1-piece upper clamp and the ultralight weight of 2 separate-bar weight weenie clamps by linking them together with a couple of looped carbon fiber straps. Vertical says this saves 14g compared to their original alloy upper clamp head.
Tech Details & Claimed Weights

- ultralight 2-position dropper post (extended or dropped)
- structural carbon lower tube with reinforced clamping area
- Carbolink carbon loop reinforced, 7075-T6 CNC-machined aluminum clamp head
- hard anodized slider, mirror finish with dark natural hard ano color
- patented Independent Locking Cartridge – a cable-actuated hydraulic cartridge with adjustable air spring return
- 6Al/4V titanium T25 bolts
- 60, 90 & 120mm dropper travel
- 30.9mm or 31.6mm diameters
- remote available separately
Picking the correct post length and dropper travel is key to getting the most out of a new ultralight Vertical Helium Race dropper:
Length x stroke (mm) | Rails to clamp (mm) | Weight (g) for 30.9/31.6 |
320×60 | 195-230 | 263/266 |
350×60 | 230-260 | 272/275 |
350×90 | 230-260 | 285/288 |
380×90 | 260-290 | 293/296 |
380×120 | 260-290 | 313/316 |
410×90 | 290-320 | 301/304 |
410×120 | 290-320 | 322/325 |
Vertical Helium Race dropper – Pricing, availability & options

The new World’s Lightest Dropper from Vertical is officially available to order now, but you’ll have to wait until September to get ahold of one. Find your perfect ultralight fit from 60-120mm of drop with either 30.9 or 31.6mm post diameters.

The new Vertical Helium Race dropper posts retail for 540€, while the standard Helium droppers are also still available for 440€.