IMO, if you’re decent technically, then Poto is maybe the best trail to test going dropper vs no dropper. It is pretty technical but from what I remember (moved away 2 years ago) there aren’t any features like drops or super steep descents where a dropper would be a huge advantage. There are spots where a dropper can make you feel more comfortable or confident but maybe not much faster. With the relentless up and down of that loop, without a dropper you also remove a lot of the decision fatigue of where and when to use it or not. So you leave yourself with no choice but to attack and you then can get on the pedals faster after a feature without having to put the post back up.
Yeah I’ve had a V2 for 4(?) years now. In that time I think I’ve added air to it twice and just rebuilt it this year. It was dryer than it should have been but literally no sign of wear on the inside and other than slow return speed (because of low pressure) it was still working perfectly.
I’m the opposite at Poto. I already know all the spots to use a dropper so there’s no decision fatigue, and a lot of the lines I take, I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing without one. Areas where the hardtails and rigid posts swing around the roots, but I can boost off the first root and clear the whole root ball, and just in case my rear tire clips one of them there’s no worry of a saddle kicking me off. But that’s the beauty of testing with and without, I know plenty of FAST local guys that never use a dropper (even after trying), and others who are faster by using them. My brother’s PR is right at 1:19 with a rigid post hardtail.
In regards to the OneUp V2, my experience is that it’s the best performing post per dollar, but they do seem to need more regular maintenance. I assume a lot of the performance is due to low friction seals, which also means they get dirty quick. I’ve had a few BrandX Ascends for 6 or so years now with thousands of miles on them, never opened them up, they work just as good as day one. My OneUp V2 was faster and smoother out of the box, but after one year and ~1500 miles it seized up, needed to pull it apart, clean everything out real good and regrease. Then after this year I’ll do a full rebuild. Other local guys reported the same thing, and there’s a lot of posts in the MTBR forum about needing regular clean/grease. Not to say it’s a bad post, it’s fast and smooth when it’s fresh, and has super low stack height, but does seem to need more regular maintenance than the average post.
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Seconding everyone else, Oneup is the best option for a combination of value, reliability, and weight.
I do find the Oneup is needs slightly more maintenance than some other droppers, but definitely far less than the horrific non-axs reverbs of the past. Luckily the maintenance for the oneups is very simple, as in less than half an hour for most tasks. The issue I’ve had twice in the last year is cable/housing getting slightly pulled out from actuator at base of post, both caused by packing frame into bike bag.
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Your choice but they have 20% off one full price item at Backcountry / Competitive cyclist right now and they have the v3 in stock. Makes it pretty small difference, but to be fair you can get the v2 on sale too.
I disagree there. There are 3 downhills that are not only steep and fast, but have decent drops. 2 of them I’ve bottomed out my 120 shock and I always use all the travel on my 120 fork at some point. On top of that there’s definitely a few other downhills where a dropper is faster and safer. Though somehow I got some downhill PRs (YOLO). That being said, that trail is decided by the climbs so a few seconds lost going down are easily made back going up.
Not the case for me either as I’m constantly using my Twinloc going from open, trail/pedal and fully locked out. I do find prioritizing that easier though by removing a dropper post in the mix.
Exactly, no thought/decision at all as the sections are obvious since I’ve ridden it dozens of times.
My buddy and teammate just got a 1:10:23 with a rigid post (Supercal) and took the all time 2nd place for a triple Poto (6th for a double).
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Anyone seen the uswe outlander pro and race 2.0 pro? I’m having a hard time figuring out the difference, is it just a slightly lighter different materials on the race 2.0 for a 30g weight savings? Is the race 2.0 cooler, more breathable? Also seems like the race 2.0 comes with a bladder sleeve. Anything I’m missing?
check this out: 2024 XC Bike & Equipment Thread - #733 by Jason_Kennedy
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First ride on my new epic 8 today. Coming from a 2017 Spark RC (100/100), the epic feels more like my long travel trail bike than the scott. Super smooth and controlled, just a different deal and feels like more than 120mm of travel. Pedals up hill really well and very confident going down. I’ve been a big fan of the 3 way lockout on the Scott and the lockout on the Epic was a big selling point for me. I’ll certainly use the lockout, but I’m amazed how well it pedals fully open compared to the spark. I went with the expert build on the Epic, not the lightest but has the same wheels as the pro version. I swapped to an AXS dropper and put a XXSL powermeter crank on. I’ll put a carbon bar on as well, but it should be race ready other than that.
All the talk of dropper weight in this thread, I was surprised that the AXS dropper was slightly lighter than the x-fusion manic (w/ cabling) that came with the bike. The x-fusion was a 170mm drop and the AXS is only 125mm, but I’m still surprised the reverb was lighter. I probably would have been happy with the x-fusion, but I’ve run an AXS dropper for years with no issues and it was 50% off at the Planet cyclery clearance sale.
I haven’t been so excited about a new bike in years, this one was probably overdue. The epic 8 hit on all the stuff I wanted and not too much of a weight penalty compared to my scott. I should sell the scott, but I’m considering keeping it and making it a drop bar gravel racer for chunky courses. It’s been one of my favorite bikes I’ve ever owned, lots of good times and some decent race results. Not sure if it’s worth that much as an older XC bike, but still a pretty capable and light bike for someone focused on marathon stuff that isn’t too technical.
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Nice bike!
I had very similar experience coming from a 2019 bike to a 2024 bike. Different to/from bike in my case, with my old bike (2019 Oiz) being on paper pretty similar to my new bike. New bike is a little lighter, a bit slacker. They pedal completely different though, the new bike feels so much more efficient.
Each time a new bike is released they always claim it is X% more efficient, Y% stiffer, etc, and I mostly write that off as marketing that is imperceptible in actual use. But maybe over the past 5+ years the industry has accumulated enough small increases in pedaling efficiency in their designs that it actually is a meaningful difference.
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I also wonder how much performance degradation happens to the shock after a couple of years of riding that even a full service doesn’t fix. I also know I haven’t kept up with manufacturer-recommended service intervals, and could use fresh bearings and every other part of the bike.
Either way, I’m scared to test a new Epic because it would be a clear jump from my '19 Blur that my wallet doesn’t need right now.
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If you send it in for full refurb, it’s gonna pretty much perform like new if you fix everything they find. It’s just a question of what they find. My experience with fox is that sometimes they will see wear in high dollar stuff and give you the option to get a discounted new fork for not much more.
Yeah, don’t ride an epic if it’s not in the budget. My original plan was another couple years on my spark (I upgraded/replaced the fork less than 2 years ago). Then, I had a trip coming up and my suspension needed service and they are backed up and my bike wouldn’t have been ready. And my scott really needed another full bearing set, wheel bearings, etc., just the stuff that happens over multiple years. I should have sorted that all last winter, but it just got away from me. Painful hit to the wallet on the new epic, but almost 7 hard years out of the scott is pretty good. I’ve done a ton of road training on it also, certainly has over 15k miles on it, probably more like 20k.
Just putting the finishing touches to my Leadville 100 bike. Here it is if you want a peek.
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The x-fusion must be a chonk of a dropper if it’s similar to the AXS dropper. I think the OneUp V3 & cable/housing & remote is about half a pound lighter than the equivalent AXS dropper setup. With that said, though, and having just gotten an AXS dropper myself, it is incredibly nice being able to just yank the post out of the frame without having to negotiate the cable/housing.
I’m on team wireless dropper but surely SRAM could make a lighter one. The current one has been out since 2019.
Agree, they dont seem to be too interested in making a lighter or longer one given that we havent even seen pros using what appears to be a new model
I’e been waiting patiently for a competitor to do exactly this. Bike Yoke had an article out a year ago hinting toward a 2024 release… but crickets since. Hopefully someone steps up!
I too am interested in the Bike Yoke wireless dropper. They seem to have received some backlash for their design. I think it’s not a bad idea to remove the dropper from time to time to keep it from seizing in a carbon frame… I also like Bike Yoke’s design in that they don’t use a “single use” cartridge like other manufacturers. I‘m using the Divine SL and a Revive 2.0 with great success so far.
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Open on the Spark is not made for pedaling, that’s why there’s trail/pedal setting. Not sure why you’d want or need the Open setting to pedal well.
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