So far, all telescopic seatpost tests have been limited to pure function in practice. But what about the durability of height-adjustable seatposts? Once you've had the pleasure of using a good dropper post with a remote lever, you won't want to do without it again and will appreciate the increased comfort when riding off-road. However, as virtually no manufacturer can provide a test standard that corresponds to the one for mountain bikes, a laboratory test in terms of durability was a must.
The laboratory and practical tests were carried out with seven lowerable seat posts:
- Blacx Jewel AM+ Air
- Fox DOSS
- Giant Contact Switch
- Kindshock LEV 150
- Rock Shox Reverb Stealth
- Specialised Command Post Blacklite
- X-Fusion Hilo
In a static, dynamic and functional test at the testing institute Velotech.de we checked the operational stability of each individual seat post in parallel with the practical test. The shocking result: none of the seven telescopic seatposts passed the Velotech.de Q-2011 standard. Instead: Breakage, torn bolts and defective clamps. The test standard is based on real-world data and is even passed by normal seatposts from the mid-price segment. Even in the significantly weaker EN-14766 test, only one Tele post passed the standard.
You can find all the test results for the telescopic seatposts here
below as a free PDF download.
