The OneUp Components Dropper Post V3 is the Canadian brand’s third and latest iteration of their popular dropper post. With a maximum travel of 240 mm and comparatively compact dimensions, lots of small improvements to the details promise to raise the bar even higher. Can OneUp deliver?
Price: € 299.99 | Manufacturer’s Website
When mountain bikers think of Canada, they typically think of endless laps in Whistler, lonely singletrack, bears, and long dropper posts. The latter is largely due to Canadian brand OneUp Components and their much loved Dropper Post, which was awarded the best buy in our dropper post group test, which is now in its third generation. Unfortunately, if you’re expecting a 270 mm long version, you’re out of luck. As with the OneUp Dropper Post V2.1, the maximum travel tops out at 240 mm. Below that you can choose from 210, 180, 150, 120 and a very short 90 mm. As with the V2.1, the travel can be reduced by up to 20 mm in 10 mm increments. What also remains unchanged is that it’s cable-actuated, and comes in diameters of 30.9, 31.6, or 34.9 mm. In contrast, the price has increased from € 270 to € 300.
| Travel | 90 mm | 120 mm | 150 mm | 180 mm | 210 mm | 240 mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total length | 295 mm | 350 mm | 415 mm | 480 mm | 545 mm | 610 mm |
| Weight (for 30.9 mm diameter) |
325 g | 370 g | 415 g | 460 g | 515 g | 610 g |
The new OneUp Components Dropper Post V3 in detail
The dropper post on test provides 240 mm of travel and measures 31.6 mm in diameter, tipping our digital scale at 611 g. For comparison, the same length and diameter V2 weighs 57 g more, coming in at 668 g. The other variants have also shaved off around 60 g, some of them even dropping as much as 70 g. At the same time, OneUp have managed to shorten the total length of their dropper posts by up to 10 mm, depending on the version (though some variants have grown). The stack height, i.e. the height of the collar and the saddle clamp, has also shrunk minimally on all V3 dropper posts. It now measures just 30 mm on the 30.9 and 31.6 mm diameter droppers, and 25 mm on the 34.9 mm version. For comparison, the FOX Transfer dropper post has a stack height of 40 mm, and the wireless RockShox Reverb AXS measures a whopping 60 mm. This makes the OneUp dropper post one of the lightest and most compact on the market. Attention weight weenies: you can save another 10 g with the titanium bolt kit for € 17,99.
OneUp have completely redesigned the internals to reduce the weight. Instead of the old air spring, it now uses a sealed gas cartridge. However, this also means that you can no longer adjust the stiffness of the spring by adjusting the air pressure, as you could previously. However, according to OneUp, the remote lever requires 75 % less force to actuate, and the cartridge is now completely recyclable.
But wait, there’s more! A new SKF seal promises longer maintenance intervals. Thanks to these, you can shred 20 hours longer before you must do a small service, according to OneUp’s service manual. So instead of 100 hours, you now have 120 hours of riding time. A small service simply entails disassembling and cleaning the dropper post. A major service also includes the replacement of all seals and bushings, and is due every 350 hours.
The developers didn’t stop at the guides and bushings either. For the V3, OneUp source their bushings from the renowned brand IGUS. To better absorb lateral forces, the longer dropper posts offering 180 mm travel or more have been outfitted with a second bushing. The revised guides should also help act against these forces and mitigate lateral play. To do so, the developers doubled the number of guide pins from three to six. For the remote lever, OneUp are sticking with their very ergonomic and deservedly popular Remote V3.
The new OneUp Dropper Components Post V3 on the trail
The first thing we asked ourselves when seeing the long dropper post was whether the 240 mm model would even fit into our enduro bike. However, installing it was easy and confirmed that it does fit. Thanks to its short stack height and maximum insertion depth of just 337 mm, it makes super efficient use of the insertion depth provided, offering 40 mm more travel than the FOX Transfer we had fitted before. When we set off on the trails, we immediately noticed the increased freedom of movement on the first descent. Even compared to a long 200 mm dropper, the greater freedom of movement offers a noticeable advantage.
The dropper post’s extension offers a good compromise between speed and control. This makes it easy to catch the saddle halfway up without having to fear for your fertility. Nevertheless, the dropper post pops out fast enough so that you don’t have to stand, waiting for the saddle. That said, it’s not as fast as some other dropper posts on the market like the Fox Transfer. The OneUp Dropper Post isn’t deterred by sub-zero temperatures, extending just as fast as in the warm workshop. We tried pushing the dropper post to its limits during our test rides. We let ourselves drop on the saddle to test whether it would slip or get stuck. While other models failed, the Dropper Post V3 kept performing.
OneUp also promise to deliver in the workshop, which is where we put another one of their claims to the test. Can you disassemble it in under ten minutes? Yes, you can! There are no special tools required; all you need is a 2 and 5 mm hex key, and a 14 mm open-end wrench. You’ll have the individual components lying in front of you before you know it, easily allowing you to clean and re-grease everything before putting it back together. Installing the small shim pins to reduce the travel is easy too, even for less technically minded riders ;)
Our conclusion on the OneUp Components Dropper Post V3
OneUp have managed to raise the bar once again with the Dropper Post V3. While its looks remain largely unchanged, OneUp have made many significant improvements to the dropper post’s internals. On top of that, they’ve been able to combine long travel with a compact stack height and short overall length, thus ensuring maximum freedom of movement and compatibility. At € 300, it’s not the great bargain it used to be, but it’s fairly priced nonetheless.
Tops
- long travel
- compact dimensions
- extremely light
Flops
- still no 270 mm variant ;)
For more information, visit OneUp.com
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Words: Sebastian Dirscherl Photos: Jan Richter
