Bike Yoke Revive Seatpost: Rider Review

As dropper seatposts continue to evolve, the length options that are available continue to expand. For taller riders, sometimes a longer seatpost is necessary just for it to be out of the way when going downhill. In this review, our customer  Clay shares his thoughts on the Bike Yoke 185 Dropper Seatpost. Check it out!

Overview

More travel, more better

An aggressive bike deserves a low saddle. Doubly so with modern bikes trending towards ultra steep seat tube angles -- effectively requiring more drop to get the saddle at a comfortable level. I don't claim to completely understand the mechanics behind this effect, but I certainly have found this to be the case on my Transition Sentinel. At 6'2" and coming from a 160mm revive on my XC/Trail bike, the 185mm version seems to drop the saddle to a similar level as compared to the 160mm post on a bike with a more conservative geometry. On my size large sentinel, there is still a decent amount of the post lower exposed above the collar. The Sentinel has a very low seat-tube compared to some other bikes and I could totally see a 200mm post working in this situation... I don't need any more travel but certainly wouldn't mind it.

First Impressions

Enough about the fit-- What about the post itself? Well, the Bike Yoke Revive dropper seatpost certainly justifies its premium price tag in my experience. The "revive" feature enables a very simplistic, user-serviceable set of internals that should go the distance. The fit, finish and overall feel of the post is more evidence of the quality of the overall package. There is little to no side-to-side play and the action is as smooth as butter. You may have heard this all before, but this is my 3rd Revive post (one for my trail/xc bike, one on a bike I sold, and one for my Sentinel) and few if any other droppers on the market come close to the level of refinement present in the revive. High praise, high praise. Along with a nice set of DH brakes (Shimano Saint preferred), this is probably my favorite component on the new rig.

How Does it Compare?

I have used a number of dropper posts over the last few years, none of them quite as refined as the Revive, but some of them come close in an overall sense. Here's how the competition stacks up in my eyes:

RockShox Reverb - Over engineering to the max. Hydraulic actuation when a simple wire cable would actually work better? Check. A complex series of internal seals to prevent the dreaded suspension seat post action pioneered by Reverbs in the first place? Check. Still achieving suspension seat post status after 3 months of careful ownership? Check. You might be able to tell that I don't think highly of this post. It's a shame that this post is OE on most bikes sold with a dropper these days since it will be the first component I replace in favor of something more reliable.

OneUp Components Dropper Post - A simple name for a simple dropper post. In my opinion, simplicity is very underrated when it comes to bike components such as these. This post is relatively light, relatively simple to set up, and extremely price competitive. The only drawback is that a self-contained cartridge is used in place of more user-serviceable internals; this, however, isn't a big deal considering that the cartridge is relatively affordable and the post includes a two-year warranty. I have owned the post for a few months now so I can't fully vouch for its long term reliability but so far, so good.

Specialized Command Post - Back in the days when dropper posts were still optional equipment on a true mountain bike, Specialized spec'ed the 125mm Command Post on most of their fleet. Looking back I don't know how I got along with so little post travel. Rolling into near vertical chutes and off of decently sized step-downs were events made far more terrifying than necessary with the saddle positioned so threateningly close ones' back-end. Forgetting the travel, this post was rock solid. Mechanical actuation and height adjustment provided a reliable 3-year experience. I still wouldn't go back to the 125mm version, but I would consider a similar mechanical post with more travel for the sheer dependability.