PNW Components Loam Lever: Employee Review (Comfort For Your Thumb)

We are a little late to the party with this review but this lever is a “party” by all means. With the perfect leverage, smooth mobility, incredible machine work and, comfortable thumb pad, this thing has it all. If you have read my review of the PNW Bachelor Dropper Seat Post then you already know that I am a big fan of the company. Having the opportunity to run this dropper remote is just as exciting to me and hopefully, the list of compliments in the sentences before prove this.

Index

Specs
Installation
Initial Ride and Weather Test
Long-Term Test
Things I Didn't Like
Conclusion

Specs

The Loam Lever is offered in one color, a sort of gun metal grey but the pads are offered in 3 colors as seen above. Orange, Teal, and Grey, a good call if you ask me since those have been the most popular colors in the bike industry these past couple of years. The body is made from aluminum and the bolts are produced from stainless steel with a sealed bearing keeping the lever rotating smoothly.

The Lever is compatible with just about any cable actuated dropper post. Sorry Reverb friends but maybe it’s time to switch…Weighing in at only 48g and costing only $69 it is a sure competition to the market of dropper remotes.

Installation

Installation is super easy. Let’s be honest, it is just a dropper remote, not heart surgery. The clamp design features a pivot that allows you simply install this remote on your handlebars without removing your grips or brakes to slide it on. It might come as a no-brainer but some companies aren’t on board with this concept yet.

Similar to the Sram Match Maker design, the Loam Lever has two positions to move the lever towards your grip or further away. Naturally, I chose to have the lever position further away to avoid the occasional skin tears from tweaking the bike out on tables since I do not ride with gloves. The lever is offered in a Match Maker and I-Spec version for clean mounting and a not so cluttered cockpit. A simple clamping bolt with a 3mm head holds the cable in place and a strategically placed wall was designed to keep the cable end hidden behind the lever.

One thing I would like to note is a small adjustment screw to help angle the lever back a little so it isn’t protruding too far towards you. I will show a picture of this below.

Initial Ride and Weather Test:

Winter is coming (Eddard Stark Voice). Yes I really just did that. But in all honesty, winter is on the edge of keeping most people inside and although we are located in Southern California, I find that the weather has taken a turn from these past couple years and we are actually experiencing some precipitation along with a good amount of fog leaving most of our trails quite cold and extremely wet. Most people would just say to ride during the day or at night before the fog rolls in but working full time doesn’t always leave me with time to do that, as it doesn’t for most people. This means morning rides are about it for now.

Riding when it is cold and wet in the mornings means my nude fingers are getting some abuse. The first ride was an easy one through Sycamore Canyon which is only about 2 miles from the shop and it actually connects directly to the beach. As you could imagine the fog was pretty gnarly but this didn’t stop me. I decided to hit some of the fun side trails but to my surprise, they had not been maintained and I ended up pushing through some very overgrown trails. This left my hands soaking wet but to my astonishment, I never lost grip of the remote, no matter how wet everything got I had control of the remote.

This came as a surprise because of how soft the rubber is. One could only imagine the issue with wet hands sliding on this rubber but that was not the case.

Long-Term Test

It has been multiple weeks since my initial test and the remote is still going strong. Rain or shine I never seem to lose grip whenever needed. The bearing has remained smooth and actuating with ease every time. The best part is that I have still not seen any wear marks on the rubber which is a plus in my book since torn rubber always looks bad.

Things I Didn’t Like

It hard to find something wrong with this beautifully machined and perfectly engineered component but the only thing I can really complain about if I was forced to would be the sharp edges. Being a rider that never uses gloves, I find myself constantly cutting up my thumbs from shifter and dropper levers that have sharp edges. If I could change anything, I would round out the edges closest to my hands to ensure that I do not tear up my skin any more than I already have.

*UPDATE 12/1/2018: PNW ready this and actually smoothed out the edges! All new Loam Levers will have smoother edges.

Conclusion

Well, for just a dropper remote it is quite an interesting product that is well ahead of its time. It may very well be the product that really sets PNW Components apart from the competition and I hope to see more innovative product like this coming out PNW in the future. The Loam Lever has earned its place as my favorite remote to date with the Wolf Tooth Remote following close behind. As I have said it is merely just a remote but this small component has the opportunity to change your ride. If you are looking for something a little more forgiving and something that is not as harsh on your skin, then I do recommend trying out this remote!