PNW Pine External Route Dropper Post: Rider Review

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for.

If you have a modern mountain bike there's a good chance you are running a dropper seatpost. Most new bikes will likely come with a internal cable routing style post but a lot of older bike can't use them. Fortunately our friend gives us the skinny on the PNW Pine External Route Dropper Post. Check it out! 

Overview

Raising and lowering your saddle for varying terrain has been a thing since shortly after mountain biking began. In the mid-80s Joe Breeze and Josh Angell introduced the Hite-Rite seat adjuster and although it worked, it was a contortion act to use without stopping and adjusting and worse still, the constant loosening and tightening of the seat post binder proved too much for many bikes especially aluminum frames. After a few years of use, my old Mountain Klein cracked in the seat clamp area and Gary Klein told me it was from the constant loose/tight cycling.

Fast forward to today and trails that get steeper, faster, and more technical every year, and a dropper is almost as important as grips, saddle, and pedals. When I built my hardtail in 2014 I didn't even consider a dropper but as I got more accustomed to the bike I rode it harder, faster, and I began regretting choosing a frame that needed a 27.2mm post. Apparently there were enough people in the same boat as me to warrant a few companies making a limited selection of 27.2mm droppers and after studying up on the possibilities the PNW Pine External Route Dropper Post seemed to be the best choice for my needs.

I lucked out and found the post and a dropper lever in stock at Worldwide which was no small trick these days and I immediately ordered them both. WWC did it's usual amazingly quick order processing and my goodies were on the way. A few days later I had the parts in hand and was impressed by both the PNW post as well as the Wolftooth LA lever (the PNW Loam lever was out of stock but I certainly don't regret getting the Wolftooth lever).

After opening the PNW box I had the only disappointing moment of the process. I had looked at many PNW videos and read their online instructions, etc, and was fully expecting the post to come with a cable, housing, etc, and sadly it didn't. For me, this was really a non-issue as I always keep a roll of good quality housing, spare cables, cable and housing ends, etc on hand so the install rolled right along. Installation took just a few minutes and because I did my homework sizing the post there were no "oh $#!*" moments because stuff wasn't right.

I was on the bike and riding within 30 minutes and having the dropper post was a whole new world on this bike. Previous descents that were hairy and where I rode in a more restrained manner were suddenly easier and less anxiety-inducing as I could move freely without hanging up my baggy shorts on the nose or tail of the seat or having to hang too far off the back end to miss the seat. I have had the post long enough now to confirm that the post works as advertised, that it is smooth and sturdy and easily supports my 225 pounds with my kit all on. It opens up a lot of options for older steel-framed bikes.

Final Thoughts

I had several questions about weight limits, fitting, etc and I went directly to PNW with them, and I am pleased to say they got back to me in a very timely manner and made me feel very much at ease buying their products. There are certainly other options if you are looking for a 27.2mm dropper but I don't think you could possibly go wrong with the PNW Pine option.