Lurking away in a corner at the 2016 Bike Place trade show was this new Zeta dropper post from KS. Previously spotted in prototype form, the short-travel, lightweight dropper has now made it to production for 2016. It features a unique cut-to-length design and should stir interest among the road and cyclocross crowds as well as with cross-country racers.
Retailing at £300 (international pricing TBC), the Zeta offers either 35mm or 50mm of drop controlled via a handlebar mount. The alloy post keeps its guts below the seat clamp and by doing so does a great job of hiding its adjustable ride height.
Up to 90mm of alloy can be cut from the Zeta's shaft
It’ll be sold in 30.9mm and 31.6mm versions and we are told that a 27.2mm version is also in the pipeline. The Zeta is also internally routed, so you’ll either need a dedicated frame or in some circumstances we’ve been told that routing for electronic groupsets can also be used.
Much like saddle height adjustment on many high-end road and TT frames, the clamp head of the Zeta can be removed and the post beneath the head can then be trimmed to a rider’s requirement – a full 90mm of material can be removed, and the black shaft is marked with 5mm increments ready for your careful cut. Its zero-offset head then simply bolts back on the trimmed tube. Claimed weights stand at 462g and 530g for the 35/50mm models respectively.
The Zeta also does a pretty good job of not looking like a dropper, and at the moment it’s a fairly unique product. Think this is the start of a trend? Let us know in the comments below.
The Zeta has to be the most discreet dropper we've seen to date
