KS LEV CI dropper seatpost review
A light and ergonomic choice
GBP £540.00 RRP | AUD $575.00 Skip to view dealsPublished:
The LEV CI is available with 65mm to 175mm of travel and uses a unidirectional carbon-fibre mast to save weight. My 30.9mm diameter, 175mm travel post weighed 553g, including remote and cable. An equivalent RockShox Reverb is 634g.
Weight aside, the extra drop of the longest option is great for those who like their saddle fully out of the way. The ergonomics of the under-bar remote are excellent too. It was easy to fit the lever around other controls and get it in a comfortable position.
Because the cable is clamped at the post end, not the lever end, the LEV CI is fiddlier to fit than other posts, such as the Fox Transfer. But at least you’ll never need to bleed it, as you do the hydraulically actuated Reverb. I did snap one cable though, and its replacement became sticky after a further muddy month of use.
A big crash, which dumped my test bike on its saddle, snapped the titanium bolts on the seatpost head, but I was able to replace them with M6 brake caliper bolts.
After two months of hard use, the post still performs superbly. The action remains smooth, there’s no sag at full height (a problem we’ve had with some Reverbs) and while there is a little play, it’s not noticeable when riding. My only gripe is the price.
Authors
Seb Stott is a former technical writer for BikeRadar. Seb's been riding mountain bikes for more than half his life, ever since getting hooked on a tiny 24Seven Crosser aged 13. He's raced downhill, enduro and cross-country, and while no athlete, still enters the occasional race. Seb studied experimental physics at university, and he's now happily using his degree experimenting with and testing different mountain bike setups, trying to work out what works best and why. You'll often find him riding the same track ten times in a day, changing just one thing to pin down the differences. Seb has also been a regular contributor to the BikeRadar Podcast and BikeRadar YouTube channel, and written for MBUK magazine and Pinkbike.com.
