Suspension in gravel has had a rather conservative uptake, and while it has taken a few years, there’s now a clear trend in its growing popularity. The likes of Fox, RockShox, MRP, Cannondale, and Cane Creek have been offering dedicated air-sprung and telescoping gravel suspension forks for a little while, and DT Swiss appears set to join in, too.
That new and unreleased DT Swiss suspension fork spotted at The Traka introduces a new feature that had yet to come to gravel – a remote lockout. I’m someone with nearly two decades in being frustrated with such often finicky features on mountain bikes, and more recently, I’ve also been strongly underwhelmed by dropper post levers on drop-bar bikes. Given that we’re seemingly headed down a path of combining these two pet peeves of mine, I’m here to share an opinion I could no longer keep to myself – drop bars and extra levers rarely mix well.
The precursor: Dropper posts on gravel bikes
Dropper posts for gravel bikes have been around for a number of years and they remain a niche choice. Often I hear people remark that if you need a dropper post on a gravel bike, you need a mountain bike. While there’s some truth to that, I’ve also experienced firsthand the confidence gained through having a dropper when you’re in true under-biking territory with your drop-bar bike. Similarly, there are arguably aero benefits in specific situations, too. And for some riders, they can ease mounting and dismounting a bike.
Here’s the problem: The vast majority of dropper posts are operated with a lever that pulls a cable. Such levers are fairly dialled on modern mountain bikes, where 1x shifting and a single hand position are conducive to operating the dropper just as you do a gear shifter. However, that approach doesn't play well with a drop bar, where your hands tend to move from one position to another. With the multiple hand positions on a drop bar, it’s of course a difficult task to place a lever that’s sole purpose is to be readily accessible when the terrain is demanding.
There are three common positional options for drop bar dropper levers: on the drops, on the tops, or within the brake/shifter hood.
Levers placed on the drops come in various forms, but the most common type I see is a pivoting design that offers an elongated shape that can be actuated from either the drops or by extending your thumb when you’re in the hoods – that is, if you have huge hands.
I’ve found the vast majority of these drop-placed dropper levers to be compromised at best. They can be in the way of a comfortable hold of the bar when riding in the drops, and they can be awkward to reach from the hoods, where you lack leverage. The placement complicates how to neatly wrap your bar tape, and you have yet another long length of cable housing to contend with. That extra cable length also adds friction, and rarely do these levers feel smooth or light action. Next!
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