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The Hite Rite, designed by Joe Breeze and Josh Angell, was one of the earliest MTB accessories. It was a seat post attached spring that many MTB racers used back in the 1980s, when MTBing was ATBing, and the Mt Tamalpais repackers still had full heads of hair.
Bringing the concept right up to date, MTBers Wayne Sicz and Arlen Wisseman have created the Gravity Dropper and Descender seat posts. Sicz is a perennial top ten finisher in expert XC races in Montana and Utah, and was convinced he could ride courses faster and with more control if he could instantly lower his centre of gravity and assume a more aggressive position for descending and cornering.
The GravityDropper post drops the seat three inches and the handlebar switch can then return the spring-loaded post to the original position for climbing and level terrain.
Made from CNC machined 7075 T6 heat treated aluminium, the 350mm GravityDropper uses a patent-pending mechanism to raise and drop the seatpost. All the parts are manufactured and assembled in the US.
The post, including all cabling, weighs 460gms. It comes in both 27.2 and 26.8 sizes and custom shims are available. It has a suggested retail price of $250.
The DescenderPost shares all the design features of the GravityDropper but uses a manually operated lever on the front of the post. It weighs 390 grams and has a suggested retail price of $180.00.
Both posts will be on display and available for test rides at Interbike in Las Vegas. The posts can be ridden October 11th and 12th at Interbike’s Outdoor Demo in Boulder City.
