Editors' favourite parts: Only the seatpost can be electric - Rockshox Reverb AXS

A dropper post. Isn't that just for mountain bikes? Let's remember back to 2022 when Matej Mohorič won Milan-San Remo - with a dropper seatpost. So it's not unthinkable to ride dropper seatposts on road bikes and gravel bikes and can have advantages. Some gravel bikes, such as the Giant Revolt X, are already equipped with a dropper seatpost. The Rockshox Reverb AXS XPLR is fitted here.

Josh Welz - not a fan of all things electric. Actually.

I'm actually not a fan of all the electrical bells and whistles on bikes. My subtle aversion to them dates back to the years when GPS computers were introduced on the handlebars. Because of my pronounced defective vision, I can only use such gadgets with glasses. And my glasses are as thick as preserving jars. So they are as suitable for biking on uneven terrain as hand-blown art deco glasses are for preserving jam. So I either ride routes that I know, that are signposted or that I have memorised through intensive map study. Or I stick with fellow cyclists who know the area, or better still, those in front of me.

I got into the habit early on of avoiding electronic aids when cycling. I consider e-suspensions of any kind to be technical overkill, electronic gears to be just as superfluous as electric tyre pressure sensors. I rely on my Popomat, and if the tyre is flat, I'll notice at some point even without sensor bells and whistles.

That only changed fundamentally with the e-mountainbike. It would be somewhat absurd to continue to describe myself as an e-denier since I now ride almost exclusively e-MTBs. But even when I'm e-biking, I only really use the bare essentials: the e-drive. But I'm not someone who spends hours trawling through apps, customising the motor power, analysing performance data, calculating the estimated range or using other functions.

To cut a long story short: Even with an e-bike, the electronics are generally too complicated for me to want to be helped by them. I just prefer things to be simple. And that's where we come to the Rockshox Reverb AXS.

>> Matej Mohorič wins Milan-San Remo 2022 with a Vario seatpost

One exception

I don't think there's any need to argue that the telescopic seatpost is a sensible invention in principle. I still don't know any professional cross-country riders who dare to take on the steepest descents in a cross-country pose with complete conviction. But to be honest: apart from the cross-country pros, I always ask myself: why?

Perhaps for some it is due to the cognitive-motor overload that operating the rear derailleur and seat post can cause. Especially when the operation of the U-shift lever comes into play on an e-mountainbike. One example of this is the constant ups and downs on the Isar trails, my local route. With all the bends, hairpin bends, climbs, descents, descents and climbs again, you can get lost on the control panels for the gears, U-shift and bottom bracket. And every now and then you have to brake.

But practice makes perfect, as we all know. You don't play Beethoven after your first piano lesson either. Once you've got the hang of it, you use the piano rest intuitively without thinking. On the other hand, I've also been really annoyed by conventional telesupports. Kinks in the cable, air in the system - all these things can really get on your nerves. Not to mention the fiddly task that awaits you when the support has to leave the seat tube - for example for transport in a small car.

And it is precisely for these cases that the wireless Rockshox Reverb AXS. Installation is extremely simple:

1. Attach the operating lever to the handlebars, preferably with the Matchmaker clamp
2. Insert the seat post into the seat tube,
3. Charge the battery,
4. Coupling

The charge status of the battery can be checked via the app - or via the diode on the head of the support:

• Green full
• red half full
• Flashing red - fast charging.

The charging process takes just one hour, after which the battery lasts around 40 hours, depending on use. Incidentally, there is a button cell in the remote control lever that should last for years. Just in case, a replacement should be included in your luggage - for AXS owners, this is part of the standard equipment anyway. I have never had to change the button cell. Here too, the charge status is monitored via an LED.

Incidentally, the Vario seat post does not need to be switched on. This task is performed by a sensor that recognises when the bike is in motion. This protects the battery. And what if the battery runs out before the tour is over? Then you have to do what the incorrigible do of their own free will: shiver down the steep descents in cross-country pose. Unless you have the big AXS menu on your bike, i.e. with AXS electric gears or E-suspension. Then you can swap the batteries for the gears, shock and dropper post as you wish.

Another practical feature is that the saddle is attached with just one screw. And if the seat post does not extend and retract as you would like, it is simply vented via the valve at the base of the seat post. A procedure that has already brought me to the brink of a nervous breakdown with cable-operated seat posts.

How does the Rockshox Reverb AXS perform on the trail?

And how is it with AXS on the trail? Very good. It works like an analogue Reverb. Stepless and smooth. It also works perfectly in cold temperatures, unlike many other telescopic prop models. The paddle almost feels like a game console, and you quickly get used to this feel. There is no lever travel where your thumb gets longer and longer and you never know exactly when the release point will come. With the Rockshox Reverb AXS, you briefly press the remote paddle and in a fraction of a second the command is transmitted wirelessly to the post. Completely effortless - I've experienced something completely different with mechanical seatposts.

Of course, the Rockshox Reverb AXS also has a few disadvantages: The head of the seatpost is bulky due to the battery mount, which means that the cant is greater when the post is fully extended than with conventional dropper posts. Bike park shredders be warned: Clamping the bar from the dropper post behind the saddle can be expensive! In addition, the Reverb AXS is around 150 grams heavier than an analogue Reverb. And then there's the price of just under 900 euros.

Facts

• Stroke: 100, 125, 150 and 170 mm
• Diameter: 30.9, 31.6 and 34.9 mm
• Weight: 676 g (170 mm, 31.6 mm)
• Price: 886 Euro >> available here at a reduced price

If you want to upgrade the seatpost on your gravel bike, it is essential to check beforehand whether the diameter of the seatpost and that of the bike are compatible. The gravel version of the Rockshox Reverb AXS, the Rockshox Reverb AXS XPLR, is available for diameters from 27.2 millimetres.

Conclusion on the favourite Rockshox Reverb AXS seatpost

Some people buy a whole bike for just under 900 euros. Me a seat post? To be honest: I've never bought a Rockshox Reverb AXS because I'm allowed to ride it for work. But if that wasn't the case, the AXS would be the thing I'd be saving from my mouth. For me, it's the only e-technology on the bike that I would be reluctant to do without. Well, apart from the motor of course. - Josh Welz, Editor-in-Chief EMTB