BikeYoke Revive 272 brings proven dropper seatpost to down-gravel & XC: Review
With just 80mm of travel, BikeYoke has scaled back their most-popular, never-spongy Revive dropper seatpost to 27.2mm in the new Revive 272 – admitting that they have given in to the peer pressure of the gravel boom. Now, adventurous gravel and even hold-out cross-country riders with 27.2 posts and stealth internal routing can benefit from dropping their saddle when the going gets rough, without the worry of installing a dropper only to suffer the bouncy fate of a failed IFP with air inside.
We tested it out, and break down the ups & downs…
BikeYoke Revive 272, 80mm travel 27.2mm gravel dropper post
Apparently since day 1 with the original Revive dropper – a distant 6.5 years ago – customers have been pestering BikeYoke for a 27.2mm version, certainly predating the gravel explosion. But BikeYoke continued to resist, as it is just incredibly difficult to fit their complex, long-life hydraulics inside such a small space.
Well, modern XC bikes moved to 30.9 & 31.6mm posts, but a lot of gravel bikes stuck with the OG seatpost size – whether for traditional small diameter looks or the added comfort benefit of the better flex characteristics of a smaller diameter cylinder. And now crazy gravel cyclists are riding their gravel bikes like mountain bikes – obviously on MTB-friendly singletrack, but also underbiking or down-graveling even more technical trails.
So, BikeYoke sucked it up and spent the time and R&D effort into squeezing their Revive tech into a 27.2mm dropper.
Wait, what is so special about a Revive dropper again?
Let’s go back in time 6 years to remember: the key to a Revive dropper is the unique patented configuration of its internal hydraulics that allows it to be reset, or essentially re-bled, when air bubbles invariably sneak past the flexing internal seals as your weight flexes the post. This common cavitation of the sealed IFP that occurs in most hydraulic dropper posts makes the post squish, and requires a replacement internal piston in most/many cases.
The Revive is simply revived by turning that bolt at the top (with a 4mm hex or the included min-lever on newer posts), pushing down on the post to let the air up and the oil back down. Then, releasing and going back to perfect drops and no squish at the top of extension.
So, what’s actually new?
The diameter & drop are the real new bits on the outside. The Revive 272 dropper is 27.2mm in diameter, and features a short 80mm of travel. The diameter rationale is obvious, but the short travel essentially boils down to making it fit the most amount of bikes – you only need 125mm of exposed seatpost in your bike to fit the new BikeYoke Revive 272. That means even gravel bikes with nearly horizontal or barely sloping toptubes will probably still fit the new dropper. And like on their “Cape Epic winning Divine SL” dropper, BikeYoke hopes you don’t get so incredibly rad on your gravel bike that you would need 213mm of drop… leave that for their bigger diameter Revive Max.
The new Revive 272 also take the cut-to-length adjustability from their short-travel Divine SL dropper post too. That means that while the 400mm length the Revive 272 is delivered to you is comparable with a long 27.2 posts and suitable for sloping geo XC bikes, you can also cut up to 100mm off the lower end of the shaft for gravel applications. Cutting it down to 300mm long overall also has the benefit of saving an extra 45g for those gravel weight weenies still reading… after having not been scared off of the outrage of putting a heavy dropper on a dropbar bike.
Tech details
BikeYoke claims a real weight of 385g for the uncut post – mine was a bit lighter than that since it weighed just 2g more with the addition of the optional 5g mini Revive Quick Reset lever which I like to have on the post. There is a version with titanium bolts that sheds 10g vs. my standard steel bolts. And you can save more by cutting it to length, which I eventually will do when I go into gram-saving mode one rainy day.
As usual, the Revive 272 dropper is user-serviceable, and BikeYoke sells affordable service kits that are pretty easy to install without complicated tools or hydraulic bleeding techniques.
Riding Impressions of the BikeYoke Revive 272
I popped the dropper into a do-it-all steel cross-to-gravel travel bike a friend built for me and drilled for internal routing, to see how it fared. And I can only say good things about the Revive 272. Much like previous Revives it goes up and down on command just like it says it will, and likely will for a long time to come. And you can even adjust the internal air pressure if you want a more forceful pop back up.
After having suffered from IFP cavitation on budget droppers that lasted only a year or so, I really appreciate the value in paying more upfront for a Revive dropper that will last much longer. Admittedly, the Revive is not cheap. But I personally have an original generation 31.6 Revive on a personal XC bike since late 2017, and with a few resets along the way and a <20€ service kit, it still works great. It’s definitely the only dropper I have still in service for that long.
Remaining Limitation of Dropbar Droppers
Maybe the single biggest limitation to gravel dropper posts in my opinion is not the added weight – compared to my carbon PRO Discover seatpost this added 171g for the post alone plus another 125g in cable & remote – but rather that remote. BikeYoke does not yet offer their own dropbar dropper remote, because they aren’t yet happy with the ones they’ve been developing. And I can sympathize. I’ve ridden with a few different dropbar remotes and I’m not satisfied either.
The tight bends when routed inside a dropbar, or even just under the tape, combined with trying to wrap your bartape around the remote, all add up to annoying friction in the system. And let’s not forget the pain of installing the post. To get a dropper into your bike you usually need to slide around 10-15cm of housing through your frame’s internal routing to get it to stick out of your frame to attach the post. If you are using an uncut Revive 272, that adds an extra 10cm of housing. Now with a remote under your bar tape or next to your stem, that’s impossible without a giant cable loop out front. (On a MTB bar with the remote next to the grip, you can move the remote close to your cable port during install, but not really so with a drop bar setup.)
For now, I think the best solution is hanging a flat bar remote next to your stem, with a pretty sizable cable loop in the end. And I will anxiously await a BikeYoke Dropbar Triggy remote with a better routing solution…
BikeYoke Revive 272 – Pricing & availability
The new 27.2mm x 80mm travel BikeYoke Revive 272 sells for $370 / 370€ with standard steel hardware, or $395€ with titanium bolts. You can also add one of BikeYoke’s flat bar remotes for an extra 40-65€, but they don’t have a mount to fit around a 31.8mm clamping area next to your stem as far as I’m aware. The new Revive 272 is available now direct from BikeYoke.
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