First Look: Magura's Wireless Electronic Dropper Post - Eurobike 2015

Vyron eLECT Seat Post
Magura knew that designing and manufacturing a cable operated dropper seat post would have been about as exciting as, well, any of the other countless air-sprung, cable operated posts on the market, half of which don't seem to last more than a few months before requiring some TLC. So rather than go that route, Magura did the exact opposite: they've come up with an electronic AND wireless dropper seat post that has the potential to make everything else out there look a bit behind the times.



We've seen electronic and wireless dropper seat posts being shown at tradeshows in the past (KS had a prototype at the 2014 Taipei show) but the difference here is that Magura's Vyron eLECT post isn't vapourware that may or may not ever be available to buy, with Magura saying that it'll be ready for purchase in just a few week's time. MSRP is set at 400 EUR, which converts to about $460 USD straight across. That's not a small amount of money, but it is in the same ballpark as a Reverb, Thomson, or a FOX.





How The Vyron Works
The Vyron uses hydraulic internals, much like a lot of dropper seat posts out there, but Magura has employed a small piezoelectric motor to open and close the oil port that allows it to go through its travel. That might sounds like something from the future, but piezoelectric motors have been around for many years now. In fact, Magura has used the same principles, including the wireless ANT+ technology, within their eLECT line of suspension forks and shocks, so this is far from new to the German company. The built-in battery is claimed to last forty hours, and although Magura admitted that they didn't know exactly how many times the post could be activated before the battery runs low, it wouldn't be out of line to assume that it could be months of riding when you consider that you wouldn't be constantly pushing on the button all ride. When the time does come to charge it up, the job is done in three hours via a micro-USB port on the post's head.

Magura have also built-in a failsafe feature that allows the post to function for twenty more times after the battery is very close to dead, with the warning sign being a red light coming up on the remote. This should be more than enough to get anyone out of the bush, especially given that the Vyron will simple stay in place when the battery does expire, not sink down in its stroke.



The remote itself doesn't look all that ergonomic compared to more traditional setups on the market, but it doesn't seem like it would interfere with things if a rider was running a single chain ring setup and mounted the remote on the lefthand side of the 'bar. The ANT+ system also means that there won't be any confusion from your buddy's remote controlling your seat post, as amusing as that would be, and the 'pairing' between the post and the remote is done by holding the buttons down on both for eight seconds.

You might have spotted three buttons on the eLECT remote, with it sporting two arrows and one circular button in the center. The latter controls the seat post: push it while the seat is weighted and the post will lower until you unweight it, much like other hydraulically controlled posts. Push it again while you're standing and the seat comes up at a decent speed, although not as quick as a Command Post or a D.O.S.S., and there's also a 1.5 second delay function that allows the rider to stop and lock the post at any point in its travel by using their ass to hold it for a second and a half anywhere between fully dropped and fully extended.

Magura is thinking even bigger than a seat post, though, as the same eLECT remote can also be paired up to control compression functions of both their eLECT equipped forks and shocks. That mean that a rider can use this one remote to firm up their fork, lock out their shock, and lower or raise their seat post.

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Reviews and Tech First Looks Seatposts Magura