DVO Garnet Dropper Post - Sea Otter 2016

Apr 17, 2016 at 15:05
by Mike Levy  
Sea Otter 2016


Sea Otter


DVO's Garnet Dropper Post

Garnet is a mineral that's been used since the Bronze Age as a gemstone, and it's also the name of DVO's new dropper seat post that's been in the works for the past eight or nine months. DVO's Bryson Martin explained that they didn't try to change the game with the Garnet by debuting anything unproven but instead tried to design a simple and reliable dropper that exceeded his own experience with other options already on the market.

Garnet Details:

• Intended use: having fun
• Travel: 125, 150mm
• Infinite travel adjust
• Serviceable hydraulic cartridge
• Air-sprung w/ coil supplement
• Routing: internal
• Weight: 620 grams (post, remote, cable)
• MSRP: less than $500 USD
The Garnet's 125 or 150mm of travel is infinitely adjustable, and Martin said that he's aiming to have the 620-gram dropper to retail for under $500 USD when it becomes available this July.


Sea Otter
Sea Otter


Like most dropper posts on the market, the Garnet employs a standard shift cable and a small, thumb-operated remote that slots up against the rider's grip. The post's actuation mechanism is located at its bottom end, and it uses a spring-loaded arm that looks very similar to other setups out there - a barrel is clamped down onto the cable's end, and it sits in the actuation arm while the housing terminates in a slotted stop just below. This should make it a tool-free job to remove the Garnet from the bike for traveling or maintenance. The remote is very KS-esque, which is a good thing, and something that Martin said is very much on purpose - if a rider happens to break theirs, they can use one from another post if that's all they can find.

Internally, the Garnet uses a sealed (but serviceable) hydraulic cartridge that riders can rebuild, should the need arise, and it also lets riders stop the post anywhere in its 125 or 150mm of travel. An air-spring brings the seat back up, but DVO did something different than the norm by supplementing this with a coil-spring. The air pressure range is between 100 and 120 PSI, and the coil-spring does add some return speed but is really there as a fail-safe. If there is a loss of pressure, the spring will still (slowly) bring the post back up. This design no doubt adds a bit of mass, contributing to the Garnet's not mega-light 620-gram weight.
Sea Otter

It might be a bit heavier than some other dropper posts (there are heavier, however), but this won't matter to many riders if DVO is able to offer a dropper that trumps everyone else when it comes to reliability. We'll find out how it fares when we get a Garnet in for testing, and DVO is planning on having it available to the public by July.


Sea Otter
Sea Otter

MENTIONS: @DVOSuspension


Author Info:
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98 Comments
  • 154 3
 So, $499 then. Bargain.
  • 44 174
flag cmi85 (Apr 17, 2016 at 15:11) (Below Threshold)
 most DVO products are at the higher end of the spectrum. Plus, if it's too pricey for you, then look elsewhere.
  • 46 2
 £350, so in line with a new Reverb, 9.8 or a Thomson stealth post. But more than a DOSS. Eh, kinda the going rate for a new dropper. Of course my 2007 Gravity Dropper thinks all them young whipper snappers are far too busy looking cool to be as good at the business of going up and down as it already is. It also says klunk, gotta end every sentence with klunk... klunk.
  • 58 3
 @chrisingrassia: Mmyeah. I probably will. Thanks Einstein.
  • 22 4
 @chrisingrassia: the question is why people will spent 500$ in a dropper post ...
  • 35 10
 @MisterJones: Maybe b/c they miss jail, and want something stiff.
  • 25 1
 when became dropper posts that expensive? I paid 190 € for a current reverb in 2013. still works btw...
  • 21 42
flag cmi85 (Apr 17, 2016 at 16:42) (Below Threshold)
 @MisterJones: Price is relative to each consumer. What $500 is to you may be nothing or exorbitant to someone else
  • 14 4
 ^true, and that doesn't just go for rich people, some people are willing to pay a lot for a product that works, even if $500 is a lot for them.
  • 12 3
 @MisterJones: because they have money left over after spending $2500 on a Bontrager XXX wheelset?
  • 62 1
 @pm148: If there's one thing you just know will work, it's the first production run of a dropper post.
  • 53 4
 It surprises me that droppers can be sold at this pricepoint... they're basically the same technology that has been in $50 office chairs for decades with a little weather sealing and a remote control.
  • 13 0
 500 bucks and it's not even a green kashima coating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • 10 16
flag ad15 (Apr 18, 2016 at 1:35) (Below Threshold)
 @Alias530: @Alias530: how many office chairs are produced annually versus how many dropper posts....
  • 5 1
 @Fix-the-Spade: ...and it's great for shooting nuts. Gravity Dropper that is. Klunk.
  • 5 2
 Why not make an air cartridge that can be refilled with a shock pump if you lose pressure out on a ride. Lighter than a spring...
  • 4 4
 @powderturns: what, like a reverb......Wink
  • 9 10
 @Alias530: love it, down voted for stating a fact,,, the reality is that 100's of 1000's if not more office chairs are made every year, compare that to dropper posts which will be a minuscule amount in comparison and there you have your price difference... this is the same for anything manufactured, make lots of them, it gets cheaper, make a small amount, it's expensive...
  • 8 3
 @ad15: I don't care how few you're making ... unless one man is turning out each one of these on a lathe there's no justification for it costing $500 end of story. The fact that this uses parts shared with other dropper posts means it should be cheaper if anything and trust me - whoever they're sourcing the cartridge from will be a manufacturer who makes 1000's of the things. They aren't going to set up their own bloody cartridge facility.
  • 3 8
flag Alias530 (Apr 18, 2016 at 13:28) (Below Threshold)
 @ad15: I'm saying it isn't brand new technology. This technology was created by someone else and they're re-using it. Your argument only holds true if it's something they had to R&D from scratch and re-coup their losses. In this case, they're copying what someone else did and fine tuned long ago.

Pinkbike has spoken... you with -4 votes and me with +40, you are wrong Smile
  • 6 8
 @Alias530: ah yes, i must be wrong, 40 keyboard warriors down voted me.... How many of the 40+ actually work in manufacturing/ sports industry/ OR are old enough to actually understand it.

Yes the technology is old, but that doesn't mean it's cheap OR to shrink down and totally change the application from one where there is no major stress, water, mud etc (the office) to one where it is continually used, in all manor of environments and expected to last for years without fail (riding). you only have to look at the reputation of the crank brothers Joplin or early reverbs to see that...

yes the cartridge might come from the same factory as other manufacturers. BUT, if that other brand owns the tooling then it cannot be used by other brands, they have to pay for their own tooling. that's the just tip of the iceberg... it's a lot more complicated than "it's the same factory so must be cheap to do"
  • 4 1
 @ad15: I was mostly joking by saying I was right because of the voters, but there is plenty of truth in what I said. Tons of entrants to the dropper post word before DVO. They don't have the "brand new, can't get it anywhere else, need to recoup R&D costs!!" argument that the original sellers of droppers had.
  • 3 0
 @powderturns: because if you loose all your air pressure on a ride your spring has sprung a leak and probably cannot be refilled...
  • 63 3
 These DVO guys really get their rocks off coming up with these names, don't they?
  • 35 3
 This one should be a real gem of a post.
  • 16 4
 @Dano-01: Cummingtonite would both cost less and be more satisfying than a $500 garnet.
  • 7 0
 I can't wait to see the DVO Painite. I don't even know that the product will be, but you know damn well it will be special.
  • 70 3
 They sure are putting out some gneiss products recently. I think a lot of people take them for granite because they are a new company, metamorphically speaking. I don't know if I would one of their products just yet, though. Don't get me wrong, all companies have their faults, and shcist happens, because the bike industry is a tuff one to break into, and there is a lot of pressure to stay ahead of the fold, and I'm sure their products rock!
  • 40 1
 Waiting for the budget Dvo "lump of coal"
  • 7 2
 Mineral you guys thinkin about is new parts... Just get out and shred!
  • 5 0
 @won-sean-animal-chin: DVO lump of coal won't ever leak- its filled with radon. You want coal. And radon. They will do you well.
  • 6 0
 @won-sean-animal-chin: Crank Bros have already had that one, it was called the Kronolog.
  • 37 2
 So, it's heavier than lots of others, and it's only $500 . . . Sign me up!

And the DVO pricing apologists can do one. Sometimes there just isn't a reason to be so expensive, and this item is one of those times.
  • 11 1
 I love DVO, but this feels like the same thing as when FOX brought out the DOSS for $420, & dropped the price by $100 a few months later when they couldn't sell any.
  • 3 1
 Like w/ the new Crank Bros post: these reviews damn w/ faint praise. Less travel and/or more weight for more money? Street price on a Reverb is currently $280, KS Lev is $320. New dropper designs need to up the performance ante & at least hit the same ballpark on price if they want to be in the game.
  • 22 1
 Define having fun after youve just dropped $400-499 on a dropper post.will I find this in whole foods?
  • 21 1
 Sea Otter 2016 - The rise of the dropper posts
  • 6 0
 Sea Otter 2017 - The drop post rises
  • 17 0
 All these dropper post articles, I just scroll down, check the price, then close the tab.
  • 7 1
 Yeh first company to come out with a realistically priced one $200 will win the market!
  • 4 1
 @ctd07: Giant Contact Switch, the catch is 30.9mm only.
  • 1 1
 @ctd07: Yeah, I might buy a couple.
  • 13 1
 "The remote is very KS-esque, which is a good thing"
Nope, it totally sucks. I'm happy to see more and more thumb lever remotes popping up. Love my specialized remote....
  • 7 0
 Agreed. Love my Southpaw remote.
  • 4 0
 Agreed, why are so many dropper remotes badly designed? Ks Southpaw is perfect.
  • 13 6
 Absolute ripoff!
Giant Contact Switch works with a similar cartridge, has one of the best levers out there , lighter too , $200 less.
  • 10 3
 Another dropper post ???? The market will have its ups and downs
  • 3 1
 The pogo effect
  • 5 0
 Regardless... When the seat drops the fun starts.....nice to have new products to complain about though..... Makes for light conversation
  • 5 0
 Why are pinkbike deleting references to comparable products?
I made comment that reverbs are available for £190 and it disappeared. Makes this article feel like an advert.
  • 7 1
 externals look a lot like the lev integra, did they license the design?
  • 7 1
 Another dropper with a terribly ergonomic lever! Yay!
  • 3 1
 A very factual and real shoot out is needed on dropper posts PB A plethora of posts coming onto the market, readers need to hear real life extended reviews.... This would be an up, on a subject with more downs that up's
  • 15 1
 www.pinkbike.com/news/dropper-post-test-review-six-2015.html
  • 2 0
 @mikelevy: ,yes, remember this one... More meaning now with more coming on stream...

Thanks for sharing link again, good refresher
  • 3 0
 It's been less than 2 months since that comparison was posted (which was a great acticle) and there's already a bunch of new droppers that are available this season with more on the way. Hope they will redo this comparison by mid summer after some seat time on the new models.
  • 2 0
 9point8 fall line...Hands down the best!
  • 3 0
 You'd think with the sheer amount of droppers being thrown into the market, at least someone besides Rockshox would do something with a longer stroke than 150mm...
  • 2 0
 @Buggyr333 Vecnum Moveloc, 200mm made in Germany
  • 2 0
 And 9point8, with a coming 175mm and possibly a 200mm.
  • 1 0
 @metaam: If you can even get one.
  • 1 0
 @padrefan1982: Have been for a long time, with no progress shown.
  • 3 0
 @Buggyr333: Yes, I have heard they are rare as rocking horse shit
  • 3 0
 I'm digging the new Race Face Turbine: www.vitalmtb.com/product/guide/Seatposts,30/Race-Face/Turbine-dropper,16690#product-reviews/2400
  • 2 0
 ***Built with technology licensed from 9Point8
  • 2 0
 "Intended use : having fun" thats it... i am gonna drop my front mech this tear and get that droper post for my trek slash 7 2014
  • 2 2
 Theres something to be said for a reliable dropper, but I would have hoped that DVO might have gone out of the box a little while still maintaining the reliability aspect. They've had some pretty neat ideas with their forks and now shock, I wonder what they could've brought to the dropper post market
  • 1 1
 I don't have any experience with those dropper posts (just leave the seat down at the trails, a qr will do for the ride to and from the trails) but is that the main problem with dropper posts, a leaking air spring? I can imagine if the clamp fails, you now have a bigger issue. You can't just release air and leave the seat down as the coil spring will slowly but surely shove it right up there again.
  • 4 1
 intened use. having fun. DVO just shot up in my list of favourite companies Smile
  • 1 1
 Whoever is coming up with these names @DVOSuspension needs to be canned. First Topaz (Like the shitty car Mercury Topaz) now Garnet.... I mean the stone theme is fine but out of all the stones or gems you guys keep picking terrible names. The Emerald is by FAR the best, the rest suck. Why not Onyx for the rear shock? Or Obsidian? For the love of god just pick something else... I mean just say it out loud, "check out my new Topaz shock and my Garnet dropper post", yuck..
  • 2 1
 500 bucks? Wth. You can score a decent pair of forks or a shock for the price. DVO musta been smoking rocks (garnet) when they came up with the name/price.
  • 2 0
 Whats the Giant dropper cost again? Just got one for the equivalent of $150.00.
  • 2 1
 If it's as reliable as their forks then they can jam it up their arse. I'll stick to my reverb thanks.
  • 5 0
 To each their own. My Emerald has been fantastic but all of my Reverbs have failed at the worst possible time, which is usually far from home about a week after coming back from warranty.
  • 1 0
 100g heavier then the reverb, and more expensive. I guess there is an ass for every seat... Post.
  • 2 1
 Looks like a KS Lev Integra....and it's uglier...no thank you...I'll stick with my bomb proof 9point8.
  • 2 0
 Yawn!! Yet another dropper post!
  • 1 0
 With so many people in the dropper post game I would love to see the market shave the price down to $200
  • 1 0
 Just saw a KS dropper post at Sea Otter For under 200. Would love to read a review.
  • 1 0
 Is it cable or what is it
  • 1 0
 sorry DVO still waiting for the E-tap reverb
  • 1 0
 How did I miss this? I was at the DVO booth didn't even see it...
  • 1 0
 that lever is a bit of a downer
  • 1 0
 A garnet is purple....this one isn't. Strange name.
  • 1 0
 Intended use : having fun
  • 1 0
 LOL looks like a KS Lev ALOT!
  • 1 0
 fuck you internal routing!
  • 1 0
 $499 yea right...
  • 1 1
 Let see the dropper that will drop by itself, now I will pay for that.
  • 2 1
 Umm yeah, no.
  • 1 0
 a KS lev integra?
  • 2 1
 But it isn't inverted...
  • 3 5
 This looks sexy. Now I just need the old KS Lev to die so I can get funds approved.
  • 6 1
 I wouldn't be in such a hurry
  • 4 1
 Good luck. It's gonna be a few years.
  • 2 2
 Reverb over n out ..
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