External seatpost clamp-friendly dropper post?

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chocolate-thunder

O+

Posted: Dec 1, 2022 at 11:43

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I am running into an issue with my ToutTerrain SingleTrailer impeding the movement of my dropper post.

For those not familiar, this is a suspended single-wheel kiddie carrier/trailer that clamps to the back of your bike via a single coupling hitch. The carrier stays upright by clamping the hitch to your seatpost firmly so that it does not twist (if it twists, the trailer will lean to one side). As such, the clamping force of the hitch must be quite tight to prevent movement. When I clamp the hitch tight enough to prevent twisting, it squishes the post so much that the dropper won't rise without physically pulling on the saddle while actuating the release lever, and it feels like I'm actively wearing the internals with the increased friction when I do this.

I spoke with ToutTerrain, but they were unable to provide any useful advice. I asked them if friction paste between the hitch and the seatpost was a good idea, and specifically advised against it. Not sure why.
I have spoken with the dealer, and they didn't have any additional advice besides to try a different brand dropper.
Both companies are quite nice and supportive otherwise, so I'm surprised to hear that I'm the only one with this issue.

So here I am, asking if anyone else has any ideas on which dropper post can handle increased clamping pressure without impeding dropper movement. This is the same sort of clamping situation that one would encounter with a tag along bike or trail-a-bike (AKA trailing bike). Also akin to someone who really needs to clamp their dropper post in their frame really tightly to prevent twisting.
The coupling hitch clamps onto the upper portion of the seatpost, right below the dropper collar, right above the frame's seatpost clamp.
I am not sure if there are design differences significant enough to alleviate this issue, but I'm hoping that someone knows the internals of other droppers well enough to suggest that clamping the upper 2" of the dropper post will not deform things enough to impede movement.

I have a OneUp dropper currently.
I have a Manitou Jack on the way, which I understand to be equivalent to the Bike Yoke Revive. I have also considered the Crank Brothers Highline 11, Thomson Elite Covert, e*thirteen Vario, SDG Tellis, and Wolf Tooth Components Resolve. None of these designs seem bad at all, I just had to start somewhere, so I bought a Jack because it was on sale, and I hear great things about the Revive.

Gravelben

O+

Posted: Dec 1, 2022 at 14:01	Quote
The Oneup dropper does seem quite sensitive to clamp force, maybe a downside of a lighter weight construction. I haven't tried many other ones, but basic OEM Giant droppers seemed much less sensitive to clamping - however it may also be because the Oneup is being clamped much closer to the collar in my case.

barp

Posted: Dec 1, 2022 at 20:09	Quote
Just curious, what kind of clamping torque does the trailer hitch require? I think droppers typically aren't supposed to be clamped any harder than five newton meters.

chocolate-thunder

O+

Posted: Dec 14, 2022 at 10:42

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barp wrote:

Just curious, what kind of clamping torque does the trailer hitch require? I think droppers typically aren't supposed to be clamped any harder than five newton meters.

Well, turns out I do not have notification set up for this - sorry for the late reply!
Manual recommends 9 nM. I get seatpost binding at 3 nM.

barp

Posted: Dec 14, 2022 at 21:00	Quote
Woof. Well, I don't need to tell you this, but that clamp is definitely no good for your dropper.

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