Video: Vertical Announce Lightweight Seat Post

Press Release: Vertical

VERTICAL is a brand that has been created with the aim of giving life to a product that has been developed intensively for three years in Barcelona. VERTICAL's goal is to design and manufacture bicycle components that are reliable, lightweight and unique, positioning VERTICAL as the best choice in the market.

HELIUM is the product that motivated the creation of this brand: the lightest telescopic seatpost on the market that has passed the ISO4210 test, with a weight of 304 grams for the shortest version. The Helium seatpost is made from a patented ILC (Independent Locking Cartridge) mechanical locking cartridge, which withstands compressive stresses in isolation, leaving bending and twisting to the main tubes. This allows the sliding tube to be smooth on the inside, making it stronger, lighter and more reliable.

The fixed tube is made of carbon fibre from a Toray fibre laminate that is optimised not only to withstand bending and twisting, but also to prevent the dropper seatpost clamp from deforming the tube excessively. All other parts are machined entirely from 7075T6 aluminium by computer control. The robust M6 bolts and nuts that hold the saddle in place are made from 6Al-4V titanium.

The development process has been persistent to achieve the lightest weight without compromising reliability. Many preliminary designs were made before the final product was finalised. Different ideas have been tested, such as the use of carbon fibre inside the dropper seatpost, hydraulic actuators... which have been discarded due to wear resistance or usability. It has also been necessary to optimise thicknesses, prototype and torture dozens of samples in order to pass the demanding ISO4210 fatigue test as mentioned above.

HELIUM's lightness and robustness, as well as its immediacy of response, 90mm of travel and two locking positions, make this dropper seatpost the best option on the market for both cross- country competition and down-country bikes.The VERTICAL development team has not only focused on obtaining the best product for the end consumer, but has also been concerned about the needs of mechanics. In this sense, the dropper seatpost is easy to assemble, as well as the possibility of removing the seatpost from the bicycle without releasing the drive cable by means of the EDS (Easy Detachment System), which also allows the same seatpost to be switched between different bikes without tools.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that the air spring can be adjusted without having to remove the dropper seatpost, thus adapting it to the preferences of each user. The weight of the seatpost according to the available sizes can be seen in the following table:

30,9mm. 31,6mm
S 320mm x 60mm. 304 gr 313 gr
M 350mm x 90mm 322 gr 331 gr
L. 380mm x 90mm. 334 gr 345 gr
XL. 410mm x 90mm. 346 gr. 357gr

VERTICAL's second product is the seat post clamp, which, designed thanks to computer topological optimisation, achieves a weight of 9g while supporting a tightening torque of over 9Nm.
Its design ensures that mud does not accumulate between the support lip and the seatpost because the full circumference is dispensed with, limiting the positioning to 3 support points.

All the strengths described in this article have been tested and validated in competition by Xavier Jornet and Pau Romero, among other riders. In addition, since the beginning of 2022, Sergio Mantecón has competed all season with a HELIUM prototype and this September, he won the SPANISH XCM CHAMPIONSHIP with the production model.
Both products can be purchased on the brand's official website www.ridevertical.eu, so what are you waiting for to experience our "RIDE UNRESTRICTED" slogan?