Last year, Funn introduced the stealth version of their dropper post, the UpDown. Available in 125mm and 150mm lengths and in 30.9 and 31.6 sizes, the UpDown foregoes the more traditional IFP (internal floating piston) design, which can sometimes suck in air and develop the dreaded sagging seatpost syndrome.
In its place is Funn's "twin-tube cartridge system" which they say mechanically resets and restores oil and air locations within the cartridge during use. This is said to eliminate the saggy saddle issues and create a more reliable and user-friendly system.
In its place is Funn's "twin-tube cartridge system" which they say mechanically resets and restores oil and air locations within the cartridge during use. This is said to eliminate the saggy saddle issues and create a more reliable and user-friendly system.
Funn UpDown Details
• Travel: 125 or 150mm options
• Self-bleeding twin tube cartridge
• 30.9 or 31.6mm diameter
• Internal cable routing only
• Adjustable remote lever
• Weight: 550g, remote: 50g
• $259 USD - 125mm, $279 USD - 150mm
• www.funnmtb.com
• Travel: 125 or 150mm options
• Self-bleeding twin tube cartridge
• 30.9 or 31.6mm diameter
• Internal cable routing only
• Adjustable remote lever
• Weight: 550g, remote: 50g
• $259 USD - 125mm, $279 USD - 150mm
• www.funnmtb.com
Funn also include their ultra-adjustable lever with the post. The lever is made to be able to be mounted on the top or bottom of the bars, where its position can be rotated to achieve the desired angle. It's also MatchMaker compatible.
The lever for the UpDown can be adjusted however you like. It's also MatchMaker compatible, which is a plus, as less clutter is always better.
From the outside, the post looks more or less like anything else out there, but the internal workings are quite different.
Construction
The UpDown looks similar on the outside, but it uses a different design than many other posts currently on the market. The cartridge has an outer and inner tube which contain compressed air and hydraulic oil. When the actuator is in a closed position, the seatpost is locked out and the hydraulic oil contained in the inner chamber supports the rider's weight.
When the actuator opens and dropper compresses, oil flows from the inner chamber to the outer chamber and compressed air enters the upper part of the inner chamber. At full compression, the piston pushes both hydraulic oil and unwanted air from the inner tube.
When the cartridge rebounds from full compression, compressed air pushes the piston shaft upwards and only the hydraulic oil gets sucked into the inner chamber. This way, the cartridge can effectively reallocate both air and oil back to its proper designated locations in the system. This ability to self-restore and refresh theoretically means lower maintenance and no "bobbing" or "sinking" issues with the dropper.
The post uses a standard two bolt clamp for the saddle.
The lever can be easily rotated to whatever position your thumb prefers.
Performance
Installing the UpDown was simple, due to the fact that the cable head sits in the dropper post itself while the other end is secured on the lever. This is a great trait in that dialing in cable tension doesn't require pulling the post out of the frame or measuring 17mm to where you secure the cable. Run the cable through the lever, put some tension on it, and you're good to go.
The lever itself is ultra adjustable as mentioned above. The thumb paddle is large, similar in size to that of a SRAM shifter. The action on the lever is much lighter than a Fox Transfer or RockShox Reverb. There is a little bit of play in it, but it's not enough to notice when riding.
Even with the parts properly oiled, there is resistance in the actuation of the lever when there is weight on the saddle.
When there is weight on the saddle, actuating the post isn't as smooth as I expected. I experienced increased resistance at the lever when sitting with my full weight on the saddle, and there was an almost 'metal-on-metal' grinding feeling at the lever. Easing off some weight made the post actuate more smoothly and with much less force on the lever.
Despite this harshness at the lever, the performance of the post stayed consistent. It doesn't take much force to get the post down and the return speed of the UpDown is moderate, with no fear of the ejection-seat/shotgun style return some other options have.
I reached out to Funn about the lever feel and they replied saying, "Yes, we are aware of this issue. This is due to the cam mechanism design...To alleviate this issue, we suggest to preload the actuator as far as possible. This would help the actuator pass the sideways moving section."
I did as suggested and it alleviated a lot of the tension, but the lever feel still isn't smooth as some of the competition. At the same time, the force required to actually move the seat down once the lever is depressed is quite light, so it's not as if you're ever fighting to get the seat out of the way.
The post's ability to self bleed air out of the system works as advertised. I was able to introduce air into the system by pulling the post up with the bike upside down. This gave a very exaggerated amount of sag in the post with it fully extended, as you can see in the video. With a quick up and down of the post, everything firms back up and is perfectly solid once again.
The ability of the post to automatically "reset" itself as you ride is going to be a big selling point for a lot of riders who have found themselves with IFP issues in the past. In this respect, the UpDown comes out ahead of many of the other posts currently available.
Pinkbike's Take
 | The UpDown's ability to self-bleed is going to be a selling point for a lot of riders who are tired of needing to get their posts rebuilt in order to solve IFP-related issues. The UpDown is solid, and the lever shape and adjustability are great, although the camming issue is tough to overlook. Adding extra preload to the actuator did help, but the overall feel when pushing the lever isn't nearly as smooth as other options. |
Must Read This Week
117 Comments
"It sometimes works, but most of the time it sucks monkey's balls. Hard"
One could are that every review of every piece of bike equipment could be titled
"Review: ________'s _________ Eliminates Unwanted ______, But Isn't Perfect." Fill in the blank.
I appreciate the reviewer's efforts to review things with an honest/experienced answer so I don't spend $100 to $10,000 on something that sucks.
www.pinkbike.com/news/dropper-post-test-review-six-2015.html
Im also slightly bemused by the main issue cited in the review above. The lever action is sticky if you try and activate it while sitting your full weight on the saddle? Well why are you even trying to activate it with your full weight already applied? This isnt how droppers get used while riding, only in carpark tests. Its like complaining your fork tops out of you put your foot on the wheel and push. The solution isnt to modify the product, the solution is to use it properly.
Im getting so bored of watching mtb customers shooting themselves in the foot daily, complaining that silly non-issues are a deal breaker, then complaining when the newer modified version that fixes the issue costs more or is too heavy. Or worse loses actual real world functionality in order to rectify a made up problem.
Even if say an annual service rate is all that is needed, I suspect psychology plays a factor in that issues with your seat are so bloody obvious - it's right under your rear, you feel the play in the seat post so it is top of mind. Most riders likely also need their shock, fork and/or bearings serviced, but they aren't in tune with their bike sufficiently to notice... but you'll certainly notice a wobbly seat.
Consumer psychology is generally irrational.
PS - totally agree on your point about intended vs unintended use. Imagine reviewing drivetrain and complaining that it doesn't shift smoothly when jumping 5 gears under heavy load on out of the saddle climbs. Oh wait, people still do that too...
Has your post got the updated ifp? They help quite a lot.
That said, for people who have chronic IFP issues, this is an interesting option.
I've only ever used the gas strut type droppers, and i had literally never heard of IFP issues or droppers sagging before today...like, i didn't even know that was an issue that plagued some droppers
We now have $200 droppers that actually work and the Revive is no longer the clear winner. Still the best, but the value is questionable.
From a functional standpoint, I agree. But these many of these $200 droppers are air cartridge based, which means that if those air cartridges fail, it's time to get a new one. Not even sure if your LBS has those cartridges in stock. Nothing wrong with them now. They just work, and work well. The Revive is over-engineered with a sealed closed circuit which, for all intents and purposes, is self-'reviving'. I have never read about the Revive's own circuit failing under normal use. I have, however, heard about these air cartridges failing over time. I think their life is about 1-3 years until it's noticeably slower or fails completely. Mileage may vary. The Revive is indefinite unless you smash one in to a rock.
It's true the cartridges of the new, inexpensive droppers can't be serviced. The question is whether they need to be serviced and what that would require. We're close to a point where the cartridges rarely fail; if they do, the service can be quick and cheap. If shops were to stock a couple, the whole process might take under an hour and cost maybe $100. If the initial price of the post is $200 less, that buys two cartridge replacements before the price breaks even, and not many people will need two cartridge replacements.
I still prefer the Revive and it's nice to now have less expensive, *viable* options.
The KS I have on my other bike also has only needed to be "revived" once in about 5 years but that involved completely dismantling it to bleed out the air. It also needs to be cleaned and greased a couple times a year or it gets extremely sticky.
I have the first model on my full susser, it tends to suck air when the bike is inverted. Press of a button and it's good again. But, i have a newer one (where they updated the internals) on my hardtail and i have not touched the reset button in the 1.5 years i had it. Older one i've had for 2.5 years, zero maintenance required so far on either one.
In my books it's the perfect dropper.
Find the vertical push down more natural then push away, personal preference
If you must keep your reverb, Rockshox can replce an O ring with a smaller one made of a material thats less temperature sensitive. Its like $80 or something though.
While extended, let out all the air from the post.
Bleed the remote system with the bleeding edge tool, speed dial out.
With the threaded syringe out and post end port plugged, push a little more fluid in the lever with the bleeding edge syringe (hold it in with your hand, not over or near a rotor or brake).
Disconnect bleeding edge tool and adjust like normal.
Air post to 250psi.
Now you have the maximum amount of fluid in the system and it will work better, especially in the cold.
It looks like there is the "issue" the IFP solves, meaning when the post is in compressed position, you can extend it manually...
Yea it's expensive. But it's a dropper that will outlast many, many bikes.
Ballcrap.
Please don't tell me that if we all buy a crap product the company can then afford to make version 2 which will be better and then we can all buy that to replace the first one....
When developing a product, a team is given a certain amount of money to reach a certain level of performance/quality/price target under a constrained period of time. Usually one of these three parameters is more loose. But without going deep into details, you will almost never have a unlimited amount of time and money to reach top quality...
"Yeah we know"