Wolf Tooth Components Updates Resolve Dropper Post

CONFLICT!

As if ripped straight from an epic and very serious Cy vs. Andrew battle royale of ‘ Low-Stakes Drama, ’ the folks at Wolf Tooth Components (WTC) have crowned themselves world champions of dropper post travel by a massive 2mm. That’s 242mm travel to be exact. Combined with adjustable air pressure and a level of smoooooooothness* that ties the Resolve with BikeYoke’s Revive as best-in-class, I would assume it will be the best performing – up & down – truly long travel dropper post on the market.

WTC has also added a 34.9mm size to its dropper post range. This new larger-size option includes a purpose-built cartridge to take advantage of the extra real estate. That is as opposed to what many other brands do in terms of dropping an existing cartridge into a larger chassis which adds weight without adding much advantage. This new, larger, chassis was specifically optimized around the longer 242mm size and, while I am not telling anyone what to do, if I were going to run a dropper post over 200mm it would unquestionably be paired with a 34.9 seat tube.

*{Total number of additional ‘O’s to be independently verified by the purchaser.}

However, that is easy for me to say, as my preference for dropper posts on mountain bikes ranges from 150mm to 185mm, depending on the bike and application. When I ride a bike with a longer post I tend to find myself faffing about with a higher-than-slammed position, which is never as inspiring as the clear knock of a fully bottomed saddle. With the number of fantastic dropper posts on the market in 30.9mm and 31.6mm diameters, from PNW’s budget friendliest options to fully serviceable posts from BikeYoke, WTC, etc., 34.9mm posts add weight and nothing else to my experience.

Wolf Tooth makes posts in 125mm, 160mm, 200mm, and the new 242mm drops, so to achieve my preference I run a stack of travel reducers in a 200mm Resolve post. I have run it at 170mm, 175mm, 180mm, and 185mm, so while adjusting travel is more involved than many posts, it is not prohibitively so. For later reference, I am currently riding my first-gen Resolve (Res1) at 170mm travel.

A Reminder to Service your Dropper

From the first push of my dropper remote, I was duly amazed by the tight, smooth action of the Resolve V2 (Res2). Wow, my generation-one post is smooth, but it is always exciting as a tester when there is a clear distinction between what is old and what is new.

Then I changed out one – just one – of the brass anti-rotational pins to a 0.02mm thicker size, refreshed the dropper fluid with Wolf Tooth’s V2 Dropper Fluid, lubricated the bushing and seals with a fresh slathering of Slickoleum, and voila. My Res1 is as tight and as smooth, or at least almost as smooth, as a fresh-from-the-box Res2.

There are some, small and backward-compatible, internal changes that I will talk about more in a few seconds but here I wanted to highlight WTC’s ‘Right to Repair’ policy and the excellent schematics and service videos that go along with it.

They make four sizes of anti-rotational pins and sell every component of the Resolve on their website or through your preferred local bike shop. I want to note here that despite hundreds of hours of riding and this being my second full rebuild, I have not changed any components except the dropper post fluid, the one anti-rotational pin, and an air filter*. The seals and bushings are still feeling fresh after a clean and lube.

*{I could have just rinsed out the air filter, but I had a spare.}

The Best ‘Next Generation’ Products

Personal outlook dependent, we have reached a magical or maniacal time in mountain biking. It is no longer that standard case of ‘what’s old is new again’ but rather what is new is new again. Take any bike that was, comparatively, great four years ago and service it to fresh and that bike is comparatively great today. The same is true for forks, shocks, wheels, brakes, tires.

Brands are, of course, still working to market the latest and greatest but the true testament of a great bike or product is how little it changes from one generation to the next. I understand why ‘new’ is necessary to sell products, but we have reached a point of maturity where assuming both products are factory fresh, I would choose previous-generation products. I would rather have a new 2019 Santa Cruz Tallboy than a 2024. I would choose to unbox an 11-speed XX1 drivetrain rather than a 12-speed Eagle, AXS, or T-Type version.

In this sense, the Res2 Resolve is a perfect ‘next generation’ product. It keeps the excellent self-bleeding function, where the cartridge is constantly bleeding any air bypass simply by cycling the post, but the cartridge should go much longer between services thanks to the new oil. It shares almost all the same chassis components other than a colour-changed actuator and, of course, the new 34.9mm parts.

For myself, running a <200mm dropper post the most notable change between Res2 and my well-used but well-serviced Res1 is the new internal spool valve that reduces activation force at the remote by a claimed 25%. My Rev1, combined with a Wolf Tooth ReMote Pro actuator , is plenty of light action for me but there are two things to consider with the reduced force.

1. Folks chasing the lightest possible action without going to an electronically activated post, like a Reverb AXS, are going to certainly appreciate the reduction in thumb effort running my setup with Res2.
2. Folks, like me, who do not desire a lighter action can combine Res2 with a shorter-throw actuator, like Wolf Tooth’s original Non-Light-Action ReMote for more positive activation.

160mm vs. 170mm

I was perfectly content with my Resolve Res1 in 170mm, but I did have a thought with Res2 coming out, and the opportunity to review a post, that it would be interesting to test the 160mm version on the same bike. The 160mm has a significantly shorter insertion depth, compared to my 200mm-lowered-to-170mm and it is lighter weight. Plus, in a world where we are talking about the difference between my 170mm dropper and someone choosing to run a 242mm dropper, really, what is a centimeter?

It turns out that 170mm is exactly the perfect amount of drop for my hardtail. 175mm is good too, and 180mm is okay, and any more than 185mm and I want to lower it to 170mm. On the other extreme, there are trails where I am not happy being shorter than 170mm. Period. Go figure?

I aspire to review a modern XC bike in the future where this 160mm Res2 will be perfect when lowered to 150mm, but in the meantime, my wife is riding the Res2, at 160mm on her bike and I am still adding up the hours on Res1. The decrease in required insertion depth compared to her previous 160mm post is massive and even then, the WTC Resolve post must be extended a couple of centimetres higher to match her climbing height.

If Wolf Tooth added a dedicated 180mm dropper post, she could certainly run that in her bike, if she wanted the extra drop. I do not think it would work on a full suspension bike, down to saddle vs. tire clearance but on her hardtail, it is crazy to think a five-foot-tall rider could rock a 180mm dropper.

Wolf Tooth does not claim to make the shortest dropper post by insertion depth or stack, but with their unique saddle-clamp details and a focus on keeping things as short as possible, they are damn close to the market leader.

Copy That

My Resolve Rev1 has been through it and post-service it is as smooth, tight, and certain (bottom-out and top-out) as it was when fresh. This is evidenced by just how similar the performance is to the Res2 I have been playing with. Since the new dropper post fluid was a running change, if I were buying a Resolve post today, I would pick up one of the remaining Rev1 posts at the discounted price of US$280 rather than spend the extra 20% on the Res2, at US$350. It is nice to see that the launch of Res2 was not accompanied by a price increase over Rev1.

Great service guides, all the small parts available thanks to WTC’s ‘Right To Repair’ policy, self-bleeding cartridge, some of the shortest insertion depths & stack heights, amongst the lightest droppers on the market by travel, low-lifetime cost of ownership (amortize your life), and the addition of a 242mm length and 34.9mm diameter. Phew, say that ten times fast.

The Resolve dropper post continues to be an awesome option for folks interested in making a long-term investment in an excellent post that’s built in Minnesota. They are reasonably straightforward to service at home thanks to WTC’s excellent resources, and, of course, your competent local bike shop would be happy to service them as well.

For more information, please check out the updated WTC Resolve page featuring Revision 2.