IRD Airdrop Dropper Seatpost Review: Quirky but Fun

Soma recently announced the IRD Airdrop dropper post ($129.95) in silver, to the rejoice of alt-cyclists everywhere. Finally, their 27.2 classic bikes can have a dropper post that matches the Sugino cranks and Nitto stems. John bought one for his Omnium Mini-Max build 2.0 and has found a few quirks…

IRD Dropper Silver

Something just looks “off” when it comes to installing black dropper posts on all silver builds. Sure, you can strip the stanchion, or the whole thing, like I have, but that requires a good amount of DIY ambition. My Wolf Tooth dropper post on my Black Cat still looks great, as does my Moné SB2 dropper, but not everyone wants to spend upwards of $100 on something, only to take it apart and strip it.

That’s where the Soma IRD Airdrop Dropper Seatpost comes into play. These 27.2 dropper posts feature 100 mm of drop in a 400 mm overall post length. They’re satin and nickel-plated to ensure the silver finish is long-lasting. Simply attach your favorite saddle and drop it into your seat tube for an instant dropper post with no cable installation hassle.

To activate or drop your saddle, pull on the metal lever, which compresses the air pin and allows the shaft to drop, similar to an adjustable-height office chair.

Who’s It For?

Want to up the ante on your vintage MTB build but don’t want to tarnish the all-silver parts kid with a black dropper? Or perhaps your frame isn’t Hite-Rite compatible. Maybe your Riv or Crust needs to get more shreddy. The 27.2 diameter works with most “road” bikes, too. If your bike doesn’t have routing for a dropper post and you really want one but don’t want to drill your frame for one, the IRD Airdrop might be for you.

Limitations

First, 100 mm is actually a lot of drop for classic bikes. Anything with a “grip” of seatpost will have to accommodate the 100 mm of stanchion, along with the 25 mm of dropper collar. There’s no way to adjust the travel to, say, 70 mm as you can with PNW Components dropper posts.

My Omnium Mini Max uses a 31.6 seatpost, so I had to buy a shim to use the 27.2 dropper. Another limitation is the insertion distance. Smaller frames might run into interference issues with bottle bosses.

Quirks

Immediately, I was a bit let down by the return rate of the dropper, being used to the lightning-quick returns of my PNW Components, Wolf Tooth, and One Up droppers. Then I realized there seemed to be a buildup of stiction, or when the force required to push two surfaces against each other is greater than the force needed to get them moving. This is often due to dry seals.

The solution was easy; I added some Slick Honey to the stanchion and seal. Problem solved. I do this anyway on many of my suspension products since we live in a dry climate.

Although it still doesn’t return as fast as my other droppers, the return rate has improved dramatically. One thing to note, to actuate the dropper, you have to take your hand off the handlebar, which might make some riders uncomfortable.

Another quirk is your clamp torque on your seatpost collar. You don’t want to crank it super hard. Just enough to keep the post from shifting or sliding. There aren’t any installation instructions for the post, but I found that around +/-10 NM was sufficient.

Pros

It’s silver, without needing to strip its anodizing
Satin and nickel plating ensure a long life
27.2 fits a lot of road, gravel, and vintage frames, or you can shim up to a larger diameter seat tube
Easy installation, no nonsense, no dropper routing required
Affordable-ish at $129.95

Cons