KS ETEN Seatpost

The KS ETEN dropper with integrated lever might seem like a bit of a weird choice in the sea of dropper posts now available, but it has a few good arguments that might answer why KS still manufacture it after all those years. I bought mine in 2012 as my first dropper post, and since my frame couldn’t fit an internally-routed remote cable, the under-the-saddle-lever version was ideal. I would have had to route the remote externally, but my frame wasn’t made for this and I didn’t want to add more tie-wraps to my bike. The eTen is only available in 100mm drop for 27.2 or 125mm for 30,9 and 31.6mm diameter seat tubes, but since it has no external actuator in the bottom, it is not too long (445mm in the 125mm length) and might fit more frames with interrupted or curvy seat tubes.

Simple, really simple

Setting up this dropper post is pretty straightforward: install your saddle on it, tighten it into your frame and you’re ready to go. No shifter cable and housing to measure/trim, no cable to adjust, no two-part saddle clamp to fiddle with, no remote/brake lever interference to deal with. That’s one of the nice things about this post: it was easy to set up and never gave me any trouble.

One thing that is important to mention is that the lever can be too wide for some saddle rails. My Selle Italia saddle’s rails were a bit too close together and the lever didn’t go up enough. At first, I thought that the dropper’s cartridge was malfunctioning, but since it was working well without the saddle on, I have tried it with another saddle and it was fine. I decided to remove the lever (pretty simple to do with just an Allen key) and sand it down a bit on a belt sander. I didn’t need to remove much, and it worked perfectly with all my saddles afterwards. Plus the raw aluminum made the lever a bit stealthier.

As seen on the Norco Shore, the KS eTen’s 20mm setback might not be ideal frames with an already slack seat tube angle. I was already pretty far behind the BB on that bike so the setback didn’t help much especially while climbing. Most people enjoy the new steeper seat tube angles for climbing, so installing a setback seat post instantly negates this advantage. Visually, I’m not a fan of setbacks either, but that’s pretty much the only option if you need a dropper without a remote lever.

Performance-wise, the lever is easy to actuate as long as you’re not in a too-technical section. I’ve had a few close calls while actuating the lever with one hand but I’ve never crashed while actuating it. You just need to plan your action a bit if you’re going fast as it doesn’t have the fastest return speed. Sometimes I had to lower it a bit, hold the bars with both hands for a rough bit, and then finish lowering it between two obstacles. It can be lowered and stopped anywhere in the 100 or 125mm of travel, but I have always used it fully lowered (whenever I could!). I enjoyed the rattle-free experience and the absence of rotational or side-to-side play during the entire two years that I have owned this seat post, and the cartridge always worked flawlessly.

Conclusion

The KS was a simple and reliable post, but I’ve also had a great trouble-free experience with the Brand-X/Foundation (JensonUSA’s version, essentially the same) remote-actuated dropper posts and they can be found for not much more when on sale. if having a handlebar-mounted remote is a possibility and money is a bit tight, I’d still definitely try to wait for those to be on sale instead of buying the lever-actuated E-Ten for 30-50$ less. The KS could be a pretty good option for an older or a second bike though, or for a bike that you want to keep as simple as possible while still having a dropper, or just to get as a backup to keep riding while your main seat post is away for a rebuild or a warranty replacement. Buying a basic standard seat post is around 30$, so paying the difference to get a KS eTen might be worth it for those situations.