The Flight dropper post is the base model post from Ascend Components, run by one of the original of Chain Reaction Cycles gang.
The Ascend Components team have been fine tuning their dropper post offering, with the current range kicking off at a penny shy of £100 with the Flight.
Photos by Pete Scullion.
Key Features:
- 125mm, 150mm, 170mm, and 200mm lengths
- 30.9 and 31.6 diameters
- Lightweight alloy construction
- Internal cable routing
- Hydraulic cartridge
- Key maintenance parts replaceable and available Ascend Components
- Purple colour accent on the actuator
- £99.99 RRP
- AscendComponents.com
The Ascend Components Flight dropper seemingly ticks all the boxes for anyone looking to buy a post that will go up and down on request and then be easy to fix should that request encounter some resistance. Not content with being a ‘fit and forget’ post, Ascend Components have doubled down on offering seat post calculators, fitment guides and all the spare parts that you can shake a stick at.
Beyond that, the outer and inner posts are alloy, with a replaceable hydraulic cartridge actuated by (on this post) internal routing. There is an external dropper option from Ascend should you be that way inclined. 30.9 and 31.6mm diameters cover most of the modern carbon and alloy frame options. Whilst you won’t see it after you get the post fitted, the actuator at the base of the post is a delightful anodised purple number.
Don’t be fooled by the cosmetic similarities between this and the Brand-X number, whilst the latter has the lever included, it is also heavier and has a cartridge that is less refined and there’s no word on spares or servicing on their site.
Fitment is, as you’d expect, as straightforward as a internally routed dropper, with the cable head anchoring at the base of the post. If you already have a similar cable setup fitted then it’s a straightforward swap. The post doesn’t come with a lever, but Ascend do offer their standard lever at £22.99 as well as their Tune lever which offers more adjustability. The overall stack height isn’t the shortest, or the longest for that matter, with the overall post length being in the middle of the road too.
The Flight replaced the long-serving and reliable KS Lev Integra on my Saracen Ariel 60 Elite long term bike, with both the post straight swapped and with the supplied Ascend lever. Simply put, it continued the sterling service of the KS post and I hardly noticed that they’d been swapped after a few months of service.
I haven’t had need to replace any of the parts on the Flight, with the entry-level dropper feeling just as smooth now when the post arrived six months ago. Whilst it might lack the true finesse of the Flight SL or the standard-setting OneUp V3 dropper, it does just get on with the task at hand.
You can check out the Ascend Components Flight Dropper over on their website here.
