OneUp Components V2 Review

OneUp Components has grown relatively quickly from a small aftermarket drivetrain parts manufacturer to a well-known and respected brand with a growing selection of components. Their product offerings have expanded into the cockpit with stems, handlebars, grips, and dropper seatposts. We tested the OneUp V1 dropper in the past, but we'd heard great things about the improved performance and reliability of the V2. Not only is the V2 affordable, but it also has incredibly short stack height and full post lengths, adjustable travel, a quality remote, and very smooth travel. Our testers were quite impressed with the V2, especially considering the asking price.

Performance Comparison

Smoothness and Functionality

Considering the price of the V2 dropper, we were very impressed with its smoothness of travel, ease of compression, consistency, and on-trail performance. Unlike the V1 dropper we tested previously, the V2 performed flawlessly throughout our testing process. It has the slightest bit of lateral saddle play, but so little that it is barely worth mentioning and went unnoticed out on the trail. We felt it worked better than many competitors that cost significantly more.

One of the first things testers noticed about the V2 was how easy it was to compress both by hand and under body weight. Part of our testing process involves cycling each dropper through its travel hundreds of times by hand, and the V2 was among the easiest to compress of all the droppers we tested. Our experience was the same on the trail, where it drops easily and quickly beneath your body weight. Testers found they did not need to consciously weight the saddle in any way to get it to drop the way some models do. That said, it didn't have a complete free-fall feel, but it wasn't far off.

The V2 also impressed us with its extension, and our test post operated very smoothly and never developed any stickiness or sag. The rate of return is adjustable with an air spring valve hidden under the saddle clamp, and you can set it up to operate anywhere from pretty quick to really fast. OneUp recommends pressures in the 250-300psi range, and we found 250psi to be the sweet spot for our tastes. At that pressure, the post extended quickly enough without fear of castration, and it topped out with an audible thunk. By feathering the remote lever, it was also easy to modulate the rate of return and helpful when making incremental adjustments to saddle height.

Saddle Clamp

The V2 has a relatively standard zero-offset two-bolt saddle clamp. There's nothing particularly revolutionary about it, but it does have an attempted user-friendly twist. It looks like a standard 2-bolt clamp design, but OneUp made the top half of the clamp slotted to try and make it slightly easier to install and remove your saddle. While this seems like a great idea, we found it to be finicky and quite difficult to get to the clamp bolts through the slots, and when swapping saddles, we ended up just removing one of the bolts completely anyway. Unlike many other standard 2-bolt clamp designs where you can loosen the clamp enough to squeeze the saddle rails in or out, we found that we were unable to install or remove a saddle without completely removing the top half of the clamp. Fortunately, most riders don't swap or make adjustments to their saddle that frequently. Once a saddle was installed, our saddle clamp did not make any noise, nor did the bolts self-loosen while riding.

Another interesting aspect of the V2's saddle clamp design is the position of the saddle rails. Unlike most competitors that have the saddle rails at or above the top of the post, OneUp has offset them to be lower than the top of the post. This simple design feature has allowed them to be a market leader in terms of stack heights and overall dropper lengths so riders can maximize the amount of drop length they can squeeze on their bikes.

Remote

The OneUp V2 is sold as a post only (or you can purchase the OneUp remote with the post) and you can use any remote you like with it as long as the one you choose clamps the cable at the remote. Should you choose to go with a OneUp lever, they make a handlebar mount, SRAM Matchmaker X, Shimano I-Spec II, and I-Spec EV, all of which cost an additional $59.50. We bought the handlebar mount OneUp remote to go along with our V2 post for testing.

The new OneUp remote is an improvement over the lever we tested with the V1 dropper. The latest version is crafted from lightweight aluminum and has a large oversized bearing at its pivot. The remote attaches with a screw to the hinged handlebar clamp, and it has three attachment holes machined so that you can adjust it horizontally and line it up perfectly to optimize your thumb reach. The face of the lever itself has texture in the form of tightly packed vertical ridges to add a little grip to the surface.

The lever has a very light actuation force and a very short throw; it's among the easiest levers to press that we've used. The actuator at the bottom of the post is one of the reasons that the lever has such a short-throw; it only has to move a few millimeters to trigger the actuator. Press the lever all the way, and the post drops like a rock or returns to full height. Feather the lever, and you can modulate the rate of return. When used with the V2 dropper, we were very impressed with the OneUp remote.

Weight

We weighed our 31.6mm diameter 180mm travel V2 post, and it tipped the scales at 662g, including the cable, housing, and remote. This is impressively lightweight for a post in this travel length. In grams per millimeter, the OneUp is one of the lightest options in the test at just 3.7-grams/millimeter. So, not only can you squeeze a longer travel dropper onto your bike with the V2, you can do so at little to no weight penalty over other brands.

Ease of Setup

The OneUp V2 is about as easy to install as a cable-actuated post can be. OneUp does not include instructions with the post, but detailed instructions can be found on their website. Like any internally routed dropper post, the most challenging part of the operation is routing the cable housing through your bike's frame. After that, the V2 sets itself apart from the competition with a user-friendly and straightforward process that requires only a set of allen keys and a pair of cable cutters.

At the bottom of the post is OneUp's new 2.1 actuator. This is a small green anodized mechanism that protrudes just a short length off the bottom of the post. Like many cable-actuated droppers, it has a spring-loaded lever for its actuation mechanism. Starting at the post end of the housing, feed the cable through the cable bushing and place it into the slotted cradle on the actuator. Slip the cable through the slot and insert the housing into the bottom of the actuator on the post. Keeping tension on the cable and the housing, slide the post into the seat tube while drawing the cable and housing through towards the front of the bike.

Place the hinged handlebar clamp where you like on the left side of your handlebar, or use your matchmaker compatible brake lever clamp, and attach the remote lever. The remote has three holes side by side to attach it to the handlebar clamp, which allows you to fine-tune the lever's position horizontally to dial in the thumb reach perfectly. Loosen the set screw on the remote lever and feed the end of the cable into the barrel adjuster/cable tensioner and under the set screw/washer on the lever. Tighten the set screw, cut the cable, and crimp the end.

OneUp also includes shims with each post so that you can adjust the length of its travel in 10mm increments. You can't make a shorter travel post longer, but you can reduce the travel of the 180mm post to 170mm or 160mm for the perfect fit on your bike. To do this, it's easiest to watch OneUp's instructional video online. Basically, you loosen the collar at the bottom of the stanchion and slide it up, slide the plastic bushing up and out of the way, and insert the small metal shims into the three slots around the stanchion. Each layer of shims shortens the travel by 10mm. Once the shims are in place, slide the bushing and collar back down and retighten the collar.

Value

The OneUp V2 is one of the best values on the market. Even after you purchase a remote lever to go with it, it is still one of the least expensive models in our test selection. Considering its excellent all-around performance, respectable weight, and impressively low stack height and extended lengths, we feel this affordable dropper is definitely worth the asking price.

Conclusion

The V2 is among the best dropper seatposts in this test, giving its more expensive competition a run for their money. Our testers were very impressed with this post's smooth, consistent, and reliable performance. It's relatively light weight with a short stack height and adjustable travel so you can squeeze every last bit of drop length onto your bike. The remote also has good ergonomics, a short throw, and a light lever feel, making saddle height changes even easier. This affordable post is worthy of a place on any bike regardless of your budget.

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