115mm actual drop, 150mm effective drop.
New dropper post tilts the saddle nose up as the saddle drops. Here’s all you need to know about the Specialized Command Post IRcc WU.
>>> 2018 Specialized Enduro: longer reach and adjustable geometry
First of all, WU? Eh? Apparently in certain rarified circles of gravity and downhill riding, ‘WU’ is slang for when a saddle has its nose pointed up significantly. Well there you go. Every day’s a learning day.
The total amount of WU on offer with the new Command Post is 14° of saddle tilt.
Why run a nose-up saddle for descending? Specialized’s main reasoning for it is comfort; “As the saddle lowers, your hips rotate back, so from a Body Geometry standpoint, it allows the saddle to still fit properly, and still allow blood flow to everything that is so very important to us all.”
There is also the (arguably more common) reasoning that it helps to get the saddle out of the way when getting off the back of the bike on steep descents.
Indeed, it’s specifically getting the tail of the saddle further out of the way that is a key design point of the WU post. The actual amount of shaft travel is a modest 115mm but the auto-tilting aspect means the ‘effective’ drop (of the tail of the saddle) is stated to be 150mm. (But does this mean the raised nose of the saddle will sit higher than 115mm-dropped?)
The exact details of how the post work has not been included in the press release information. What we do know is that it has a 34.9mm diameter (so THAT’S with Specialized’s 2017 Enduro models came with that seat tube diameter) and that it features Specialized’s ‘Cruise Control’ mid-drop indexed height positions – fourteen height locations in total.
The new post will come fitted to some of the 2018 Specialized Enduro models and will also be made available at some point (TBA) aftermarket for £400.00 SRP.
All-in-all, the new Specialized Command Post IRcc WU dropper post offer something significantly different to all the other droppers out there. Hats off for Specialized for trying something new. We can’t wait to give one a proper testing.