Hope. AFAIK it has the most adjustment so you should be able to set it up just how you want it.

 

I have a wolftooth, jealous of my friends PNW loam lever... It's nice 🙂 No complaints with the Wolftooth though, fresh cable and housing would probably get it within 95% of the Loam.

 

I've had a couple different levers on different bikes. Bontrager, WolfTooth, Fox.. so far my favorite one is the PNW Loam lever. It's slowly replacing all of my other levers as bikes get built or changed up.

 

Same here; tried a bunch and have switched all bikes to the Loam levers. The current (V3) version has more inboard/outboard mounting adjustment than the previous ones.

 

The specialized lever is pretty rad and I think would be a good fix to your specific problem.

 

Had a few levers including WT light action, PNW, Shimano, OneUp, Specialized, TranzX.

Ergonomics wise, the best by far is Specialized (almost identical to a sram shifter), followed by Shimano, TranzX and WT.

The downside of the specialized lever is that it requires the cable head at the lever, unlike "proper" levers like WT and Shimano

WT light action is not something I would use by default, it's a last resort for a stubborn dropper. It trades light action with a long lever stroke which can be worse ergonomically.

The majority of droppers today need little cable force. Many hard actuations are a result of cable friction, especially at the connection of the housing to the dropper. It is worth fixing that first.

 

Ergonomics wise, the best by far is Specialized (almost identical to a sram shifter), followed by Shimano, TranzX and WT.
.

I am surprised more people dont use a front derailleur shifter with the guts removed.

I did that when I switched to 1x, have transferred that old x01 shifter to three different bikes now as it is by far the most comfortable dropper remote I have used.

 

I've had several. OneUp, Crank Brothers, Giant regular, Giant radial (bar centric), PNW radial, Wolftooth radial. Of those, the WT radial was my favorite. HOwever, I've just replaced it with a Wolftooth 360, as the radial sometimes digs into my upper thumb. Haven't ridden that bike, yet, I've been on my single speed since I did that. Of the conventional ones, I liked the Crank Brothers best, then Giant, then OneUp. Currently have a OneUP on my SS. It feels spongy (which may take some tweaking with cable tension), and I'd ratehr it sit a little farther from the bar. The Giant and PNW radial mounts both were clunky, and had a long tube that made routing difficult. The WT radial is outstanding.

 

"Radial" Do you mean this one : ReMote BarCentric

 

"Radial" Do you mean this one : ReMote BarCentric

Yes, I used the term radial to describe three dropper posts that Wolftooth describes as "bar centric."

 

I’ve tried the WT normal and Light Action the One Up v2 and Shimano MT800.

I’ve found the Shimano to work the best with my One Up Dropper as it is sprung. The other levers wouldn’t return completely.

Maybe down to the dropper, it’s always stiff on the first press

 

I broke my oem Giant lever on a fall once and replaced it with a PNW. It is/was the nicest one I have ever used. I didn't think it would make a difference until I used it. Smooth, easy and clean feel.

 

Dang, sorry about your broken lever. Love to hear your PNW lever is treating you well, thanks for the stoke! 🙌

 

I have only had one…the Loam and it works nice like.

 

Fox, Shimano, WT LA, WT Pro... my mine gripe has been integrating with Shimano i-spec-ev. Fox lever came on a couple of new bikes which had transfers. Whatever i-spec adapter they used, it never stayed tight for long (lever would move around) and didn't allow for a lot of adjustment. Lever feel was fine though. Tried the Shimano lever, great integration, snappy and short. Worked well with the transfer.

Swapped transfer for a OneUp dropper... lever feel is now terrible, jerky, requires lots of pressure. Give WT a try.... LA with i-spec adapter won't position lever where I'd like, get returned. Try the Pro version, position is good (more adjustability) and lever feel is a bit better and requires a lot less pressure.

Unfortunately, IME with the Fox transfer/s they've lasted less than a season before needing warranty for sticking and not fully returning. The OneUp was cheaper and can be serviced at home, but the action on it, along with lever feel isn't a smooth or light as the transfer.

For me, the lever needs to be positioned optimally when using i-spec EV and have an action that isn't too firm, allows micro-adjustments of the dropper and doesn't require too much travel needing to really push ones thumb deep in or twist the hand for it to work.

 

They wouldn't all fit on the bar...

Okay, I've tried PNW, One Up, Bike Yoke and Wolf Tooth. My current favorite is the Wolf Tooth due to the adjustability. The One Up was set too far back so my thumb had to reach further than I'd like. The remainder were fine.

 

I never gave the lever much thought until I switched to a OneUp (Fox started sticking after a few years and >$100 service price is absurd). OneUp takes significantly more lever pressure than the Fox. Enough pressure where it can be an issue to activate the lever later in a ride, rough terrain, etc. I have to wonder if all the people that recommend the OneUp have tried other posts before. Point is, if you have a post that's easy to activate, the lever doesn't matter much.

 

Interesting.
Personally I'm a OneUp dropper lever fan but I've got big hands... long thumbs.
The thing I like best about it is that it sits way under the bar so I don't have to reach my big thumb out in front of the bar in order to access / depress it.
But maybe it's not ideal for those with smaller thumbs...
My GF is only 5'2"... I put OneUp dropper levers on her bars (both her bikes)... I better ask her if it's a pain for her to reach.
Thanks for cluing me, y'all.
=sParty

 

I have short thumb shame now.

 

PNW Loam lever. Comfy to use and you can get it color matched to your ride.

 

PNW, Giant, OneUp, TranzX, next will be an SDG Tellis. A couple others, prolly.

There's definitely a difference. But "lever feel" rolls right off of me. I didn't try various hoping for a better experience. I bought em because I'm a bling whore.

 

Yeah, I can't tell any significant difference between my PNW, old WT, bikeyoke and possibly some other levers. The BY and WT posts are very nice actuation and smooth and the lever feel is smooth too. I think all of this mainly depends on the post actuator, not so much the lever. Longer lever is obviously more leverage, but there's a limit to what you can easily acuate as far as distance too.

 

No doubt the Oneup actuation is crude. First pull is notchy and don't think about putting any weight on the saddle when actuating a drop. This is my second post w/ 2 differnt frames & dropper specific cabling. I was really suprised the Oneup lever is tucked so far under the bar as it really makes you press w/ the tip of your thumb.

 

I ran the wolf tooths on many bikes, recently got a Paul and prefer it over the wolf tooth. WT are nice but I have broken 2 in accidents. The Paul clamp is just as smooth, has a better thumb feel, and can be use with either end of the cable. Also looks amazing. Sadly much more expensive.

 

I've got KS, Trans-X, and PNW on my bikes now and don't really have a preference. They all seem to work pretty well.

 

I want to try that Wolf Tooth Remote 360 set up as an index finger trigger. Has anyone tried that?

ReMote 360

Wolf Tooth ReMote 360 is a joystick-style dropper lever that can be installed almost anywhere on the handlebars. It is compatible with all cable-actuated dropper posts. The lever can be pushed or pulled in any direction with a thumb or index finger. The clamp can be rotated 360º around the bars...

www.wolftoothcomponents.com

 

I have installed it, but not ridden yet. I'm trying here first, but expect to use KY thumb.

 

WolfTooth and PNW are my favorite levers, with a slight edge to the WolfTooth LA lever.

I prefer the machined face to the soft pad.

I had one Loam lever destroy its bearing within 6 months. Emailed PNW and they sent a new one right away, expedited shipping. Can’t beat PNW’s customer service.

 

Dang, that's never good - sorry about your old Loam Lever. Glad to hear our team got you taken care of! Thanks for your support 🤘

 

I have used TransX, KS Lev and PNW Loam v1. The Loam is far superior to the other 2 in my opinion. I am interested in trying the new Wolf Tooth ReMote 360 though.

ReMote 360 - Wolf Tooth Components

 

I find that a single lever is sufficient. Utilizing multiple levers seems inefficient, complicated, and dangerous.

 

I used to have the PNW Loam, which I loved, until I got my AXS dropper. 😉

 

The actuation and function of the AXS dropper is great.

Unfortunately, they are now utterly useless with only a max drop of 170mm. 😉

If I wanted my taint massaged, I would call that imaginary girl Shawn got the digits of on trail…

 

I was really suprised the Oneup lever is tucked so far under the bar as it really makes you press w/ the tip of your thumb.

Yes, this lever has the worse ergonomics due to being too far in and very short lever. I think it's a result of using as less material as possible. I think they push cost cutting little too far.

No doubt the Oneup actuation is crude. First pull is notchy and don't think about putting any weight on the saddle when actuating a drop.

This is a function of the post. You can try to grease pivots of the actuator with thick grease like marin grease. It works well on PNW posts that have similar hard initial actuation. Its gone after the first couple of actuations, so not really a factor in lever choice.

 

Yes, this lever has the worse ergonomics due to being too far in and very short lever. I think it's a result of using as less material as possible. I think they push cost cutting little too far.

Strange, as I found it to be superb in terms of ergonomics. Sits right under the grip where my thumb can easily access it and feels very apt as a mirror for the shifter. If only it could do two-way release like the shifter can...

As with all things, personal taste is likely to define how people feel about positioning, but I thought the OneUp was pretty nifty. I still prefer the MT500 from Shimano for price reasons, but I'd take either if a bike came with one.

On the subject of actuation, are any droppers out there truly silky smooth with a light release action? I often hear the BY Revive talked about, but have never, ever seen one IRL to test.

 

I went with the Wolf Tooth…that’s about it. I’m using it with a OneUp and Bike Yoke dropper. I went with them because they were the only ones that made an adapter for my brakes. They’re the only company that makes a Magura specific integrated brake clamp. It’s more than just a universal Sram style adapter. I also have the Spesh one that came with the bike. It works pretty well too. The only one that sucked was the Fox one. The lever pivots on a hinge with a rivet through it.