best dropper post lever for small, weak hands?

We have the Fern post for my 7 year old who is 5th percentile small and the standard Wolftooth Remote works very well. I was going to change it to the light action if it was difficult to operate but it is easy and super smooth to operate.

AXS dropper.

cleoent said:

AXS dropper.

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Have you verified that a 75 lb child can make it drop?

rocwandrer said:

Have you verified that a 75 lb child can make it drop?

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I weigh 110 lb and had a hard time getting the last part of the AXS dropper down. The easiest dropper I have is the PNW with a wolf tooth LA. PNW does make a kids dropper for 75 lbs.


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Personally I like OneUp's lever best, but then I'm 6'1".
That said, my 5'2" GF with small, weak hands likes it, too.
Very ergo & easy to push.
We have the discrete clamp model (not sure OneUp offers anything else.)
The paddle isn't small but this doesn't mean a small thumb can't push it.
=sParty

JillRide45 said:

I weigh 110 lb and had a hard time getting the last part of the AXS dropper down. The easiest dropper I have is the PNW with a wild tooth LA. PNW does make a kids dropper for 75 lbs.


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Good info, thanks. You mean wolf tooth light action?

I bought Fern kids dropper. I was trying to preempt an issue with working the lever. I had to change out the shifter on her fat bike because she couldn't get it into the lowest 4 gears.

I think I'll try the crank bros lever I already own and see how it goes. But more data points here would be awesome.

My 8 year old, 50 lb son got a bike with a Lev Si and a Wolf Tooth light action lever today.

He was able to actuate the lever with no issue, and could even lower the seat with his hand while standing next to the bike.

Just got this for my 8-year old daughter. Light enough lever and dropper action for a kid.

rocwandrer said:

Good info, thanks. You mean wolf tooth light action?

I bought Fern kids dropper. I was trying to preempt an issue with working the lever. I had to change out the shifter on her fat bike because she couldn't get it into the lowest 4 gears.

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We use the standard Wolftooth with the Fern and it is very easy to actuate - much easier than the 10-speed Zee derailleur/shifter on that bike (which is also not difficult!). My 11 year old uses the wolftooth light action with a KS Lev DX dropper and it has a very very light action (too light for me) but it does have a longer throw so might be trickier with smaller hands.

Agree you should try the lever you already have to see if it works out.

mlloyd007 said:

Just got this for my 8-year old daughter. Light enough lever and dropper action for a kid.

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I saw that. On the steel frame she used to have, I had no issue with drilling a hole to run the internal routing. Steel tends to exhibit ductile failure, and I think it was about 4X overbuilt for her use. But on the 2.5 lb carbon frame (brittle failure mode, modest safety factor), I'm very hesitant to drill...

stevelim said:

We use the standard Wolftooth with the Fern and it is very easy to actuate - much easier than the 10-speed Zee derailleur/shifter on that bike (which is also not difficult!). My 11 year old uses the wolftooth light action with a KS Lev DX dropper and it has a very very light action (too light for me) but it does have a longer throw so might be trickier with smaller hands.

Agree you should try the lever you already have to see if it works out.

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I'm glad to get a data point of a kid having no trouble with the standard action lever. Having to reposition her hands on the bars to work the controls is so 1991...

If you want the smoothest, easiest lever throw and actuation...there is only one. The KS Lev Integra with a decent remote. Whatever magic they do, its a really smooth action...VERY smooth and easy to actuate. The key is that you can also adjust the posts PSI to make it even smoother and easier. Run it down to like 85 and a 3 yro can actuate it. Most posts are running 250+. Some are perhaps down to the mid 100's but the KS goes WAY low and still works well. It allows them to push it down with their hand so easily, which is what you want. If they have the post down for an extended amount of time, it will sometimes stick down, but that's not been an issue for us on the trail. More so when just pulling it out of the garage with the post compressed. My 50lb 6yro used it and still does. Adjustable remotes are key as well. We've used a wolftooth but there are perhaps better options.

The crank bros seems to be ok. Being able to precisely locate the paddle in space is good. Thumb effort is higher than ideal. May be from the effort inherent in the fern actuation mech?

For most levers, you can increase the leverage by adding on a silicone brake lever cover to extend it slightly (they come longer than is needed for dropper levers, so just trim to fit):

IMO, also makes it feel a bit nicer -- Wolftooth light action (or the ZTTO copy) + silicone cover is what I'm using on my own bike.

Same general principle, but even more extension would be a Sureshift cover -- might be worth reaching out to see if they've tested any of their models with dropper remotes:

rocwandrer said:

The crank bros seems to be ok. Being able to precisely locate the paddle in space is good. Thumb effort is higher than ideal. May be from the effort inherent in the fern actuation mech?

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I find the Fern actuation to be smooth/low effort. You can pop the cover on the external actuation mechanism to test it. Maybe also double check cable/housing prep and routing?

TimTucker said:

For most levers, you can increase the leverage by adding on a silicone brake lever cover to extend it slightly (they come longer than is needed for dropper levers, so just trim to fit):

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IMO, also makes it feel a bit nicer -- Wolftooth light action (or the ZTTO copy) + silicone cover is what I'm using on my own bike.

Same general principle, but even more extension would be a Sureshift cover -- might be worth reaching out to see if they've tested any of their models with dropper remotes:

Home - Sureshift

Sureshift shifter extenders give young riders the control, comfort and confidence to go through the gears!

sureshift.bike

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That sounds pretty sweet! Do you have a pic of your setup?

My youngest daughter just upsized, and while she had no problems with the standard vertical KS lever on her old bike, the southpaw/horizontal style on the new one is difficult for her. She weighs 50 lbs.

eyeballs said:

My youngest daughter just upsized, and while she had no problems with the standard vertical KS lever on her old bike, the southpaw/horizontal style on the new one is difficult for her. She weighs 50 lbs.

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Good data point. I didn't even think to have her try actuating my KS lever on my bike.