Specialized's new Command Post dropper offers 150mm of travel, internal cable routing and something it calls 'WU'.
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According to Specialized, ‘Wu’ is in fact a noun. The company define it as ‘slang for positive saddle adjustment, commonly found on DH bikes. Example: “Dude, you got some serious WU going on with your saddle.”
The new Command Post has a 34.9mm diameter post with 150mm effective travel, internal cable routing and Cruise Control between 25 and 100mm.
We say effective travel because the actual shaft travel is 115mm. The remaining drop is produced by an automatic rotation of the seatpost that gives a 14-degree tilt, which brings the nose up and the tail down when the saddle drops to its low position.
Angling the saddle in this way is fairly common among downhill riders, but what’s also interesting is that Specialized is fitting the new Command Post WU to the S-Works and Elite level Enduro bikes for 2018.
The idea, presumably, is the advantage it gives enduro racers on extended technical descents in terms of comfort and support. Given that Stage 1 of the EWS in Whistler took in a whopping 16 to 20 minutes of descending on gnarly terrain, anything that helps combat fatigue is likely to be a bonus.
The post will be fitted to several bike models for 2018 and will retail at £400 (US and Australian prices TBC).
