SDG Tellis V2.1

The Dropper Story

There, we made it. Mountain biker conveniently lowers his seat just before his descent into the sweet single track before him. No dismounting, tool searching, or bolt rounding. Just a flick of a left thumb and a subtle squat that my gym coach would call "shallow." My perch, my trusty platform that got me to the top of the hill, is now 200 millimetres lower than before. I can lean the bike over more and enjoy some airtime without the fear of being chucked forward. This is the culmination of years of refinement in the design and manufacturing of the seatpost.

To be totally honest with you, if you looked at my high school yearbook, It would say something along the lines of: "voted the least likely to pick up mountain biking if it wasn't for the dropper post." I was doing juuust fine on my Flatland BMX bike with a middle-of-the-road height saddle spinning around in circles. Saddles are for holding, not sitting on. Right?

I cannot deny the convenience that this telescoping miracle tube delivers. Cycling up and down on demand through mud and rain, getting it done, and asking only an occasional clean and lube in return. Maybe a fresh cable once a year if I am not feeling too lazy.

SDG Tellis V2.1 dropper

When I reviewed and eventually purchased my Knolly Tyaughton, it came with an SDG Tellis V1 dropper post in 170 millimeters. I didn't assemble the original review bike and the fellow who built and delivered it to me said: "it's a sick bike, apart from the dropper." I didn't let that comment bother me but I paid attention to the mechanics and the feel of the Tellis v1 that was spec'ed on that Tyaughton. Guess what? It did nothing wrong in the last 2+ years. It didn't bind, didn't fail, didn't as much as hint that there was anything wrong or about to go wrong. It just worked, like the benchmark OneUp V2 of the time did.

When I was selected as the recipient of the new Tellis V2 seatpost a couple of months ago, I wasn't thrilled to solve a problem per se, I was just happy to receive an updated product that was already well-rounded. The updates to the post however, were a pleasant surprise.

Fast forward a couple of years and here is another Knolly in the house for testing: the new Chilcotin with the much-anticipated silhouette. The sizing changes pushing me to a size small meant that it would arrive with a 170mm seatpost and almost 6 inches of it sticking out of the frame for a proper leg extension. You can see the first look at the Chilcotin HERE and expect the full review soon. What I didn't realize immediately was the post on the Knolly was the yet-to-be-released Tellis V2. SDG did a soft release to the OEM world and the new dropper was making its appearances on new bikes in March.

The first thing I noticed with the new seatpost was the way it secures and adjusts the saddle. There is a new low stack I-Beam head design that runs on channels that deliver one of the most civilized adjustment and fastening systems there is. You loosen two bolts on the side and micro adjustments can be made easily without losing your shit over falling bolts. As a running change, SDG also updated these bolts to M6 size for a 17Nm torque over the 12Nm ones that came on the Chilcotin. According to SDG, this was not necessary but they wanted a little extra insurance. 26mm stanchions don't cause much flex and I haven't experienced any binding of the dropper when it's time to slam it into the Knollys.

The guts of the new Tellis are as simple as it gets. With a sealed Wintek cartridge, there is no Schrader valve to worry about. There is a benefit and a serious drawback to this. With the sealed design, SDG and all the other brands using the same tech, now can offer a 10mm reduction in overall stack for the dropper. The saddle clamp design adds to this and the result is that you can use a slightly longer dropper in your frame. The biggest problem I anticipate is that with the pressure preset in the cartridge from the factory, you are limited to a set resistance to actuate to post with your weight. My 160lb / 72kg body can move the post down at ease. The lighter you are, the harder time you are going to have with dropping it, though. What if you are a 110-lb rider? What about a 60-lb child?

The new Tellis comes in 7 sizes; 75MM, 100MM, 125MM, 150MM, 170MM, 200MM, and 230MM. With the included spacers, you can now have a 55mm dropper for your grom rider. That's really great! However, they may not be able to actuate the drop with their low weight.

When I was a little boy running around my mother's place of work after school hours, I loved playing with the height adjusting office chairs. I would spin around on them until I was about to puke and would try to lower the chairs with my 60-ish pounds of bones and skin. Some were so powerful that they would shoot me straight into the ceiling when I pulled the levers on them. They sure don't build'em like they used to!

The cartridge in the Tellis V2 comes at a preset pressure. It seems that lower pressures in the sealed Wintek cartridge for shorter droppers would be beneficial to lighter riders. I imagine most of the droppers in the market would have the same issue. The Fox Transfer SL is the only post I've come across that has an ultra light action drop. While it may be an option for lighter riders, it only has two positions: all the way up or all the way down.

If you decide to go for the Tellis V2 for your child, you may still have to lower their saddle for the descent for them if they're not heavy enough to do it themselves. Better than whipping out the tools but not ideal.

Servicing the Tellis is a few-minute job that doesn't require any special tools. The green actuator comes off, the cartridge grub screw under the saddle comes off too and the cartridge just slides out. You don't even have to remove the saddle. The polycarbonate and copper keyways have a robust feeling and can be cleaned and lubed without much hassle.

It's 2024 and our bikes have wicked stuff happening on them. The Tellis V2 gets the job done in an uneventful manner. It also improves on certain features like the seat mounting standard with the I-Beam head. The Tellis V2 Costs 215 USD / 300 CAD and is a solid option for those looking to add more drop to their ride. I would bet on this new dropper to do well in a head-to-head with the OneUp V2 and V3. I love the way SDG utilizes the I-Beam head for the Tellis' saddle mount.

The 200mm V2 will be staying with the Chilcotin indefinitely.

Tellis V2