Race Face Turbine Dropper Seatpost

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Review by Johan Hjord // Photos by Johan Hjord and Tal Rozow

UPDATED REVIEW APRIL 2017: With promise of smooth operation and an innovative locking mechanism, the Race Face Turbine had us excited at the prospect of a sweet user experience and better reliability than we've become used to in this somewhat troubled product category. Unfortunately, despite a very promising start, our first sample developed an air leak and some consistency issues in regards to the locking mechanism/remote after about 5 months of testing, and its successor had similar issues a couple of months in as well. We have since been able to test a revised 2017 model which has benefited from improvements in manufacturing tolerances and revised internals, leaving the post less sensitive to the issues we had with the early samples - but doesn't solve them completely. Too bad, since this post has an ace up its sleeve and could be a serious contender with more consistency and better reliability.

Race Face Turbine Dropper Highlights

• Internal cable routing
• Infinite-adjust within stroke
• Race Face Hunter Head 2-bolt design
• Quick Connector allows easy, tool-free disconnection
• Left or right mount universal thumb lever remote (included)
• Remote uses standard shifter cable and housing
• Functions at full capacity in below-freezing conditions (i.e. suitable for Fat Bikes & winter riding)
• 1x Front shifter style hop-up lever available in Black, Red, Blue, Green, Orange
• Post Color: BLACK
• Built For: XC/Trail/Enduro
• Length:350mm, 375mm, 415mm, 440mm
• Travel: 100mm, 125mm, 150mm
• Lever Actuation: Mechanical
• Head Type: Zero Offset
• Size: 30.9mm, 31.6mm
• Weight: 495 grams (30.9x440x150mm w/o lever)
• MSRP: $469.99 USD
• “Shifter-style” remote option MSRP: $59.00 USD

Initial Impressions

Easton was acquired in 2015 by Chris Tutton, majority owner of Race Face, and the resulting entity ("RFE Holdings" for Race Face Easton Holdings) was subsequently bought by Fox (the suspension company). There is of course some overlap in the product lines of Easton and Race Face, but the theme going forward is to leverage the respective strengths of each company while pooling resources and developing projects together where it makes sense to do so. The jointly developed Race Face Turbine/Easton Haven dropper post project is the first fruit of this collaboration. Weighing in at 622 grams for the 150mm 31.6 version including standard remote and cables, it certainly ticks a lot of boxes on the paper, with an MSRP in line with other high-end options on the market.

When it came to the internals of the new post, RFE went with an already proven design from 9point8, a Canadian company. Featuring an air spring and a purely mechanical locking mechanism, this cable-actuated solution is meant to offer several advantages: the rider’s weight is supported directly by the mechanical brake, which should help eliminate slippage, and the brake will continue to function even if for some reason the air spring should fail (in which case the post will of course not extend under its own power, but it can at least be locked in any position you desire to get you home). The design is also less sensitive to the outside temperature.

Pulling the post out of the box, we were met by a well-finished product. All the machining is precise, and the color uniform and deep. The box includes everything needed for installation, with a standard shifter cable and housing connecting a universal remote that can be mounted on either side of the handlebars. With Race Face offering an optional “shifter-style” remote in 6 different colors (MSRP $59), Vital green was the natural choice for a little extra bling (Easton sells the shifter-style remote too, but only in black).

The remote cable features a nifty quick release mechanism on the post side, which is meant to make life easier every time you need to remove your post, for example for moving it between bikes. And on that topic, it was time to fit the post and head out on the trail.

Installation

Installing the Turbine is fairly straight-forward, if you pay careful attention to the instructions and to what you are doing. Once you route your cable housing through the frame (which may involve various degrees of sweating, swearing, or throwing tools, depending on how your frame is put together), and make sure the cable tensioner is wound in to within 1.5 turns of the end, simply pull the cable through and align the activator tabs by using the yellow clip included in the box – tighten down the bolt and you’re done.

After you cut the excess cable, you attach the quick connector first by rotating the post while holding the smaller, protruding part of the connector static, then screw in the outer part while holding the post static. That’s it. If everything went well, you should only have to use the barrel adjust on the shifter side to adjust the play at the lever to about 2mm, and you’re good to go. We got it pretty much first time around. The post features a traditional dual-bolt head design, with a nice extra touch: a rubber plug holds the lower part of the clamp in place, and rubber washers on the bolts ensure they don’t fall off when you undo the bolts.

Additionally, the bolts are long enough to allow you to install the saddle from the side without actually removing the top part of the clamp – another nice touch that makes wrenching a bit easier. We also appreciated the graduated markings on the post body to help with saddle height set-up, a useful feature if you have a bike that other people use, for example.

Both remotes are easy to install and to adjust. The shifter style quickly became our favorite, as it sits exactly in the spot your left thumb will recall finding a shifter in, if you’ve been riding for a few years. It even features a side-to-side adjustment much like the 2 holes of a shifter body, to allow you to fine tune its position relative to available real estate on the handlebar. Matchmaker/iSpec compatibility would make it even cooler, but it gets on just fine without it.

On The Trail

The instructions told us to run between 20-40 psi of main air spring pressure, but we quickly found out that is too much. The Turbine features an internal air chamber that acts as the top-out bumper, and at the recommended air spring pressure, the post would shoot up so fast that it would blow right through to the top, with a marked and fairly violent “clack”. This violent top-out would also sometimes upset the locking mechanism leaving us with a post that would slip under load (a simple “brake reset” procedure fixes the problem – essentially holding the lever fully pressed down for a few seconds then re-adjusting cable tension if need be). Once we dropped down to about 12 psi or so, the post became a pleasure to use. The action of the remote lever is light but positive, and so is the movement of the post itself.

Even at the lower air spring pressure, the post extends in a hurry (but without the harsh top-out). Unlike the RockShox Reverb, you can’t really modulate the return speed, nor does pressing the remote only half way or so really work while riding. However, the fast return is not bothersome (for reference, it is a bit slower than a first generation Specialized Command Post, and a bit faster than a first generation Reverb in the fastest setting). The post can be stopped at any point in the travel, and it sits firmly in place wherever that may be. The brake also works in both directions which means you can easily and safely pick your bike up by the saddle like you used to in the pre-dropper era. As a bonus, it will work even if the air spring loses pressure, which means you are sure to make it back home in case of troubles on the trail.

On the topic of the brake, the Turbine post is very solid to sit on – once locked, it feels like a traditional, non-adjustable seat post. Under normal operating conditions, we did not experience any unwanted slippage, and the side-to-side play is equally well contained (we’d say about half the amount of a first generation Reverb, for reference).

We opted for the 150mm drop version, which is ideal for this 6’0 tester. 150mm gives you that bit of extra room to move around on the bike, as opposed to “only” 125 which sometimes has us opening the seat post clamp to drop the post a bit more for rowdier sessions. We quickly got used to the action of the post, and the bearing-mounted shifter-style remote adds even more lightness at the lever (in addition to feeling very natural under the thumb).

We rode the post in pretty much every condition except snow and freezing cold. Whilst we can’t verify the claim that the Turbine works better than other posts in those extreme conditions, we can say that it performed flawlessly from about 40 Fahrenheit (5 Celsius) to much warmer. It was also unfazed by rain, mud or dust, and the head remained squeak free for many months (a common offender on many seatposts).

Things That Could Be Improved

As mentioned in the previous section, the post returns a bit too fast if you run the recommended air spring pressure. Whilst it is not a problem per se, it would be better to calibrate this aspect properly in the instructions. We would also welcome a change to the overall return speed management to slow it down a bit further – as it stands, it is not violent but it is definitely on the fast side. A solution that lets the user run higher pressure with slower return speed would likely also help make the long-term ownership experience more pleasant, see the Durability section below for more on this topic.

Long Term Durability

Starting with the good news, the finish of the Turbine is holding up fine, and there are no funny noises, no leaks, and no slippage at all - under normal conditions. Side-to-side play is still absolutely minimal as well. However, we ran into an issue with a leaking seal after about 5 months, which meant having to top the post up every week or so. Since you have to remove the saddle completely to do this, it gets a bit old after a while. We also noticed that the cable tension would vary with the position of the post. With the saddle up, we'd have a bit of slop at the lever, and with the saddle fully dropped, the cable would be completely taught. If we had to guess, we'd say that the brake sort of wears down a few microns of post material at the highest point (where you sit and pedal for hours), which lets the brake out a bit more before it grabs. We noticed this in our second sample as well, which also developed an air leak fairly quickly. We have since been able to test the revised 2017 model, which is said to solve these problems. So far, the new post is not leaking air, and the consistency of the cable tension is improved - but it's not 100% where it should be. We will be keeping an eye on what Race Face choose to do about this going forward, as many of the ingredients of an excellent dropper are definitely present in the Turbine, it's a shame to have consistency and reliability issues hold it back.

What’s The Bottom Line?

Race Face/(Easton) took their time to join the dropper post party, but from the functionality point of view it was well worth the wait. The Turbine/(Haven) addresses a few common complaints with existing dropper posts, and the light and intuitive remote is a pleasure to use on the trail. The innovative locking mechanism is all-weather reliable, and rock solid to boot. You can even pick your bike up by the saddle like in the good old days. Reliability and consistency are not perfect however, although the niggles are largely held to an acceptable level in the improved 2017 version.

More information at www.raceface.com.

About The Reviewer

Johan Hjord loves bikes, which strangely doesn’t make him any better at riding them. After many years spent practicing falling off cliffs with his snowboard, he took up mountain biking in 2005. Ever since, he’s mostly been riding bikes with too much suspension travel to cover up his many flaws as a rider. His 200-pound body weight coupled with unique skill for poor line choice and clumsy landings make him an expert on durability - if parts survive Johan, they’re pretty much okay for anybody. Johan rides flat pedals with a riding style that he describes as "none" (when in actuality he rips!). Having found most trail features to be not to his liking, Johan uses much of his spare time building his own. Johan’s other accomplishments include surviving this far and helping keep the Vital Media Machine’s stoke dial firmly on 11.