The Bike Yoke Revive is stunning, well made, easy to use and the most versatile post out there. It’s also lightweight and reliable.

>>> The best mountain bike dropper posts

The Bike Yoke Revive is our test winner from a year ago and while it remains unchanged Bike Yoke has added an additional 34.9mm size and there’s also a new lightweight, short-travel dropper in the range called the Divine.

At £390, the Revive is not the cheapest dropper post on test but it’s easily the smoothest. Bike Yoke eliminated a ton of friction by reducing the number of internal seals and it’s done away with the IFP (internal floating piston) used to separate the air and oil, a common feature in most droppers. The resulting up and down action is as light as the new RockShox Reverb but it is way smoother.

The flip side of eliminating the IFP does mean the oil an air can occasionally combine inside the post over time, causing a bit of play at the top of the stroke. To fix this, the Revive comes with a patented Revive Reset Valve just underneath the saddle clamp. This works in a similar way to the Vent Valve on the Reverb, except you access it using a small plastic tool (included) and this reboots the post, eliminating any dead play in the system.

A remote lever is also included with the Revive and we really like the machined holes in the paddle to aid grip but there are a couple of things that could be better. The clamp isn’t hinged – so you have to remove the grip to fit it – the paddle sits flat relative to the handlebar and you can’t adjust the angle and we found it’s really easy to kink the cable during set up.

The Revive isn’t lightning fast and it doesn’t return to full height with a loud clunk but it has this buttery smooth action. It also has an incredibly shallow insertion depth for a 165mm dropper and while, this is not quite as low-profile as the new Reverb, the difference is only 10mm. If you’re trying to squeeze a longer dropper in your frame and prefer the ease of fitting and simplicity of a cable, this post we’d recommend. It’s excellent quality and totally reliable.