The new patent-pending Orbea Digit dropper seatpost brings most of the benefits of a dropper post to a much wider audience. Like most great ideas, it’s ridiculously simple. The seatpost is slotted at the back, and runs on a rail that’s fixed to the seatpost clamp.

This ensures the saddle always remains pointing forward when the seat clamp is open. Limit screws within the slot dictate the amount the seatpost can slide up and down in the frame and prevent it from being pulled out completely.

To get your accurate saddle height, the position of the rail itself can also be adjusted with a hex key at the back of the seat clamp.

Completing the package is the special quick release lever and seat clamp. The lever operates a cam that opens and closes the seat clamp, popping open and snapping shut with a far more positive action than a regular clamp.

Once it’s all set up, you just open the clamp, let the seat post drop and close the lever to lower your saddle. To raise it again, release the clamp, pull the post up until it hits the limit screw, and close the clamp. So simple, yet really effective.

>>> Click here for our review of the Orbea Rallon X-Team

Best of all, depending on the position of the slot at the top of the seat tube, there’s no reason why it won’t fit a wide range of bikes.

At the moment, the Orbea Digit dropper seatpost is only available in 31.6 diameter as standard equipment on a number of 2016 Orbea mountain bikes, but it’s almost certainly going to be something that the Spanish brand offers as an aftermarket component sooner or later. Obviously it’s far too early for Orbea to discuss pricing, but at a guess, we can see it retailing for around £50-75. Watch this space.