Thomson Elite Covert Review

A couple of decades ago, upgrading your seatpost to a Thomson Elite was like a rite of passage for most mountain bikers. The Thomson brand was known for producing some of the highest quality CNC'd parts available, and they still are to this day. Many riders struggled with the idea of removing their rigid Thomson Elite seatposts from their bikes when they finally switched to dropper posts a few years back, ourselves included. Those diehards have reason to celebrate because they can again adorn their bikes with the Thomson Elite logo on an infinitely adjustable dropper post that is made with the same craftsmanship and precision that we've all come to expect from the brand.

Performance Comparison

Smoothness and Functionality

The Thomson Elite Covert dropper performed consistently and reliably from the moment we installed it to the moment we took it off our bike. The fixed drop and rise speed of 0.3 meters per second initially felt a little sluggish when compared with some of the lightning-quick or adjustable models in our test, but we quickly grew accustomed to it and never felt like it was too slow. The post was noticeably harder to compress than several of the other droppers we tested like the 9point8 Fall Line, the Fox Transfer, or the Bike Yoke Revive, but again we got used to it pretty quickly, and it was never a problem of any kind. The Thomson was also impressively smooth in its travel both in compression and extension, at all times.

Thomson designed the Elite Covert to be dampened in its top 15 mm of extension, so you'll barely notice when the post tops out, nor do you ever have to worry about inflicting pain to your sensitive underside. Those who use the sound of their post topping out to know when their post has reached full extension may be dismayed by the lack of an audible queue, but those who appreciate a quiet bike will probably prefer the silence. We also noticed that at the very bottom of the stroke, the Thomson had a little bit of dampening or springiness that also kept it from bottoming out harshly.

Thomson claims a service interval of two years on their sealed cartridge, and in the event you need to switch it out, it's said to be quick and easy. This means that the most service you should ever need to perform on the Elite Covert is replacing your cable and housing, for the first two years anyway. Thomson is known for quality, and they tell us they use some name brand parts like custom Norglide bearing bushings, Trelleborg O-rings and seals, and Motul oil. Based on the price of the Thomson dropper and their reputation for quality, it's safe to assume that these are some of the best parts that money can buy.

Remote

A small black anodized remote comes with the Elite Covert Dropper, which is oriented vertically and can be mounted on either side of the handlebar, depending on your drivetrain setup. The Thomson lever has a hinged clamp that makes installation quick and painless. We found the remote to have a short throw, but in our side-by-side testing, it became apparent that it required some of the most force to actuate the dropper mechanism. Perhaps this is due to the short lever of the remote, possibly having a lower leverage ratio. Whatever the reason, it's not a big issue unless you like your dropper to be especially easy to actuate.

We found that when positioned for the best reach and ergonomics down low where our thumb most easily reached it, the housing stuck out from the remote slightly upward. It had no effect on performance, but it did look a little suspicious and distract from our otherwise clean handlebar theme.

We also wondered why, on a dropper that is as well designed and expensive as the Elite Covert, they would have such a mediocre remote lever design. Sure it works, but at this stage of the game, you'd hope they provide you with some more ergonomic or purpose-built 1x compatible option.

Saddle Clamp

Thomson has long been known for their bombproof two-bolt saddle clamp, and the Elite Covert certainly benefits from their many years of experience in seatpost manufacturing. The two bolts secure the upper and lower pieces of the saddle clamp securely around the saddle rails. Numbered markings ensure you line up your saddle's angle to your exact preferences. We have zero complaints about the reliable and noise-free performance of the Thomson saddle clamp throughout our test period.

The Elite Covert is the only dropper post in our test selection with any offset, which is minimal at 5mm back, but we feel that setback is a thing of the past, as do most other dropper post manufacturers. It's easy enough to compensate for the 5mm of setback, and most riders will find themselves able to position their saddle comfortably on the Elite Covert. For the lanky few out there who are looking to extend the reach of their bike, the Thomson can help with that just a little bit. The current trend in mountain bike frame design is towards seat tube angles getting steeper and longer top tubes.

Ease of Setup

Much like the other cable-actuated dropper posts that install with the cut end of the cable at the remote end, the Thomson was quite easy to put on our test bike. The hinged remote went on our handlebar in seconds, and the slotted housing stop in the bottom of the seatpost made inserting the lead (or barrel) end of the cable into the actuator on the lower part of the post a snap.

We did find ourselves a bit hung up when we realized that the included housing, super flexible, and much wider than the standard diameter, wouldn't fit through our internal routing portholes. The aluminum portholes on our Ibis test bike fit standard housing correctly, and the included Thomson housing was so much bigger that we couldn't even consider drilling them wider to accommodate it. We opted to swap it out for standard housing, which we had on hand and was an ideal solution to the problem. That said, the included cable and housing are exceptionally flexible and appear to be of very high quality, we wish we could have tried them out.

Once we routed our housing through the frame, the rest of the job involves feeding the cable through it, then pulling tension at the remote end before tightening the set screw on the remote lever and cutting and crimping the cable end. The Thomson post does have one extra detail in its installation, and that is the floating cable tensioner that sits in the middle of the housing out in front of your handlebar. This cable tensioner is a large and rather heavy barrel adjuster that interrupts the housing about six inches from the remote. This means you have to make an extra cut in your housing, and this barrel adjuster is sitting out in front of your handlebar bouncing around when you're hurtling through chunky rock gardens at ludicrous speed. We thought the cable tensioner was the most poorly designed aspect of this otherwise impeccable product as it adds an extra step during installation and weight to the housing.

Weight

In the world of mountain bike parts and accessories, the more expensive something is, the lighter it probably is. This is not the case with the Elite Covert dropper as it weighed in as one of the heaviest posts in our test with a total weight of 690g, including the remote, cable, and housing. In our grams per millimeters of travel calculation, we found the Covert to come in at 4.60g/mm. We expected the Thomson post to be competitively lightweight, but the included extra-flexible oversized housing and the large cable tensioner added some additional heft to the system. One could save some weight by installing the Thomson post with standard cable and shifter housing. In this case, Thomson Elite performance comes with a weight penalty.

Value

Thomson products have never been known for being inexpensive. They're often known for the opposite, and the Elite Covert dropper post is no exception. At retail, the Thomson dropper was among the most expensive in our test. Is it worth the extra expense? We'll leave that up to you, but it is most definitely a quality product that Thomson feels worthy of the Elite moniker. Thomson also boasts a two-year service interval on their sealed cartridge, which will likely reduce service costs over time.

Conclusion

The Elite Covert dropper post was a top performer in our test. While it is a high-quality product from one of the industry's most highly regarded brands, it is hard for us to say if it is worth coughing up the extra cash when other more reasonably priced options perform just as well. Of course, we thoroughly enjoyed and were impressed by the dampened return of the post's extension, and the quick connect system made installation and removal of the post a breeze. The post had very smooth action and extended at a predetermined and predictable rate and was the only post in the test that had absolutely no lateral play in the saddle.

We were less than impressed, however, with the remote of the Elite Covert, and while it was adequate, it certainly didn't blow up our bike shorts. The weight of the Thomson post was also somewhat disconcerting, one of the heaviest in our test. All that said, if you're willing and able to pony up for the Elite Covert dropper we doubt you'll be disappointed in any way.

Other Versions and Accessories