Home > Bike Types > Mountain Bike

Specialized’s New Blacklite Command Post Drops 100g and Your Saddle

specialized command post blacklite lightweight dropper seatpost
10 Comments
Support us! Bikerumor may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More

specialized command post blacklite lightweight dropper seatpost

Specialized has dropped some weight from their Command Post adjustable height seatposts. Dubbed Blacklite, they lose 100g from the previous model, and they’ve got them in three different drop heights and 30.9 and 31.6 diameters.

The difference between Specialized’s posts and others are that they will drop into two preset positions, so you know where it is at all times. The posts are available with 125mm, 100mm or 75mm of total drop. From fully extended, the two tallest posts drop 35mm into what’s called Cruiser Position, letting you still put some power to the pedals but have a slightly lower center of gravity and maneuverability for technical sections. The smaller 75mm post drops 25mm. From there, all three will drop all the way (125, 100 and 75 millimeters respectively) so you can get your butt off the back for descending.

Cutaway photos and more details after the break…

2012 specialized command post blacklite dropper seatpost

 

The Command Post Blacklite comes in two forms, either with a pair of Specialized grips with the lever preinstalled (above) or without (below). The cable has an adjustment barrel inline for removing any slack from the line once set up.

If you’re not too picky about your grips, the pre-installed version makes for a pretty clean cockpit.

Installation is fairly straightforward. Run the cable housing into the stop below the lever, measure out about 17mm of cable, then tighten down the barrel (red piece). From there, the barrel slots into the actuation lever similar to how you’d do it on a set of cantilever brakes. No doubt having the inline barrel adjuster will help to get it dialed in.

The Command Post works by mechanically releasing a metal collet (shown below close up…it’s the round shiny part) that catches and sets into notches at the predefined spaces, visible above inside the lower shaft.

When you pull the lever on the remote, it pulls the central spring-loaded section up (which would be left in the image directly above), letting the collet squeeze slightly under your weight and fall to the next position downward. Pushing the remote lever when you’re not sitting on it lets the air pressure in the lower chamber push it upward.

The post uses a triple-lip wiper seal and dual keyed design to eliminate wiggle, and it gets a new all-bonded head to save weight. They also printed the torque on the clamp heads and reworked the design a bit to eliminate the accidental seat movement that occasionally occured on previous versions. The air return spring is adjustable via a bottom mounted schrader valve, so you can tweak how quickly and forcefully it returns to its starting position and, presumably, how much weight you need to have on it to drop it. Being fully mechanical, the system looks like it would be easy to rebuild, too.

Claimed weights are 501g, 531g and 547g (75mm / 100mm / 125mm respectively). The shorter one is clearly aimed at the XC crowd and those with smaller sized bikes.

We have two different sizes just in for review, so look for real world weights and performance evals in a couple months.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

10 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Jeremiah Johnston
Jeremiah Johnston
12 years ago

Damn… Every time I get a new toy, the next one shows up… Just got my previous generation Command Post on my Enduro, and I already want to replace it 🙁 So it goes, I guess.

trumpus
trumpus
12 years ago

Ditto – just got my X-Fusion HiLo yesterday! Maybe the lighter CP will end up on my HT 29er…

Joe
Joe
12 years ago

Does the post come with adapters to fit I-Beam saddles ?

mountguitars
mountguitars
12 years ago

how much is it?

Jason
12 years ago

I don’t know where you guys are getting 100g, the Specialized website states “Weight: 520g (125mm size) Weight: 510g (100mm size)” for the current model. Seems that the weights listed would mean that this post is heavier.

ShopMechanic
ShopMechanic
12 years ago

So these are heavier than the seatposts they replace? Specialized is claiming the weight for their old posts are: 510g for the 100mm and 520g for the 125mm. http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=57634

SamB
SamB
12 years ago

Hey Guys,
Good points on the weight, confusing for sure. The original posts were weighed without the cable and remote while the BlackLite weights include them (roughly 100-110g, depending on the length). I had the web guys update the site, good eyes, thanks for noticing. And the retail (USA) is $275.

Steve
12 years ago

Looooooooove the current Command Post. If this is even better, you have a winner for sure.

TONY ROYDHOUSE
TONY ROYDHOUSE
11 years ago

Is any one having the same problem, my first Specialized Command Post Blacklite was replaced by Specialized UK for excessive play, it’s failed after just 5 rides, my replacement Blacklite did not return to the power position out of the box, so I cycled it 20 – 30 to free it up and it instantly had side to side play. Three Specialized representatives have advised some play to be expected and that it will get worse as the unit wears, but none of them would give me an engineering answer to acceptable design tolerances. See my video of both new Blacklites here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgzJ_FRdgQg

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.