We tested 90 products in 2012 (not including bike tests or shootouts) and one product jumps out of that group, so I'm suggesting it as an addition to the short-list of any mountain biker's Christmas wish list. The product is the $395 KS' LEV dropper seatpost. You can read the 5-Star review by clicking here. The short version is: the LEV has continued to deliver great performance and I've yet to find a remote lever as ergonomic as the LEV's. Riding with a dropper post (it lowers your saddle's height for descending) makes any type of riding more fun and the LEV is the best I have used to date. -Jimmy Mac


Note how the cable mounts to the bottom of the seatpost (instead of the at the seatpost head) so the cable always stays the length regardless of what height you have the saddle set at.


The remote lever takes the place of the inside clamp of a clamp-on style grip. This is how all controls should be designed. Small, tight and effective.

MORE GIFT IDEAS FOR THE MOUNTAIN BIKER ON YOUR LIST
--A $1 stocking stuffer that gives a warm feeling. Click here.
--Multi-tools that can get you back on the trail fast. Click here.
--Why not give a guided mountain bike tour from Cog Wild? Click here.
--Years worth of rides in and around Los Angeles. Click here.
--Because you are going to get flats. Click here.
--A tool with the right stuff. Click here.
--The Sportsmobile of your dreams. Click here.
--This gift is going to the dogs. Click here.
--A shameless self-promoting suggestion that is still a great present.
Click here for the print version.   Click here for the iTunes version.