Vario™ Dropper Lever Vario™ Dropper Lever

The one I ordered did not come with a clamp and had to return it but it’s nice

UPDATE Feb. 2024: Lever was the problem. Oneup had me check everything, replace the cable, and said the lever must be why it feels so stiff. I did not want to believe this because the ethirteen feels like it is built well - smooth with no binding, but I couldn't take it anymore, especially since my other setups are very light. This ethirteen and Oneup V2 dropper (granted the V2 is by itself harder to actuate than other brands) felt harder than when shifting to lowest gear. Once I took it off and put on another lever (ZTTO), it instantly felt better and I can now ride in peace.Although I have never tried the higher end levers (wolftooth, pnw, oneup, raceface, crankbrothers), I do have several lower end ones:Tranz-X 2x: kinda cheap and flimsy, all plastic, no bearing, but works;KS eTEN-i 2x: REALLY cheap and flimsy, all plastic, no bearing, but works;ZTTO 1x wolftooth knockoff: good enough for the price, metal, sealed bearing. (included pics to compare the lever length difference.)I believe this e*thirteen vario is in the same range as the higher end ones. From the boxing to the lever itself, I was impressed with the high quality of it all, and they even include a cable. It is matchmaker compatible and has a basic clamp and is adjustable (3 positions), has TWO bearings, grip tape thumb surface (with or without gloves feel fine to me), and feels solid. One way you can tell a part is high quality is when the screws tighten and lock solid when torqued properly due to higher quality metal - cheap metal from knock off brands keep twisting and feel like the metal will strip if you torque them properly (and people do strip them). I bought two at half the price of the wolftooth.I tried it with a Tranz-X 150mm dropper on my fatbike and the action is easy and light. With a OneUp 90mm on my trail bike, for some reason the action is much heavier and so I'm trying to diagnose what the problem is. *Note: I am confident this is not the fault of the lever.PROS: high quality yet cheaper than the higher end brands. adjustable mount position, adjustable lever position, two bearings, ergonomics are pretty universal. 5 year warranty from e*thirteen.CONS: does not have a break away feature in case of a crash like the wolftooth (no big deal given the price). the body is bigger than the others but again, no big deal.CONCLUSION: highly recommend trying this lever if you don't like paying 2-4x the price of others. it is high quality so you don't have to worry about it's construction - it's more about fitment and feel so you just need to try it and if you don't like it, look at the ZTTO knockoff or high end brands. avoid the cheap ones with no sealed bearings - it does make a difference and you'll see why.UPDATE after 3 months: I believe the griptape on the thumb area wore down the stitching on my fox gloves so I sanded it down a little. it still offers grip but is not like fresh sandpaper anymore. lever still works great.

I find myself buying more & more e*thirteen items for my KONA