Just got my new Thomson dropper, replacing one which went kaput.

I may be going mad, but they seem to have changed the bar lever design – previously the block on the end of the cable slotted nicely into the lever.

Now there appears to be a grub screw which holds the end of the cable, but that would involve cutting the block off as there doesn’t seem to be anywhere it fits. Seems a bit counterintuitive, especially as the cable will then merrily fray as there is nowhere a crimp to sit either.

So, has anyone fitted one recently and can tell me if I’m just being a muppet, before I have to take it up with their technical team? The included instructions are very helpful, just telling me to feed the wire through the lever.

PS. On a £260 fitting, I’d expect the manufacturer to include a couple of cable crimps costing a penny or so. Even humble brake cables have them thrown in. 😥

Dunno about the lever, I run a converted shifter instead.
I reckon they need to miss out things like the cable crimps to help fund all the replacement cartridges. I’ve had 4.

Posting on STW is always helpful. Mainly because you realise your mistake five seconds after hitting send. 😀

They’ve reversed the cable so the block fits at the saddle end. So that makes sense now. Still puzzled about where you’re supposed to stick the crimp after the wire has passed into the lever though.

Not had that problem, but did end up taking mine back to Evans cos it wasn’t locking in position, and whilst explaining the problem I realised what the cause must be (cable too tight).

The instructions do say that the post should only be installed by a professional mechanic – another way of saying we couldn’t be bothered to make the instructions idiotproof.

I think I’ve finally worked it out now. There’s a slot under the lever itself where the crimp will sit. I don’t know what the issue was which made them decide to reverse the cable, I suppose this will be visually better.

we couldn’t be bothered to make the instructions idiotproof

Oi! 😀

I imagine they have reversed it is to make fitting easier. Having fitted stealth cable posts – it can be fiddly, as sometimes you cannot get the cable length right until the post is installed at the right height in the frame. This way, I imagine you trim the cable inner and outer at the lever end so the post can be fitted and adjusted for height before the cable is installed. If so, I think it is a good idea!

I’m not sure it’s achieved that (at least not for a non-stealth version). Fitting was much easier last time, with the cut end of the cable easily accessible at the saddle, where it can be tightened/loosened with an allen key. In contrast, the cut end is now placed under the thumb lever, inside a slot (where it doesn’t stay very well), and you have to guess what length is best to fit (and if you want to make it slightly tighter, you’ll have to remove the cable end, pull it through a bit more, recut it, and fit a new one.

Last time I had it working perfectly in about 15 minutes. This time was a lot trickier, and the results not quite as good.

Where was yours from Martin? Sent mine back to Wiggle and was just wondering, if yours went back there, how long you waited for an outcome?
Was it a sagging problem?

Fair enough Martin. I made a few assumptions in my post.

we couldn’t be bothered to make the instructions idiotproof

= we are poor at technical illustration.

I fitted the covert version to my Orange Five a couple of weeks ago, probably the worst instructions I’ve ever had to use.

Why they haven’t put a decent video on their website I’ll never know.

Where was yours from Martin? Sent mine back to Wiggle and was just wondering, if yours went back there, how long you waited for an outcome?

Bike24 – happy with how the warranty claim was handled, got a response within a week or so, and for some reason they decided to just refund me rather than send out a new one. So I just ordered another one off them, and the warranty period starts again!

Worked pretty well around Grizedale this morning. Needs the cable tightening though, which will be a faff.

You could fit an inline barrel adjuster, I know it’s another place for water and muck to get in but it would save on guesswork/faff.

There’s one provided actually. Didn’t fancy it for the a combination of the reasons you say and aesthetics.