I had my heart set on getting a Reverb as the price of them has receently come down but having just looked into it, they dont do one with a 27.2 diameter.

Looking at my options, as far as I can see the only other hydraulic option is the Thomson Elite Dropper which is considerably more expensive and looks to be out of stock accross the UK.

Or I go for a mechanical one, something like this (a KS LEV 272) http://www.stif.co.uk/mtb/product/ks-lev-272-seatpost/12059#description or a Gravity Dropper Turbo http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/gravity-dropper-turbo-lp-seatpost-multi/rp-prod108189

I just wondered if anyone had any experience of any of these and any recommendations etc.

Cheers

H

I like my Lev’s.

GD are reliable and easily serviced but a bit mechanical and aesthetically aren’t great.

Cheers mate, the LEV is £100 cheaper than the GD. CRC has a sale on at the moment and the LEV works out the same price as the Thomson (if they had it in stock!)

Would you say the LEV is worth the extra £100 over the GD and would you say that I would be better of going for the LEV or waiting for the Thomson to come back into stock?

Would you say the LEV is worth the extra £100 over the GD

For me, yes – almost just for aesthetic reasons 🙂

But other people prefer GD’s.

I had a Gravity Dropper Turbo, fantastic kit but only 100mm which isn’t ideal, and yes it looks like a Dalek’s knob and feels agricultural (which, tbh, is the flipside of the simple construction which is also what makes it so reliable and easy to live with).

Does the 27.2 Thomson exist? It’s been coming Real Soon Now for a while. They were making unencouraging noises about it not working perfectly in what they think are “really cold” conditions of around zero degrees, if it can’t cope with that how will it deal with actual cold? The comments made it feel like they just haven’t taken winter into account in the design. Would put me right off but not everyone wants to ride in those conditions I suppose…

Same dilemma with a post for my Alpine. Tried the Lev and while it worked great it took ages to pop up and the air pressure isn’t adjustable. The GD was a little agricultural for my liking so i went with the X-fusion HiLo which has been great and easy to service etc yourself.

I’ve got a 27.2 post and I’ve recently acquired an X-Fusion HILO.

They RRP for £200, but you can find them at just less than £170. When I got mine about a month ago stock was an issue to all the cheap places had a month and a half wait on orders from the supplier.

It’s been OK. Does the job. A little slow on the rise, though that’s not much of an issue.

Don’t forget the X-Fusion Hilo, hydraulic post with mechanical ‘actuation’ (switch-y bit). Just changed to one from a T-mars and I’m a big fan so far.

Edit – Beaten to it. Robware, check the air pressure, mine was the same at first but didn’t have much air in as standard. I put ‘a bit extra’ (<5 psi) in to be on the safe side and it comes up like a good’un now.

They were making unencouraging noises about it not working perfectly in what they think are “really cold” conditions of around zero degrees, if it can’t cope with that how will it deal with actual cold?

Maybe they are dealing with that old temperature scale – Fahrenheit? 0F is around -18 Celsius

Ah cool, I will check the X-Fusion out.

Yeah Thomsons website say that they have dispatched them to retailers but wont hold any stock themselves until the retailers have received their stock. Apparently stock went out accross the US in early July and international shipments have now been made but they havent given an ETA which isnt helpful!

I hadnt heard about the difficulties using it in the colder temperatures but Im a bit of a fair weather rider anyway so not sure that will be an issue for me…

I hate all these dilemmas, things are never easy are they! Ive only just built my bike and have had lots of choosing to do, kind of just wish Id gone pre built and got a decent spec’d rig to start with but I never do things the easy way!

Tried the Lev and while it worked great it took ages to pop up

mine did that recently when I had re-routed the cable housing. re-did the termination at the post end and took some time to get the exact length specified in the manual, performance back to normal.

dunmail – Member

Maybe they are dealing with that old temperature scale – Fahrenheit? 0F is around -18 Celsius

Ah hah. Yes, that’s entirely possible for a US company, isn’t it. And it makes sense in the context too. Good point!

OK, so it seems that if we forget about the Thomson for now as it seems I cant get one anyway. What would you guys suggest would be the one to go for:

The LEV

DG

X-Fusion

???

Most votes wins lol.

Lev.

Got a 27.2 xfusion hilo for £140 last year, and aside from adding a little air to aid the return its been faultless.

my Thomson has been on order for 8 weeks, and is *finally* sat in the shop waiting for me to pick it up tomorrow.

bigrich, what shop was that, do you have their contact details? any ideas if they have anymore?

My Hilo has been back for warranty replacement/repair twice…

bigrich! talk to me 🙂 youve got me excited now.

perhaps more thomsons are about to hit the shelves.

I have a GD Turbo and an X-Fusion Hi-Lo, both in 27.2 size.

The Gravity Dropper feels sturdier and is very easy to service – 5 minute strip down grease. I bought it second hand about 1 1/2 yrs ago, and it’s not needed anything other than an occasional grease. A little bit of lateral play is developing now, so it might need the bushing/shims replacing. Spares seems to be very reasonable for the GDs. 3 position drop works well, but I only really use the full up and down options. The return can be quite violent, especially if you’re used to a hydraulic post (I learnt this the hard way!)

The X-Fusion has performed well, but is more susceptible to the elements, but I installed a bit of inner tube as a boot and it’s been happier since. It has a fair bit of side to side play after 2 years heavy use, but not really noticeable when riding. Again, I tend too to only use it fully up or down, but the option to have it anywhere is useful. The return can be slow, especially the last inch or so. It works better when silicon lube is applied before each ride.

If you want something that raises and lowers your saddle reliably, consistently and is easy to service when it gets heavily worn or broken, even in the field, then get a Gravity Dropper. If you want something with a nice lever feel, that doesn’t spring back up violently, that looks prettier, that is unreliable or needs frequent maintenance or expensive services then get something else.

I like nice feeling suspension (Pikes and CCDBA on my full sus) because it makes a difference to how my bike rides. I don’t give a damn how my dropper post sounds or feels because it doesn’t. Judging by the lack of Gravity Droppers I see about, particularly on fancy bikes, I’m in a minority!

perhaps more thomsons are about to hit the shelves

It’s the very first batch to hit Australia. I ordered when thomson said they were entering the final QC and packing stages.

I think the numbers are limited so far, with small batches shipped.

looking forward to seeing what the fuss is about.

Ah I see bigrich, Oz is a little far for me to travel for a seat post.

I have spoken to Thomson’s distributors who said they were shipped a week ago, so should be hitting UK shops soon. Ive just got to keep my eye out. Until then, I guess Im riding saddless!

Just got a 2nd hand HiLo from the classifieds here and first ride tonight was good, comparable to my (1st gen) reverb on my other bike, little bit more side to side play in the saddle but nothing worth worrying about, bit slow to return but that can be sorted with cable tension/ air pressure I’m sure, and it’s certain ally easier to set up and maintain than the reverb
Cost me little over £100 and was like new
On first impressions I’d recommend it over others at twice the price, some 27.2mm dropper posts are frankly silly money (Thomson/Lev) although saying that I’ve friends with 31.6mm Lev’s and Thomsons and both have been trouble free for a year or so, so I guess it depends on your budget and if you want cheap that you might have to maintain more often, or pricey but more fit and forget (for me for a 2nd bike it was the cheap option)

Only heard good things about the gravity dropper but for me, (old enough to remember 1990’s booted suspension forks) the looks, and clunkiness put me off both that and the TMars

basically if you want it to function for years without issue then get a GD
If you want it to look nice and be a pain to keep it working get something else

Had two GD’s done next to nothing with them both and never had a problem with them

you dont look at your post when you ride and I dont think you can make an Orange 5 any more ugly.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Cheers for your help guys, I think I might just wait and try and get myself a Thomson they look good and by the sounds of it function well, even if they are pricey and need a fair amount of maintenance. Im hoping the phrase “good things come to those who wait” will be true here. When I eventually find one, I will let you know how it goes.

chiefgrooveguru – Member

I like nice feeling suspension because it makes a difference to how my bike rides. I don’t give a damn how my dropper post sounds or feels because it doesn’t. Judging by the lack of Gravity Droppers I see about, particularly on fancy bikes, I’m in a minority!

Just how I feel – I’ve got a GD on one bike and a KS i7 on another. The GD just works and spares are cheap and easy to get, the KS has recently been serviced (because it wouldn’t stay fully extended) which cost about £90 and now, after a couple of month’s use it springs back up about 20mm from the fully dropped position as soon as you take weight off it.

Give me function over form any day.