What is a reasonably good one of these to buy?

Thanks

I would recommend the Rockshox Reverb. It works really well and is easy service, shorten hoses etc…

Reverb every time.

Just fitting a Reverb. I’d still recommend KS frankly but their Lev Integra is too expensive. Hope I get used to the Reverb button as it appears to be ridiculously stiff.

Reverb does seem very nice but minor details like the gobsmacking price of replacement levers, and the fact that they’re not very tough, counted against it for me. KS are less polished and “nice” products but they seem more real-world-proof.

KS Lev coming up on 18 mths use including through winter and has been faultless.

In our house, there is one reverb and two levs. The reverb has been back under warranty once, so far the two levs have been trouble free. I also like the qr cable and zero cable growth on the lev.

I did set up a Thomson for a friend and that was a very nice post indeed.

Lev. with the static cable routing you don’t need to bother with a stealth or integra version. No bleeding, no broken levers…

Another vote for a lev, but then at 27.2 I couldn’t fit a reverb even if I wanted to.

Currently eyeing up the revised giant switch post for my trance seem to get good feedback and can be converted between stealth and external routing

The revised Giant Switch post will hopefully be longer lasting than the original. It has a design flaw that seems to ensure that it expires after two british winters. Mine has just been repaired ( to give my LBS and Giant their due the internal strut was replaced FOC even though out of warranty), but even amongst my friends, another three have failed at about the two year mark. One was also repaired but has failed again. Water gets into the button at the top of the strut (however carefully you tape up the head of the post as Giant recommend as there are gaps by the saddle clamping bolt you can’t seal), and as it is facing upward it stays and this encourages corrosion of the alloy rod which eventually prevents the seat from dropping or means it won’t stay up!

The new one in stealth mode would prevent this, but if used ‘conventionally’ would have the same problem unless the seals are better

I’m still loving the Specialized Command post, three fixed positions, works perfectly every time.

Reverb and Lev in the house, prefer the Lev for much neater cable routing. Prefer the button too.

fingers crossed on the giant as they have fitted it a oem spec on trances for this year,im going to cover the extention section in a rubber boot like the gravity dropper hopefully this will help somewhat

This was my alternative for weather proofing my old KS

Kept stuff off but not in.

I have a ksi950 and a Reverb.Much prefer the Ks.Better actuation and the button is just nicer to use.Also bomb proof.
Servicing is a doddle and costs pennies.
The Reverb is nice but i hope i don’t break anything on it.

I’ve owned a Gravity Dropper Turbo, a Specialized Command Post and a Reverb. None of them were cheap, but they were all pretty good. I can’t really say that one was better than the others, they were just good in different ways.

The Gravity Dropper is crude, ugly and not much more than a few springs and a pin. But that’s its strength really. You can strip it down on the trail (most jobs don’t even require tools). Every little bit is available as a spare (e.g. from CRC) for a decent price and you can basically keep it running as long as you want with just a few basic tools. It has three positions and the remote uses a standard gear cable. It’s the one I’d pick if I wanted to spend days in the wilderness and probably has the lowest total cost of ownership.

The Specialized Command Post is a bit more refined. The physical spring is replaced by an air spring, with a smoother action. The pin and hole arrangement is replaced by a more sophisticated collet mechanism. It looks a lot better than the Gravity Dropper and is more refined in use. It’s not as easy to strip down on the trail, but you can still do all the maintenance in the shed with basic hand tools. It’s still a three position post with the remote using a standard gear cable. It’s an ideal compromise between the crude Gravity Dropper and the fancy Reverb.

With the Reverb we move up another notch in sophistication and complexity. The cable remote is now replaced by a hydraulic line, it can be set at any height you like and even the return rate can be controlled from the remote. When it works it’s a delight to use. You can find yourself pressing the button just to marvel at the smooth action. The hydraulic remote is much more consistent in use than the cable operated ones, which can get clogged up and deteriorate as the cable gets sticky. But it’s harder to maintain and spare parts (e.g. the delicate remote button) are expensive. Bleeding can easily be done at home but probably not on the trail (unless you want to carry syringes and spare oil). For more thorough maintenance you may even decide to send it off to a professional. It’s my favourite of the three in use, but is also the only one that has ever failed badly enough that I’ve had to cut a ride short.

So, as usual, you pays your money and you takes your choice.

Where is the best/cheapest place to buy a KS Lev?
Only place I can find them in the UK is Stif Cycles and they don’t have the size I want. Cheapest I can find them are in the German shops.

Both of mine came from Germany.

Ks lev for me. No moving cable when dropped, better lever replaces the I side lock on grip and is much neater the the reverb. Also had the 150mm drop the I wanted.

Bought mine for stif cycles, come on support our English shops not zee Germans!

Running a few Specialized Command posts on our bikes with no problems. Use them in all conditions and never let us down yet.