after changing bike i have decided that i want one as changing the saddle height makes a huge difference to how it handles.

what i want to know is which one to choose?

any advice on a models merits would be really welcome
cheers boys ( and foxy if she reads this)

I’ve got a Pure on my Spesh. Impressed so far. Very little, if any, lateral movement on it. I like hte fact that the drop is as you like it, not a case either up or down. So, for fast stuff, you can drop it a little and allow a bit more movement, then whack it right down for gnarlage. (As I believe the yute would call it…!)

I chose the lever operated one, as I think it looks neater than the remote. Chose Pure as it seems to be pretty much the same thing for less!

Got a Joplin with remote. Use it all the time whilst riding, means you can really enjoy every descent. Theres a bit of seatpost waggle – a good tip is to open it up when you get it and tighten the bolt that keeps it straight as mine was loose from new. I use mine with a read mudguard which keeps a lot of cr@p off the seals.

Theres three groves on the inside of the shaft, so if one wears out you can rotate the shaft 120 degrees and put the post back together again, so i think it’ll last quite a while.

I think they’ll get better and more reliable, but it might be a while yet!

Definitely get one with a remote whichever you choose.

I’ve got a Joplin without the remote on my Pitch.

It’s been on there since October and has been very reliable, I had to service it after 4 hours in the pouring rain and riding through puddles that were over my BB in Wales as the motion got a bit sticky, but it was dead easy.

They’re a fantastic idea and really lets you get the most out of you bike, you can have the saddle set at full pedalling height and on any downs/techy bits just keep going and drop it to your liking.

Gravity Dropper. Coming up for 3 years old. It’s been stripped/cleaned/relubed once and I’ve done a cable change. Not a problem in that time.

I’ve got a Grarity Dropper as that was the only one that fits the Orange 5 at the moment. Multi type with a 1″ drop for twisty singletrack and 4″ full drop for downhill. I haven’t been out on it that much but saves a lot of faffing about with QR. I maybe should have got the 3″ multi as 4″ is right out of the way and can’t really be sat on on pedally bits.

Well pleased with mine from here

There’s a review of them in the latest copy of the mag

smurf

joplin R here 31.6mm.
for sale if interested ?

Great idea, but from a design view point (I am a D&T teacher, so I’m always going to be hard on stuff!) I’d say they need more development.

I’ve got a Joplin that came with a Stumpy FSR I got on ebay, not sure I’d be willing to fork out the £170 odd for a new one, but I do find myself using it a lot. Helps with the ‘flow’ of a ride more than anything….e.g. you come to a nasty big drop off, drop the saddle 3″ and you feel a lot more comfortable attempting it straight off.

Minus points –
– Regular servicing. Water, grit, etc. gets in and it ends up being sticky and grindy. Lots of grease helps.
– Some side to side play. Not really noticeable when riding though.
– Cable for the remote, annoying trying to route it neatly, and dealing with the extra rubbing of cable and cable ties on your frame.
– Weight, at least double that of a normal post (but equal to a big dump before a ride, so not that bad!)

All in all I think they’re a decent idea, and I do find myself using mine more than I thought I would.

Got a Gravity Dropper on one bike and the Pure racing one on the other

Great pieces of kit and really improve most of my rides. I use them all the time and drop the saddle in places I would never have stopped to drop the saddle before. That in turn allows 2 things

– slightly higher ‘normal’ seatpost height so better for cliimbing

– faster more in control descending

You do need to clean and re-lube regularly but not a big job (2 mins)

I bought a gravity dropper turbo a few years back now, 3 inch drop. My hardtail takes a 27.2mm seatpost so it was the only option. It works great, I take on a lot more terrain that I would have gone around in the past. You can keep the optimum seat height for fast pedalling and climbing and for most stuff keep it extended. Then if you see something steep with significant crash potential you can push the bar lever and have the seat down and be hanging low over the rear wheel and fly down the track with a lot more confidence. The GD drops very fast and is locked down until you push the lever again. Once pressed it fires back to full extension. It has a little play in the saddleclamp but not noticible when riding.

I also have a maverick speedball r on a different bike. Again 3 inch drop but once droppped it isn’t locked down, if you grip the saddle with your thighs it can move up and down. Also it doesn’t extend back up all that fast compared to the GD. There is more play in the saddle clamp but again you don’t notice when riding. I find I never play around with heights, I either want it fully extended or compressed, not 1/2 an inch or one inch lower than top so having that option with the speedball isn’t a pro for me in the speedballs favour.
I’d go gravity dropper everytime if I had to pick between them. To my knowledge the joplin is pretty much a rebranded speedball.

I really like my KSi900 from xxcycle, and it was cheap – BUT… being a bit of a bloater (16st) it seems to slip down very slightly without me pressing the lever, which is annoying. Also the seat clamp is a little bit tempramental.

Lpve being able to move the seat around so quickly and easily – plus you can get it really low for tricky dh or jumps etc which is great.

If the speedball/joplin is slow to return you may need to either loosen the seat collar or put some more air in it. Mines quite quick.

Grumm, can you not increase the pressure in the air cylinder a bit?

I dunno – doesn’t seem to have a valve or anything.

Speedball here. I have some bloatage and enjoy Gnarlage, the post is doing well. Been through a couple of guide blocks to remove wagglage and its an easy job to do. If I were considering a frame, it has to have a seat tube to take the Speedball. I would miss it if it had to go.

i have a maverick (same as crank bros i think?) and although the idea is good in the real world its a bit poor. loads of slop now and is prone to sliping by 10mm ish.

I’m sure that other posts have all the benefits of the maverick without any of the drawbacks, i’d avoid the one i’ve got (came with bike).

got a gd and a maverick.
The gd shoots up faster but always scares me that it may take my tackle with it.
Speedball slower but assured.If yor speedball is slow service it change oil re set pressure and good as new (30 min job). All parts availabel from 2 pure at resoanble prices (£3 for the guide block that wears and causes lateral movement for example)
Advise covering Joplin to prevent excessive ingress of ride grit and sludge.
joplin feels more controlled on up and down and is infitely adjustable.
GD just up or down.
Joplin requires more servicing but not very hard to do.
Remore good for faster and control but you can generally tell when you are going to lower as it is downhill !!!!!Not overly bothered whether remote or not + you are then just waiting for your mates to manually lower theirs anyway.

gravity dropper and gd turbo here, also maverick speedball.

speedball is over engineered rubbish (It’ll be on fleabay soon if you want it – good sales technique huh?)

gravity dropper I have broken 2 (one snapped inner post, the other the bit where the cable goes in came loose) – but the aftersales services has been SECOND TO NONE, and they have been sorted direct with the manufacturers under warranty. On that basis alone I would buy again.
On the other hand, given the current price, I wouldn’t touch any of them with a barge pole.

Wasnet there a simlar thread to this a few days ago???