My wait for a 5 inch adjustable uppy downy post in 27.2mm seatpost size seems never to be fulfilled.

So a 4 inch post seems the only way.

Weighing up the pros and cons of both:

gravity dropper turbo –

Pros – lighter, supposedly more reliable compared to most others, good customer service if it does go wrong
Cons – expensive (more so than Hilo), look absolutely gash esp with that rubber gatior thing.

X-fusion Hilo –

Pros – cheaper, looks a lot better, supposed to work well
Cons – is it as reliable, heavier, if it does go wrong esp out of warranty what will the customer service be like, don’t think you can buy all the spare parts to fix yourself.

Any thoughts or experiences would be great?

(although I think ive ruled out other makes and models other than the above.)

reliable compared to most others, good customer service if it does go wrong

+1

Who cares what it looks like when nobody else can do this ^

I had to send mine back to GD when the adjuster knob thing fell off. They glued it and screwed it back on and sent it back foc within a week. I’d even told them it was third-hand and I had no proof of purchase.

ir_bandito – was that sending it back to Canada or the in the UK? What’s postage like if abroad or insurance if goes missing etc?

Sent it back to GD in Polson, Montana.
Sent it insured with Royal Mail, I think it cost me perhaps £15.

Really helpful custmer service, almost instant replies on the emails. Superstar could learn a thing or 2….

Sounds good cheers

Anybody else own either?

I’ve got two G.D’s and they have been absolutely faultless and that’s with my +16st bouncing up and down on them. I’ve changed saddles 3 times and I’ve not even stripped or serviced either of them in two years . They aren’t going to win any beauty contests but they do a job that other have failed to copy IMHO. Built for riding not for posting! 😉

Waits for terminal failure pictures to appear.

I brought a second hand broken GD, changed the cable and its great. And its only my arse that sees it.

I’ve spent the last 2 years getting annoyed with people who complain that dropper posts are unreliable, because what they actually mean is “I intentionally bought an unreliable product purely because it looked nicer than the reliable one”.

Can’t speak for the Hilo but my Gravity Dropper has been superb, and gets almost no attention. Parts are available from CRC now as well should you need them.

GD is simple wires, pins and a big spring technology. Its easily maintained and if it fails “on trail” it is possible to make it home.

if any dropper post fails on the trail, it is still possible to make it home. You just man up and ride out of the saddle…

My wait for a 5 inch adjustable uppy downy post in 27.2mm seatpost size seems never to be fulfilled.

[url=http://www.rasebike.com/rapid.htm]If only they had a better saddleclamp[/url]

That’s a lot of money for the Rase post – looks perfect but heard a few bad stories about them plus that’s a huge about of travel for a small amount of post overlap.

Why don’t they make a 6 inch drop version with plenty of overlap and they would have a winner!

Rik: have been through the same decision process myself these past few weeks as my new (2nd hand) soul frame wouldn’t fit the reverb from my previous frame. 😥 The only downside to what has been a fab soul “conversion”.

….Went the hilo after extensive online research…..hilo edged it on true variable height and cost (£164.99 at wiggle for the 2012 model after applying one of their (regular) 10% online discounts) First impressions are positive although I haven’t been able to test the remote as it came missing a part. I’m using it with the under seat lever set-up while waiting for the part, and actually think I could get used to it….will compare to remote when able. Certainly nice to have the option to swop out on the fly with no cables to a lighter seat post for more cross country orientated duties

Works fine out of the box although, as I have seen mentioned in online research, the seals are squeaky at the moment….not really an issue for me. Solid build. looks good if that’s important to you….wasn’t part of my criteria.

Return for last few cm’s is slow, as again seems common in online chat, but seems to relate to strength of pull on the lever which is more awkward the higher the seat gets….not as good as the reverb in this respect which just gets there solidly with no fuss, but I can live with that for the sake of being able to drop!

Remote use sounds like the key problem area as the cable supplied is a cheapie, and prone to water/mud ingress at the seat-post end. Nothing that swapping out to a decent cable and shielding the cable interface (various straightforward methods suggested online) wouldn’t sort is my thinking……or just stick to the lever and it’s not an issue.

Have rigged up an inner-tube boot zip tied over the post shaft as is recommended online by various sources, and which just makes sense for UK wet conditions to minimise problems….working well so far. Long term reliability?……watch this space! Hope that’s helpful.

I bought a GD on a second hand bike, and it was damaged by a bike shop in France when they clamped the seatpost to repair something or other. I contacted GD, told them the post was not bought new, but they covered the repair under warranty. In my book they’re absolutely top notch people.

Update on the Hilo…..was great but only lasted 3 rides…..has stopped returning from full drop despite air pressure checking out ok and using an inner tube boot.. Back to wiggle it goes….at least I get to see what the warranty/after cares like?? 🙄