Decided it’s time to treat myself to a dropper post on my bike, I think I’m finally coming round and seeing the benefits of it! My seatpost is 30.9 and I have a stealth hole for the hose which would be nice to use if possible. I have about £150 to spend. What are my best options? A used reverb? Don’t fancy a gravity dropper as they look awful and I hear there’s some play which would drive me nuts.

Reverbs can often be had new for £180 or so if you’re not fussy about stealth.

The expensive ones haven’t managed consistent reliability so reliable and affordable might be a big ask.

From the other side of the coin though, the affordable ones are no less reliable.

A second hand fox doss . Might not be stealth but mine has been reliable for over two years. They are over built and seem to last forever.

My 100mm Giant Contact Switch worked well (once I had put carbon paste in it so the saddle didn’t tilt). I paid about £140 originally (new) and it is only in 30.9mm and the cable could run external or internal. I just got a KS Cruxi with a bike which already sags by 5mm and has hardly been used 🙁

I’ve had no problems with my two ks etens. I paid £90 from ze Germans. That was pre brexit though.

They do a stealth one too now

The Giant Contact SL on my Trance has been replaced (after 3 months use) due to sideways movement and reluctance to drop/raise with a grinding noise.

Giant kindly replaced no fuss. Next one has started to go down the same path, I’d certainly not recommend.

Before that on my previous bikes I had a reverb on each one (different years) and they both worked really well, one lasted for 2 years without me touching it once from a service point of view and probably had about 2500 miles put on it.

Command post. Should get a good 2nd hand one on budget.