Evening all,

Been a few years since I’ve looked at the pros and cons of each. With a new frame just around the corner seems like a good time to go stealth routing as I’m not a fan of flappy cables.

What’s the general viewpoint of what’s best these days?

Have a reverb and a thomson and so far (fingers crossed) both have been reliable. Reverb does have the plus side of being hydraulic so easier to get round bends – depend on the frame and the routing.

KS Lev stealth mechanism can be a bit fragile but… it’s easier to fix in the field than a Reverb.

I like the KS / Thomson lever more than the Reverb.

I think it’s a bit of a case of you pays your money & takes your choice to be honest as I’m sure you’ll get people who have had problems / no problems with all three.

On that front I’ve got a Thomson and a Reverb that have worked fine and a KS Lev that’s failed multiple times..

Running a ks lev at the moment. Setting up the cable is a little bit fiddly but no special tools needed.

Got a Lev and a Thomson. Lev has been back twice, but sorted both times and it’s been ok since (so for a good 18 months). Thomson is a 27.2, and has developed a tiny bit of rotational movement. However it has not worsened.

I’d buy both again. Southpaw is great for the Lev also, if pricey.

By the reviews I’ve seen I would go for the new Fox Transfer. Got two reverbs, reliable as anything. Had one Lev, pain in the ***e.

Got all three in this house. Two LEVs which are the oldest and have given no bother. The lever is comfortable and the action light enough. There’s a little bit of rotational play but it’s easy to do a basic service at home.

The reverb has been replaced under warranty once but does the job. Despite using the lever upside down, I just really don’t like the feel of it. It feels like you have to push in a very precise direction and with more force than a cable dropper.

There are two Thomson posts in the house, both new at the start of the year. One has been back under warranty for damaged keyways. It was replaced under warranty but it took bloody ages. However, that might have been an issue with the retailer rather than importer but it makes me wary all the same. I also dislike the fact that I can’t strip it down for a basic service like the other two.

I’ll not use the reverb again and the tart in me goes for the Thomson over the LEV. I also don’t like the valve being under the saddle on the LEV although I’ve not had to use it too often.

If I find myself needing another dropper and if I get dicked around when the second Thomson goes back, I’ll be looking at the Fox Transfer.

I prefer KS based on the i900 and i950 I’ve used for years but… Replaced it with a 170mm Reverb, it simply has no competitors.

Other half and i have reverbs and levs between us- based in our limited sample size the reverb is the more reliable. No problems before two years old, then serviceable. Lev went back twice under warranty in the first two years.

Thompson is evens between the two i know who have them- one bad, one good.

If i was buying stealth now I’d be looking at a 9.8 fall line. Designed to be user serviceable, cable remote, locks up and down and lots of lengths. Another mate has one, not long enougj for reliability yet but it’s very nice!

FWIW a mate has a fall line and it gives him constant bother… It’s quite analogue, like a KS, it’s not so much work/disasterous fail, it’s more niggly, stops working mid ride and needs a faff- so not terrible but a bit irritating

That’s really useful folks thanks. Current post is a reverb (first generation) and had been no bother.. prob stick with a reverb then. Find the lever a bit stiff (ooh errr missus) which is one reason I started lookING.

How about one of the wireless ones? Same price as a Reverb

By the reviews I’ve seen I would go for the new Fox Transfer

^this.

If I were in the market, I’d be looking at the Fox Transfer Performance. Unless I had kashima forks, then I’d be stupid and pay £50 more for a matching post.

it’s more niggly, stops working mid ride and needs a faff- so not terrible but a bit irritating

That’s a pain, do you know what is causing the problem?

To be fair, in a year if there are no problems coming out of the fox camp I’d also be looking at that, although not sure i like the fact that the cartridge isn’t user serviceable

Bear in mind that the Reverb has just been re-designed with improved inners, notably larger bushing surface areas I think, so past Reverb experience isn’t necessarily 100% relevant. My original Reverb lasted around three years of regular riding – it was on my winter hardtail – before both the bushings wore out. Rebuilt it myself at a total cost of around 40 quid including a new top-cap. The only other maintenance I’ve done is to top up the air reservoir twice. RH lever mounted upside down on the left.

I also have two Thomsons on different bikes and they’ve both – touch wood – been fine, but have done less mileage. The cable remote is arguably a bit easier to maintain as it’s just a cable so no need to bleed.

I’d happily buy either again, especially with the Reverb having been revamped. The RS one tends to be slightly cheaper, but the Thomson looks nicer to me, though that’s subjective I guess.

Replaced it with a 170mm Reverb, it simply has no competitors.

Is the lever any better? Having first got used to a KS Lev lever and now a KS mounted to a modified XT shifter, the reverb feels relatively stiff and difficult to use*

Meanwhile I’d get a 170 drop KS in a heartbeat, I double drop my KS the last 20 mm for steep stuff.

* I have pathetic hands, especially in the cold

I have just ordered the latest giant contact from winstanleys, 150mm drop and only £130 gets some reasonable reviews and runs stealth or external. Only 30.9 though (comes with 31.6 shim)

Got a Lev on my old Enduro and a Reverb on the new Capra. I much prefer the Reverb (until it goes wrong)

On that front I’ve got a Thomson and a Reverb that have worked fine and a KS Lev that’s failed multiple times..

My LEVs have been mixed. One was brilliant for two years before starting to sag; it’s now been serviced but not ridden since; it’s there as a spare. The second is a little sticky, but generally OK. Neither have failed per-se (touches wood)

The Mk.2 Reverb I had was fine for a year, but died very quickly after being sold on (sorry Dave!) I now have another and it’s making funny noises four rides in from new. I know it’s issue prone so I’m not holding out hope.

I prefer KS based on the i900 and i950 I’ve used for years

Conversely I owned an i900 and it was nothing but trouble, mainly due to the daft roller bearing set-up. Required servicing after every other ride. Personally I wouldn’t touch another with someone else’s.

The roller bearing doesn’t really do much tbh, you can replace it with a solid bushing- but it’s all behind durable seals so if you were having to service it more often than about once a year there was just something wrong with it.

Jon Taylor – Member

Is the lever any better?

Nope, still shite.

swanny853 – Member

That’s a pain, do you know what is causing the problem?

I think it’s just extremely pernickety about setup and cable. When it works right it’s absolutely lovely but it doesn’t seem to have had much thought given to the real world. Still, it seems otherwise good (he was on his 2nd warranty replacement Thomson I think before he got it)

For those who dislike the reverb lever, the dehy cable remote conversion is bloody awesome. SRAM should take note.

I think it’s just extremely pernickety about setup and cable. When it works right it’s absolutely lovely but it doesn’t seem to have had much thought given to the real world. Still, it seems otherwise good (he was on his 2nd warranty replacement Thomson I think before he got it)

Shame, as it does look good. One of the review (pinkbike?) did say the initial setup was a pain.

Run a few reverbs and although the reliability isn’t great, SRAM make up for it with an incredibly quick turn around – normally getting me a new one within 10 days

Bit of an early faff learning how to bleed, but easy now (lots of practice)

My Thompson one is a truly wonderful dropper seatpost. Really nice plush action. However, their turn-around-time for warranty work is awful

1st visit – 8 weeks
2nd visit – 6 weeks
3rd visit – 2 weeks and it failed 2 weeks later

I’d be much happier if they just copied the SRAM model and sent me a new post each time – especially considering how much more i paid for it compared to the Reverbs

My bike came with a LEV and I recentlty switched out to a Reverb. Partly due to upping the drop but also partly down the the creaky seat clamp on the LEV driving me crazy. I tried some 3M tape on the clamp faces which hepled but didn’t totally cure the issue. It also had the orignal cable connection interface that has now been revised. It did disconnect itself once in 18 months use.

I’ve been more happy with the Reverb overall. The contectamajig is handy, shortening the cable was easy and not having to bleed it for 3 disconnections has been useful thing. I run the original lever flipped upside down and find it ergnomical enough with a slightly long throw. That is the only real downside, the hydraulic activation has some sort of a slight time delay compared to cable. As mentioned you can get aftermarket levers systems to fix this.

Both posts themselves have been fine, always going up and down when needed (as long as a cable is connected!). I did look at the Fall Line too but as my bike takes a 34.9mm dia post I decided to stick to a brand that offered this size for more surface area and hopefully reliability.