Stealth, I-Spec, trigger lever, Shimano made – I’m in

WAIT

120mm? Really?

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/shimano-koryak-dropper-seatpost-first-look-2016.html

It’s a dropper post and the first they have made. Have they made any other similar products before? Wait for the year of public beta testing before reaching for your wallet

No danger of e trying it – going for less travel than rety much all the competition is a very shimano move. Like when they decided to compete with SRAM on 1×11 by offering much less range on a heavier cassette.

They’re a rather conservative bunch, our japanese friends. When they’re not buying used schoolgirl’s underwwar out of vending machines, that is.

They’re a rather conservative bunch, our japanese friends

They are, but they usual get it right when they release something. Unlike SRAM who seem to use the paying public as beta testers.

Hoping this is reliable and priced well.
They tend to release solid components, thought this is a new direction for them.
Would have been nice to have a Di2-wireless option and larger travel options.
Will we see a 27.2mm version?

Looks like an interesting contender, depending on price.

don’t like the clamp design – reminds me of the awful clamp on the X-Fusion dropper

Would be happy to try it if more reliable than the Reverb (who’s warranty is superb!!)

Lunge +1

I read this a while ago and found myself agreeing.

Some interesting thoughts from NSMB on Shimano vs SRAM development cycles

Wait for the year of public beta testing before reaching for your wallet

Have shimano ever released a product quite as unreliable as (just about anything from) SRAM?

A few cracked carbon fibre cassette bodies on Dura-Ace cassettes is the best I can remember.

120mm? Really?

5mm less than a standard Reverb, hardly shocking. I’m 6ft and ride Large sized frames, most of which still struggle to fit a 150mm dropper anyway. Not saying 150mm+ isn’t better, or at least not worse even if it is of negligible benefit, but I’d take 120mm and not be fussed about more if the post itself was better.

Now I’ve got a 150mm dropper no way id go for a 120mm, once they sort out more travel (and im sure di2 is in the works, they would surely release a mech one first) these could be a winner

Have shimano ever released a product quite as unreliable as (just about anything from) SRAM?

XTR pedals, batches of brakes from the top of my head.
Have they ever made a dropper or anything with decent seals (see their bb’s) has there been a single dropper that has worked from day 1? This is probably their most complex product. Sram had been making fork etc. For years and still struggled but hey it’s your cash.

Interesting. Had been looking at the new Fox post but like the idea of I spec and like Shimano in general.

Mike’s post above says more about SRAM rather than others IMO.

Thompson and ks both struggled didn’t they, any others? Can you put a dropper on the scale of complexity with other shimano products?

This is probably their most complex product.

well not really take a road sti shifter to bits or a nexus hub …and thats not taking into account their manufacturing equipment which is robotics and the like and they tend to make themselves , Shimano can define precision but for some reason over the past few years they have either gotten Lazy or the competition have stepped up to the plate narrowing the GAP

Everything Sram I have ever owned except powerdome has been problematic

My Thomson post has been faultless. How many problems did Specialized or Giant have? Any more than Sram?

And all of mine just works… If your happy go for one just experience says don’t touch a dropper in the first year/gen unless you want to test the warranty.

I fail to see why anyone needs more than 125mm drop ❓

120 is 20mm too much

After the total shambles of M8000 brakes I’d steer clear of this this until a good 18 months into full release.

If your happy go for one just experience says don’t touch a dropper in the first year/gen unless you want to test the warranty.

Apart from the your/ you’re who’s/ whoes fiasco above ( 😉 ).

I think the reason why most people (including myself) are so excited about this mikew, is that we want to believe that, after several years of companies releasing failed first attempts, this dropper from the BIG S could finally be The One. I’m willing to hold out hope, but probably not cash, cos I’m a s/h only pauper-person.

I want to believe the Big S will have finally cracked this apparently monumental engineering problem. A non-rotational uppydowny shaft fitted inside a tube. It’s not exactly rocket science really, is it?

C’mon Shimano! 😀

Just disappointed it’s not hydro actuated, cos as someone who’s lusted after hydro-actuated derailleurs since Mavic in 1993, that’s what makes the Reverb satisfyingly quite pimpy, if a bit of a faff to set up. There also apparently seems to be some engineering sense to hydro-actuation too, as the hydro button allows for less lever throw, or som’ink, which is cool.. 8)

With Shimano entering the market pricing could get quite competitive too, once this cascades down to Deore-level – then we will have fully pre-programmable GPS position-sensitive electronic auto-drop at XTR level!!!! MMMmmmmmmm…

I think the reason why most people (including myself) are so excited about this mikew, is that we want to believe that, after several years of companies releasing failed first attempts, this dropper from the BIG S could finally be The One.

It does seem people manage some very selctive memory with the big S…

I want to believe the Big S will have finally cracked this apparently monumental engineering problem. A non-rotational uppydowny shaft fitted inside a tube. It’s not exactly rocket science really, is it?

I know but it does seem that the combination of forces, tolerence of the seals etc. do make this a bit more complex than a lot of things.

I would be more inclined to believe if this was the launch pic after months of testing, secret spy shots on pro bikes etc. Back in Feb I got a quick (couple of seconds) glance at some new dropper https://flic.kr/p/E1JiDR that was being tested. So if it’s not been seen out of the factory and not been shown on a bike I’m less inclined to drink the kool aid.

As for hydro, cable just works better and can be set much lighter to the touch which is nice when you have tried to punch through the ground on landing twice too often

Just disappointed it’s not hydro actuated

They can’t! SRAM have that patented, hence why all other droppers are cable actuated.

Now I’ve got a 150mm dropper no way id go for a 120mm

Shortarses!

170mm currently, and once someone comes out with a reliable 200mm I’ll be putting one of them in 🙂

The drop length you need will depend on your bikes frame and what you ride. For some 120 will be too short. I use all 150 of my Reverb and Vyron.

As for the product, the clamp looks pants and its a shame it cable. Pretty reserved, but its Shimano.

I’m pretty positive about this it really suits me personally:

125mm is pretty much the longest drop I can use, my Reverb is almost resting on the seat clamp now, 5′ 10″ on a medium frame should make me Mr. Middle of the road, but RS seem to be dropping 125mm droppers?

The clamp might look crap, but I had the same on on a Pro static post and it was faultless and very easy to use, they’re also pretty compact which means more adjustment on saddle position.

I don’t understand the love-affair with hydraulic releases, in theory they should be superior in feel (is that needed for what’s and on/off switch really?) but RS’s long shove, push-switch is an appalling design that most people run upside-down to make it usable. The simple cable release on my X-Fusion dropper was way better, the Shimano one looks far more usable and ergonomic.

My Stealth reverb is pretty good, but it’s very stiff and sometimes locks up, the remote is hard to find when you’re really going mad and never where you want it to me and it’s decided to break itself twice despite only being 3 months old now.

E13 seem to be doing a lot right with their post – stealth, 150mm, trigger lever, cable end at the lever. Not a fan of the 4-poition thing, but the wear kit and coil internals sound clever.

Eurobike 2016: New Dropper & Cassette From E*13 Components

I suppose it doesn’t make any difference whether it’s 120mm, 125mm or 150mm, it’s still in with all the non-reverb also-rans really- droppers only do one job and the 170mm Reverb does that job better than anything else now.

This feels like an OE product really, I’m sure lots of Shimano OE customers will want to pick it up but it doesn’t bring anything else to the table.

Northwind – Member

I suppose it doesn’t make any difference whether it’s 120mm, 125mm or 150mm, it’s still in with all the non-reverb also-rans really- droppers only do one job and the 170mm Reverb does that job better than anything else now.

This feels like an OE product really, I’m sure lots of Shimano OE customers will want to pick it up but it doesn’t bring anything else to the table.

Only time will tell, it doesn’t appear to do anything that others don’t already – they might go the other way – cheap, reliable, nice to use – like most of their stuff – the amount of people moaning about knackered reverbs, there’s a market for it.

Thing is, there’s always been more or less reliable droppers and it’s never seemed to influence buyer behaviour much- when the Reverb came out, it was terrible while KS and Gravity Dropper had massively reliable droppers on the market. But loads of people bought the Reverb anyway then complained that droppers are unreliable. Then Reverbs got better and the KS Lev came out and was unreliable but loads of people bought that anyway. And people queued up to buy the expensive, untested, unreliable Thomson as soon as it launched. Some maniacs even bought Crank Bros droppers.

cant quite tell from the pic on the phone, is the profile tubular? Why don’t they use a ‘D’ shaped design to at least stop some of the rotation issues with past posts….harder to seal?

Northwind – Member

the 170mm Reverb does that job better than anything else now.

Aye… Very impressed by my 170 reverb now that I’ve measured it and realised it isn’t a 150

jruk – Member
After the total shambles of M8000 brakes I’d steer clear of this this until a good 18 months into full release.

Eh? Mine are excellent as are all the recent shimano new generation brakes I’ve had the pleasure of using.

Someone should do one with a lefty style square in square on rollers would sort all the issues with twist and be nice and smooth I reckon.

170mm currently, and once someone comes out with a reliable 200mm I’ll be putting one of them in

I’ve been using a RASE post for about 5 years now oops, no, more like 7-8 I think; I forget if it’s 8 or 9 inches drop. The saddle clamp/tilt is shit but otherwise really simple design that seems to struggle to go wrong under my 90kg

Not sure they’re still in business though – website looks unkempt

Well I think it looks good and depending on price I think I’ll potentially buy for my Hardtail.

I love my reverb in the FS but it’s months old and I worry about what will happen longer term given the issues everyone else has. I also don’t think the lever on the reverb is very good, this looks far better in my eyes.

for some reason it looks heavy.

Surely the best people to bring out a dropper should be cannondale as they could just make a scaled down lefty.

Pink bike don’t see only one glaring issue with it..no 150mm option.
The biggest problem I see is stealth cable routing only!

Am I the only one who has a frame that doesn’t have internal cable routing?

No you’re not Goldigger but I’m seriously thinking of drilling my seat tube so I can run one.

My frame is still in warranty so I won’t be drilling any holes. Within the next 3 years when the warranty expires I would have most likely replaced the frame, with something that has internal routing.

By then there should be a Bluetooth floating intelligent saddle that reads the terrain from a GPS and goes up and down on its own 😀

Gold digger – OEM is the main market and they will have. You could always drill a hole…..