I am a huge Thomson fan, but for some reason I don’t have huge confidence in their forthcoming dropper seatpost.

Plus, I want one now.

So, what is reckoned to be the daddy right now?

Criteria:

Preferably bottom mounted cable (so it doesn’t coil when dropped), but will consider others

Minimal slop/movement

Neat remote

Bottom mounted cable only leaves you with KS Lev, Gravity Dropper (and its copies like the ICE, etc.) and Reverb Stealth (if you have a suitable hole in your frame). I think that’s it, but will no doubt be corrected.

For me it would probably be the KS Lev.

Bottom mounted cable (so it doesn’t coil when dropped)

Minimal slop/movement

Neat remote

You just described the KS LEV, I’ve got one and it really is good!

Thanks. Have edited criteria. If I drop the bottom mounted cable bit, what would that open up?

All types of reverb

It’s basically Lev vs Reverb at the mo, for me the Lev won out due to preferring cable, no looping and the neat remote but most of my riding buddies have the Reverb and seem to get on fine with it (hard not to recommend given the pricing difference now).

I have a Reverb and a Spesh one.
Both function fine but I prefer the infinite adjustability of the Reverb over the fixed positions of the Spesh.

My KS i900 has survived 2 megavelanches and 3 years of thrashing including multiple crashes resulting in 2 bent and buggered saddles! All the time performing perfectly. Thats good enough for me. Iv just changed my frame so need a different sized one – Im going straight for the i950 as they will be cheap now with new Lev.

I dont use a bar remote though so cant comment on how good they are.

CB Kronolog…

Hiterite.

If the reliability holds up, it’s the Lev- lighter than a Reverb, more drop, bottom mounted hose, cable not hydraulics (though the Reverb lever is nicer).

Only KS do a 6″ drop.

I’ll be buying a LEV when I can justify it.

Reverb, without a doubt.

As for the Crank Brother suggestion?! Haha!

I’ve got a Reverb and had no troubles with it at all. Gonna get a Lev for the new bike though, just because I like the idea of no cable routing untidiness. I had an i900 on a previous bike which was fine though the cable could get gunked up from time to time and need some maintenance, hopefully that’s improved as the reverb hasn’t needed any tweaking at all in a year or so of use.

Last time I looked (which was a few months ago), the lightest, most reliable option was the one that never seems to get a mention in these threads, probably because it is ugly as sin; the Gravity Dropper. But it works, is easy to repair if it does go wrong and even has a fixed cable entry point. Mine has gone through a pretty crappy summer and an even more crappy winter without missing a beat and since it is stuck on an old Five I don’t have to worry about how it looks 🙂

I like my Gravity Dropper but the other main posts are now reliable enough that it’s not the killer it once was, and the shorter drop isn’t so good (mind you, that’s not really fair is it, since you can get a 5 inch drop in the bigger sizes).But my old i900R is just as good a post on balance and the Lev has the i900 beat.

Hope or Salsa QR clamp, then reverb.

No joke, my Hope QRs are less reliable than either of my dropper posts- they never slip, and they never get stuck on just because of a bit of mud.

As for the Crank Brother suggestion?! Haha!

I must be the lucky one ‘cos my Kronolog works fine & I’m happy with it.

Reverb action and adjustability puts it in a different league to the cable operated posts I’ve tried

Adjustability?

As above, Lev and Reverb seem to be the leaders.

The KS remote lever works on either the left or right side of the bar. And the Lev’s fixed cable routing is great, though like all cables it may need to be cleaned or replaced after a while. But at least it is just a standard cable and housing.

While a lot of folks like the Reverb’s hydraulic lever, there is a different one for right or left bar top mounting. But you use the opposite if you mount under the bar! And they’re very expensive to replace if broken. And an occasional bleed instead of cleaning or replacing the cable is to be expected.

I have 2 Levs, myself.