[Closed] Best Dropper seat post??

Not sure there is a clear 'best' yet.

Gravity Droppers are simple to look after and fix but come at you like a rocket when you press the button. Need looking after?

Reverbs are very slick to use, but can often be delivered in a non-working state meaning you need to bleed them. No bleed kit, you're screwed. Questionable reliability.

DSP, possibly somewhere in the middle (this is what I run). Controlled action, but not user servicable. Slick action and the cable-hydraulic system works well. Too new to have proven their reliability yet.

Cranks Bros. Possibly the worst reputation of the bunch?

KS. Mixed reports, but a lot of that is due to the customer service of the supplier. Don't know too much about this one.

This is what I think I know anyway.

I've owned and extensively used:

Gravity dropper (two of them), Crank Brothers Joplin and two Reverbs.

My mates, with whom I ride regularly and therefore I have good knowledge of the relative merits of their kit, have covered the Command Post and the KSI.

There IS a clear winner in my view and it seems in the view of quite a few of the magazines. It's the Reverb.

Yes, they do sometimes need bleeding from new. It takes about 5 minutes and after that they are more or less bomb proof.

If anything does go wrong, they are usually turned around in about three days from Fisher. I have had a problem with one that lost some pressure and a mate had one that came unstuck at the seat clamp. Both were dealt with within three days.

In terms of performance, the Reverb is light years ahead of everything else. It works, it carrys on working and it works really well.

My Ksi is 17 months old now and needs to be warranty replaced.
For 15 months could not fault it, just change the cable every now and then.
2 year warranty is mint, but will probably upgrade to a reverb when I get the Ksi back.

they are more or less bomb proof.

I have had a problem with one that lost some pressure and a mate had one that came unstuck at the seat clamp.

That's your definition of bomb proof?

I think an element of the decision depends on whether you want fixed positions or infinite variation. For me the GD and Command Post win, as you have fixed drops at 1" and 4 or 5". Much less hassle in my opinion. I rated my GD and my new Command Post seems very similar but a lot better looking.

Ive had three so far.
Specialized Commander- fantastic, smooth and reliable. 3 position might turn people off but its reliable.
Gravity Dropper Classic- Very industrial and makes plenty of clunking noises but its light, cheap and reliable. Simple.
X-fusion (current) Hilo- Got it rather cheap and infinitely adjustable so thats nice. Rather weighty but its held up well over the muddy season.

The X-fusion only travels 100mm is that enough?

Gravity Dropper - either the Classic or Turbo. They just work. And when they get sticky, quick wipe clean and lube and good as new. A lever, cable, pin, spring and a post running in some bushes - so simple, so maintainable, not even heavy.

Reverbs are a fairly new product but have had quite a few issues, and as yet we don't really know anything about long-term performance. They seem to have fixed some of the issues in the new version though.

KS i950 and i900 had huge early issues but have been around for long enough to have sorted [i]most[/i] of those. Still not perfect though. Seals are surprisingly excellent IME. Very good.

Gravity Dropper's been around forever and there's nothing more proven. Still the lightest, I think, too. Properly hands-off reliable, and when they do need attention you can service them with a rock. But, not that big a drop, which is a big downside.

But all these 3 are worth considering, personally I reckon if a trouble-free life is most important to you then it's the Gravity Dropper Turbo in a non-multi-drop version.

If you have a 30.9 (or bigger) seat tube, then Gravity Dropper do a 5" drop version. Very helpful customer service - when I wanted to buy a righthand remote (I've recently gone 1x9 so now my GD remote can go upside down under the bars, instead of on top), rather than selling me the whole unit they just told me the handful of parts needed to convert the item (clever engineering - lots of common parts). I hate faffing around with bikes, just want to ride it and have it work properly all the time and other than one broken cable (easily fixed and still workable on the ride) it's been great for a year in all conditions on my lone MTB.

I looked at them all and bought the Giant version as it was a decent price from my lbs, with the warranty and service that goes along with this . I'd normally be happy to buy stuff mail order but for this I wanted easy warranty backup. Cons (for me) of the others.

Gravity Dropper - Ugly
Joplin - Crank Brothers so sure to break
Command post - To expensive for what it is
KS - Superstar
HiLo - Looks a bit cheap and very exposed to dirt
Reverb - Expensive, unless bought mail order, which would increase the hassle of getting warranty work done when it breaks.

Despite Superstar's reputation I've generally found them to be good with servicing and warranty work on my KS posts. They've done warranty work that's been quick and quibble-free. They've been good value on out of warranty work too, though they were poor one time at letting me know about delays. Communication appears to be more of a problem for them than the service they provide.

Northwind's had more stereotypical dealings with Superstar about his KS post but since then he seems to have gotten along with it.

I find that after a few hours riding in gritty conditions the KS remote can become a bit draggy. I've fitted Middleburn cable oilers to the outers of my two KS posts to aid in cleaning the crud out.

^ chris have you got a link to these cables? also a good idea to make a cover for the lever under the saddle

ChrisL - Member

Northwind's had more stereotypical dealings with Superstar about his KS post but since then he seems to have gotten along with it.

<nods> Other vendors are available, but tbh despite Superstar being what they are I'd still go back to them, after all Fruit does have the distributor hat.

[url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=3318 ]Middleburn Cable Oilers[/url]. Cut your outer halfway along its length, fit the oiler between the two ends. Slip off the o-ring and squirt in GT85 or WD40 until all the grit is gone from the cable. 🙂

So the outer cable butts up on each side?
Then you just pull apart and squirt GT85 into the cable.?

http://www.middleburn.co.uk/access_cableoilers.php
liking these 🙂

Good little things those cable oilers, I've had some for yonks!

They are nifty. But tbh, I just used quality cables when I restrung my posts, and they both work fine (a GD Turbo and a KS i900). Have to say the cable that came with my KS was absolutely crap.

I'm using a Giant contact switch - not had any problems qith it yet. Not sure how the cable remote lever mechanism will cope with the dusty summer crap but it's held up fine in freezing and rain.

Also a bargain at £145 from pedalon - I didn't want to go mad on a reverb and also needed a layback so it's worked well. A bit more play than i'd have thought there should be in the post but you don't notice this when riding. Long term not sure as it's only been on a month or so.

Reverb best, was best from start, cant understand people who have had issues, the thing usually runs from the box and dont give any bother , do people **** about with 'em?

PS how do we quote on here ?

HiLo - Looks a bit cheap and very exposed to dirt

cant understand people who have had issues

what's not to understand? Seatpost goes down, seatpost wont come back up - ****ed.

Put some air in and it'll launch your family jewels in to orbit.

Yebbut it costs £10 to fix up the exposed to dirt part, and it is, after all, a dropper post at a reasonable price point.

I would have probably got one other than for the fact that the Giant one offered similar performance, looked better and was a bit cheaper.

I love that. "Mine works, so I can't understand how anyone else's could not work". Should work in QC.

Been running a KS post for 2 1/2 years, I take it apart occasionally to give it a clean and a lube, when it sticks its always been cable related. The post has now developed a little side to side play but you don't notice this when riding.

Before the KS I used a Maverick post it mostly worked but developed loads of play and not just side to side!

Got a mate who has the Reverb, it's been back twice under warranty but have to say if I was going to buy one now thats where my money would be going.

Ks are shortly bringing out the lev version with the cable mount at the seat collar. Much tidier solution, although rumoured pricing is mega bucks.

I do like the way MBR reported that as an exciting new development in dropper posts. After all GDs have only been doing it that way for 9 years.

looking like reverb is favourite, bike radar gives 5 stars..

trip to LBS i think to look ,,,feel ,,,and test upy... downy

[b]maxsatnav[/b] for what it is worth, I've just bought a Reverb, it worked straight out the box, comes with a bleed kit supplied (which extra fluid) and was pretty straight-forward to fit and didn't have any problem with cable routing.

The only real pain so far is the fear of breaking the handlebar remote every time I turn the bike upside down to remove wheels or fiddle with the mech.

For someone who never bothered moving my fixed seat at all, I've really enjoyed the infinite height adjustment, even on steep technical climbs it's great to tuck the seat in a bit. The recent weather has made it a bit hard to test it properly, but so far no regrets.

Reverb

Gothandy - flip the remote to the underside of the bars (albeit on the opposite side to where yours is presently, left or right), and you no longer have that worry.

i have had no issues with my hilo - limited to a 27.2mm one with frame, its been faultless so far (touch wood) and for 142 quid delivered from germany it cant be beaten on price really! its worked straight from the off and has endured working effortlessly at -7 degrees in frozen conditions, super muddy, snowy, rainy the only weather its not been tested in is sun!

i havent bothered to protect mine, i dont see the point, its like my suspension i dont put covers over them they are designed with mud in hand and if it fails it will get sent back for warranty, i clean it with a clean cloth an water after every ride (dont jet wash it) and spray some fork juice on to keep it smooth..

ok it may not look the greatest ( i think the only thing that makes it look slightly cheaper than any other is the fact the shaft is thinner in diameter, if they change that to match the actual insert post then i think it will be as good looking/ugly as any other!

the plus point for me and a few lads i ride with is the fact its a lever option too, dont get that with the reverb, just another thing to go wrong when out and about...

i had a gravity dropper turbo and it was shit, i sold it to someone on here for a loss of around 110 pounds, it had pissed me off that much i didnt care and went back to a normal seat post...the GD is just too mechanical for my liking, theres no way its worth 250 quid in my eyes, not when i managed to get a hydraulic version which looks nicer than a gd and performs better for almost half that price

ive had it about 2 months i reckon now, and so far so good, ive not actually heard of any bad reports yet from x fusion hilo (again touches wood)

Best, gravity dropper. You will avoid problems with air loss, seals failure and endless maintenance

Get one with the most adjusment, the most drop, the best service.

Simple - Reverb.

Can I just make one minor but very important negative point about the Reverb (notwithstanding the questioning of my definition of 'bomb proof' - you were right, it's not bombproof but they are better than all the others).

If you damage the push rod that actuates the post. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE FAIL TO OR DELAY IN FIXING IT!

Inside the remote assembly is a small plastic collar that connects the push rod into the remote assembly itself. If you bash to push rod and it becomes lose or slightly wonky, it's because the plastic collar has cracked.

If that's all you've done, then it's a non warranty job and will cost £45 to replace.

However, and this is where it gets truly frightening, if you delay in fixing it, the plastic collar can disintegrate and then cause scoring inside the remote assembly barrel. If that happens, the unit loses it's oil tight seal and you will need to replace the entire remote assembly, not just the push rod.

Now how much do you think those bad boys cost. Just the remote bit, that little iddy biddy unit that clamps to your bars.

Yes that's right.

£175!

😯

I got really lucky because I sweet talked someone at Fisher who ended up only charging me for the push rod but others may not be so lucky.

It's not a bad mark for the post; any post can have problems if you crash. But it's worth bearing in mind SRAM's parts support capability!

Northwind - Member

I love that. "Mine works, so I can't understand how anyone else's could not work". Should work in QC.

Posted 10 hours ago #Report-Post

Not quite the context of my post but hey ho

Both of my Reverbs have been for warranty work and both have been fine since. Even with this inconvenience I would gladly buy another... and was even concidering it with another frame purchase 😳

I don't want the gubbins at the bottom of the shaft such as a GD as it means I won't be able to drop the post even further for truly stupid gnar moves.

The [u]Best Dropper Post[/u] has to be the hidden hose Reverb's fitted to some Trek's this year... it's genius, and the future (assuming they never need warranty etc etc).

A little tip if buying a reverb, get the wrong side remote so that you can sling it under your bars instead of ontop. Under the bars its back on the correct side, if that makes sense. Keeps them a bit more protected in a crash.

Which is great if you run 1x10 and run a RHS lever on the LHS, but if you have a front shifter as well it's a bit of a PITA trying to juggle it around so they all work without snagging on each other.

Also worth bearing in mind it's still bloody vulnerable there, all it takes is a short snag to break the plunger & you are screwed.

I really do like my Reverb, but the lever is still a massive compromise IMO.

You can just get the plunger, SRAM list it as a spare part - however I found this to be a bit of a challenge. Thankfully after a few conversations with SRAM tech, they supplied me with a whole new lever (this was early last year just after I got it).

Now if we were talking 'ideal' I would be looking at the Reverb Stealth (or one with a hose input into the collar area to limit cable movement) coupled with a hydraulic system and a lever design as per the KS one.

On a seperate note, there are a few pictures floating around of the Fox DOSS one now. Oh dear. I thought the Reverb lever was poor, i'm not sure what Fox were thinking with their offering...

I've got 2 KS i950 posts, both of which required attention under warranty. One for a worn seat clamp, the alloy is very soft and engagement not as positive as I'd like. The other started to give, so that the post would squat by an inch or two when sat on the saddle.

Clamp replaced and squashy post serviced under warranty, so no complaints whatsoever with the service from Superstar, however, the serviced post looks like its developing a bit of squish again and it hasn't been used heavily...kinda resigned to it requiring home servicing to keep it tip-top, but it doesn't seem to be alone in this respect.

In use they're nice and smooth and return speed is not so quick that you have to worry about yer gentlemen’s veg.

I’ll try something else next time, but clearly none of the designs are without niggles, so I wouldn’t dissuade anyone from buying a KS.

Also worth bearing in mind it's still bloody vulnerable there, all it takes is a short snag to break the plunger & you are screwed.

I smacked mine with my knee!

I have a front shifter and run a RH Reverb remote on the LH side. There's a little bit of contact between the end of my shifter lever and the Reverb remote but not enough to hinder the action of either in any way.