I thought I'd cover both these in one Topic.
Firstly dropper posts.
The Rockshox reverb I have on my 1 year old bike is proving to be unreliable. It's now the second time that it has started sagging with about 2 inches of play when I sit on it. I've been told by a suspension mechanic that this will keep on happening but I can't put up with how often it will happen.
What is considered to be the most reliable and relatively maintenance free dropper post on the market at the moment, preferably with a cable instead of hydraulic control?
Next, rear tyres. I have a pile of nearly new rear tyres building up with holes in the sidewalls. I've been using Maxxis DHR2 DD but they don't seem sturdy enough to withstand the natural trails I ride in the Lake district.
I'm looking for something that has a more substantial sidewall. I can live with extra weight if needed. I know I could go down the road of tyre inserts but I've seen someone get a puncture with one of these fitted but he needed to remove it to fit a tube and it looked a right pain in the arse.
I would appreciate any suggestions.
If you're killing DD tyres but otherwise like it, DH casing might be the way forwards.
As for the dropper, depends a lot on budget. The one-up and others with the disposable cartridge serve a lot of people well.
A few years back, I got fed up with unreliable droppers so decided what was important was repairability over reliability. That ended up with all my bikes running Bikeyoke dropper. You can rebuild the air spring if you need to and the whole service kit is about £25. If it says, there's an inbuilt lever to fix that instantly.
The irony is, I bought into Bikeyoke because they were repairable but I don't need to as they've also been the most reliable dropper I've ever had.
I've found the WTB tough casings to be nigh on indestructible. I live in an area with a lot of flint, so sidewall cuts are common.
I've killed Maxxis EXO+ and other brands with allegedly tough sidewalls, but never a WTB tough carcass.
One Up droppers are reasonably priced, work very well and are very easy to service when necessary. Got 2 of them here and they're faultless.
Stick a Rimpact insert in the rear. I've got a Kryptotal enduro tyre with a Rimpact V2 and I prefer the feel and the reliability to a heavier, stiffer DH casing where I can still break the rim on heavy impacts.
I used to break rims and slash tyres all the time and I've had no failures since I started using inserts.
Inserts are good and you can ease the removal pain by going for lower profile and still retaining some of the benefits, however I see them as more for rim protection than sidewall reinforcement.
Maxxis wise, if DD isn't working the it will be DH casing you need. Exo+ is marginally stronger than Exo but still weaker than what I would run personally on an enduro bike.
Dropper wise you can get one of these https://ascendcomponents.com/products/flight-dropper-seatpost-30-9-31-6-150mm-170mm-200mm and it will be solid, being a Brand X replacement essentially. I have a Oneup V2, it's been solid but heard a few mixed reports reliability with the V3.
Lever of choice, I have a Shimano which was £25 or so and more than happy
Are you pinch flatting the trye or slicing them open?
If pinching, I guess you've got three options, upping pressure, a DH casing tyre or an insert. I'm very much in the inserts are a pain in the arse camp, I've had to carry one for half a ride 3 times due to running less robust tyres and still puncturing. At 76-78kg kitted up I run a DD DHR2 with 26-28psi depending on where I'm riding and, touch wood, haven't had puncture since staring using them about 2 years ago.
If you're slicing them then an insert isn't really going to help I don't think, a DH casing would be your best bet.
what model is the reverb the later ones have a vent value at the top to solve the sagging issue
As above, Ascend seem best bang-for-buck seatposts and very proven reliability (compared to the Reverb's proven unreliability).
You'll find the odd cheaper option that could also be great in the pinned bargains thread though.
If you're putting holes in DD tyres, the only way to go is full DH, but for the Lakes I really would consider inserts (Rimpact Pro are very good), as they make punctures very unlikely and they also do a great job of protecting your rims from those nasty rocks.
As said if your are killing DD sidewalls (I've grazed a few but never split one) then DH casing is the next step
With droppers it seems best to go with something cheap that lasts a couple of years, Brand X seem the best for this
Saying that I do have a 2018 FOX Transfer with Kashima coating, the coating has loads of chips, the post has never been serviced but it still keeps going (I've jinxed it now 🤣 )
+1 for BikeYoke. A tad expensive at first, but super reliable, easy to service, and the Revive function is great. Wouldn't choose something different now. I just serviced my first one for the first time ever a couple of weeks ago. It was a little bit sticky after about 3 years of constant use. No rotational play and no snagging. Serviced it myself and it is like new. I did have to buy some proper circlip pliers though (one outie, one innie if you know what I mean).
Highly recommended.
As homer said. I'd first try to work out exactly WHY you're destroying sidewalls
Maxxis DH casings are tougher than DD but no way the toughest sidewalls available.
and if they're nearly new tyres I'd be attempting to repair them with internal automotive patches. Possibly requiring a tube to be fitted instead of running tubeless. But at the price of new tyres these days it's gotta be worth it.
Yep +1 for that. DD in my experience is pretty tough but not great at all for pinch flats, it's a useful carcass but a wee bit odd in that it's strong on some stuff and not on others.
Unfortunately DHR2 DH availability is weird, maxxis only list a maxxgrip (which you do not want on the back) and the wire bead dual (which is fine tbh but needlessly heavy because of the bead). I'm reasonably sure others have existed. There's a million variants of dhr2 but some of the really obvious ones are missing, it's kind of infuriating since it's one of the best tyres' they've ever made.
Schwalbe's Supergravity has similiar carcass strength ime but is definitely better for pinch flats. Generally SG is a little heavier, it's a slightly odd "lightweight gravity tyre" that is in the same weight class as lots of full dh tyres. But it's still really useful, and is a more pliant and faster rolling carcass generally. WTB's tough carcasses can be good too.
My Reverb performed well. But the hydraulic activation is just ridiculous.
New bike now has a one up. Came with a Fox transfer but it needed a bit more insertion tha it could manage. If it had fitted me well I’d have kept it. The first one up cartridge leaked and the post went saggy. One up provided a replacement cartridge and service kit under warranty. Easy to replace. Flawless since. I’d suggest one up. Bike yoke seem good but haven’t used one. Flight have the coolest logo. All, possibly any brand, will be better and easier than the Reverb.
tyres? Continental Kryptotal. Been the best tyre I’ve had in years.
Ascend dropper is as reliable as any IME.
Schwalbe Gravity Radial Soft Addix for rear tyre.
Another vote for Bikeyoke dropper posts.
WTB Tough casing with inserts front and rear run on a full fat Levo. The old 1,300g style not the newer ones with an even heavier casing. No issues. I wouldn’t touch Maxxis again.
I've had/have a couple of Fox Transfers and think they're spot on. Also had my share of Brand X which are absolutely fine however not as nice as the Fox (but then the Fox isn't really 4x better for 4x the price). Quite liked the Reverbs I had but non of mine failed unlike most.
Tyre wise you seem to be biffing casings that suit me fine so I'm out of my depth. Saying that, Schwalbe would be my first port of call in whatever flavour you need.