[Closed] Dropper post curious

Reverb is established, had no issues with my ks lev though and has less issues with hose flapping round.

If the frame is 30.9 then you have the most choice, cable runs can be sorted with cable ties.

IMO once you've used one, you won't find them hard to justify.

Have an X-Fusion on my HT for a year now, ridden for years before without one. Bought a FS, took dropper off HT.

Night-ride on HT earlier this week, with normal post. Will buy a another dropper (frames have different angles so would need to be constantly changing the seat position is I swapped it back and forth).

I rode for 23 years without then got a Reverb. It's 'nice to have' but I wouldn't say It's a life changer.

As mike says, KS posts are supposed to be very good too, not tried one but anyone I know who has one rates them. If you're buying a reverb, don't consider second hand, as the warranty is worth it's weight in gold and most folk that sell second hand want too much cash anyway.

Not a life changer, like say penicillin or a lottery win, but the single best upgrade you'll do on your bike. 😀

I've recently converted to one (A Reverb) and it's great. Makes flowing trails a lot more fun because you don't have to keep stopping to mess with your saddle.

Whichever one you go for make sure that at its full extension it's not past your maximum saddle height and get one with a handlebar remote. Trying to adjust your seat from a lever under the saddle is a pain when riding.

Have had no issues performance wise with all my reverbs and other than a squirt of fork juice they've had no service whatsoever. You can get good deals on them if not in a rush. Ive paid between £130 and £160 for mine. Wouldn't want to ride without them now

I'm currently looking for a good deal on a Reverb. About 180 is the best I can find atm.

Pointless really IMO. Have one fitted to my AM bike but not really sure why.

If you want to properly rip it on a modern AM/Enduro (or whatever) bike, across changeable terrain, get a dropper.

TBH, i'd probably rather giveup my suspension fork before i lost my dropper seat post!

Biggest difference I've found with a dropper isn't on the sort of stuff where I used to put my saddle down, big steep downhill sections & the like.
More of the sort of up & down, maybe techy in places but mainly not sort of riding. Given the fact that I can now just get the saddle out of the way, I do. It makes things so much more fun. Little jumpy bit in the middle of a smooth 'blue' section? In the old days I would have jumped it, with my saddle all the way up. Now, PPP saddle down, launch, land & pop it back up. No faster, or even 'better' I suppose but way more fun.

..If you want to properly rip it on a modern AM/Enduro (or whatever) bike, across changeable terrain, get a dropper..

My commencal seemed fine without when you came to BPW with me lol

An efficient saddle height for pedaling is a totally different height to a safe saddle height for ripping it on the downs or through technical sections. A dropper-post removes the need to stop to adjust the saddle height.

I'll probably get slated for this but having your saddle at a 'half-way' or a somewhere in between that'll do height would more than likely give you knee/muscle problems with prolonged riding.

I'm after another as my old one doesn't fit a new frame..IM . it's one of those 'how did I manage without one for so long?'...

My Meta AM came with a Reverb and I finally got around to fitting it two weeks ago. Definitely makes downhill and techy bits more fun and I'll be sticking with it.

Question though: can you adjust the max extension on these puppies? I ride a big frame and even with the post fully inserted, extending it goes past my preferred saddle height for pedalling, so Im forever buggerizing about sort of squatting on it to get it right.

Fitted a reverb to my canyon about a year back and I definitely wouldn't ride without one now. Makes a huge difference for me, probably the best single upgrade I've done.

New bike has a ks lev integra, so I've tried both. To be honest there doesn't seem to be that much difference. The remote for the lev is much smaller though an therefore flexible about where it goes on the bars. I also prefer the design of the lever, just easier to push in a hurry (I'm really splitting hairs here I know).

Not had the lev long enough to comment on maintenance issues, although my mate has had a couple of minor bits, mainly around the cable stretching. He has done about 1000 miles on it with no maintenance apart from cleaning it though. Had no issues with my reverb at all though, over about a years use and again no maintenance apart from cleaning.

I love dropper posts for really technical stuff that the last thing you need is the saddle getting in the way purely because it doesn't spoil the flow of your ride......let's face it that's the main benefit over a QR collar and a Thomson Elite seatpost which I ran on all the bikes before droppers.
Just one point is they are not all created equally in terms of comfort in my opinion,......
I have. Gravity Dropper on the Cove Stiffee and whereas the Thomson seatpost made it fine for long times in the saddle ie 4hrs the Garvity Dropper is like being pummelled via a steel rod..... I know I've been on it after a couple of hours and was considering swapping it back over.
The Reverb in use feels like a standard Alu seatpin in comparison, the action is ultra smooth etc etc etc, so for me I would recommend a Reverb over anything else but use it on the bike that you use over most technical/ DH type terrain.....or the bike that you already have the most fun on!

I bought one earlier this year after holding out for an age. Since then I've pondered it against all of the other advancements I've seen since riding my 1st mountain bike (rigid Rockhopper with the U brake under the rear stays).
I would give up any other part of my bike other than hydraulic brakes rather than lose the dropper post. I'd rather ride rigid single speed than get rid of the dropper.
I'm not enduro, I'm not a downhiller. I ride along with up and down in there. I'm getting far more out of my rides and my bike now that it's got two settings - seat up pedal machine and seat down move-it-around machine. I can drop the seat for the fun whoopy section, then whack it back up so I can pedal up that steep bit at the end.
It's a Reverb and I'm saving up for another to put on my HT bike as well.

It's not just for the droppy (pun intended) or jumpy bits either. I probably use mine more to get a good "unrestricted" cornering attitude than i do to send it off large trail obstacles etc!

Somewhere like BPW you don't need one, because you can just leave your seat down all the time, but normal riding, where you will need to be pedalling makes a dropper the useful item it is!

@thebrowndog.....reverb come in different lengths 355/380 & 420mm as well as different drop/ lifts.
Maybe you need a different length post or different length drop.

My Whyte came fitted with a Reverb. I sold it after two rides, couldn't see the point - extra weight and complexity for no discernible gain. None of my riding chums have them or feel the need to try. Some people on here must ride some really, really extreme stuff is all I can say. Huge jumps and the like.

Yours,

A. Mincer

Depends on your ridding style...if your stright up XC and bumble down decents and think that a 1ft step is a big deal no point, if you wanna fly down as fast as you can throwing the bike around corners and over jumps and drops they're the best thing ever, wold never want to go back unless I knew it was a very dull ride...ie canel tow paths and the like!

As for price/value...they seem a lot for a seat post but great value in my eyes as above paid about £160 new for a Reverb.

I thought droppers were a s****y waste of money before I moved to Calderdale. After trying one here I never want to ride without. Depends what kind of trails you're riding though.

spudly1979 - Member

Not had the lev long enough to comment on maintenance issues, although my mate has had a couple of minor bits, mainly around the cable stretching.

Likewise on both of those things. It's a lovely bit of kit, but on the second ride I noticed the lightweight cable thing they ship had stretched about 5mm. A friend rode with a Lev in all conditions for a year and it did eventually stop working, but after a service it was good as new.

I went for Lev over a Reverb because of cable actuation rather than having to bleed hydraulics, and the cable entry point. Also, I recently got to see a brand new Reverb get stuck up halfway through a ride, then kind of start working again, then become stuck all the way down within a day.

I got a Reverb a few years ago more from having to spend Xmas money than any particular urge. I am now a complete convert. I still can't leap off mighty drops but I can do more and a lot more smoothly. When I swopped my FS recently I almost immediately bought a new Reverb as the size wasn't compatible with old bike. Can't see me having a bike without one now.

bigger wheels, tapered head tubes, 1x10 gears are all marketing BS but droppers really do make a difference imo. What I hadn't realised though was before having the dropper I'd been gripping my saddle with the inside of my thighs whenever I was stood up. So with a dropper I'm no longer "perched" on top of the bike when riding tricky sections and my centre of gravity can be lowered as necessary - I'd even go so far to say that droppers are a safety feature.

failedengineer
Some people on here must ride some really, really extreme stuff is all I can say. Huge jumps and the like.

Yours,

A. Mincer

I'd class myself, in all honesty, as a competent, but not brilliant mountain bike rider. I've thrown myself off a few drops and jumps in my time, but nothing that would even get onto the same page as a really good rider.

But, i love my Reverb because it enables me to "flow" down trails, carrying speed around the corner, so i don't have to pedal as much. More akin to white water rafting than normal pedal biking. With an unrestricted range of movement you can weight the bike dynamically, pump features and when you do that, you unblock the key to extremely rewarding riding, no matter the severity of the trail you happen to be riding!

Look at all those videos of the pro's, smoothly ripping down trails, carving turns, hardly ever putting in a pedal stroke. They are not magicians, or possessors of some physics breaking powers, they just use their mass to propel their bike, and a dropper post helps you and I do that too!

It's also worth noting, that if you think your range of movement is not being restricted with a normal saddle at comfortable pedaling height, you're not moving enough 😉

I was sceptical at first but I have been using a KS Lev for the last 3 months and it is a fantastic bit of kit. Even just lowering the seat to get off the bike or when approaching a short downhill, it is worth it!

@thebrowndog.....reverb come in different lengths 355/380 & 420mm as well as different drop/ lifts.
Maybe you need a different length post or different length drop.

Thanks tymbian. Thought this might be the case. The post came with the bike which I bought online. They didnt give you an option for different length/drop/lifts but given Ive used it a bit I doubt Commencal would replace it - fair enough. Could be an expensive lesson for me and a bargain for someone on here if/when I around to replacing it.

An efficient saddle height for pedaling is a totally different height to a safe saddle height for ripping it on the downs or through technical sections. A dropper-post removes the need to stop to adjust the saddle height.

This. My main riding buddies and I have got droppers in the last year and all agree they're ace and probably the most important upgrade we could have made.

Get a Thomson like I did. Works superbly well and has a far higher quality finish then the Reverb.

There's no heroism in having a saddle jiggling around your gonads. I.wouldn't be without a dropper on my trail bike just as I wouldn't be without bouncy forks or disc brakes.

Be aware that I've just bought one so, according to my kids, they are as of today's date very uncool.

None of my riding chums have them or feel the need to try.

that probably has more to do with your view on them than anything else. not suggesting you're a sheep or anything BTW. if the whole group stops to drop saddles before a descent, and after, then it's no big deal.
i saw the writing on the wall a year or so ago, with the number of people getting them steadily increasing on a ride i am a regular on, i knew i'd be getting on eventually. it reached critical mass recently, and a replacement HT frame allowed me more choice, so i took the plunge. KS Lev Integra FWIW. nice bit of kit, 150mm and no cable movement. caused some swear words amongst the remaining riders who'd also been holding out, but now they have them too.
i'm a big fan of dropping my saddle though, and i know some aren't. they're wrong. 😉