[Closed] DROPPER POSTS -most reliable (and least?)

They all have issues. Reverb is most popular and whilst people will say they had this and that issue, in my experience the least complaints come from Reverb owners. None are perfect though.

I have a Reverb - went back under warranty and a new one came back. Wasn't unexpected TBH.

I would have considered a cable-operated dropper if there was one as aesthetically pleasing (as far as seat posts go), as adjustable and as cheap.

Had my KS Lev Integra Since June. Been ace so far and no problems. So far. Hope that continues!

You know the answer, it may not be aesthetically pleasing but it works. Chain Reaction had them on sale - Gravity Dropper.

they all have issues at some point, especially if you ride through the winter

gravity dropper is good because its home serviceable, even if its ugly and clunky

The Giant Contact post does the job as advertised and is reasonably priced.

Gravity Dropper, works, keeps on working, and when it gets a bit wobbly it's fixable in 5 minutes with £7 kit.
I bought mine second hand (GD Turbo, multi drop) for £100. 2 years of abuse, and not a problem. Just fitted new seals and bushings and it's like new.

We are running seven Specialized Command posts between us. Some for the last three years including two IR ones. They have been used throughout the year in the Peak and also in the Alps. All have performed faultlessly.

The older Giant post are not reliable in my experience, even if carefully maintained.
The one I got back in April from Giant as a repair with a new strut fitted is now showing signs of distress again.
When it fails I'll be getting a Reverb or Thomson

Had 3 different reverbs (sold one with a bike, still got 2), one has had to go back under warranty, and a new one was returned within a week. Just got a command post with a bike. Not sure I like it tbh, but that's no reflection on its reliability.

hmm all v interesting
ANY BAD EXPERINCES WITH COMMAND POST THEN AS TRACEY SEEMS TO HAVE TESTED IT PRETTY THOROUGHLY WITH GOOD NUMBER OF POSTS
thanks all!!!

I've ridden a Command Post recently. Here is my opinion;

If you can afford it, buy a Reverb. If you're on a budget, buy a Giant Contact.

The Command Posts are brutal and I fear for my genetalia when using them. They also only have one 'mid way' setting which is hard to find.

Reverbs feel luxurious by comparison. Which isn't necessarily more important than reliability, but it's definitely important.

Reverb most popular or is it just default as it was out earlier?

KS Lev going strong after 18 months, the zero change cable route is worth is on a full sus.

Gravity Dropper. They just keep working. When eventually they stop working so well then you can service them so easily for so little cost. And then they go on working. Classic 27.2 4" drop on the Soul (coming round to 4 years old), Turbo LP 30.9 5" drop on the Spitfire (9 months so far). The old one has had one proper service (new bushes and boot) and I give them a quick clean and grease once in a blue moon. Ridden a few times a week in all weathers.

30.9 has three vertical guide bushes rather than the two of the 27.2 which makes it feel quite a lot less agricultural in action (less play) if that bothers you.

i sold my reverb last week and put a £15 funn post on my bike. i reckon that the little bit of movement of the seat would soon turn to a lot of movement with a big lump like me sat on it.

In my experience the Reverb has been the best, the Gravity dropper was crap. Failed seveal times in the Alps and needed fiddling all the time just to get it to work - badly.

The fact you can bodge it quickly is not an advantage.

Reverbs can be bought for about £165 online now.

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/rock-shox-reverb-125-seat-post-31,6-x-380-mmx-right-253505?currency=3&delivery_country=190&gclid=COen2bnR7sECFbDLtAodCnAAYQ

Seems to me like the reverb was thought to be "the one" by the cognoscenti but has failed to fulfill its promise in terms of utility and reliability, why anyone would want to have adjustability with a random/unknown middle setting I do not understand, emperor and new clothes comes mind.
The Specialized Command post is strong, simple and reliable, and not in any way unkind to the undercarriage, three height setting are perfect, ie. high setting for fire roads and climbing, middle (down 35mm) perfect for trail work, then right down for the scary stuff. The only thing I'd advocate is the addition of a Middleburn Oiler on the cable outer to maintain lubrication.

why anyone would want to have adjustability with a random/unknown middle setting I do not understand, emperor and new clothes comes mind.

I have 3 gravity droppers, the oldest was bought in 2005 and has only been taken apart once and that was just because I was curious about how it works. Never had a problem with any of them.

I also have a spesh command post and it has been problematic. It struggles to lock into the middle position and sometimes drops to the middle position when climbing which is not ideal!

For dropper posts more than anything you'll find for each model people who have had one for a millionty years and not had one problem, and people who have had repeated issues.

That being said my 2p is that X-Fusion Hilo posts are ace when they work but mine has gone back for warranty twice.

My next one will be either a reverb, gravity dropper or Thomson depending on funds/seatpost size.

Had my X-Fusion on for a year now, no probs and used a couple of times per week.

All I do for maintenance is a wipe and a monthly lubricate with suspension fluid.

Don't use the cable though, just the lever.

Got two reverbs: one on the fatty & one on the alpine. The alpine's has been on for four years, gets ridden in all weathers about twice a week, year round. In that time it's needed 50psi of air, about a month ago & that's it.

Thomson here 6 months of frequent intense use

Zero deterioration so far

Spesh command post blacklite for me.

Can service mine in under 10 munutes now. Im an either up or down kind of person so not bothered about mid position.

I used a Gravity Dropper for years and it worked well enough, although it's a fugly piece of kit to have on your bike. Was certainly worth it though for function.

Now have a Spesh Command Post IR and it's very nice. I actually like the 3 position concept and although the mid position is a bit tricky to find at first, you do get used to it. It gets a lot easier once you figure out that you can press and release the lever quickly and the post automatically stops at the mid-setting or pops back up to the mid setting if you went past it but didn't push it right down to the lower position. Also find the 35 mm or so mid setting just about perfect for techy trail riding. Think I'd drive myself nuts with an infinitely adjustable post trying to find an ideal setting each time.

The shop mech mentioned that they usually come set from the factory with a very high air pressure - hence some comments about being genitalia unfriendly. He showed me one on a new bike in the shop and it was pretty fierce. But just drop the air pressure a bit and they are absolutely fine. Mine now feels similar in spring rate to the Gravity Dropper, which is just fine.

Too early to judge reliability, but comments from longer term users seem generally very positive. All I hear about Reverbs on the other hand is warranty return, warranty return, which doesn't sound good. KS Lev seems to get good reviews though and I'd take a look at the Thomson too.

Big seller for the Reverb is the Matchmaker for me. I run SRAM kit and the lever mounts perfectly to brake & gear levers (even neater when running 1x10 and mount to the brake lever on the left). On top of that, the ability to run the lever under the bar at a spot that's bang on position of my thumb is great, plus it also helps avoid snapping the lever.

Other bonus is being able to set the post at any height I like. I don't like riding at fixed heights.

My gravity dropper is now nearly nine years old. It occasionally knackers the cable outer, but always an easy fix.

I think the little 'box' out back is much more aesthetic than a wangly bit of cable from Reverbs. Pull the rubber boot off, it makes no difference to function and looks better.

If you bought a bike with a Spesh Command post on it then fair enough but if you were buying aftermarket would anybody really spend £250 or £300 on a Spesh post when a Reverb can be had for well under £200 . Those that don't get the infinate adjustability concept must have never tried it . The Reverb is in a different class to the Spesh Command post and I have owned both . As for reliability there probably is little to choose , all can have issues , Reverb appears to have more because loads more are sold than any other dropper post and there must be a reason for that .

some more views here:
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/do-dropper-posts-work-reliably-yet

i still havnt bothered...

Well the summary is they do work well, some break but most offer 2 year warranties so that is good enough.

I've got a Thomson and my mate's got a Reverb. Thomson is rock solid and beautifully made. Reverb had a little side to side movement from new. It's very nice but not in the same class as the Thomson and the lever is no where near as good imo.

Another mate went from a Reverb to a Command as he wanted the layback. He prefers the Spesh.

Reverbs are great at the right price (sub £200) but there's better out there if you want to pay the premium.

What about the Fox Doss? Does anyone have one of those?

I have a KS LEV - easy to keep clean (using a chain stay protector), the mechanical controller is easy to instal/modify - bloody excellent even with my 90+kg!

Well the summary is they do work well, some break but most offer 2 year warranties so that is good enough.

Gravity Dropper generally do a great job of looking after you however old your post is and whether you're the original owner or not! And you can get all the parts easily:

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I had a KS i900 - was spot on, one problem in with grit getting into the cable operated mechanism at the seatpost end, which was annoying, but after that I made a mudguard out of an old inner tube - i fitted neatly & never had another problem.

Now running a reverb on my new bike, expecting it to go back under warranty at somepoint (even the mechanic when he put the bike together said the reverb will do this, send it back they'll fix it & it'll be fine)

My Reverb's been good but they get major black marks for the cost of replacement parts- reliable's one thing but you've got to be able to break and fix mtb parts. Making the lever both a wee bit weak and very expensive is poor. Especially when if you fit it as recommended, it's very exposed. I think everyone knows to fit them upside down but still.

My 2 KSs both went back on warranty almost immediately then worked fine for years. Occasionally the cable clogs up with dirt but that's a very simple fix. One of them blew its oil stick, but a full service and the replacement parts was surprisingly good value (cheaper than a Reverb replacement lever!). I'd be more inclined to buy one of those again.

Oh aye and Gravity Dropper... I bought mine used, used it for ages, sold it on, I think it's still going strong. You can service it in the dark- it's about as complicated as loading a stapler- and when they go wrong they generally do so in a pretty analogue, gradual way. Probably the best to live with in general but I think they still don't do a 150mm drop.

In my experience....

X fusion, avoid at all cost.
Bought Hilo with new frame. It failed within a week. It went back, took about 2 weeks to be mended. When it was returned there was a massive dent in the stantion, this could only have been been done by the service team. The box it was returned in wasn't damaged.
After much messing got a Hilo SL as a replacement. It didn't work out of the box, it was returned, I was given another new sl. This also didn't work out the box. Shop I bought it from managed to sort it out. Not long after it began to leak oil quite badly so back it went again. This also took a few weeks to turn round.

Put me right off any x fusion product, which is a shame because on paper it looks good but I wouldn't risk it.

Spesh command blacklite here.. great post and easily serviceable when you need too.. ?

HiLo 27.2 - after maybe 50 rides (could be less, doubt it's more), it sinks into its travel when weighted, gets worse over time, I think it needs a service due to seals, probably not a warranty issue, have sent it back to Upgrade for their view as it's useless now. The clamp on my model is rubbish, newer models seem to have a different design.

Reverb 30.9 - sank into it's service a few mm after a number of rides (then stopped didn't get worse), was replaced under warranty with no quibbles.

Look up a recent thread for the RSP Plummet, doesn't come out golden. Also the 60mm obligatory drop is more than I want for pedally singletrack, which is my typical use case. I tested this with a rigid post to be sure.

I think this is a tough job from an engineering point of view, perhaps nobody's nailed it yet.

It's good to read some +ve feedback on the Thomson. Through the roof expensive though.

One point for the first time prospective dropper buyer: don't worry about a few mm of sideways movement, you don't notice when riding.

I have 3 KS posts. They are reasonably easy to strip down and service. I have only done it on a couple of occasions when a bit of vertical play has developed. Sorting the oil level is a lot easier than a Speedball/Joplin.

+1 for annoying grit in actuator on top of post.
+1 for simple innertube mudguard.

Tell me more about the inner tube mudguard.

My gravity dropper seems pretty good. People say they are ugly but I can't see out of my arse so it doesn't bother me.

Tell me more about the inner tube mudguard.

I would guess that means zip tie an inner tube sheath at the top of the stanchion under the saddle, long enough to drop to the seals.

I thought of that on my HiLo, wish I'd done it.

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The advantage over a boot type thing is the crap doesn't get trapped in there