[Closed] Where are we with uppy-downy seatposts?

Not sure anyone makes a lay back uppy-downy. I use the least pretty and shiny one, the gravity dropper multi. It may be ugly but it works really well, is very reliable and silly easy to maintain with simplistic working parts. It uses shims which come with it and work superbly so you can fit any size seatpost. The saddle adjustment available is no different whatsoever to any other regular post.

I am told that Gravity Droppers really don't like having the saddle too far back - it causes rapid wear on some internal part.

The KS, Specialized and Crank Brothers ones all seem to have some amount of layback:

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

the Gravity Dropper is 27.2mm only

I've got a shim to use my GD with a 30.6 seat tube and it's fine. My KS i900 has fallen apart - going to get it fixed then sell it I think.

I'm shimming (is that a word?) my GD to 30.0.

Simple. Rather have something workmanlike, reliable and serviceable than go for something on looks and have to send it back for warranty repairs every other month.

Did I hear that you can get ks posts upgraded to the latest internals? Has anyone done this, as I am bored of servicing mine.

Love the idea but the reality is expensive, weighty and not always reliable - few years off being perfected for the masses I reckon

Yep, I run mine shimmed in the hemlock as well, works a charm. But, as ace as it is, they advised me against running the saddle right on the end of the rails as it stresses the post differently. Fine with a bit of layback but not so happy with a lot apparently.

Just for background, ChrisL is approximately the size and shape of Peter Crouch so needs a cockpit longer than most.

M6TTF, they're expensive but not all that heavy, a 400mm GD Turbo with remote is under 500g IIRC which isn't light but isn't so terribly much more than a good quality alloy 400mm seatpost. And superb for reliability.

If and when they can knock 100gms off I'd seriously consider splashing out

A mate of mine made one out of half an old air fork attached to a bike pump on the handlebars. It worked really well.

Mine's the ks one with the handle under the seat and it really bugs me. The problem I have is Pulling the lever up with one hand and slamming my arse down hard and getting the thing to lower just when I want it to with any sort of predictability. At times I've even lowered the wretched thing as if it's a normal seat post. I've now taken to riding up and down the street practicing. It amuses my neighbours very much to watch me apparently grabbing my crotch and bouncing up and down on my bike. Think I need an old deserted runway for this, the humiliation is killing me. Not taking it on proper rides at the mo for this reason.

I shall persevere for now, but got to say frustration is mounting , and a bar mounted release looks an infinitely better idea right now....

but isn't so terribly much more than a good quality alloy 400mm seatpost

400mm 27.2 thomson elite 288g so just under 1/2lb difference 😕

If and when they can knock 100gms off I'd seriously consider splashing out

Yeah that 100gms will make all the difference to your ride eh? 😛

Had a Maverick (rail clamp has failed twice) and now on a KS post. Much better but did have to go back under warranty. The specialised post looks a very well engineered bit of kit.

these posts seem to really suffer from UK grime and muck

I have the KS one and it works faultlessy, except when riding at under -5 degrees, the remote lever part on the post was too sticky....that wont bother me as that is the las time I ride in that temperature. Also many of our French clients use them all the time with no probs.

My guide has used the gravity dropper for 2 years and no problems at all, he weighs about 95kg so hasnt broken either.

THe CRank Bros ones I would avoid, lots of sloppy play, leaking oil, and even afriend who works for the French distributor for Crank bros doesnt use them!!

"400mm 27.2 thomson elite 288g so just under 1/2lb difference"

Exactly, trivial considering how useful they are and how much they can improve a ride.

The KS on my Chameleon developed scoring on its stanchion twice. Both times it went back and was repaired under warranty. Both times it came back with updated internals. Since it last came back it's been fine and I've been using it for longer than it took for problems to show the last couple of times so hopefully the internals are largely sorted now.

I have been told that Gravity Droppers will have all sorts of problems if the saddle is too far back and this is one of the reasons they're inline seatposts. As Northwind said I am pretty tall so I find that I get along far better with a layback seatpost than an inline one. This, and a mild irrational aversion to seatpost shims puts me off getting a gravity dropper. Otherwise I'd be tempted to wait for their forthcoming I-Beam model - an I-Beam would offset some of the weight added by the uppy-downy functionality and everything.

While I can understand why others might be skeptical of the whole concept and/or want to wait for the technology to mature and lighten a bit more, I've been very taken with the whole concept.

snowslave - the bar mounted remote seems to be an important part of the concept to me. It allows me to leave my saddle up for longer, but lower it as soon as I need to, without having to take my hands off the bars just before a technical section.

I gather the new Crank Brothers Joplin 4 is supposed to cope with UK conditions better than the previous model did, but I don't know if that's been put to the test yet.

Considering that you've been a beta tester for the KS maybe you could reap the benefits now

I agree re bar mounted control. Adjustable seat posts without them are a flawed concept unless you're the type of rider that encounters a sketchy bit of trail and at that point is comfortable taking a hand off the bars and squeezing a lever under the seat whilst at the same time boinging your arse up and down on the seat. Seems a massive flaw to me!

I had a Descender- a Turbo without the remote- and tbh it was s**t, it had one redeeming feature which is that all you need to do is buy the parts and it becomes a Turbo, so I did that. It basically served to show me how much potential a dropper post has, without letting me actually get the benefit.

My KS900i was sent back on warranty to get the new internals and remote lever

When I got it back it had a huge amount of slop so I again had to return it.

The shop owner then took a new Specialized Command post and handed me that
at no extra charge..............Result!

So far so good, small amount of play in the saddle which apparently is normal but can live with it

Hopefully this will last a bit