In a last minute flap beforwe I go to Verbier next week I deceided to look into getting one of these psots as a I can;t lower my seat all the way down on my Pitch frame.

So far the Gravity Dropper, Joplin and I900 all have slop/don't have slop, work/don't work, blow up / don't blow up etc etc.

Are they really all that inconsistent?

Seems crazy that suspension forks now work so well but a seatpost which operates on a (presumably) similar premise can be so hit and miss.

It's a shit load of money to spend on something that may or may not wobble out of the box and may or may not work for a year or one ride. And I can't find a telescopic seatpost in 30.9 (in stock that is)

Discuss.

Explain your Gravity Dropper issues….

Yeah, the only issue my Gravity dropper has is it's not too preddy.
Explain

Cheaper Gravity Droppers not in stock anywhere ?

gd here, fugly but no problems, easy to service and the shims to remove slop are peanuts

Well, I;'ve done a bit of searching for reviews and comments on all 3 and to be fair the GD seems to be the best rated however there is still mention of wobble. I guess this may not bother many people but I'm not inclined to spend £150+ on something which may or may not work as it's fair to expect it to. Unless you can persudae me otherwise?

One of the main problems is most of the feedback I've found is forum posts where everyone who has something to say is an expert who's view is obviously the way it is despite being a single sentence.

No problems with my GD in over 3 years… sure there's a tiny bit of play in the post, but it is completely not noticeable when you're out riding (rather than wiggling your seatpost in the carpark…).

Might not be pretty, but it sure is effective. As an example, went to Brechfa yesterday and it was invaluable on the Black route, the ability to be at the right saddle height for the ridiculous climbs and then with just a 'click' and no stopping required, the seat is down and out of the way for the fantabulous berms, jumps etc etc… sheer brilliance 😀 The best thing you'll ever add to a proper 'all-mountain' type bike 8)

speedballs are shite

My Pure has a tiny bit of play, but apart from taht I've had no other problems at all.

OK, so it's heavier and it's hardly a thing of beauty, but it's made riding more fun, which has to be a good thing!

psychle, how did you find the BIIIIIG berms near the start of the Black? The ones that come out down by the river? Lovely, aren't they!

I love my GD's – easy maintenance, reliable, simple – not that pretty, but then when they're covered by my arse who cares.

The older one has been used/abused and has got a wee bit of play in it now – but it's no issue and it's certainly not comparable to that which seems to come as standard with the speedballs

those berms are awesome… I now know that I need to invest in some skills training though, I can't/won't jump to save myself 🙁 Need someone to teach me so I can get some confidence going 😆

Not much point having a beasty 6" travel Enduro and taking the chicken run all the time 🙄

Seems your main problem is that you can't drop your current seat post as far as you need to.

When your seatpost is in it's highest position for you, is there any excess seatpost in the tube below the 'minimum' mark?
If so, chop that off.

Have just looked at a pic of a Pitch – how far down does the tube go down – to the kink in the tube, or is there something internal on the tube stopping you dropping it that far?
If it'll drop to the kink, then you should be able to lop a fair bit off & still have enough height for climbing/flat efficiency??

Or are you specifically after something that means you won't have to stop for 5 seconds to lower your seat?

Or are you specifically after something that means you won't have to stop for 5 seconds to lower your seat?

It's more than 5 seconds… more like a minute easily, and that just interrupts the 'flow' baby 😀

OK….20 seconds. 😉

Don't know what it's like in Verbier….but in Spain this year, we were either in seats up traversing/climbing mode or seats down, pads on descending. With the temperature, pads were generally only on for the proper tricky sections when you have the saddle down anyway, & padding up takes tons longer than dropping your saddle.

Thanks for the comments

Maybe my concerns over the GD are just that and nothing to worry about in practice.

Stumpy01, I'm looking at it to be able to drop the seat right down as at the moment it's got 4 inches or so left sticking out when it hits the stop in the seat tube. When I'm away I'll be both using the seatpost and the QR. The pitch came with a 350mm seatpost which is at the minimum insertion mark when I have the seat at the right height so the hacksaw isn't an option.

but in Spain this year

haven't been to the Alps or Spain yet… but you know how it is with the UK centres, climbs followed by descents ad infinitum, an adjustable post makes real sense for this situation… As for pads, I quite like my Evo Kyle Straits (though no shin protection), I can wear them all day, no worries (though again, it's not as hot here as in Spain, more's the pity 😆 )

Up to 40 degrees in Verbier and pads stay on at all times apart from the few long climbs you do to get to the good bits. A lot of it is seat right down hence the need to get it as low as possible not just dropped a bit.

OK – so we now have two discussions going on..

1/ Adjustable seatposts – good or bad.

2/ Which adjustable seatpost.

As regards the first, almost everyone who tries one never goes back.
On the second one – just buy a GD.

Was noticably wearing out a thomson seatpost so decided to go with a GD, and its been great.

Last couple of days though, I have to lift the saddle when its on the top setting to get it to click so that I can then put weight on the seat to drop it?!

st…..that's a bit of a pain….my Stumpjumper is the same though to be honest. I can't get it low enough or it hits the rear shock (which i have forgotten about and slightly dented)! If I take any more length off it, it won't go high enough for riding normally.

psychle – I know what you mean about trail centres, but in Spain it was touching 37 degrees in May with really high humidity. Some of the climbs are long & steep – so you can keep your pads on, but it doesn't make much sense (as you boil!). And unless you are the slowest rider, you have to re-group at the top anyway so have plenty of time for padding up.

fingerbike – i get the same problem with my G-D if i tighten the collar too much.

it does seem a bit crap that it doesn't work if the collar is tight, but i have come to accept that's just the way it seems to work.

no it's not perfect, yes it's ugly, no i'm not going back.

I've used a Speedball quite a bit. I don't notice the wobble at all whilst riding, although I'd go a bit more drop. 3" isn't enough.

I know Speedballs / Joplins have a rep for failure but I've had mine for 5 months now (on a 2007 Stumpy FSR) with no issues. Yes there is play but it's only noticeable when carpark wiggling, never noticed it when riding. Got a bit sticky recently and wasn't returning all the way up. A quick clean and a bit of Fox Float fluid under the lock nut and it's fine again, certainly haven't had to strip it down or anything.

Plus it's not as fugly as the GD although I don't think it has as much adjustement as the GD. That said the 3" of movement has been fine for me. Given me a lot more confidence at the trail centres.

I've not had my GD for long enough to really have a full opinion, but so far it's been brilliant… It does have the tiniest amount of play, and I can just barely notice it if I really feel for it, but it's irrelevant on the trail. It's ugly and it's clunky but it works. Oh, I do wish it had just a wee bit more travel though, actually a big bit more, I'd love a 6" GD.

I had a speed ball for 16ish months before it blew up. It went back 3 times for repair in as many weeks before they sent me a new one (old stock) as the original one was unfixable.

As of yesterday the new one has blown up and it prolly only been on 1/2 a dozen rides 😡

I also have a Cobra and have had 18 months of faultless use 8)