So I really like them but holy cow – some of them are rubbish.

Bike 1 – Brands spankers Reverb – now back under warranty. 10 rides in.
Bike 2 – Thomson dropper – last seen about a month ago – lasted 2 rides.
Bike 3 – Specialized Command post – works great, had it ages.

Spesh for the win then.

And for balance:
3 Bikes. All with Reverbs. 2 different diameters, all 125mm drop, one stealth.
No issues on any of them.

I reckon it’s luck of the draw!

Si

Owned 2 normal reverbs one was fine one wasnt
1 stealth reverb just went back and replaced under warrenty
1 specialized command post died almost straight after the warrenty expired (this one annoyed me most as only spesh can fix them)

now got 2 KS Levs we shall see how that works out……

tbh they are all rubbish and will break at somepoint, its just a matter of when…

I’ve got 2 on the go at the moment:

Reverb: bought ‘broken’ for £40, self-serviced and been working well now for about 1yr.
GD Turbo: 3 or 4yrs old, cleaned once (out of interest rather than need), cable changed once (due to changing frame).

Had 2 others that are now gone:
XLC: worked for about a month then went back for warranty, was replaced but 2nd post developed same issue and ended life in the bin.
TMars: it might be a GD copy, but it feels like a turd rolled in broken glass in comparison. Still clunking away for a friend of mine though.

I’ve got a Tmars that has been modified slightly and a Reverb. Both work great.

I like dropper posts.

Ive a new Reverb (how do you know if its a B1?) On a new bike. It got stuck mid way, loosened the seat clamp and used the Park fixing goo and its been fine. I understand the warranty is 2 years so Ill make sure to take advantage of that. Id does seem to be luck though

9 Command posts of various vintage and a mixture of stealth/ non stealth between the four of us. All work fine and no problems. We have a spare just in case but its still in the box.

3 droppers reverb, newest one a stealth on its way back to merlin as is keeps sagging. Others are years old no issues.

KS Lev went back twice under warranty inside 6 months – replaced with Thomson
Thomson went back twice under warranty inside 4 months – replaced with a Reverb stealth
Reverb still fine after 3 months…

ive got a lev dx, it wobbles but it works (so far)

Thomson is awesome whilst it’s working but the cartridge failures are a regular as someone with a diet of bran & prunes.
Wifes Reverb has been faultless for over 2 years as has the well used second hand one I bought to use on the very regular occasions the Thomson is off being fixed under warranty.

Two reverbs, two perfect performers

KS LEV – needed cleaning out very quickly after purchase, has too much movement for my liking, changed out the red cable system for a normal gear cable and it is much easier to actuate.
The KS is the tidiest surface cabled unit though.

3 reverbs, never a bother

Was shocked to hear just how much hassle others I ride with have had though.

Joplin x 2 – horrific
Gravity dropper x2 – used for 5 years without fault, replaced now but still have them
Reverb x1 – failed after a mucky PPdS
Command post x2 first gen one failed, new one 1 year old and still awesome
Thomson x2, 1 is 2 years old and faultless, the other 5 months old and faultless.

Conclusions? Christ, I could have bought a car with all that cash 😉

My Command Post is approaching it’s second birthday, I can’t get the head off to service it so it’s unserviced.

I know.

It’s never missed a beat, aside from some minor air leakage.

My other bike has a Reverb. I’ve had it a year, it’s on bleed number four and I quite like it.

[edit] My new Norco came with an X-Fusion post, although it’s been reliable, it’s utter shite.

1 x Reverb that was fine for me, but apparently died shortly under its new owner. Fortunately Fisher replaced it quibble-free, which speaks volumes for the post.

2 x KS LEV Integras. First one has just had a service after 18 months of use – impressed. Second one is new-ish and sticks. Jury’s still out – hoping it’s breaking in.

1 x KS i900. Required constant love. Wouldn’t touch again with someone else’s.

1 x Gravity Dropper. Seized on a spectacularly wet Afan ride, but was serviced on the side of the trail. Utter cinch to look after, if incredibly agricultural. Would I buy another? Yes, yes I would.

I had a T-mars too and that was rubbish, heavy, vague and unresponsive remote.

In addition to that it had such a large clamp to rail height you may as well not worry about using one as it was never out of the way.

Just got a new bike with a Reverb. The remote button stuck down before I got it out of the shop – bled and looked fine.

As I was about to start first ride the post rebound seemed slow then the post stuck down. Back into the shop for another bleed.

On my way from shop to car I noticed fluid leaking from where the remote host exited the frame. Back to shop where they discovered that something had gone wrong where the host meets the post. Fixed and bled again.

Thankfully after all that, it’s been fine on its subsequent rides so far.

I also have 3 KS i900s. I was a fairly early adopter so the first two of these went back to Superstar for new internals a few times before settling down. Since then they have required some care to keep grit ouf ot the area around the actuation lever. The last of them (an I-beam) one has been very well behaved.

My Reverbs have been good on the whole but I’ve learn’t how to look after them now. The oldest 125mm one has been through 2 nasty wet winters and has only just suffered ‘the sag’ I just ‘burped’ the air out of lower seal head and topped it up with fresh and it’s been rock solid so far.Although my 150mm stealth one(very weak flexy design) caught me out in Afan when the rear of top cap bushing suddenly failed baring the lineal bushings metal seem and gouged some nice lines up rear of post -I must be the only person ever to have a Reverb warranty refused as SRAM said this was impossible and had to be from ‘external forces ‘-Ooooo Spooky 😯

I know its not as popular but my Giant Contact dropper post, the new version with the double bolt clamp, has been faultless so far.

Granted I’ve only used it for a couple of months…

Killed 2 giant dropper posts so far. Replaced the last one with a Thomson elite, that disappeared back to Thomson under warranty 6 weeks ago.
Anyone had any experience with Thomson warranty claim, how long until it comes back.

I had the 1st Giant dropper and the cable/actuator seized up regularly in bad weather ,got through 2 replacement gas cartridges and it wore quickly….I hope they have improved since then. I gave it away in the end to a mate to make one good one out of the 2 duff ones we had .

1 X-Fusion HiLo – cable kept on getting stiff so sold it on.
5 Reverbs of various types – all had issues, a Stealth one is currently at Merlin for the second warranty replacement (presumably) after it started making horrid grinding noises after 4 months easy use. Only the standard one on the other bike is running fine but it’s only 14 months old. Might try the new Fox one when one dies out of warranty.

I don’t understand why the Reverb bushings have to be so thin and delicate ,it’s like they source em from an oversupply of cheap Christmas crackers somewhere. 😆 Then my big mates sit on them and tear through them in no time. They should make the top cap one much cheaper for us or supply it with basic service/wear kit with new brass keys too -£40 for a separate topcap bushing that can wear just as fast the lower bushing that comes in the basic service kit for £10 is a bit rubbish .

Gravity dropper if your eyes can take it. Just works and when it doesn’t it’s easy to fix. My only complaint is the stupid 050 hex you need for the grub screw in the lever, but to be fair, they do send you one with the post. Plus they are made in a shed somewhere, which I like.

I’m on my third (different bikes and diameters).

I recon the OP’s bottoms too heavy, but he’s too shy to admit it….. 😆

Magura Vyron has lasted all 4 of its outings so far! 🙂

Had a Command Post IIRC for about 10 months which never missed a beat.

Got a 27.2mm KS Lev on my Cove Hummer which is nearly 3 years old and no problems so far – got a Reverb stealth on my Scott Genius (6months old) and it works perfectly.

I am only 70kg so that may have something to do with it

T-Mars, seized up solid on a moderately wet day in Afan. Abandoned by the bike shop at Glyncorrwg.

Gravity Dropper – been faultless for many rides through the rain.

On my 3rd Reverb in just over 2 years; first 2 replaced under warranty, no quibble, by On One / Planet X. I’m guessing the 2 year warranty just applies to the original purchase date, not subsequent replacement posts?

Two of our Command posts are from 2010, used on a regular basis in all conditions, never been serviced.

3 ‘normal’ KS LEVs and 1 stealth version…never any problems.

2 reverbs…both awful.

Would really like to try a 9point8.

I’m currently running two Reverbs and have never had a problem, I had a KS (i7 I think) post from before they were sold by Superstar and never had a problem and before that I had one by KS that had the octagonal shaft, that also ran perfect – even though it required a very specific technique to make it drop 😯

I’ve got a Spesh command post and half of the little ‘teeth’ inside it have broken off.
Common problem apparently.
Doubt I’ll replace it with another dropper when it dies?

gravesendgrunt

[…]has only just suffered ‘the sag’ I just ‘burped’ the air out of lower seal head and topped it up with fresh and it’s been rock solid so far

^How do you do that, then?

Three Reverbs here – One 2 years old and no problems, one about the same age and has gone back for being spongy/sagging (just inside warranty), one bought with sag and repaired OK.

As regards grinding noises, grittiness, etc. they do need servicing and re-greasing which means taking the lower seal head off (the basic service kit to do this is cheap, and it can be carried out without disturbing the hydraulics). Unless you use a back mudguard, the stanchion / seal are constantly hosed with gritty water unless the ground is bone dry. It’s not an ideal environment to keep slidey mechanical stuff in. (I use back mudguards, and the posts stay clean.)

The spongy/sag thing is a bit of a mystery, though. It seems to afflict some more than others.

KS i900 was faultless and still running strong on friends bike
Reverb needs a full service and new stanction. Out of warranty so will be sold for parts
Just got a KS supernatural (2016 model) and very happy with it so far but only a few rides in

What this thread says is that there’s no one dropper that’s faultless

And no one bought a Fox

I’m just waiting for them to become reliable. I think 2017 should have them sorted

Tillydog- all I did was take post lower off,let air out,cycle post a few times with it upside down,extend it,undo lower seal head,top up visible air gap with new fluid,re ‘lube seal head O rings,then reinstall seal with shaft still extended-you will need to open poppet valve ( by pressing trigger )to allow this or the solid hydraulic fluid won’t let you re insert-not text book stuff but ‘seems’ so far to be an easy fix.
Concerning all the mud,grit and crap constantly bombarding them,you need a ‘stealth guard ‘ :

tillydog – Member
The spongy/sag thing is a bit of a mystery, though. It seems to afflict some more than others.

Reverbs (including the new ones) have similar internals to KS Levs, which also suffer from this. Sag is caused by air getting past the internal floating piston into the oil chamber. Typically, it’s lifting the bike by the seat that causes that with Levs, and seems likely it’s the case with Reverbs too.

I’ve got rid of sag in Levs thanks to this excellent thread, unfortunately there seems to be nothing as comprehensive for Reverbs.

Thankyou Gravesendgrunt – I know what you mean now.

Sag is caused by air getting past the internal floating piston into the oil chamber.

…but I don’t understand why it’s the IFP that gets the blame…? There’s no pressure across it, so why would it leak? Lifting the bike by the seat doesn’t affect the IFP, as it’s the wrong side of the poppet valve – it would affect the main piston, though, which I can see could leak – but people still seem to suffer ‘sag’ failures even if they swear they never lift the bike by the seat [with the post lowered].

I found these very helpfull guides to rebuilding / bodging reverbs:

http://t3mppu.kapsi.fi/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Reverb_bleed_without_actual_bleed_tools.pdf

http://t3mppu.kapsi.fi/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/RockShox_Reverb_Rebuild_rev1.pdf

(I would double check the ‘O’ ring sizes though.)