Going to buy a cheap 27.2 dropper. Which one?

Hi guys, I’m going to buy a cheap 27.2 dropper post (I am a poor student).

I figure I only need about 80-100mm drop and I’m reaonably light. Been looking at the tmars posts but their are a few different versions with different cable exits and some versions having odd sized cables in them?

Any advice on which one should I be going for or whether other brands are better?

Colin

The wife has a T mars and its ok for the money. Worth giving it a grease but it works. Not sure the cable makes much difference but the bottom exit cable housing had the be machined a little to go low enough for her. Should be OK on most frames for normal sized people.

2nd hand Gravity Dropper if you can find one.

Paid £140 for my hilo. Does what it says on the packet!

(If it doesn’t return to full height, it needs a little extra air, pjay)

Maybe different ideas on cheap. T mars is £50

My xFusion hilo will be on its 3rd winter. Its on my HT so gets used more during the winter too. Its been faultless. All I’ve had to do is pump it up a couple of times. £130 it cost too 🙂

picked up a 2nd hand satori post which is a gravity dropper-esque and about £90 on ebay new. seems well made and and not far off gravity dropper standard, however weighs a bit. also have a gravity dropper btw. not used much in anger yet but i’d be tempted to get another one for other bike…

RSP plummet or Satori Sorata Pro, they are the same post and general view is they are much more sturdy and future proof than the T Mars.

Was a thread on here with somewhere to buy them new for about £75

Edit: just found the post and here they are £81.99 less £5 with a voucher if you sign up to their newsletter
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.RSP-Plummet-Remote-Dropper-Seat-Post_70234.htm

2nd hand hi lo? Picked mine up from pinkbike for £60 delivered. Been really good. I just keep it clean and spray it with fork juice or Muc off before each ride as it’s a bit stiff with out.

Had a T-Mars that rusted solid after a few rides 🙁 but that converted me to the concept and replaced it with a RSP which is a lot better, smoother action, better remote etc.

P-jay…
I had one of them.. Mine had a valve inside the main tube (turn post upside down and it was in there…) I could (and did) add pressure. It should be 25psi from memory
You had to take post out, turn upside down attach shock pump, press the lever and whilst holding this open pump it up to correct pressure.

Forgive me if you knew all of that.. I’m surprised there isn’t a valve!!

Oh and OP. I really wouldn’t get a 2nd hand Hilo. My (3) hilo posts were the very definition of utter garbage. I’ve got a Hilo SL now, that hasn’t been faultless. It’s all been warranty stuff for me, but really frustrating.

For 27.2 2nd hand gravity dropper. Got one on my HT, very good if is too.
Mate had a tmars one (IHN from here).. It was cheap for a reason, he’s now on a gravity dropper as well!

Hi

I’ve got an old 27.2 gravity dropper if you are interested?

Silver, 70mm drop I think, 400mm long, , right hand remote, in need of a bit of a service but working fine.

Email in profile

RSP plummet on both my bikes, great for the money and working well so far 7 months in…

I have a Tmars.

Basic is an understatement! but it does work. just remember to keep on top of greasing it up.

Ice lift V8, about £120 I think. Bit basic, works well and easy to service. Plus you get a shim to fit other seat tube sizes so can swap between bikes.

Ice lift V8, about £120 I think. Bit basic, works well and easy to service.

also badged as a T-Mars and available at half the price..

I bought a Hilo, it’s great when it’s working.

It’s been back to wiggle/upgrade twice…

I have a hilo as well which is great. Only thing I found is when it is not working very well, have it fully compressed, pull it back up to full extension, then press the lever. Seems to work much better after doing that. It seem to somehow bleed it.

Tmars all the way. Just Strip it down and pack full of water marine grease make sure the top of the rubber boot is zip tied to seal the top and your good to go.
Its cheep there s a bit of play but why pay more.

I’ve got a T-Mars/Ice Lift and a KS lev. I paid ~2.5 times as much for the Lev as the T-Mars. Its about ten times nicer to use.

TMARS very basic but work great.

P-jay,

Mine has a 10mm hex cover over the schrader valve in the bottom of the post. It can generally be removed by hand or if it is a little tough I used a 1/4 drive 10mm socket. in the service video below the guy removes the cover at about 1 min 40 secs.

Re the release, i found changing the cable to a gear cable made the release a lot nicer to use.

For 27.2 2nd hand gravity dropper. Got one on my HT, very good if is too.

Mate had a tmars one (IHN from here).. It was cheap for a reason, he’s now on a gravity dropper as well!

He’s right you know.

Ive got a few of the KS Supernaturals on my bikes…
they turn up on ebay for a tad over £100..(everyone wants the lev so the others aren’t so desirable)I prefer them to the reverbs for no hassle.

I was going for a tmars but tbh the three height settings as opposed to varable and the quality of some of them 🙁

I’ve got a fox DOSS it’s smooth as anything

didnt know the DOSS came in a 27.2

EDIT – doesnt count as cheap in my world.

fyi my 27.2 HiLo experience:

* owned about 20 months but most of the time was riding other bikes so it’s done maybe 50-70 rides, 95% Surrey Hills
* works well when working
* recently has been gently dropping 10-15mm or more when weighted – that’s rubbish for climbing. Called Upgrade who say it needs a service, TFTuned quote £79.
* the seat clamp is a poor design, once set it’s nearly impossible to reset the seat angle as the cups become embedded tightly in the holders and have to be punched out. You have to do them up real tight, and adjustment means punching the cups out and starting over. Trailsides tweaks not viable.
* a few times the seat angle has changed just by the seat kicking up and contacting my **** on a bump. Yes it was done up tight with fibre grip. Trailside readjustment isn’t really viable due to the need to punch out the cups.
* the screw that pinches the cable tight in its guide tab hole beneath the saddle splays the cable out, now I find the cable has plugged the hole, I can’t get it out.

I’m a bit torn on whether it’s worth paying for the service – it won’t fix the design flaws – or write it off and try something else.

I couldn’t find seal kits for sale anywhere. There is a 15 minute video somewhere showing how to do the service, it’s a bit lengthy.

How that helps, can only speak as I find.

I’ve also got a gravity dropper which I would consider selling. 27.2mm, LH remote with two drop positions.
Email in profile.

Here’s the HiLo service video: http://vimeo.com/72088249

The engineer has to punch out the seat clamps too – banging it on his bench didn’t do it!

Yeah that’s definitely a different clamp design to mine, and cable terminator too. I can’t see how the cable actuates the switch, on mine it runs over the top to the front of the post for a bit of camming action.

So it’s £170 in stock, or £80 to service my old but flawed design one, or £85 for a Plummet.

My HiLo is like this: http://www.bikerumor.com/2010/10/18/interbike-2010-x-fusion-hilo-adjustable-height-seat-post/

Thx for the update P-Jay. Fixed the pressure?

I said

* the screw that pinches the cable tight in its guide tab hole beneath the saddle splays the cable out, now I find the cable has plugged the hole, I can’t get it out.

This is false, I was doing it wrong and I’ve now done it right. Sorry XFusion, my bad.

Ok good info thanks. I’ve never messed with the cable, the switching has always been fine.

I think I’m going to send mine into Upgrade and see what they say. Perhaps the new clamp is available as a spare or upgrade.

I’ll be selling my 27.2 Hilo shortly if that would be of interest. I’ve had no problems with it and it’ll include a modified rapidfire pod to activate it which is way better than the standard lever (though only works for 1x setups obviously though I can supply the standard lever otherwise). email in profile…

I’ll be selling one of these soon, 27.2mm KS i7r (100mm), only different is mine is blue not red.

It’s in excellent condition and works flawlessly

Will sell for £150 🙂

A lot of people seem to be getting out of the 27.2 dropper market. What’s going on?

A lot of people seem to be getting out of the 27.2 dropper market. What’s going on?

We’ve heard there are big plans for 27.2 and it’s making a comeback with rockshox reverbs and all sorts…

…or I’m selling my old bike and don’t need this anymore 🙂

New frame with different seatpost size..

I think I’m going to send mine into Upgrade and see what they say. Perhaps the new clamp is available as a spare or upgrade.

Update: I did this, Upgrade serviced my HiLo FOC and returned it. (Thank you Upgrade Bikes). It’s still the old (poor) clamp design but now has a new lease of life so I’ll carry on with it.

So, based on Upgrade being sound, and Freeborn being sound in my experience too, I’d probably buy the new clamp design HiLo from Freeborn.