Ok.. so on my last ride my reverb (non stealth model) seemed to give up on me, post got stuck at halfway and remote was useless. Appeared as if it had spat its fluid out somewhere but no signs of where. Never had trouble with it before and seemed to happen all of a sudden too.

Tried bleeding it when i got home, at first appeared a success but after a few presses to test it it was quickly back to being spongey, then quickly nothing at all again.

Suspected the shaft in the push button lever was bent so stripped and checked but its straight as a die, replaced the O- ring just as a matter of course (had one handy). Re-bled and same symptoms again.

Only thing i had noticed during any of this is the top cap on the post itself (where the main seal is) was only hand tight, no play in the post but i nipped it up anyway. no difference.

Checked all the hose connections and I can’t see any obvious signs of leaks anyway

Running out of ideas and the bike was bought second hand so no major idea on how much use its had, not loads with myself. Could be due a service but its an expense i would happily avoid this side of Christmas if possible.

Any of you seatpost experts got any clues or should i just bite the bullet and ask the LBS if they fancy a go at a full service? could potentially do it myself but all honesty haven’t got the spare time available.

Tried bleeding it when i got home, at first appeared a success but after a few presses to test it it was quickly back to being spongey, then quickly nothing at all again.

Checked all the hose connections and I can’t see any obvious signs of leaks anyway

It does sound like a leak from one of the hose connections or the lever.

Suggest you clean all the hose connections and bleed it again, then use a piece of coloured tissue or similar to check for any sign of leakage – it literally only takes the loss of 2 or 3 drops of fluid to stop the remote working.

Worth checking the air pressure?

If you don’t sort it, I’ve used Reboundsus before on eBay with good results. £39 for a service.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F274135131224

Ah yes forgot to mention, Air Pressure was still Ok.
Think i’ll have a go at Tillydogs suggestion tonight, of looking a bit more at the leak points, then if not i’ll look at the eBay service as that really doesn’t sound too expensive at all

Cheers!

I’ve serviced my Reverb a couple of times and those symptoms suggest the Intermediate Floating Piston (IFP) has been bypassed by some or all of the fluid.

The IFP design has changed many times in an attempt to fix this sort of issue. I suggest it needs a service and fitting of the latest IFP.

Or buy a Brand-X – which is what I did.

YMMV!

This picture shows the three designs of IFP (all three fitted on the separate section of shaft).

The fact that it has evolved over time suggests it’s the weak point in the Reverb design – at least to me.

those symptoms suggest the Intermediate Floating Piston (IFP) has been bypassed by some or all of the fluid.

How do you work that out?

Also check for any kinks or folds in the hose-could be a non visible internal leak through and into the hose outer layers there .Maybe cut back and re-thread / refresh the trigger end of the hose and check the little bleeding grub screw o rings are OK or indeed there at all.

Undo the house from the bottom of the post. Get a small Allen key and push it up there(you should feel some resistance then it give, you’re manually activations the post) and see if you can push the post down. If you can, it indicates the issue is in the button side hydraulics. If you can’t, it indicates it’s internal to the post.