So this has probably been done before but what is the best budget dropper seat post out there at the moment?

It will only get a bit of light/occasional use, so would one of the £50 odd quid ones on ebay do the trick?

Anything else?

Or do I need to steer clear and look more towards something like an X-Fusion??

I got a tmars. It lasted exactly 6 hours before it stopped working, then neither company or seller would respond to any of my emails so I had to do a cashback claim to recover my money.

Afraid I can’t make a recommendation, I got pissed off and bought a more expensive dropper instead. I used to recommend used gravity droppers but the parts supply’s dried up lately, bit of a bummer.

I haven’t heard of anyone with a good tale about even the more expensive ones like Reverbs either though.

Seems the stanchion wears, or the rebound gets slow and then unless you know how to strip it yourself, it costs nearly as much for a service as it would for a new one?

Ive got a tmars. 1.5yrs and going strong. A bit of regrease now and then and used alot.

My RSP dropper has been perfect. No issues, works every time, no maintenance at all, through a winter in the Scottish Highlands.

Watching this post with interest as I’m about to buy a tmars type mech dropper from ebay for my 27.2mm frame.

mtbtomo – Member

I haven’t heard of anyone with a good tale about even the more expensive ones like Reverbs either though.

Seems the stanchion wears, or the rebound gets slow and then unless you know how to strip it yourself, it costs nearly as much for a service as it would for a new one?

I have one of the original KS i950s, years old, several scottish winters and still works as good as new. It’s had a full replace-all-the-gassy-bits rebuild but even that was £75 after about 3 years, can’t complain about that. And I’ve done a couple of DIY strip-and-clean services, which are fiddly for the average DIYer but still doable (harder than a fork lower service, easier than a full fork service)

Mind you I’ve been perfectly happy with my Reverbs and my Gravity Dropper too.

I bought a T-mars after having had a Reverb previously.

Was horrible, clunky, hardly ever hit the right spot to locate the pin, the remote was rubbish to use and hard to gauge how much pressure was needed to activate.
The clamp to rail height was huge, this is a big consideration as I see it.

I would go for a cable operated but tidy model like a KS E-ten or similar.

Ideal scenario is a Stealth Reverb, they are the nicest I have used.

Would be good to try a new raceface or 8point or whatever they are called.

I’m on my second e-ten, cost me £92 from ze germans before the referendum. They’re perfectly acceptable. My seattube is too long for any longer drop than 100mm so it wasn’t worth spending any more on a reverb, I’ve been happy with the first one I had for 2 years+

I was tempted by the new RSP one for even less but it’s not out yet and I couldn’t wait.

I’ve got a reverb but before that I had the tmars dropper. My tmars was the old model and lasted about a year then needed a quick strip down and regrease, lasted over another year then I sold it on, for the price they are spot on I think. There no reverb but there £50.