Theres a new style RSP dropper out, bit heavy but am tempted at the price.

I know the old style on was a rebranded Satori sorata but does anyone recognise the new model, just to see if its got any good / bad reviews

http://www.jejamescycles.com/rsp-plummet-remote-dropper-seat-post-2017.html

RSP?

Albert Finney.

Moving the cable attachment up there is a backwards step imo, as not having a moving loop of cable was one of the great bits of the old one.

My old one is getting a lot of fore and aft play now, but don’t think I would get the new one.

Holy mother of metal, it weights 720g!!!

you set my curiosity off..

450g thomson elite
520g for a reverb
580g for a command post
620g for a d.o.s.s

tbh quite tempted with the RSP one, rather than 2nd hand reverb & possible/probable service cost..

yeah although 720g sounds heavy and it must be made from scaffolding or something, its only 150-200g more than the others which when you consider my weight, my camelbak and bike weight its not a lot really.

What about the new Brand-X dropper post in today’s fresh goods..? I’ve so far held off getting one but at that price I could be tempted; £140 with I’d assume another 10% off through BC membership once CRC start stocking them. Another plus for would be that Hotlines aren’t too far away should any warranty work be required…

RSP is raleigh, Raleigh Special Products http://www.raleigh.co.uk/RSP, http://www.mailorderbikes.com/brands/raleigh_special_product.php

thanks for that. i knew the R was raleigh.. just not the rest. if i’m patient i may be able to get one for trade+vat so a decent deal for me

What about the new Brand-X dropper post in today’s fresh goods..? I’ve so far held off getting one but at that price I could be tempted; £140 with I’d assume another 10% off through BC membership once CRC start stocking them. Another plus for would be that Hotlines aren’t too far away should any warranty work be required…

looks like a good alternative as its 520g if your frame can handle the internal routing (mine cant..)

yeah mines external routing only.

was initially just wondering if the post was made by anyone else for Raleigh, as the previous one was a rebranded Satori Sorata. Not much info on the RSP one yet so was trying to see if i could find more feedback on it if it was a rebranded job.

On the weights above I think the reverb one is quoted on the SRAM site as being the shortest drop, shortest body, narrowest version so real life weights are going to be more for the versions most will want.

The Brand X one is 550g without cable & remote, so it’ll more than likely be nearly as heavy as the RSP one

The RSP one looks v similar to one that’s been about on AliExpress etc for a good long while. I seem to remember that was proper hefty too. No idea if it’s any good.

seems to be a bit of an improvement with the hydraulic damping and infinite adjustment…however i agree that they should have left the cable attachment where it was. good to see its now available in 30.9mm and 31.6mm sizes

decided i’m getting one, going to see what my contact comes back with first. seems like stock levels are low online?

tredz and wheelies have them (are they the same company?) but a bit more expensive

ordered one 🙂

On the weights above I think the reverb one is quoted on the SRAM site as being the shortest drop, shortest body, narrowest version so real life weights are going to be more for the versions most will want.

Exactly, googling around*, I read that the 31.7 150mm is 610g

http://www.artscyclery.com/Rock_Shox_Reverb_Stealth_Dropper_Seatpost_316_150mm_LC/descpage-RSRSP56.html

*beats working on a Monday morning

If you’re after a budget dropper, here’s an option for 110 Euro

http://www.rczbikeshop.co.uk/uk/kind-shock-2016-seatpost-eten-remote-31-6x385mm-travel-100mm-etenr316385100.html

Not exactly a bargain, but light (for a dropper) at 572g all in for the 30.9 dia 125mm drop one and you can customise it too.

I have two of the stealth versions of these and they’ve been excellent (although they’re only about 10 months old).

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/shop/adjustable-in-height-369/brand-tranzx

Similar price and stealth or external routed.

munrobiker can you say a bit more about the tranzx dropper? What is it like in use?

Am I being thick, or is the Brand-x one not on the Hotlines website? I like the look of the lever on that one. Interested in feedback on the tranzx or others too please: Nukeproof OKLO (stealth routing, might not suit OP?) is down to £115 at CRC

Also, 200g more than the lightest possible reverb doesn’t strike me as that heavy – it’s less than the pies I’ve just finished…

Thomson Masterpiece is only 185g…over 1lb for a little uppydownyness…

Dukeduvet- They are fine in use, once the stock cable has been swapped for a stainless steel or better still PTFE one with a liberal oiling (rather than greasing) with chain lube. I’ve had a Reverb before and these operate in much the same way- they just seem to work nicely with a touch of side to side play, maybe a few mm rather than loads of slop. The lever is pretty nice to use too.

Once I’d replaced the cables and got the routing smooth (they’re pretty fussy about having no kinks in the cable) they’ve been faultless. Which was a nice surprise.

Set up of the stealth ones is fiddly, as I suspect most cable ones are, because of how you get the cable in and have to trim it very short. I haven’t had call to take my seatpost completely off the bike since I fitted them either but I suspect this’d be a faff.

went for a Giant Contact Switch SL for £119 from winstanleys in the end. Not got it yet though as they are waiting for stock.

thanks munrobiker that’s really helpful. Missed the fact the 27.2 is only 350mm long so tape measure out tonight. Will be external cabling for my old Soul thankfully.

meeeee – glad you got sorted, seems the Giant post gets lots of favourable reviews

Was almost tempted by the Tranzx, then realised the 27.2 one is only 80mm drop 😐

Am I being thick, or is the Brand-x one not on the Hotlines website?

I couldn’t find it when I looked last week either, so not just you.

80mm drop should work for me but to be honest the KS eten is not much more than the tranz x, no weight limit, 100mm drop and 400mm long. Better back up no doubt too.

Or a Gravity Dropper but I hate the boot!

mines been dispatched, and not playing guitar with the guys tomorrow night like i usually do.. so I have plenty of time to fit it before this weekend 🙂

i did a quick google on positioning and read that LHS is better as you shift that side less (if not running a 1x set up) and that “under” is better than over in case of crash for this style dropper. sounds obvious, just hadn’t considered it. ridden with plenty of people using them – just never tried one.

also cleaned/lube bikes last night (old one going on sale..) and as i’m running a front mech investigated where lever could go. there;s a nice amount of gap on the left to the right of my front shifter (Shimano XTR M970) perfect.. just a case of getting cable routing nicely

@munrobiker Would you happen to know the exposed length of the tranzx post, please?

Likewise if anyone can point me to a list of sizes that make clear the frame to rails distance that would make chosing much easier! There was a list on here previously (in french as I recall) but think it just covered the posts available at the time.

(I mean total exposed seatpost length required to get the drop, plus the collar, plus the seatclamp)

mine just turned up.

having no experience with droppers other than slight envy watching people use them I can’t say much other than

– it seems very solid.
– absolute breeze to sort any cable length issues out if you have extra outter etc.
– lever is smooth metal. time will tell if roughing it/adding rubber/griptape/textured stripes or replacing will be necessary – if it ain’t broke? (as i’m running a front mech – a lockout style remote rather than southpaw would be better for me)
– its made in taiwan, and theres a good ‘chinglish’ typo in the piece of paper/manual “romote”

– got 2 free bags of haribo

and the clincher for the goal of this post..

– although there is RSP branding on the post body, the word ‘mars” is printed on one of the cable “noodles” (and mars backwards is.. sram.. mind blown!)

had a quick install of last night..

lever is installed in a nice spot, had to rotate other brake lever around a bit to gain access to tighten it – but nothing else on my cockpit will be affected at all, which is awesome.

allen size required for the lever is quite small, the same as the original mech hanger nut (santa cruz – newer mech hanger used larger)

at first it seemed like if my (hope) seat post clamp was ‘active’ the post didn’t work. (wouldn’t even go down) eventually after some slacking off and a little silicon lube (maplins finest) it was working ‘a bit’ but wouldn’t re-extend fully back up, falling short about 1.5cm, using lever and pulling a little it went to fill length. i left it extended (as i read you should always) without wiping the silicon lube off overnight.

this morning i had a quick play and did three things

1) wiped the post down.

2) found the right about of “clamp force” ™ required to hold it straight where i can’t move/rotate the seat without it being too tight.

2) reclamped the post at its ‘max’ mark, which worked OK, and centimeter by centimeter moved back up to my desired height. its now ok!

cable length seems about right. now all i have to do is snip some existing cable ties and retie with the dropper remote cable in place.

cable is I think, gear cable thickness. the ball end goes at the seat post end and the free end is slotted into a notch in the remote lever

apart from that, two questions remain.

1) there’s a nut(approx 10mm) on the very bottom of the post, i assume its for tension. i read with the previous version of the post that adjusting it makes it pop back up faster. this is not in the “manual”.

2) theres square cutout with a bit of rubber on the front of the post (if the cable noodle is on the back). not sure what its for. possibly alternate routing of the cable.

Had first proper ride on the Quantocks with it yesterday. was with a friend who wanted to do more miles than combe bombs, however I got to do enough descents/rough stuff using the dropper to be satisfied.

Post works fine – press the lever, push down with my ass.. press button, it comes back up. it always doesn’t come up the last centimetre-ish, and that is definitely related to it being clamped. its not a problem when not clamped. i’ve read that many droppers take a few rides to ‘bed’ in, so i’ll see how it goes.

in actual use doing a descent. for example, I did the 0.8 mile Weacombe descent, started with it dropped, put it back up for the flat section, then dropped it again for the twistier bit, then up again for a bit, then down again for the rocky bit through the stream, and back up for the final straight to the gate. somehow got my 2nd fastest time ever, and I wasn’t pushing it fully due to the ground being slippery in places.

i don’t think the lever surface is too smooth when out in the real world, and my position just to the right of my front-mechs shifter is as good as its gonna get on my bike.

End result, legs/calves aren’t getting worn out from “perching” for several minutes as only drop the seat to handle rougher/techier stuff.

on my previous questions

1. its not anything to do with tension, it is more related to fine-tuning the seat post length. its possible to expose about 2-3cm more post length (but NOT get more travel) by winding the nut inwards. its also possible to back it out all the way to access some of the greased ‘pole’. not sure how to remove it entirely though. one thing, DO NOT tighten it if resistance is felt. basically though. leave it alone.

2. i had it backwards (the cable noodle goes at the front not back) if i ever swap seats again or need to change the cable i’ll take a peak to see what is is, and see if there’s a way to gain more access to lube the pole i mentioned above.

TL;DR. it works.

Since this post is linked in another thread now.. Pictures.

Second day out with it and post has been working great today, always seemed to come back up properly.

I’m using a bit of thin double slided velcro tape stuff that came with my ‘mucky nuts’ mudguards to route the cable.

even with a front mech nice n easy to reach the lever

quick update after 4 months..

it’s been working fine since i bought it in august, until i had a problem yesterday!

TL;DR: version remove the gunk from the cable mech area , all works fine.

full details:

while i was waiting for someone to turn up i was checking tyre pressures etc and riding around the car park.. then discovered that once i’d used the dropper it didn’t lock. so sitting made the post go down.

turns out.. the area below where the seat mounts is susceptible to getting filled with gunk, and i think a ride i did two weeks ago in some heavy clay and and washing and it being -3 yesterday sealed the deal. didn’t get it sorted before, and it didn’t work much during the ride. i had to ride with the post set high so when i sat it went downe. but have now done so at home.

how to fix..

– remove seat
– remove post from frame
– clean it all up externally

core fixing process:
– turn post upside down, and fill recess with GT85 keep the post LOWER than the cable (otherwise it’ll lose GTG85) fill
– use a bent paperclip to scrape the contaminants loose
– using a rag/blue workshop towel. turn upside down, shake out what can and catch in the towel.
– repeat process until the cavity is clear.

– once done, and confirmed working again filled it with a waterproof grease so nothing will go ‘under’ the bit that moves again, any muck/water shouldnt enter and may just run off.

– put it all back together again
– applied fork juice to the stanchion
– gave it another few uses to get the fork juice doing its thing

hope this helps someone