As a frustrated and now broken reverb owner I’m finding it annoying living without an uppy downy post as they’re brilliant for the short up down riding round me. Given the mechanical simplicity i’m being drawn to a gravity dropper but most of the pics on here seem devoid of them in favour of reverbs et al. Whilst i appreciate the smoother action of the reverb and the fact it looks better, is there any reason to not go for a gravity dropper? I don’t want to pull the post apart every third ride so those cheap Ice V8s or whatever aren’t really floating my boat.

is there any reason to not go for a gravity dropper

Not really. They’re brilliant and seemingly unchallenged when it comes to reliability and ease of service.

Mine snapped at the pin hole leaving an impressively jagged torture implement during a lap of SITs. I got a very early one from the states so it was a few years old but it put me off getting another.

No posts as GD owners are all out riding not at home servicing or googling fixes on the net?

Looks pig ugly but works reliably

is there any reason to not go for a gravity dropper

Aesthetics counts for a lot.

I was tempted by a £130 Reverb on CRC but my GD (now my GF’s) is still going strong. They are ugly but as above, easy to service an fix. I do like the infinite adjustment on the Reverb though.

I’ve been riding a GD Turbo through the (NE Scotland) winter and have to say I’m pretty impressed. It’s never failed on the trail and when it did start feeling a bit rough it was a five minute (no tools) job to pull it apart, wipe it down, smear on some grease and it was as good as new.

Now the weather is (hopefully) improving I’m switching back to the Specialized Command post, simply because it looks better, but I dare say the GD will go back on next winter as the Command post is just that bit more sensitive to things like freezing.

I bought a Lev yesterday for a 27.2 frame, having never even given the GD a second thought. No idea why I didn’t think of it, but I never did. Have a friend who’s used one, without issue, since before Reverb/KS existed.

A touch of aesthetics and marketing would do GD a lot of good, I’d say.

i’m a 12stone mincer, and i snapped my G-D, straight through.

basically this:

5thElefant – Member

Mine snapped at the pin hole leaving an impressively jagged torture implement … I got a very early one from the states so it was a few years old but it put me off getting another.

reliable, right up to the point where they snap in half.

i’m a 12stone mincer, and i snapped my G-D, straight through.

Classic or Turbo?

Aesthetics are irrelevant (ride a 5 😆 ) in my opinion, something that always works, needs a wipe down and grease once a year outweighs anything else.

classic? – although i’m not sure it matters, or did i miss a joke somewhere?

they look a bit gash – thats my pathetic excuse
Im sure they work just fine

classic? – although i’m not sure it matters, or did i miss a joke somewhere?

Nah just that I’ve not heard of it happening on the Turbo (newer) one.

is there any reason to not go for a gravity dropper?

No.
I have one and this sums it up:

seemingly unchallenged when it comes to reliability and ease of service.

Unfortunately this is also true:

Looks pig ugly

Hmm, seems to tie in with my googling, ugly but reliable. Not fussed about the adjustability as i either have my post up or down. Now the dither over whether its worth waiting for the Turbo LP to land on these fine shores.

The Command post also caught my eye given the relative simplicity compared to the reverb. Reports of them freezing put me off though.

they look awful on any bike, look cheap and tacky too

they are light years behind performance of a ‘working’ reverb too 😉

ive had both id choose a reverb every time, nothing comes close

Arguably a bit expensive, considering their simplicity. Most are only 4 inch drop, which is OK but a bit more can be nicer. Multi-drop version is more delicate as it has a big ole right in the middle of the stressed section of the post. But even then, they very rarely break.

I really like mine- it’s been as reliable as a standard seatpost in use, and on the 2 occasions I’ve serviced it in the last 3 years, it showed no signs of needing it. But my KS posts have been just as reliable, they do get more TLC and they seem like they need it more but you don’t need to go GD to get reliability.

Seen broken ones.

Like multi position drop.

The Command post also caught my eye given the relative simplicity compared to the reverb. Reports of them freezing put me off though

I should point out that my Command post is the original model with the frankly awful remote lever (lots of flex). It is more sensitive to having the cable tension just right, which does mean that it fails (either to go down or come back up) when things get grotty (e.g. water getting into the mechanism and freezing), but newer models may well be better in that respect. In fact I picked up one of the new remote levers from the Classifieds here yesterday, which I’m hoping will improve things as I suspect the problem may just be in the remote lever.

Also my ks gets sprayed with juicy lube and greased every 3 months. Hardly a rigorous service schedule

Nah just that I’ve not heard of it happening on the Turbo (newer) one.

True, and the new Turbo LP is supposedly even stronger (500% according to GD).

They look crap but work really well!

I have a classic one (and had a turbo before that) which works really well. The big sticky-out bit on the turbo came away from the post so I got my money back on that one, and went for the classic instead which doesn’t have the same shape. I haven’t noticed any difference in speed and it means I now have 1″ down option too.

I readily admit that they are not the prettiest, but compared to the problems that other posts seem to have i’m quite content with the trade-off.

I had one and drilled a third hole in it to get that 1.5″ of drop you so miss with it and it worked a treat.

Stopped using it when CRC had the deal on, that and funning it in a cube stereo with 34.9 post made it look like a cocktail stick in a welly.

I found it more pleasing to use than the reverb if im being honest. Especially with the 3rd hole, its either up, down a bit or down. The reverb never seems to be in the right place. I wish you could set a reverb to have incremental drops than it would be perfect.

Oh and yeah they are prone to snap by all accounts so if you are a fat barsteward i wouldnt bother, but then every part is easily and cheaply replaceable, hence why i thought id give it a shot drilling mine.

Reverbs on the other hand seem to spend more time knackered than working.

I’m happy with mine

Not the prettiest, but a remote switch conversion would help, but then that’s something else to have to maintain. Only problem I had wat the switch snapped off – common adhesive failure. Bodged it back together with a few cable ties which held for the second half of the ride around the Berwyns AND the Dyfi Enduro. Sent it back to GD in the states. Despite it being third hand with no proof of purchse, they stuck it back together with additional counter-sunk screws and I’ve had not problems since.

Toying with the idea of replacing it with one with more drop (this only has 3″) but only need that for really, really steep stuff.

I’d quite like to try de-anodizing it too, so I can have a silver coloured one…

Cost is my main reason- the Joplin looks ok i suppose (i’d prefer the lever under the seat option, it looks nicer and it’s cheaper) but still looking at £150+ for one.
That prices me out 🙁

The Joplin is the absolute other end of the reliability scale – it’s utter junk. And not having a remote defeats the purpose of the thing.

I like my Turbo multi. I’m mainly all for reliability over aesthetics, but I actually think GDs look ok: purposeful, almost elegant, in a Soviet tractor kind of way. I had an infinitely adjustable dropper before (cheapo model), which was all nice and smooth until it wasn’t and then it was just hell to live with.

My GD is over 5 years old. Only needed to replace the small slider springs after 4 years. I spray it with a bit of lube from time to time, and strip cleaned it only once.

It’s the 3″ + 1″ drop version with remote.

Mechanical simplicity. Not the prettiest or slickest, but for me it’s solid and reliable.

they look awful on any bike, look cheap and tacky too

they are light years behind performance of a ‘working’ reverb too

ive had both id choose a reverb every time, nothing comes close

depends whether you want something pretty and smooth or one to work for the next 8 years tbh
Reliability is the key reason for me owning one
Infintie adjust is nice but nit when the infinite adjust breaks and wobbles.
Nothing really to go worng on a GD and I am light enough to be under no risk of snapping it

Well i think this has answered my question, Gravity Dropper it is then. Hydraulics and air do seem a complicated solution to a simple problem as far as i’m concerned but then again i just want it to go up and down whilst not caring how quickly or smoothly it does so.

And on the off chance if anyone has a 30.9 with a 5″ drop they’re looking to sell my email is in profile. 😀

Junkyard – Member
they look awful on any bike, look cheap and tacky too
they are light years behind performance of a ‘working’ reverb too

ive had both id choose a reverb every time, nothing comes close

depends whether you want something pretty and smooth or one to work for the next 8 years tbh
Reliability is the key reason for me owning one
Infintie adjust is nice but nit when the infinite adjust breaks and wobbles.
Nothing really to go worng on a GD and I am light enough to be under no risk of snapping it

i did end up selling mine JY – possibly to you if i remember correctly 😆

this was due to it failing me twice whilst out on a big ‘middle of nowhere’ ride

i give up with dropper posts then went back to a thomson….but since ive changed frames and can use a reverb its been amazing! im having a bit of a issue with the air at the minute but spoke to loco/sram and it will be warrantied, i dont mind having to send it off it fixes it TBH, its that good i can take the hit of not being with it for a few days, as i said id chose it every day over a GD…the post in use, the quality, workmanship, infinite adjustment, hydraulic is so smooth, its just a great piece of equipment

i didnt like the GD, didnt like the klunky mechanical feel of it all, it felt like it was made in someones back yard workshop, i felt a bit robbed when i bought it….

anyways, just my view, sure plenty of people are happy with them, as are plenty of people happy with reverbs…..

and reliability wise arguement reverb – yes they can go wrong, but sram/fishers have a great turnaround time, and its not like you’ve got to post it off to another country should it fail…also, my mates had his for 1 year 3 months now, not touched it, hardly cleans it and its still like new the way it works! so his is reliable, some have issues, some dont, just like any product

not having a remote defeats the purpose of the thing.

rubbish.
Yes, there are a small percentage of times I can’t easily get it down or up, but thats a rarity. Compared to not having a dropper at all and relying on a QR collar its a massive improvement.

i did end up selling mine JY – possibly to you if i remember correctly

not my fault you are mechanically inept though
ahem

im having a bit of a issue with the air at the minute

The proesecution rests 😉

i didnt like the GD, didnt like the klunky mechanical feel of it all, it felt like it was made in someones back yard workshop

yes its hard to see where the money goes tbh as it is a seatpost, a spring, a shaft with some holes in it and pin to hold it in place
Failed once but it was a cable issue as they are designed to use gear cables and these fray at the join IME.

Would not own a non remote version personally -perhaps the hydraulic lever makes it easier but the GD version was about as useful and easy to use as a QR lever tbh

Mine snapped at the pin hole leaving an impressively jagged torture implement during a lap of SITs.

I’m amazed you were running one at SITS.

I had the non remote one (bough s/h) ordered remote kit from GD and its better, but im considering a non remote version for my hardtail as i generally ride less ardcore stuff on it

not tried any others and even if the GD is a bit clunky and ugly I dont really care its been very reliable, handled some attrocious mud and wet weather and all it needed was a strip down and regrease once a year

my mates reverb is undeniably plusher but been much more problematic in our lovely climate

(its also funny how fixed cable entry is touted as being a great new development when GD had it from the start)

Why hasn’t anyone designed an electric one with a worm gear yet?

for the record I like my gravity dropper. I don’t like trying to adjust it so it works properly…. takes me ages

The Command post also caught my eye given the relative simplicity compared to the reverb. Reports of them freezing put me off though.

Mine came on a second hand bike and didn’t work very well. It would shoot up on its own and even klunked me on the chin when bent over to take a look (they spring up at a fair old rate). I replaced the cable and a liberal smearing of grease a both ends seems to have kept any water out. Been out a few times in sub zero temperatures and no issues.

Junkyard – Member
i did end up selling mine JY – possibly to you if i remember correctly

not my fault you are mechanically inept though
ahem
im having a bit of a issue with the air at the minute

The proesecution rests
i didnt like the GD, didnt like the klunky mechanical feel of it all, it felt like it was made in someones back yard workshop

yes its hard to see where the money goes tbh as it is a seatpost, a spring, a shaft with some holes in it and pin to hold it in place
Failed once but it was a cable issue as they are designed to use gear cables and these fray at the join IME.
Would not own a non remote version personally -perhaps the hydraulic lever makes it easier but the GD version was about as useful and easy to use as a QR lever tbh

harsh, im not inept in the slighest, i just didnt have the tools/patience whilst out to sort it out (plus i had friends with me riding, so didnt want to make them wait for ages)

i fixed it when i got home (pissed off), and it did it again a few weeks later whatever the problem was, so i sacked it off

id only owned it a few months from new so didnt want to be fannying around with it after short space of time and didnt want to send it in to america to have it fixed properly

i wasted alot of cash on it, my own fault admittedly, but had i paid 70-100 quid for it id have not been to bothered, but given it was 225 for as you put it a ‘seatpost, a spring, a shaft with some holes in it and pin’ i felt very robbed indeed

i dont think any of the posts on the market are sorted yet, including the GD, but its been around alot longer than a reverb so should have more stability/reliability, as said id prefer send it off to fishers to be fixed within 2 day turnaround than send it back to america/do it myself whilst its in a warranty period

but the reverb is on another planet though in terms of everything else imo, and im sure it will be as reliable as there forks in a few more years…

I have a Reverb on my Mega that has been back for a new shaft/seals, etc under warranty & a battered looking 2nd GD on my winter hardtail.

When asked to recommend one I point out that the Reverb is much nicer to use but I reccomend the GD because I know it won’t let them down next winter.