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Any owners out there care to share your experiences.
I'm annoyingly having to consider this as I want a longer dropper with layback but it's bloody expensive.
I have had mine a couple of years, and like it. I haven't tried anything else though so not sure if my opinions are particularly meaningful.
To me the whole idea of an air spring with a mechanical brake sounds better than a seatpost full of hydraulic fluid.
The installation is ok, but it is very sensitive to cable length so it took 2 tries at that. There are excellent videos online to show you how.
Everything is v well made, on par or above Thompson.
After a while the post has become slow to return. Both times this has been fixed by re-greasing the top nut and seal. The sealing seams very good, but it looks like the grease dries out.
I've not done more maintenance than that, but I hear a strip down is straightforward.
I have the old style remote which I like. The new one looks even better.
It might be worth mentioning that the drop (actually extension) can be adjusted with spacers if you find the post too long for your bike. Or you could buy a 200mm drop adjust it to be shorter.
Had one since August. Smooth action, perfectly reliable so far. I'd say it's return speed is more tunable with air pressure than the KS Lev and reverbs it's replaced. The remote is a rebranded wolftooth and it's better than anything else I've tried.
Mine is 175mm drop, I don't notice any flex or complaints at my weight (105kg without kit), which I guess is an endorsement!
Nice one. Did you guys buy direct from the supplier of elsewhere?
Are you using the layback head or the inline?
Liking the sound of the component quality and ease of maintenance. Goes towards justifying the cost I suppose.
From the supplier. Grease too. Lay back head.
Just wanted to let you know I'm the UK re-seller for 9point8 (shore-lines) - have all posts and spares in stock.
Just drop me an email or give me a call if you need any help or advice on sizing, installation etc etc.
Cheers
John
I wanted one (quite badly) but
it's bloody expensive
And the disto had zero movement on price. Picked up a kashima transfer for less. Very happy with it.
Shame that the pricing is so shit on the fall line, looks like decent product but I doubt they're selling many.
I've been running one with layback for a few months now. I can't fault it in any way and I'll buy one for my other bike as soon as I man up enough to drill a hole in the frame for the cable.
I bought mine from shore-lines and I can recommend them as well.
Hi guys
The Fall Line including a standard 9point8 remote lever is £379.00
The bundle deal that comes with the Wolf Tooth remote is £398.00
The longer stroke posts (175mm and 200mm) are £419 and £438 for the Wolf Tooth remote bundle
Fox Transfer is generally around £369 and the remote is £69 so £438 in total so pretty much the same RRP for the long stroke 9point8 and actually more expensive than the regular (75mm - 150mm travel) 9point8 Fall Line.
Cost pricing from Canada makes it pretty impossible for me to offer any discount on 9point8 - there is a lot more margin to play with on the Fox post.
Cheers
John
This is probably a good time to mention that I slagged off their reliability a few times in the past based on a friend's account, and it turned out I was actually wrong- he had one fault with a Fall Line and a very similiar fault with the Raceface dropper he had before, I thought it was 2 failures the same on the Fall Line.
This is annoying, because it's the main reason I didn't think about buying one 🙄
I've got a 175 inline. The lever is great and the basic collar off clean and regrease is genuinely a 5 minute job. Great saddle clamp too.
The price comparison might wash if you couldn't get pretty much every other dropper on the marke below RRP which you can (and I would expect shore lines know this)
Products need to compete on every level including cost.
I have been running one for 1.5 years. Super smooth and reliable. When it gets a little slow simply regrease it. Around two months ago I carried out a full service. Changed the mark 1 nut for the mark 2 version with better sealing although not really needed as super clean inside. I would high recommend the post and the Wolf Tooth lever.
I think price comparisons for the shorter ones are fair enough but they fall down once you get to longer posts- there it's basically Revive vs Fall Line and they're both £400-ish.
So then the question is only, do you think it's worth it for the longer drop. Me, yes. Lots of people, no. I would not want to go back to 150mm now, I'm still [i]fairly[/i] happy with 170mm but it's not as good
Just checked my bike, and I've actually got the inline head. Doesn't change my review, but just for completeness.
I read something on Pinkbike that suggested a negative of the 9point0 post was that it flexed. I've not experienced this, but it isn't quite as battering on my hardtail as I'd feared it might be. It's certainly not as comfortable as a 400mm titanium seatpost though.
Is the only difference on the mk2 nut the seal?
Ohhh this got interesting while I've been out.
I'm hurting over the price as I've ran 125mm, £130 KS posts for years now and they've been very reliable for me but the 9point8 is the only post that offers long drop,layback and easy servicing and I'm desperate for more drop.
I guess a small company,made in Canada post with the requirements I need is understandably gonna cost me.
Hopefully it'll be a good buy and if it lasts as long as my KS posts have then I'll not complain.
Damn all you normal legged folk who can run inline posts without your knees exploding 😆 you have so much choice.....
Had mine less than a year and it’s been great. Set up was fiddly and took a couple of attempts to get right. Also struggled getting the air pressure right. Had to buy a Topeak Pressure Rite to get it right. Basically the unscrewing of the shock pump caused all the air to escape.
Demo’ed a couple of bikes recently and haven’t gotten on with the other shorter/slower dropper posts
Good stuff, cheers...
Now if anyone wants to buy my old big hit that's on eBay at the momment I'll get one of these ordered 😆
The price comparison might wash if you couldn't get pretty much every other dropper on the marke below RRP which you can (and I would expect shore lines know this)
Products need to compete on every level including cost.
The guy does say RRP, and does point out that there’s margin for discounts on the Fox and by implication the rest that he can’t touch.
Goods don’t need to compete on price if they have some other selling point (purported reliability and ease of service here) that confers greater desirability. If these are valid then it’s apples and oranges. Also worth bearing in mind that if there’s no margin for discount on one but very large margin on another that speaks to the actual value vs price in some respects.
No personal investiture here, I’m happy with my external Levs. Bottom line, anything is only worth what people will pay. I’m sure 9point8 understand that if they could halve the price they’d sell many more, so they either can’t or don’t want to, both of which are fine.
Nobody has suggested that they halve the price, and there is precisely zero evidence to suggest that a fall line is any more reliable than a transfer. Apples and apples ad far as I'm concerned. Like I said, I really wanted one but it couldn't compete, which it needs to.
Pricing comparison really falls down if you compare to the Performance Transfer which is mechanically identical to the Kashima one
http://www.ubyk.co.uk/fox-transfer-performance-internal-dropper-post-316-150mm/70731
I bought mine a year and a half ago (when they were £350).
It can slip a bit on occasion if there there has been a change in temperature. Rectified by a pressing in the lever for 10s to reset the brake. Other than that, it has been faultless. A faff to install though - like most people on here it took me two attempts.
Would I buy it now, at £380? Probably not - I'd have s look at Fox or Bikeyoke maybe. But then my options are a bit broader than yours as I'm happy with zero setback.