[Closed] cheap vs expensive droppers, anyone regretted getting a budget dropper?

No, right up until the point I swapped my Xfusion for a Reverb....

Cheapest seat dropper...

[img] ?w=430&h=430&a=7[/img]

Reverbs can be bought on line from Germany for about 160-80 ish.

Budget ones are cheap, but you will buy more of them, and complain when they provide a budget style type of service.

I've been using a Reverb for 2 years on my main bike, and got an RSP Plummet for my hardtail as I couldn't justify a fancy post on an £800 bike (It's a 27.2 tube so a cheap Reverb wasn't really an option).

It's extremely agricultural compared to the reverb.......it wobbles about a bit, the lever action is stiffer, there's only 2 positions it can be dropped to, it's only got 100m of drop rather than 125mm.

Don't get me wrong, for the money it's great and for a second bike it is totally fine for my needs and I'd rather have a bad dropper than a good normal post, however all things being equal I'd take a Reverb any day of the week, and would have taken a Reverb at twice the price if they were available in the size I needed but other 27.2 posts are considerably more.

I posted a link to a TMARS post on EBay for under £50 on the bike bargains thread

Have had cheap T-Mars, had mid-range, 3 different KS posts, a Crank Brothers Joplin, and had expensive a Fox DOSS.

The T-Mars was pants, would miss it's stops, not lock down, not lock up, fill itself with mud and was generally a PITA.

KS were good, had one go back under warranty within a month when the cartridge spontaneously discombobulated itself, but has been fine for ~4 years since, the other two have just now started to develop about 10-15mm of up down play at the top of the stroke after ~3 years.

The Fox has been absolutely amazing, reliable, smooth, no issues at all, and I bough it 2nd hand for less than the cost of a new KS.

I've not owned a Reverb, but most people I know have had at least one issue at some point but I'm sure people will be along to say they've had years of trouble free service too so I guess it's luck with any brand really. The only reason I don't have Reverbs is I don't get on with the release button so it's a personal thing, but on the face of it they seem like a good option at a sensible price.

I wouldn't bother with a super cheapie again, but nor would I pay full RRP for a Thomson or Fox. There are decent options inbetween that are genuinely better than the bargain ones.

Put a tmars on the wife's bike, was about £60. Its 27.2 so limited options. The plan was to see how she gets on with it and get a better one later. Its actually ok And been there for 2 years or so. Way better than using the seat clamp.

Contrary to above, and depending on whether you call a £130 Hilo as a budget post. I have both a 30.9 Reverb on FS and 27.2 Hilo on HT. The Reverb has been serviced twice (£100+£45) and the Hilo hasnt been touched in 3 winters (except for air pressure and cable change).
However, the reverb is a hell of a lot smoother and better action.

I've got a Reverb, a KS i950, had a gravity dropper. Just got a Tmars for a bike that'll see less use, and unsurprisingly it's nothing like as good- pretty nasty lever action, not really enough drop. But so far it actually works OK, it has some nice design tweaks over the gravity dropper (much better rubber boot fitting). Early days yet but it does feel like I've got at least what I paid for- it's more than 1/3d as good as a gravity dropper classic and it cost less than 1/3d as much.

I was somewhat limited in choice as I needed a layback post. That led me to getting a KS Dropzone from Germany for around £140. It's been brilliant. And the remote lever replaces one of the ODI clamps on my grips which I also really like. Very happy with it. Whether that classes as budget or not I don't know, but I'd not hesitate to get another.

My Tmars has been great. Needs to be stripped and serviced every now and then buts it's a 10 minute job.
I've also modded it a bit to get rid of the 90° angle cable routing, but don't think the newer ones have that now any way.

Only one I've had and I don't ride that much so suppose my opinion could change.....

Big variety of price though! Was looking at the cheap end (RSP plummet £85) of the posh end (Thomson ELite dropper £269).

My thoughts on the RSP Plummet: Don't get it if you want something that just works out of the box. I've finally got it to a point where I'm reasonably happy with it.

However, that's taken a couple of strip down and regrease (and I anticipate this will be pretty regular), plus a new cable - the original one was making the remote really stiff and hard to use (plus was pretty short, making the turns a bit too tight), and eventually lunched itself halfway through a ride with the post stuck in the down position. 😥

Now I've got the remote position on the bars, and the cable sorted, it feels a lot better, although there is noticeable play in all directions on the seatpost (although less noticeable when you're actually pedalling).

EDIT: As for the hope seat clamp being the cheapest dropper - this is true, but I want one that actually drops when I want, rather than gradually throughout the whole ride.

Nope, had to 'downgrade' from a Reverb to a X Fusion Hi-Lo thanks to a silly 30.0 seatpost on my new frame - it's a 27.2 shimmed up to 30 so should be terrible - but its not it's just as good as the reverb - it uses a much lower pressure than the reverb and relies on oil damping (I think) so it's smoother to drop for me - I'm 16st and the reverb used to DROP and it hurt my back a few times - the Hi-Li glides.

Downsides are it's shorter at 100m which is the limit of the 27.2 and it's slower to rise but that's it.

The release is better, cables are reliable and suit the application better IMO, hydraulic is pointless on a on/off thing like a seat post and the lever is better located and less fussy, hit it any direction you fancy and it just works - if it stops working as you want it to, replace the cable for a few quid.

I've gone from Reverb to Tmars. I don't need a dropper all the time so I wanted a cheap, reliable solution that could be swapped in and out. My first Reverb went all loose and my second one I didn't feel like using it as it is a faff to cut and bleed and maintain etc.

The Tmars has two positions - useful.
It has a cable that doesn't move - useful.
The cable exits in a slightly inconvenient place for an SB95 - not so useful.
The actuator housing is a bit big and obtrusive - catches on my leg.
The 30.9 version is a 27.2 with a shim - the shim needed packing out to hold securely.
I can fit it to my hardtail because it's 27.2 - useful.
It's completely home-rebuildable - useful.
But for £65 I'm not complaining.

I've got a reverb, but i'm thinking of swapping to a gravity dropper as I'd like it to extend/compress a bit quicker.

Case in point there's a trail on my regular loop that's about 75seconds top top bottom on a good dry day, but it starts out mellow, then get's steeper and faster with some big-ish tabletops, then immediately after the tabletop there's a flat out sprint to gain some height before a short rough section that saps your speed, and another sprint, and another rough and rooty section and a sprint to the bottom and another tight and twisty section.

After a lot of STRAVA'ing I'm within a second with the seatpost fully up or fully down as what I lose with caution over the jumps/corners/rough bits I gain in the pedaling by being able to take a breather sat down. The reverb just doesn't react quick enough, you either end up not pedaling and waiting for the post to come up, or trying to weight it as you enter a bumpy section.

That's all relevant because you can get a gravity dropper for about £130.

I've not tired Tompson, KS, X-fusion or Fox.

So ads678, what your saying is the one you have, which you haven't used much, has needed stripping and servicing and modifying !

Not sure if your suggesting its crap or good 🙂

thisisnotaspoon - my reverb takes less than a second to work. Try lubing yours and adjusting the speed setting.

Or were you taking the micky ?

I've had a Joplin (it never worked, literally), a cheap-ish XLC one (goes under other names too, Lappierre's OE one for instance) and now have a GD Turbo, Reverb and TMars.

Agree with Northwind about the TMars. I've had mine a few months now and it's seem some proper nasty conditions and still works fine with an occasional clean, just not as refined in use as the GD. I do sort of like the remote though.

The Reverb I've also had a few months. It's ok, nice, but overhyped by fanbois, imo, but it's awaiting a new remote now as I crashed the old one to death at an Enduro last weekend.

I'd still say the GD is my favourite because it does actually have a pretty smooth action and can be fixed with a minimum of fuss (at the same Enduro, amongst several other broken Reverbs, I saw a guy fix his GD with parts from a local hardware store, and a sock, between practice and race).

Someone linked to a Decathlon one the other day, lever under the seat type

[url= http://www.decathlon.co.uk/100mm-adjustable-drop-seatpost-316mm-id_8323994.html ]http://www.decathlon.co.uk/100mm-adjustable-drop-seatpost-316mm-id_8323994.html[/url]

This one. but didn't rate it very highly saying that he suffered from the standard faults but I couldn't find any reviews - anyone else have any experience?

I've just bought a brand new reverb for a little £167 from Winstanley bikes so no need to buy from Germany. My first lasted 2 years proper trouble free and now needs a service, but thought it'd be handy to have a second as i'm going to service it myself so don't want to be without one for any length of time. I really really wanted a Thompsone one, much nicer I think than a reverb (a mate has one), but just couldn't justify the extra cost no matter how hard I tried.

Yeah, keep an eye on Merlin, Winstanley and PX for Reverb deals.

Paid £150 for the last two I've bought. Considering how many there are out there, serious issues are remarkably rare.

Giant Contact Switch £135 from an LBS near you.

Mines been faultless for a year. Recommended.

Also, if its your first dropper, and you just want to see how effective they are, then I'd go with something mid-range as they are easier to re-sell if you decide its not worth it*

*You won't though, they make a huge improvement!

thisisnotaspoon - my reverb takes less than a second to work. Try lubing yours and adjusting the speed setting.

Done all that, it's no slower than any other Reverb. It's just slow enough to be irritating to me. And with no top-out 'thunk' you end up holding the button down a bit longer and avoiding sitting down a fraction longer. Ditto lowering it, I'd rather the GD's press the button, sit down/release the button and keep sitting down until it clicks.

I just prefer the cheap/undamped feel.

Yep, got a Reverb on my full suss, not saying it's been perfect, but well worth the money. My Hardtail is 27.2 so Reverb not an option. First of all tried a Gravity dropper - very disappointing. Now got the X-fusion, half the price of a reverb and it shows.

So, my experience, you get what you pay for, and if you can, pay for quality.

just looking at the reverbs on winstanleys (£174)

Theres a lot of options!

I know i need 30.9 diameter, but (probably stupid question) how doi know what size / travel to get?

Also, i'm sure i read something a while back about lever positon, something like using a right hand lever but upside down on the left side? Or did i just make that up? Whats general preferance among reverb owners?

TimP - Member
Someone linked to a Decathlon one the other day, lever under the seat type

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/100mm-adjustable-drop-seatpost-316mm-id_8323994.html

This one. but didn't rate it very highly saying that he suffered from the standard faults but I couldn't find any reviews - anyone else have any experience?

That was maybe me. It's the same as the XLC one I had (except mine had a remote). I had two warranty replacements for the same fault everytime. The last one also developed the same fault, but I'd given up on it by then. that was a couple of years ago, so they might have improved.

My reason for liking my GD over the Reverb is almost exactly what TINAS describes.

Gravity dropper multi can be had for £136, just bought a 2nd one, 1st one is now 3 years old & still working perfectly

I know i need 30.9 diameter, but (probably stupid question) how doi know what size / travel to get?

Also, i'm sure i read something a while back about lever positon, something like using a right hand lever but upside down on the left side? Or did i just make that up? Whats general preferance among reverb owners?

I think (don't quote me on this) that my 5" travel reverb has 9" of post sticking out the frame, so the 4" version only has 8" sticking out. Measure your saddles current height from the rails to the top of the seatube and pick your travel accordingly.

350 Vs 420mm posts, depends how much room you have in the frame and how far out it needs to be. 420mm might not fit if your frame has a bend in the seat-tube near the top or has a shock that pierces the seatube. Likewise a 350m post might not leave you enough post in the frame if you have really long legs (or ride a ridiculously small frame).

99% of people can probably fit a 420mm post because it never needs to be dropped further into the frame like a normal post.

Got a tmars last year. Absolute balls. It seized within a few hours use and needs stripped after every moist ride.

I'm fairly mechanically minded but I'm at a loss over how such a simple collection of parts can fail to work (GD have proven the concept).

TINAS - I get a nice solid "thunk" on my reverb.

So ads678, what your saying is the one you have, which you haven't used much, has needed stripping and servicing and modifying !

Not sure if your suggesting its crap or good

Not quite, I've had it for 2/3 years or so and have stripped it down and rebuilt it a couple of times. When i say I don't ride that much I mean i'm not training during the week and racing at the weekends which some on here seem to do. It's had a fair amount of stick and i think for the money, if you don't mind getting your hands dirty, then the Tmars is great. Might not be as refined as the more expensive droppers but it's stupid cheap.

I had a t-mars, seem to be a mixed bag, some seem to be fine, mine was not. Failed after about 4 hours use - I stripped it apart and found the holes where the pin locates all had cracks around them. Luckily the bloody thing didn't break and shove bits of sharp metal where the sun don't shine. Had a bit of a nightmare getting the money back off the (UK) ebay seller too.

Got a reverb off planet x when they had them on sale, was about £150 iirc and it's been faultless in 2 years use. Among the best bike related purchases I've made. Wouldn't be without it.

I have a T-MARS needs a lot of servicing in winter but, it is really easy to sort out because there is almost nothing to it. Got mine for about £30 2nd hand. Not the most refined product but you know you can fix it easily.

Anyone tell me where you can get GD multi for ~£130?

Gravity dropper- despite being told it was bomb proof it was no end of trouble. Self service and paid for service still the same. Adjusting the seat post clamp made no difference. Now have a Thompson, no adjustments needed it just works perfectly. With the dropper there was no way of guessing if it would go up and down. How a spring and magnet can go so wrong is a mystery.

If you have a nice bike put a nice seatpost on it, if you have a budget bike put a budget dropper on there etc etc....

I had a cheap On-One 456-evo that i bought a Tmars version for, it was mechanical/agricultural in its action but worked well...total reliability, not much sideways movement and fitted the 27.2mm seat tube perfectly.

When i had a Saracen Ariel (mid range bike i'd say) i put a Gravity Dropper on there, that was fine too...i could tell it was better made than the Tmars, it felt 'chunky' if that makes sense...also faultless.

Now on my FS i have a Giant Contact dropper, it came with the bike but i havent had cause to change it yet, also works without problems as the other two did.

The moral of the story?...there isnt one, some droper posts work and some dont...some people have problems with £250 reverbs and some have problems with £50 Tmars....there doesnt seem to be any way of knowing, it seems to be luck of whatever you happened to get delivered.
Gun to head if i had to choose just one it'd be the Gravity Dropper as i know i can fix it and service it at home.

Anyone tell me where you can get GD multi for ~£130?

Brought a TMars bout a year and a half ago just to see if I liked a dropper post or not. Didn't want to invest a lot so read up on tinternet and went for a TMars. Its now in the second frame and nothings broke or been replaced but to be fair I might get some bushings(£15) for it soon.I do class myself as a fairly sympathetic rider though.

Bottem line is, if you don't want to service and adjust on a regular basis don't buy a TMars or similar as you will hate/break it.

Definatly worth it. Wouldn't want to ride without a dropper post now but having just put a Thompson dropper on my GF's bike..mmm nice.

I have a Reverb, KS LEV and RSP Plummet.

The Reverb and LEV work pretty much the same (i prefer the lever on the KS LEV). The Plummet is no where near as refined as the other two but it does what it says on the tin. You press a button and the seat goes down you press it again and it comes up.

I've only been running it on the spare bike for a few months which have been mainly dry so I don't know about long term reliability but reports online say it is easy to service at home incase anything does go wrong.

bikediscount.de

Need's a hyphen, otherwise it's a similar looking website, but with no translation to english and no gravity droppers.

bike-discount.de

Cheers, I can't speak German 🙂

As I have 27.2mm post bikes...

I had a TMARS, worked OK, needed the occasional strip dowm. Then it snapped, on the lower part but not where it went into the frame. Odd.
It got warrantied and sold the replacement.

I now have a X-Fusion Hilo. I'm on my 2nd one of those too, the first was replaced under warranty. This one has gone back under warranty for a seal change.

If you put it down for a short section then raise it again it feels mushy (oil foaming?)
I think this means it needs a bit more oil in it (it's not leaking) but as dropping it and sitting on it again firms it up I'm not sure I can be bothered.

Would I buy another Hilo? Probably not.

When the Hilo inevitably dies I'll be looking at a Thomson, KS Lev or a Gravity Dropper I reckon. Unless I'm skint when I might look at the RSP...

Looking at getting a TMARS dropper post just to try it out. I can find a 27.2mm post to fit with a 27.2mm to 31.6mm shim! Is a shim that ok to use or will I have issues? Thanks.

Shim is probably fine as long as it's long enough, but you know the TMars comes in 31.6 too, right?

Thanks warpcow, I've got a couple of bikes I can swap it around on if I go for a 27.2mm.

I would like to withdraw my slightly negative review of the RSP Plummet from earlier in the thread and replace it with a totally negative one after it lunched itself spectacularly (and I suspect fatally) during today's ride.

The return spring now appears to be completely wedged against the stanchion and neither can be moved at all.

Let's see how good the retailer's customer service and RSP's warranty is.

I've had....

K'S Eten - Was ok but heavy, had issues if the bike was turner upside down, also if you pulled up on the seat when it was dropped.

X-Fusion hilo - ir was great for the first 6-8 months but then developed a leak and would drop an inch or so by any weight on the saddle. It was difficult to service as the collet was held on really really tight so I ended up Scrayingham it badly.

Thomson - had this for about 5 months now and it's been fine....

Got a tmars last year. Absolute balls. It seized within a few hours use and needs stripped after every moist ride.

+1

I've now got a gravity dropper and it seems much better so far. But obviously quite a bit more pricey.

So 5 hours of use and my tmars ****ed up my glentress seven for me, delighted. Stopped actuating properly, stuck down for a while then I finally managed to get it to go back up, then totally failed (and then the cable pulled out of the lever, because of trying to shift a jammed mechanism. Unimpressed.

The actual uppy-downy is fine, it just won't downy.

I originally bought an ICE Lift V8. It was ok to start with, but it became apparently very quickly that it was, in fact, utter shite.

The plastic bushings wear rapidly. There is tons of play in the seat (side to side). Re-routing a fresh cable is an absolute nightmare and you have to service it once every 2-3 rides to have it working anywhere near acceptably. In short, they are crap and getting a real dropper is way more cost effective in the long term.

Also, the retailer I bought it from had obviously been caught on the hop by a crap product and desperately tried to back away from any warranty issues by claiming 'wear and tear' and trying to get me to pay through the nose for spares.

Get yourself a proper dropper (tm) and buy a reverb. Second hand if needs be. Just do a basic service every six months or so (just like a fork) and you'll be thankful you did.

Anyone had a Thompson 27.2mm?

Was going to go cheap but it looks a case of buy cheap buy twice.

Had a KS900 and a Lev, Like them both.
The 900 died out the box but was fixed and worked fine for 3 years after that before I sold it on.
The Lev has been great though at about 22 months in it's gone a little droopy so it's off back for warranty. Apart from that it's been all I wanted, smooth and easy to use. compared to peoples reverb comments it's had a bit of a clean and I replaced the bush which was easy and in reality probably didn't need doing.

Maverick speedball, uppy/downiness was fine but seat clamp was rubbish
3 KS900's in the house, first gen one went back under warranty, but fine since then.
Two of the KS are heavily used, serviced hamfistedly by me and have never let me down bar the very odd muddy ride clogged the actuator usually fixed with a squirt of camelbak fluid.
KS lev 27.2 on 29er, bit of a pain to setup initially but otherwise flawless so far(touches wood)
Most people I know with Reverbs have had at least one warranty claim and have had rides ruined when a crash has ripped the hose out.
Another mate has a fossilised GD (think it predates my speedball)which apart from being clunky is still going strong

I have a reverb and a giant contact. The latter is cable operated, simpler and cheaper. In use they are both good, no preference.

Most people I know with Reverbs have had at least one warranty claim and have had rides ruined when a crash has ripped the hose out.

have had rides ruined when a crash has ripped the hose out.

Did they have the remote mounted on top of the bar?

That's the only time I've ripped mine out - and lesson learned.

I have a 27.2 Lev I'm thinking about selling if anyone is interested. Great post but been gathering dust on my hardtail for the last six months. Email in profile if anyone is interested.

Reverb owner here. Bought it second hand for £130 complete with bleed kit and collar. It was a warranty replacement and was like new. Been running it for a year with no issues or attention given.
Fingers crossed...

If the hose goes do they fail down then? I would have thought without a remote they would stick up?

Don't know - presume they would sink, which is why you carry one of [url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/rockshox-reverb-enduro-height-collar/rp-prod108858 ]these[/url]. Other sellers available.

I think they stick wherever they were last?

Pretty sure the collar is not intended for jamming the post up, though, it's for restricting how far it'll drop but keeping pedalling weight on it seems like it could be a quick road to a scratched up stanchion.

I generally prefer cable, with most cable designs you can actuate it manually even with a damaged lever.

I would expect them to fail up? Hydraulic pressure actuates a piston to release post, no pressure, no actuation. If my reverb needs a bleed it's because it won't go down.

I think they stick wherever they were last?

Good point. Hadn't thought of that.

I bought a KS Dropzone last year. Apart from a bit of faff getting the remote cable to grip the seat mechanism properly (fixed with a beefier bolt) it's been superb. Works every time when you need it to, doesn't stick, isn't wobbly. Can't fault it at all. I paid £126 delivered from JensonUSA, so under the import tax level. There's a 20% off deal at the moment, so I think it might be even cheaper now.

keeping pedalling weight on it seems like it could be a quick road to a scratched up stanchion.

You don't usually sit and pedal much on a dropped dropper though

Budget all the way, 😀 every one I know who have expensive ones have had problems with them Tmars all th eway nowt to go wrong spring to poles wth a pin and some holes. Why pay more. 😆 😀

Jam bo I've emailed you about your one

Order a gravity dropper at the weekend after reading this thread 🙂

I have an RSP Plummet, a couple of Reverbs and a Joplin.

The Reverbs are great and have only ever needed one service between them (they must be about two and three years old).

The Joplin is unreliable, wobbly and currently needs hoiking up with my thighs because it won't return on it's own.

The RSP is a bit agricultural but works fine. I got it off a mate who had problems with it sticking after mucky rides. He took it apart to service it but then couldn't get it back together and gave up on it. I stripped it, regreased it and added a ziptie to the top of the rubber boot and it's been 100% reliable ever since (cue catastrophic failure on next ride).

I've ordered a TMARS - for £40 it's worth a go to see if I get on with a dropper or not. Any idea if Shims are provided with them or do I need to order one too?

I've ordered a TMARS - for £40 it's worth a go to see if I get on with a dropper or not. Any idea if Shims are provided with them or do I need to order one too?

If you ordered a particular size, you'll get the shims to make it that size. I think there are only 27.2 and 31.6, all other sizes are shimmed.

I have a 30.9. The shim slipped in my frame so I had to 'shim' the shim! I have already had a cable pull out of the lever and some difficulties in actuation but I'll put that down to training at the moment, see how it goes. I wanted a cable actuated dropper with 2 positions. If I'm not happy prior to my race I may get a Giant Contact as I used to have one and it worked great. I never really got on with the Reverb remote. The release button never seemed to be in a comfy place.

On the Tmars (and clones) anybody thought about using a brake cable rather than a gear cable? And a small bmx brake lever to actuate?

I wasn't happy. I bought a Specialized Command Post. I am currently trying to return the Tmars. If anybody wants it for £50 posted, email in profile... I'm not sure I've got the strength to fight the seller.

I've just bulldozed the seller with ebay returns and not given him a choice, remains to be seen if there'll be a fight later

I'd rather just sell the post on. I may lose some cash but the seller seems rather SHOUTY so I can't be arsed! It may work on some frames but not mine. I kept knocking the cable sideways where it entered the actuator housing. Kinking the inner cable by 90 degrees.

I wonder if I could use the post actuator etc to resurrect my dream of the venerable Hite Rite being reborn... off to the shed I go!

I've run a Crank Bros. Kronolog and a KS Lev.

The Kronolog almost immediately seized the first time it was out in the rain, and over the winter completely shredded one if its own seals.

The KS gets sticky from time to time in winter, so needs an occasional service, but is generally flawless (I've had it six months and discovered I should probably service every three, in winter at least).

I would like to withdraw my slightly negative review of the RSP Plummet from earlier in the thread and replace it with a totally negative one after it lunched itself spectacularly (and I suspect fatally) during today's ride.

The return spring now appears to be completely wedged against the stanchion and neither can be moved at all.

Let's see how good the retailer's customer service and RSP's warranty is.

Just as an update, Tredz appear to have accepted the death of my RSP Plummet and are going to refund me...nice quick warranty turnaround there, though I think that one glance at it would have shown it was FUBARed.

So then, what should I [s]try to get working[/s] try next? Gravity Dropper? Any cheapy deals out there?

Update on my shitey T-Mars- returned it to the seller on ebay, just used the automatic returns process. He didn't even bother to respond, so ebay closed the case, full refund. I was expecting a fight tbh but it seems like he knows he's selling junk so just gave in to the inevitable.