[Closed] Dropper post choices. Talk to me.

Just search on here how many times the Brand X is recommended.

Why spend more £ ?

between me and my son we have had several different droppers - KS lev - been great and reliable but you can't hang up the bike by the saddle, BrandX - OK and great value but a bit of play out of the box and the lever is OK for 1x but crap for 2x. Thomson just fab but the servicing is eye-watering, I ended up buying a new post for the same money! Now have a One up v2 which is superb great value and just works but internal only, for external routing with the same collar thing as the BrandX have a look at PNW cascade - easy to service, great ethos of recycling and the lever is great for 2x and really great for 1x.

My only experience is four years with a Lev Integra. Worked really well, then I rammed it into a tree. Very quick turnaround with a warranty repair, now it's back to working well. Just bought another one for a new bike as I don't want to risk buying one that might be worse!

I really need to save a response to this....

I've had them all, reverb, Thomson, KS etc. Nothing comes close to brand X for reliability and value for money. There are other more expensive, more bling droppers, buy why spend twice the price on something that may fail in 2 years?

The Thomson I had failed 26months after purchase, the warranty replacement cartridge is only two years and it was cheaper to get a brand X than get a service and cartridge for the Thomson (plus I sold the Thomson, nothing the fault, for more than the brand X cost at the time....).

I recently purchased a KS I-20 from Bike-Discount for £125 as it was the only place with any 27.2 droppers in stock. Seems fine so far, slowish return but less wobbly than my Brand-X. Pair it with a Bontrager/ZTTO lever. I'd ignore the KS I-10 as it has a single bolt head.

I’ve owned a Gravity Dropper, 2 x reverbs, 2 x KS. Honestly, I liked them all. But I currently am the very satisfied owner of 2 Brand X droppers. If I somehow same into possession of a 3rd bike, I would be putting a Brand X on it too.

Thanks for the replies.

A used Thomson post I was watching on evilBay has just sold for £258! It’s certainly making me think of less tarty posts now.

I posted over the weekend whilst at work forgetting that the real traffic only happens during “normal working week”. Is the BrandX the sensible choice then?

the real sensible choice is the mid priced one up v2.. lowest stack height, good lever, and adjustable to -10 and -20

the real sensible choice is the mid priced one up v2.. lowest stack height, good lever, and adjustable to -10 and -20

Agreed, just ordered one.
Not available in 27.2 though.
I have had a couple of 27.2 droppers, cheap eBay job initially, currently have an xfusion Hilo only 100mm drop but works well enough.
I’d get a brandx if I was buying 27.2 again. 105mm drop, internal or external, decent enough lever, cheap enough. (I’ve got a brandx and a reverb on other bikes, main advantage of the one up is I could get 10mm more drop than brandx. 180v170, for just £10 more

I bought a cheapo 27.2 eBay special from China. Seems ok so far if a little slow. We will see how long it lasts.

Had a reverb, Thomson, ks drop zone and currently on a one up. My preference is the Thomson any day but I wanted maximum drop I could get and the one up beats everything else hands down for that. Service charge is expensive but I never needed it as it was rock solid throughout my ownership. The one up works but it’s nothing to write home about, when it’s dropped any amount at all the side to side wobble is extreme and it now has enough movement when extended that I can feel it when I pedal which I detest and it’s already a warranty replacement. As I said yes it works but would I rave about it, nope!

SDG Tellis. Quite enjoy mine and cheap too

I would post a response, but fear I’m too much of an illiterate MCWCB to understand the OP enough to give a sensible reply.

Is the BrandX the sensible choice then?

Bought a 150mm Brand-X to go on son's Remedy, replacing shorter travel Bonty. Worked perfectly, so bought a 170mm Brand-X to go on my bike, replacing the Reverb. Works perfectly. No play in the saddle, unlike the Reverb. Makes a nice little clunk noise when it goes up so I know it's reached full height. Superb for £100 (from startcycles).

brand-x with a bonty lever, not sure how you can justify buying much else vfm wise

A used Thomson post I was watching on evilBay has just sold for £258! It’s certainly making me think of less tarty posts now.

Blimey... I didn't realise they went for quite so much, but they do seem to. I have a surplus one just taking up cellar space. Nice things, but £100 for a full rebuild when the 27.2 one on my Ragley ate its cartridge a couple of years back and no DIY option.

I've heard good things about PNW Components posts.

If you're going to spend Thomson money, get a Bikeyoke Revive. User serviceable, and generally better.

Currently got one of these and a Crank Brothers Highline picked up cheap. The Highline is pretty good, fairly slow rising but that doesn't bother me.

I bought a Thomson (27.2) about 9 months ago from eBay for my hardtail (£180, ex-demo) and it’s been fab - nothing at all to complain about (no lateral play, very stable, reliable so far). I would have bought a Brand-X had the Thomson one not come up, based on the reviews on here.

I’ve had reverbs come as standard on 2 bikes and had problems with both of them, replaced them with crankbrothers highline which I quite liked. Next bike came with a Bikeyoke revive which is pretty good but I think pricey. I prefer overall the One Up v2 I’ve put in my hard tail.