[Closed] Dropper posts - is it worth spending more than a BrandX

one up, its i nthe middle of the pricing, has a sensible weight, adjustable travel and the lowest stack out there .. last time i checkled

I like my brand X.

Although the only thing I've got to compare it against is a Reverb which I definitely wouldn't buy again.

It's worth having a shop arround as you can usually find them cheaper with bike brands logos on them. I paid less than a hundred for mine because it has a canyon logo on it.

Brand x default cheapo option. If you're spending more then oneup or bike yoke. Fox seems like a rip off but I've not used one personally. I'd go oneup, in fact I did.

Nothing wrong with brand X, I have 2 (on different bikes ;-)) and they are good. Spares are easy to come by and they are dead easy to service.

Had 2 reverbs, now have a Brand X. Would recommend a Brand X.

Recently serviced (as much as you can) a couple of brand X posts for a mate. They're sound enough posts.

My personal preference is the Bikeyoke. I like the light action and the fact that it's fully serviceable including the air spring. Low stack height and adjustable travel.

General view in my group is BrandX, avoid Reverb. I have a Thomson which is a thing of beauty and has been absolutely brilliant but sooo expensive to buy and potentially expensive to maintain (not needed any - yet). My other bike has a BrandX and when the Thomson eventually dies that's what I'll replace it with.

Familiarity, availability of parts and the fact that our team mechanic can dismantle them (he also does Reverbs but generally hates us for it) means we're pretty much standardised on BrandX.

Got a Fox, Thompson and a Brand X across the fleet. Absolutely zero noticeable difference between them in use. The Fox cost more to service than the Brand X was to buy. Bx all the way for me now.

The lever makes the most difference in my opinion, pairing a cheap post with a nice action lever is the thinking man's way to go.

For the money brand x can’t be beaten and don’t need much maintenance.

Oneup v2 fits a bigger drop in a smaller space - so I’ve got 2 of these (previously had brand x and they were both great) - no other dropper would fit that much travel into the frames I’ve got. They do need some maintenance though - after 18 months both needed the £20 ish refresh kit with new bushings / guide pins. I think they compromised the top seal a bit vs brand x to get a smaller stack in.

If I were getting something blingier it would probably be a Bikeyoke but I can’t see the point really.

The lever makes the most difference in my opinion, pairing a cheap post with a nice action lever is the thinking man’s way to go.

Agree on this, across the fleet all the bikes are either on Ztto (which appears identical to the Wolf Tooth we were given) or Bontrager Line Elite (which is neater than the slightly cheaper Line that I had on the Fox). The cheaper Shimano lever is very nice, but got taken off when swapping shimano brakes for Sram)

one up, its i nthe middle of the pricing, has a sensible weight,

I've not managed to find that data - how much weight difference is there between the options?

As another review the Orbea post has been fine but after a year of dry use feel like they need the £20 service and the ones that's been crashed needs new guides as it's got some side to side movement.

Op in a word no.....

Brand X are cheap, reliable and work just as good as the competition. Only thing id change is the lever, but that's personal preference.

Having said that I'm  now using an AXS reverb, just because no cables.

I’ve not managed to find that data – how much weight difference is there between the options?

All the weights are in the specs section on OneUp Dropper Webpage.

Imo it's either go cheap (brand X) or ludicrous (vyron/axs)

Yes.

I had three Brand-X posts die.
My One-Up is three years old, serviced once, and is wonderful.

The only reason imo to go for anything other than a brand x dropper is to maximise the drop. With posts like the One-Up & PNW you can have (I believe) increments of 5mm.

My first brand x post is 4 years old now, other than a fresh cable once in a while I've never had any issues with it.

I’ve got a 200mm Brand X that I’m happy with. It only just fits in my (very short) seat tube as the insertion length is quite long. One Up needs less seat tube.

I've used 3 brands. Reverb, Lev Integra and Brand X.

Out of those the Brand X has given me the least trouble

[Roger Irrelevant]
I got one of these for £30 off ebay just to finish off a barginbild.
Works fine! Heavy though (and 125mmm only, but you know.. £30! ) 🙂
https://www.bikester.co.uk/red-cycling-products-remote-dropper-teleskop-sattelstutze-316-mm-M724376.html
[/Roger Irrelevant]

I've got an AXS. Hands down the greatest seatpost I've ever tried. Its also 4 times the price of some of the cheaper ones discussed here. But I can and do swap it between my two bikes, which takes about 1 minute. So really its only twice the price using that man-maths. Is it twice as good? 6 winter months on, I'm going to say yes.

Yes I'm a tart, yes my current seatpost cost more than my first MTB.

I also moved to brand X a year ago after previously having Reverbs. I prefer the brand X in use and it’s been more reliable.

2Reverbs and 1 Brand X in my garage, and,yes, the BrandX is the best and least trouble.

IME Brand X are great for the price. But they do develop a little bit pf play after 6-12 months of use (I've had 3). The play isnt unrideable, but's its more than I've experienced with more expensive brands.

If stack height is a concern, look at OneUp or BikeYoke. They have very low stack (above and below the seat clamp). I found the longest post I could run on my bike is a 185 Bike yoke or 180 OneUp. I might be able to run a 210 OneUp shimmed to 190, but I dont want to spend the money to find out. BikeYoke Revive is the best/smoothest post I've ever had.

Brand x.
A seatpost needs to do one job, go up and down. Anything a else is superfluous.

a Reverb which I definitely wouldn’t buy again.

This. Reverb stealth-routed came on my bike. Pain to service. Performance variable. ‘Lever’ meh. Lots of wobbles and squish. Doesn’t compare well to a Brand-X-alike that came on another bike.

I've had older reverbs, new ones, Lev's a raceface one, a crank bros one and now a brand-x on my Nomad.

the Reverb trigger remote is hands down the nicest but there is no other value that would make me sway from a Brand-x.

I'd buy and recommend a Brand-x

If funds allowed I'd have an AXS on everything. They don't though.

Over the past few years, our house has gone from having a combination of Brand X, Reverb, Transfer and KS to having Brand X on everything.

There's probably a bit of a weight penalty but not much in it.

Transfer and Reverb needed sending away for services which cost more than the Brand X post itself.

KS was not fun to service DIY.

Haven't had to properly service a Brand X yet (they seem to just keep on trucking) but took one apart a while ago just to see how easy it would be. Pretty easy. I don't want to treat them like disposable items - often the way with cheaper stuff - but no sign yet that'll be the case.

So IME it's not worth spending more.

Selcof Watchtower is ~£119 with their SPRING15 promo code.

I have had a fox transfer for about 4 years never serviced no issue what so ever.

Before that I had a reverb which was ok but the hydraulic hose is a pita.

Got a one up on a new bike. Completely useless from day 1 extremely slow. I should of warrantied it but I cleaned it up and regreased it after it stopped working at the first site of mud.

It’s still crap but I have left it too long to send it back they will just tell me it needs servicing. Next step is to take it apart and try and work out what’s going on.

OneUp or KS Lev have always been flawless for me. Not tried Brand X but never heard anything bad about them.

Got a one up on a new bike. Completely useless from day 1 extremely slow. I should of warrantied it but I cleaned it up and regreased it after it stopped working at the first site of mud.

Could your seatclamp be too tight, this often causes issues...

Another vote for Brand X. I used, and struggled with, Reverbs for years before I saw the light and moved to a cable dropper. As above, others may have shorter insertion lengths etc and be slightly lighter, but I now see them as a consumable so if it fails and I can't repair it (economically) it's not great drama. Swap the lever though.

OneUp for the ability to get exactly the travel you want (all sizes are shim able) and the best value for money. If you can find one in stock.

I’ve had a Reverb and NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER just to contradict the seemingly endless hate for them.

KSLev also very good.

KS was not fun to service DIY.

I actually thought the KS was really easy to work with, wasn't much to it once it was stripped down. Took about 6 weeks to hold of the "post paste" though.

Reverbs on the other had are a PITA to service.