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Knowing that all dropper posts fail, I've decided to look for the most repairable, rather than most reliable, dropper post.
I've come down to either the Reverb, although some parts can be expensive.
Or the Revive, which seems to be a very simple post with cheap spares.
Any that I'm missing?
Gravity Dropper.
The Revive does have a service kit but still has plenty of internals that are not user serviceable.
I was told the Revive was fully serviceable but they just didn't have the kits ready yet as they dint expect anyone to need them for a long while yet.
What % of people repair the own dropper posts compared to those (like me) who would always take it to a mechanic if there's any problems with it ?
Reverb tends to fail in soft ways that don't necessarily need you to spend more than oil- the legendary sag literally just needs the air/oil level reset, and no point in replacing anything when you do it unless you find damage because a brand new IFP will do the exact same thing
I've never had to get inside my Revives but my understanding is that there's a fairly unservicable cartridge in it... But tbh I've had great service from them in other things so I've got generally good feels.
X-fusion hilo SL is a doddle to strip and service. £20 for a seal kit. Unfortunately you'd have to try and get new old stock. Been replaced by the Manic which has a replaceable cartridge.
I've repaired a few reverbs in my time so have the tools. The top bushing is crap and the official part with top cap is expensive for what it is.
Hi lo is a doddle but can be very needy. KS Supernatural is pretty easy to rebuild apart from repressurising it. Not done a KS Lev but should be easier.
After rebuilding my Reverb b1 I’m a little anoyyed by the whole ‘return to base if saggy’ bollocks, it’s not rocket science and better than throwing a cartridge in landfill.
I’ve got a cartridge type dropper with sag, I can’t warranty it and it’s probably not worth buying a cartridge for if I could get one. Not seen many replacements for any dropper widely available.
Self repairing?
The new funn dropper apparantly does 🙂
+1 for hilos being easy and on the two I've had, reliable
If looking for easily repairable posts I would seriously look at the specialized command posts, I have replaced the seal head and only just replaced the expanding collet, dead easily to strip and clean, low pressure air spring, mechanical lock in place and no saggyness.
Second the Command Post.
I'll recommend 9point8 again. Service vids on youtube. I have one for sale too.
KS Lev is easy to work on and spares are amazingly cheap.
Another recommendation for Spesh Command Posts - We’ve currently got them on two bikes in the household and they’ve both been faultless. Also got a Revive on my latest bike. I’ve been really pleased with the Revive, and it does feel more refined than the Command Posts - however, it does seem a little more sensitive to cable tension than the latter, and on a few occasions, I’ve had it creep back up in height on descents. I’ve had the Command Posts apart for clean up services and they are really easy to work on, with not much in there to go wrong.
Think I'll go for a Revive. Just trying to work out if it's better to get it from TFT or Bike Yoke direct. I don't need the lever but do fancy the ti bolts.
Spesh command post is a simple thing and spares a prettt easy to get through a dealer. Mostly it’s just clean and regrease to keep them working.
The seal seal head can be very tight the first time you need to unscrew it
I want more drop than the command post offers.