[Closed] Thomson Dropper post piccy

ooh, similar price to Reverb, and less weight...

[url= http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Thomson-Dropper-Post-Eurobike-2012.html ]http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Thomson-Dropper-Post-Eurobike-2012.html[/url]

interesting how the king of seat-posts has gone for that routing option...

Yeah I was hoping this was going to be awesome, it is well established (in my personal microcosm) that the moving cable type routing sucks balls. How disappointing.

and why is it gold FFS!!

hmmmm. as a Thomson fanboi. I'm disappointed that it's not hydraulic.
but I am now slightly more tempted to get a dropper.

27.2 and maybe.

it is gold because it has a similar coating to your forks.

I am disappointed the cable has to move with the post. Why not design a system that has the cable terminate at the top of the static section?

To be honest I quiet like it. Think i'll go for this over the reverb. If its designed like other thomson products I dont see there being a problem.

[quote=ska-49 ]If its designed like other thomson products I dont see there being a problem.
Heavy and with questionable tolerances?

I'm still eyeing up the KS lev, been waiting for the thomson, discounted it now..

Heavy and with questionable tolerances?

is that you or the post?

Heavy and with questionable tolerances? Explain please.
Looks good, if the price comes down a bit might be my chrimbo pressie..
Failing that will default to a reverb.

Looks good but I don't see anything to persuade me against a KS Lev tbh. What's their killer edge? They make nice seatposts but they've no background in this sort of moving parts that I know of, and everyone else that's got into it has had teething problems (some never get past them)

looks good, will be tempted by this when it comes out and can have a real look at it.

There are much lighter seatposts than Thomsons and it doesn't take much searching to find lots of comments about them being narrower than they quote - leading to slipping seatposts. In fact I'm pretty sure STWs favourite bike designer tweeted about this only a couple of weeks back.....

they are rarely broken though, and they look damned good.

[quote=brakes ]they are rarely broken though, and they look damned good.
True.

Northwind - Member
Looks good but I don't see anything to persuade me against a KS Lev tbh. What's their killer edge? They make nice seatposts but they've no background in this sort of moving parts that I know of, and everyone else that's got into it has had teething problems (some never get past them)

Look up the main section of the Thomson company, not the small bike parts division.

Package holidays?

I keed 😉 Yep, I know they can make pretty much whatever they want, but past experience shows this is a fiddly sector to make a working product in, sealing and actuation's always been a recurring issue. Don't doubt their engineering skills but Rockshox brought relevant specialisation to the table and still screwed it up in places, Crank Bros still can't make one work despite years of experience, KS took several stabs before they made one that'd survive a UK summer...

According to the pinkbike article, they've outsourced much of the stuff they have no experience of anyway.

Looks nice. Shame they have stuck with the creak-o-matic head design though.

ooh, do like that seatclamp though.

Am I the only one who's pleased that a lever option is being offered?
Gets rid of the cable issue AND the bar clutter.

[quote=bigyinn ]Am I the only one who's pleased that a lever option is being offered?
Gets rid of the cable issue AND the bar clutter.
It seems to me that most folk who've used a remote don't go back and lots of those who didn't opt for one which they had.

bigyinn - Member
Am I the only one who's pleased that a lever option is being offered?

Lever options totally defeat the purpose.

^^ Really? I dont find it the same as having to get off my bike and undo the QR and choose the right height for the post before tightening it back up and get ridding again. Could be wrong ?!

How so honorablegeorge? If I dont have a dropper post I have to get off the bike, undo the QR lever, drop the post, straighten the saddle, do up the QR and get back on the bike.
With a lever I just reach down between my legs and the post drops, Slightly less convenient than a bar mounted lever, but hardly a deal breaker in my opinion.
Mind you, Im also quite happy to reach down and turn the dial on the top of my forks to lock it out, rather than a bar mounted lock out.

^^.... yeah but suppose you are riding a section of trail you don't know. Flat and pedally so you're seat up, head round a corner and there's a steep rooty section. Do you do a michael jackson before the roots or just battle your way over with the seat up and wish you'd got a remote?

im glad i didnt buy a reverb just yet, ide jump at one when they come out..

Nonremote isn't completely useless, but it's [i]massively[/i] less good than remote. The weight difference is pretty trivial and "bar clutter" is just an aesthetic thing (well, usually). So aesthetics vs function, I own an ugly bike and I have a remote dropper post 😉

I had a nonremote but luckily Gravity Droppers are easily upgraded. Wouldn't dream of going back.

Do you do a michael jackson before the roots

Droppers are fools gold ultimately. Pretty though it may be its just more to go wrong/over complicating a bicycle further. I drop the saddle whilst riding and how many descents do you have in a ride?

Or is it all 'on the fly' now?!?

Front sus, rear shock is my max tech. No mech clutch electronic shifters etc

Remote lockout is another pointless...

I'm disappointed that it's not hydraulic.

Well I am not. I have yet to see a durable hydraulic seatpost

No 27.2 unfortunately!!!

Yeah, not sure why hydraulic's seen as such a selling point. Not to say it's a terrible idea either but the thing about cables is they're simple to maintain, and simple to repair. I broke the cable mount at the lever on my KS in the alps a few weeks back, to fix it all I had to do was cabletie it all together in approximately the right position so that the cable would still pull. I could have easily got the parts to fix it from pretty much any bike shop in the world, but it didn't need it. Now try that with a reverb...

Well it seems I'm a minority amongst the STW engineers here. On paper it looks to be right on the money.

I've used Thomson seat posts and stems since I care to remember and never been let down by them. I'm sure they would have done their sums with this one too.

The DOSS is way too expensive and the Reverb, for me, has it's hydraulic drawback. So between the KS Lev and the Thomson, both have their pros but ultimately I would probably go with the company I have trusted for many years.

I think RS are probably watching the situation quite closely.

thing about cables is they're simple to maintain, and simple to repair.

I assume you have cable discs, then?

😉

Droppers are fools gold ultimately. Pretty though it may be its just more to go wrong/over complicating a bicycle further. I drop the saddle whilst riding and how many descents do you have in a ride?

About 30 descents on last night's three hour ride. I'd rather go without a rear shock than a dropper post - in fact I do. Have had a Gravity Dropper for 18 months. The cable snapped once but it still worked, just not remotely and on the fly. Other than that it's been very reliable, only getting cleaned and lubed once it a blue moon. The only fools are those so close-minded that they can't appreciate the benefits.

However, considering the number of aesthetically superior but functionally inferior competitors to the Gravity Dropper, it's no wonder that the naysayers keep wittering on...

Disc brakes require high force, low displacement actuation - ideal for unservo'd hydraulics. Dropper posts don't - cables work great even if they don't feel as slick. Furthermore brake feel has a huge bearing on how well you can use the brakes - a dropper post is up, or it's down. Likewise gears are shifted, or they're not. Feel may be nice in the shop but it's irrelevant on the trail for gears or dropper posts.

Well played! But, hydro brakes have significant advantages to offset the downsides.

(tbh if there was a cable brake that could directly compete with my The Ones I wouldn't rule it out...)

Increasing complexity in forks and brakes is normally beneficial.

A dropper post just has to go up and down and do so reliably. I am a fan of keeping it simple which can either be a simple design or using well proven technology from someone who knows what they are doing.

No 27.2mm unfortunately means I'm out at the minute. I'm surprised they've not gone for fixed cable like the Lev, it does look nice though.

actually, when I think about it, the lockout on my forks is cable actuated. maybe the desire for hydraulics is not a functional one but an aesthetic one and the general perception that hydraulic is superior to mechanical as a solution.

I have no problem with the cable actuation, its just the crap routing that spoils it..

They need to make it in silver!