[Closed] Tmars dropper posts

I had one and couldn't wait to upgrade to a reverb.

Mine was the newer revised type.

It is very clunky but then it is clunky money tbh.

Yeah I'm expecting it to be clunk and cheap and all, don't care about that.

Just wondered about the different versions as I don't want to end up with an old one.

Then you want the one with the downward facing cable

Mine was utter shite- it was the latest one, failed after about 4 hours riding, something in the actuator became stiffer and stiffer to the point the cable snapped. It wasn't too nice to use even before it broke but, tolerable I suppose. Returned it, I bought it through ebay, seller stonewalled me so I had to paypal claim it back.

Could be wrong but I think the part number for the most up to date one is 619-3Q. Unless there's been yet another revision to try and make them fit for purpose, or something.

I ended up getting a used gravity dropper turbo, for really not very much more money and about 1 million per cent better results.

Doesn't seem to be any like that...

I also need 27.2 which hugely limits what's available. Nothing used on ebay currently in 27.2

First one had the cable coming out horizontally with a noodle, the next one had a box with the cable coming downwards, the latest ones are back to horizontal, I think. Put one on the wife's bike as a temporary measure to see how she got on with it before buying a 'proper' one. Its still on there after 2 years including a couple of alps trips. Does the job. It did need greasing out of the box.

From what I hear shrewd choice of grease might help. Something really really thick and sticky.

I had one (the new, well, downward facing cable, one), it worked for a bit, then it started slipping down annoyingly when I didn't want it to and/or not dropping when I did. I did all the fannying about with cable tensions, grease, etc, but to be honest it was a PITA.

I splashed out on a SH Gravity Dropper in the end, works flawlessly.

I'd avoid.

I have the older one that had the cable going through 90 degrees at the seat tube end so it was really difficult to change the cable. If you could find a cable that fit!

I've modded it so the cable now comes out horizontally using a noodle from a V brake, also drilled out the pin so i can now fit a standard brake cable. Picture below shows the mod but i don't have any close ups. Got the idea from someone else on here, no idea who though!!

It works fine as long as it's well greased, i packed it full of grease so it was coming out when i put it back together. The trigger is not great, but it does work. And servicing really is a piece of piss!!

For the money, If you like tinkering, I think it's fine. But I'm about to buy a bike off a mate that has a reverb fitted so i might change my mind in a few days!!

[img] https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_I-9Aukfr1ByD6Ji5ToQkUN0USWqpczqfhvmZTcrIAI=w1084-h813-no [/img]

Mine lasted about as long as Northwind's before it seized.

Avoid

Question is, why did it seize, and can it be improved? There's no question of buying any of the other expensive ones so if I can make this work I will.

I never got a response from the seller, they just didn't communicate so I don't know what had failed. It felt like metal binding but it was gradual when it went off, the actuator just got stiffer and stiffer. Definitely not just a lube thing though, it reminded me of when the bearings failed in the worm gear of my motorbike clutch. Though I'm assuming it's not a worm gear. Maybe it is? It'd do the job...

The design needs a lot of force so it quickly got too much for a gear cable.

You can get a gravity dropper descender (nonremote) for about £105 from germany, iirc. I've actually got a spare GD lever assembly (for over left hand bar) you could have for not very much, so then all you'd need is the front adaptor thingmy to upgrade it totally to Turbo spec? Not super cheap but, maybe £140ish all in...

molgrips,

have you had a look at the Kind Shock E Ten post. It comes in 27.2 and is KS's budget post

[url= http://www.purebike.fr/en/vtt-f1/peripheriques-f26/tiges-de-selle-f47/adjustable-seatposts-f49/kind-shock-e-ten-adjustable-seatpost-a1154.html ]Non remote version for 125 euros[/url]

[url= http://www.purebike.fr/en/vtt-f1/peripheriques-f26/tiges-de-selle-f47/adjustable-seatposts-f49/kind-shock-e-ten-r-adjustable-seatpost-a1155.html ]Remote version for 170 euros[/url]

Yeah looks decent.

Another side-effect of the Tmars being so simple inside though is that it's 200g lighter than most of the rest. So it's cheap and light.

molgrips - Member

Another side-effect of the Tmars being so simple inside though is that it's 200g lighter than most of the rest.

They're not that light...mine was something like 580g for a 400mm IIRC (though, with a very short cable, barely long enough for a medium). Gravity Dropper Turbo is 540g for the equivalent, Lev is much the same apparently, Plummet and Xfusion somewhere inbetween I think though not sure. It's not terrible but not a selling point and definitely not 200g lighter than most droppers.

Mine was great in dry and dusty conditions. First serious welsh rain killed it. Seized solid so it wouldn't descend.

Had mine for about 400 miles. Never had a problem with it. Was a bit of a pig to set up but now is brilliant.

Friend has a 30.9 or 31.8, whichever they are, which needs constant work. I had a 27.2, serviced it once as it was exceptionally stiff on the next ride it went stiff again only to realise when I got back it was bent. I put a lot of people posts failing to them being slightly bent, as mine also went very metallic before I realised. The larger diameter posts may be better but don't even bother touching a 27.2 just a complete waste of money.

I've been using an RSP Plummet for the best part of a year and I'm reasonably impressed with it. It came from a mate who'd had problems with it seizing and had stripped it and couldn't get it back together. I greased it well, put it back together and added a zip tie at the top of the boot and it's worked flawlessly ever since. It's agricultural compared to a Reverb but I've found it utterly reliable. Can be had for £50 odd.

Had my tmars for a year or 2. I use it to commute all year round 7miles off road each way 4 days a week in all weather's. I check it after a really wet week. Maybe lob a bit more grease in or leave the boot up for a night or 2. I can't take it out easy so I dont. It's been faultless so far (kiss of death?). Nearly got it stuck in my frame but that's cos the steel frame rusted.

Mine is the one with the box and vertical cable. Only had the main post apart for grease. Never taken the box or lever apart.

The larger diameter posts may be better but don't even bother touching a 27.2 just a complete waste of money

Oh ok then I'll get a 30.9 for my 27.2 frame....

Not sure if this helps but I took the plunge and got a GD Turbo LP (the newest one) about 3 months ago and it's pretty good. Only complaints are that the return is pretty punchy (do you want kids?) and the collar can really effect its ability to stay locked down or up so I've fixed it in place with some gaffa tape under the boot which solved that one.

Another issue i came up against was the seat clamp to rail measurement when it was lowered was considerably larger than most of the hydraulic posts.

Depending on your frame size and riding style this may be an issue for you.

I recently got one - and to be honest, for the price of it - I'm pretty happy - the new(est?) with revised lever and horizontal cable.

Its basic, but seems to work pretty smoothly so far... its less "punchy" than my old Gravity dropper!

A bit of care and it seems to keep going.....lets see if it survives the winter!

i'm using an RSP Plummet. had it for about 6 weeks and in that time i found that the return was very slow unless i increased the preload but this in turn meant that the post wouldnt drop to its lowest setting. so i stripped it down and flushed out the horrible claggy grease they use and replaced it with some quality teflon grease and lube and now it works perfectly.
Tredz are selling them for £60 which makes it a bit of a cheap buy.

Some good info in this thread:
[url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/tmars-dropper-cable-replacement ]http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/tmars-dropper-cable-replacement[/url]

sorry my pictures have dissappeared but there is some good info further down. As said above they do require regular fettling to keep working but if you are stuck with 27.2 it's a cheap option that's better than nothing.

Mine was totally useless. It worked well when clean but had a ~4hr service interval. I have no idea how such a simple collection of bits can fail to work. Avoid, crap.

Mine was great, bought because i had a 27.2mm tubed 456-Evo....ran it through all weathers, dead simple to use and never failed, in fact when i sold the bike i Ebay-ed the TMars post seperately.

Currently have the B'twin/Decathlon one on my Ragley HT (it was £30 in their recent promo) and couldnt be happier, faultless so far in this shite weather of the last few weeks, done a few decent length rides and has no play in it yet despite my 90kg sitting on it....if anything its a little stiff and i should imagine hard to get down if you're alight weight!

Seeing as TMars and Decathlon can put out perfectly decent droppers for far less than £100 i find it laughable when people part with £250 for a Reverb or similar....then come on here and complain it doesnt work, they had to dismantle it, it needed servicing to work properly, its seized etc etc....in my mind its a part of the bike that should be cheap, i'll happily spend good money on forks, wheels, frames, brakes etc....they're crucial to a good ride but dropping the saddle?...nah, its a luxury not a necessity so i wont pay top money for that kind of nonsense.

Before dropper posts if i was going on the kind of ride where lowering the saddle was beneficial i just used to position it about an inch below optimum pedaling height and this seemed to give me enough room to move around...obviously i wouldnt do a DH run like that, if the terrain ahead looked like a long descent or i was on an uplift day i'd just manually drop the saddle with the QR collar and leave it down.

Made me laugh the other day when some plank on here described a dropper post as being 'essential'....hmmm.

'essential' is a relative term.

i can understand why some people find a go-go-gadget seatpost more useful than suspension.

i can understand why some people find a go-go-gadget seatpost more useful than suspension

there's a reason that suspension is known as skill compensation....

I use a satori sorata pro (same post as the rsp plummet). Mate uses a t-Mars and both prefer mine.

Needed stripping and grease replacing with something less like cheese but easy to do.

Also changed the lever to a KS one as easier to use, but that's personal preference!