[Closed] Uppy-downy droppy posts - The definitive bestest one?

I've tried two:

Gravity dropper - utter rubbish, was always in pieces being fixed.

Joplin - so far so good, got three of them in our household and all doing ok, although if you don't use a rear mud guard they get a bit sticky if you get a lot of mud on them - gT85 seems to free them up again.

I use a Joplin which is getting on now and still works fab, The newer version is a little more harder wearing amd so I see as better value.

The setup on my Joplin does not include the remote lever, which to me is not a requirement.

The Rockshock posts look pretty good but I dont know much about them.

With the Joplin, I have the under saddle lever, whereas the GF has the handlebar remote and the remote seems a lot more fussy whereas the under saddle lever just works every time and never needs adjusting.

I've had maverick speedball, 2 Joplins, 2 gravity droppers & a reverb.

The reverb was far and away the best. I never had to touch it other than a quick bleed after shortening the hose.

The speedball was actually very reliable and never went wrong, so I bought the Joplin on strength of that. The Joplin went back for loud creaking, was replaced under warranty, went back again for same problem, and CRC then lost it. I got a refund and bought the gravity dropper. Reliable if regularly cleaned/serviced, but agricultural (lots of spring noise which sounded horrible).

The reverb was fit & forget. No issues whatsoever.

loving my reverb, not had a moments trouble with it (apart from over tightening my QR) not tried any others but if you can get a stealth hose exit version for your bike then i reckon you couldn't go far wrong at the moment 🙂

Any Rockshox insiders on who can tell us if/when they'll be releasing a 27.2 Reverb?

And is there any other than a GD for a 27.2 - and if not, anyone managed to get hold of an I-Beam GD?

Spesh command blacklite.. 🙂

Ive got a KS900, which apart from being rather fiddly to get setup correctly, has never let me down yet (famous last words).

[img] [/img]

I had one of those Hite Rite springs on my Hoo Koo E Koo back in 1988!

I had one of those

Thus enabling you to descend with conviction. 😀

I am usually undecided, tbh.

My KS from 2010 is still going strong as said fiddly to set up but fine once done, my 2011 Reverb is much nicer to use and now its been updated with new 2012 internals has been trouble free for 6 months now, to be air it had one hiccup LBS sent it back on a Tueday back on the Friday great service.

My gravity dropper turbo has now been faultless for 2 mucky horrible years of riding. I dont touch it, once I greased the inside but its best left well alone. Friend of mine follows same policy and his GD has been good for 3 years now. Yes its a bit crude, and definately ugly but works.

Saying that g/f has just put a reverb on hers and i must say it looks and feels amazing, only done one ride so no comments on long term but seems very nice compared with all others ive seen / tried on friends bikes.

Had a joplin and a GD - still got the later

Joplin nice but needed servicing and attention

GD Fugly but maintenance free* in the main - Its a spring with some holes in a post WTF are people having to service- ther eis almost nothing there? Had a cable interface issue once on a ride but that is all in 3 ish years of ownership though I do need some ne guides as it has a touch of play these days.

I did once take it apart and grease the spring but it was not really needed but i thought I would

not the prettiest but still AFAIK the only 27.2 one so it wins for adaptability.

Multiple positions is nice on the hydraulic type but you dont use it that often but I would have it if GD offered it but I can live without it.

* TBH neither is that much hassle but think shimano cup and cone for the Joplin and hope sealed for the GD in maintenance terms if not looks .

I can lend you a GD if you want to try one - its not for sale but if you want to know what they are like.

Thanks, Junky, appreciated!

Is the GD one binary? As in, either up or down? I rather like the multiple/adjustable position, as that's what I've got used to.

Reverb is sounding positive from most people here, I think....

Gravity Droppers may not be the most elegant but for most they just work. All the way up, all the way down, or 1" down, on the multidrop versions.

the best have 3 positions up , drop 1 inch , drop 4 inch though you can just get a fully up and fully down it is not pick your own height like a hydraulic one.

it is not pick your own height like a hydraulic one.

Ta.

I own a battered 2nd hand GD & a nearly new Reverb.

The Reverb has been back already for a new shaft and air assembly. The GD just works.

But there is a whole world of difference in the way they work. The Reverb is sheer class compared with the GD. I can forgive it a hiccup because it is such a pleasure to use 🙂

I'll use the GD over winter though.

By the way, mine was from Germany, £185.00 and the warranty work was no issue.

And for those retro freaks, two HiteRites have just appeared in my saved searches on eBay under Gravity Dropper! Think I'll stick with the real thing 🙂

Are there no fans of the Giant Contact Switch or the DSP bighorn?

i got the ibeam mod for my gd from the states, post itself was s/h been faultless so far (1yr on)

Just got a Joplin today - not tried it anger yet

The remote is not as elegant as the one on my KS i900 but seems much more efficient (more leverage) thinking of sticking a joplin remote on the KS - any thoughts?

GD my dear CFH GD. You might loose the so necessary "infinite height adjust", but you gain in reliability.
I have one and I am well chuffed. Doing without one for ages makes me use very little the 2.5 cm height drop, but I still like it nontheless.
From what I am seen on the TV and TP, RS do fail and when they do it's horrible, there is nothing you can do. My GD has been faultless and to be honest there is so little stuff inside that nothing can really go wrong. You just have to make sure you put it the right way round.

GD my dear CFH GD. You might loose the so necessary "infinite height adjust", but you gain in reliability.
I have one and I am well chuffed. Doing without one for ages makes me use very little the 2.5 cm height drop, but I still like it nontheless.
From what I am seen on the TV and TP, RS do fail and when they do it's horrible, there is nothing you can do. My GD has been faultless and to be honest there is so little stuff inside that nothing can really go wrong. You just have to make sure you put it the right way round.

I was a fan of my Bighorn... Still don't know why it was recalled.

The Reverb is bettererererer.

Reverb all the way

My reverb has been fault less

I have the Reverb and like it a lot. No trouble so far in 12months use.

Hibike.de seem the cheapest, about £190

All the manufacturers must be pinching themselves that they sell so many in the UK....

Loving my Reverb, was out on the HT last night without a dropper and felt awkward not being able to drop it at the flick of a switch.

Got a KS900i, that broke in less than a year and got rebuilt under warranty No issues since. I service rarely but after washing the bike I unscrew the cap and dribble some heavy oil in. seems to work and I have had no problems for the past year +. I also had a Joplin 3 which died and I part exchanged for a Joplin 4, mainly for the low pex price and 2 year warranty. It has just died after less than a year and now, returned from repair, I was advised that it still has a design fault, upper seal where the activator lever sits is weak, and that I was lucky it lasted as long as it did. Joplin service was brilliant and when the 4 dies again I might pex for a new Kronolog depending on its reputation at the time.Good to see the reverb getting good press - any news on the Fox Doss???

I've got a Rock Shox Reverb and an X-Fusion HiLo. The Reverb has worked perfectly for over a year with no more than fairly regular cleaning. The HiLo has been fine for eight months, but it needed a new cable and a bit of faffing with pressures before it really started working well. Both of them have taken a few big hits and lots and lots of Peak District mud.

I also had one of those Hite Rite things back in, ooh, 1992. They were crap.

CaptainFlashheart - Member

Is the GD one binary? As in, either up or down? I rather like the multiple/adjustable position, as that's what I've got used to.

You can buy the multi-drop shaft with preset heights. Also you can add positions, if you own a drill 🙂 But IME the extra hole adds a weakspot, I've stuck with single position for the reliability and simplicity. Mine has been serviced once since I bought it (already well used), turned out it didn't need it though. More reliable than a standard seatpost 😉

My KS i900 has been very good too- not quite as troublefree, but close to. Had to be returned twice on warranty before it worked at all mind but snce then I really can't fault it at all.

I've got a GD on my FS, although have swapped it around for a 3 years. Never serviced it, other than a quick lube of the cable now and again. I ride in the NW of England, so pretty abrasive.

I find it repugnant to look at, compared to a Reverb, but if someone can explain sending something back under 12 months of use, and thinking that the product is still fantastic, then I'd be interested to know how you would define a poor product.

I get the fact that the hydraulic ones are smoother, and less agricultural, but if you risk having to send it back for warranty repair, or worse, £££ repair, then that surely must drop it into the 'must try better' category?

get the fact that the hydraulic ones are smoother, and less agricultural

And useless the day you rip the hose apart.

And useless the day you rip the hose apart.

you could say the same for brakes,

but in reality how often does it happen?

+1 Gravity Dropper, what's to go wrong?

I'm liking my KS Lev but still too early to say how reliable it is (it's been fine on 3 rides so far, two of which were muddy...). The remote is very neat and was simple to install. I went with the Lev over the Reverb due to the numerous posts mentioning problems with the Reverb + I really didn't want something else I might have to bleed. They're still quite hard to get hold of, especially in the longer lengths, and not cheap either.

As someone who owns both, you really have to try both to understand why people choose the Reverb over the GD.

And bleeding it is a doddle, as is hose shortening if you follow the instructions carefully 🙂

Rockshox seem very good if it does go wrong.

Why do so many people perfer remote levers over the lever under the saddle option?
It seems to me the remote lever is the weak point on most systems. Surely its just as easy to lift the lever under the saddle isn't it?
Are Reverbs remote lever only?

Bigyinn, my old one was a lever under the saddle jobby. There was nothing really wrong with that set up, but I just think the ease of being able to drop/raise while still having full control could be a real advantage.

Reverb still looks like winning....

We are running 5 Specialized Command posts between us and have had no problems so far

what about the new one from ethirteen

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/news/article/new-trs-dropper-post-from-ethirteen-34447/

Joplin 4 has been with me for about 2.5 years and has been excellent, have to replace the brass plates every now again but they are a wear part and 2pure cust service is legendary. I covered the stanchion from word go with a neoprene chainstay protector if you get one that uses hydraulics this is a must. I think you can get them for a good price now as well.

If you need a long post, and [b]layback[/b], then the command blacklite is basically the only one...

Luckily it seems decent. FWIW I find I use the "comfort inches" setting more than the full drop.

I've got two Joplins and a Reverb. One Joplin is a lever-under-the-saddle version and the others have remotes.

I didn't see the point of the remote lever till I had it but I wouldn't buy another post without a remote now.

Oh, and the Reverb is the dog's genitals.

Used to have a KS i900 - it fell apart completely. Got fixed under warranty but I sold it on straight away. Had a GD classic and now a turbo, no issues with either. And yes a remote one is way better.

Reverb looks great but I can do without something else that needs bleeding.

Has anyone got a decent mudguard solution with a dropper post? What I need is:
- Thin clamp so it can fit under the seat collar (not much post showing)
- Fixed clamp but hinged (as in not the strap type as they don't hold it securely enough IME but also not a clamp like the crud ones where you have to take the post out to get it off
- Steep angle up of the arm from clamp to where mudguard attaches
- Possibly a curved guard (starts curved at the seatpost side and flattens out towards the end)

The angle and the curve are to clear the rear wheel on a 140mm travel bike (prior to switching to a dropper post I had to clamp the guard fairly high up on the post otherwise it would bottom out on the tyre)

Surely there must be a growing market for such a thing given the weather and popularity of dropper posts. OK it will look naff but so does a muddy arse + camelbak and stopping mud hitting the dropper post can only be a good thing.

Anyone used the Giant one?

Used the Giant Contact Switch and initially impressed. A bit of wiggle has already started showing but the innards are super simple. It just has a lockable air spring, like the thing that holds the boot of your car open. The only problem I can see is that there is no way to service it and remove the rotational wiggle as it does not have replaceable keys like other posts.

I've not tried one but like the idea of the Fox DOSS, appart from the price. I'm forever pressing the button and trying to adjust the reverb a little bit at a time, having up, down a bit and down would be usefull.

Could it be hooked upto something that resembled a shifter so you could raise/lower it in ~1" incraments? Not sure how much use 1" from dropped would be, but I reckon I'd use Up, then a trail setting 1" down, then a techy trail setting 1" down again (for smooth is DH), then fully dropped (for "f off I'm not riding that, ohh s I'm comitted now" trails).

@ FuzzyWuzzy - I asked the Crudcatcher guy about a mounting bracket to fit a 34.6 seat tube for just that reason (i.e. mount the crud guard under the seat clamp) and was surprised that they don't do one.

The reply was something along the lines of 'we just mount the (crud) bracket to the outer tube of the remote post.'

Which is great, unless your planning on having nowt other than the remote's seal housing showing above your seat clamp.

I'm still undecided re the whole dropper post issue TBH, so it's good to see peoples comments.

but in reality how often does it happen?

Too much. Plus the hose on the seat post is far more exposed, specially, with the saddle down.

I have a Reverb, not tried any other post. Been running it for about 6 months and so far no issues at all. Drops when I push the lever, comes back up nice and smooth with another push - would highly recommend it.

+1 Reverb

and even better next season with the Stealth reverb with the cable routed inside inside the seat tube.

I think a Reverb would cope with the trails of Pimlico and Vauxhall.

😆 at Chunky!

Around town, I iz getting da radnezz on my Sturmey three speed beastie. 🙂

Oh, and one doesn't like to go south of the Moat, you know.

My Mk1 Reverb had 'issues' but since it's been replaced with a 2012 version I've been extremely happy with it. Very smooth functioning and just works.

go on CFH, you know you want one.

I had a Joplin for 18 months, it was fine just needed a lot of servicing.

Went for a Reverb about 8 months ago and I just wipe the shaft (oo..er) after each ride, smoother and more controllable than the Joplin.

I really like the ability to just drop an inch, rather than the all or nothing idea on the GD.

Well, if Pinky has a Reverb we may as well just close this thread down now.

😉

Reverb €199.90 at Probikeshop at the moment. Google says thats about £160.

My Kronolog has been fab so far. Nice bit of kit, seems very simple, so can't be much to go wrong.

They must be installed properly with free play in the cable, 5mm min.

Also make sure you have enough post sticking up, if you have a large frame and not much post sticking up then it might not go low enough for you, same as most droppers I suppose, something I hadn't really thought about and luckily I have 10mm to spare!

Has it broken yet?
How about now?

Thomson have one in the works

Wrecker, stop being a dick.

Giant Contact Switch owner here. It's still working fine after 6 months use but there's a little bit more play than when it was new. The main benefit for me was Giant's warranty back up and the cost difference betweem a lbs supplied Reverb.

New Reverb working great for me - feels natural and just works 🙂

Am I dreaming or someone is considering a kronolog
HA HA HA HA HA HA
Come one CFH it's a GD end of thread.

Wrecker, stop being a dick.

Get the Reverb - cos you're worth it

575 with Reverb fresh from One Planet Adventure :wink:[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8159/7475177528_cb3b2fa577.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8159/7475177528_cb3b2fa577.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/81627376@N06/7475177528/ ]Denbighshire-20120630-00032[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/81627376@N06/ ]brianhphotos2012[/url], on Flickr

lol Thompson dropper coming? wicked, will be a avalanche of reverb's on ebay.

Just fitted a ks lev. Seems smooth, no lateral play and no silly cable loop when dropped. Looking forward to its maiden voyage.

There's a nice shiny Reverb waiting in my LBS at the moment.

Which is nice.

Thanks to one and all for a useful, informative [s]and, given that it's STW, remarkably argument free![/s] thread!

You won't regret it.

I have the Reverb and like it a lot. No trouble so far in 12months use.

Hibike.de seem the cheapest, about £190

Thanks for this theendisnigh.

I have just ordered one. it worked out £182 including postage.

By the time it gets here i'll have about a month of messing about and getting used to it then it's over to the alps for ten days. I can't wait.

Reverb is awesome. I had to buy a new frame* to make it fit and don't regret it one bit.

*which really needed new forks to do it justice
and new cranks nearly as cheap as new chainrings
the new bars were nice but a bit decadent though

Still, cost me a fair whack to be able to put my seat up and down with my thumb but I love it. Change my seat almost as much as my rear gears...