WorldIRC

Thoughts / Opinions? Currently using a Thomson seatpost.

WorldIRC

I hope to use with a 2012 Fuel EX 8 by the way.

jimc101

If buying new, with warranty, great, but have seen far too many fail to ever get one, and the out of warranty repair costs (at least in the UK) are often more than buying a new one.

Have been using a Crank Bros Joplin 4 for the last 2 years with none of the issue that many seem to suffer from, but I do clean it after every ride, and have a Thomson rigid post just incase it does fail.

If I was looking to replace today, would get a Thomson dropper, although new on the market, they have a rep that the need to keep up, so it should be a quality product. The Fox dropper looks real nice, but the lever is way too big if you are running a front shifter, and the price difference between the Crank Bros Kronolog and the Thomson is too small to get it over a Thomson.

ColinL

The Thomson is pretty expensive and though I like Thomson seatposts and stems, I would wait for some reviews before investing.

The two most reliable and widely used dropper posts are the KS LEV and Gravity Dropper Turbo (now Turbo LP).

scrublover

Ultimate reliability, ease of repair/maintanence/getting parts/initial price the Gravity Dropper wins, hands down.

I have one GD Turbo that is 7-8 years old. A basic service once in a while is all they need. Older models (like mine) had a few issues which have since been addressed and fixed. Mine was upgraded to the newer bits, no problem since. The company is very good to work with if you have any issues.

I have one regular Reverb, and one Stealth model. Love both. If you have the option to do the Stealth, do it. DO NOT buy a used one, and try to make sure it's one of the newer versions.



Caveat: the Reverb requires more upkeep on a regular basis than some other posts. The nature of its functioning just makes it so. Newer ones are far less probelmatic than the initial runs. They have beefed up the connections, and fixed some seal issues. If you buy a newer version, you ought to be good to go. However, you still have to cut/bleed the system on install, and good functioning of the post is very incumbent on doing a very meticulous and good job with the bleeding. The functionality of it comes at the price of upkeep. I loooove mine with the right side remote run upside down on the left, with my brake lever and no front shifter. Out of harms way in a wreck, sane looking, perfectly placed to nail it quickly and easily with my thumb.



The Stealth model requires a bit more work on install (duh, just by its nature) but other than that, same deal. So long as you are okay with doing a bit more initial work, and paying attention to things, they're fine.

The only issues I've had are 1: when I pulled the line out of the remote end in a wreck. Popped it back on, and it worked (slowly) for the rest of the ride. A new barb and and bleed at home (15 minutes) had it good as new again. 2: the first one from the first run I bought was DOA. Returned. It's replacement worked great, then had sealing issues at the remote end. Once swapped to the newer replacement seals and hose barb ends, it's been good to go.

IMO, if buying ANY hydro system, pick up a seal and service kit when you buy the post, then you've got it if you need it, rather than having to order and wait.

The non-moving hose posts from KS and Crank Bros. sound to be duds, from numerous reviewers out in bicycle web-land. Hopefully they'll fix their issues as well. More options are good.

The Thompson looks great, but hasn't been out long enough for many reviews to come in. Hopefully it is as good as their regular posts. We just don't know about its long term reliability and service yet. To me, it and the Fox DOSS don't offer anything new to the market though.

I've also added a tough of grip tape to both mine. Also have on my shifter paddles - when it's so nasty humid here, things get slick even with good gloves.

ColinL

Post of the year candidate!

Excellent information, excellent pics. Hell-- you made me want to buy a Reverb.

scrublover

Heh. I would say don't get one unless you are either confident in your own mechanical abilities, or have a shop you trust. As said, the newest revisions seem to be working solid, and they are coming stock on more and more bikes. I'm okay with the idea of having to maintain/rebuild mine if/when it needs it, because I like the function of it so damn well. I have the parts, tools, and SRAM makes the information to do so readily available on the service section of their site.

At this point, the newest crop of dropper posts are ALL suspect. Most have been either sucky from the get-go, or haven't been out long enough to see how they do in the long term. You can find bad reviews and info out there about any of the posts, so go for what fits you budget and what's in stock!


The Specy Command Post newest version seems to be doing well, and I've heard decent things about the basic dropper from Giant as well.

I'd not touch a Kronolog with a ten foot pole. The couple DSP posts I've had my hands on all felt and worked like crap. The Fox DOSS lever seems klunky and cludgy, and the very exposed actuation mechanism seems...a really dumb way to go about things. The Kind Shock offerings seem hit or miss. I've heard a lot of good AND bad about the LEV. Thompson looks to be pretty nice, and they are supposedly working on a "stealth" model, though they have said they don't think they'll be able to make it as reliable as there regular version.

Methinks a lot of the dropper problems are from companies rusing to get something out there, and not really getting all the bugs worked out. Hell, they have improved a lot in the last few years. Another couple years and they'll be more and more standard OEM spec on full bikes, reliability will have improved and costs will have dropped for the aftermarket models. Hell, you have a company like Giant which has always been somewhat slow to pick up changes (rather than doing their own thing) already with a post out there.

IMO, the most set and forget is the Gravity Dropper. The rest all seem a bit more finicky. YMMV.