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Does this dropper post make me look fat? AKA - Which droppers don't suck?

Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
3,740
470
Looking for a 31.6/150mm dropper. Because I'm cool like that now. Frame might even take a 170mm.

Had a Fox Transfer before which worked great. I've had X-Fusion posts which always tended to suck in some way. I want nothing to do with Reverb's (cable actuation is just fine - not looking for more things to bleed). The PNW posts look OK. The KS posts seem to have a lot of problems. Everyone and their mother has a dropper post for sale now. They're just as common as Donald Trump headlines. Although not as entertaining.

What else should be on the list?
 
When I bought the Tracer in 2015 it came with a KS, which started getting saggy after the first season. I bought a second KS, installed it, and sent the original back to KS, who warrantied it, shipping a replacement the day I sent the old unit in.

KS #2 went through '16 and '17 with no issues.
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
KS levs HAD problems, mostly.

The two I have (one rebuilt after sagging, purchased in 2012) and the one I bought two years ago have been literally flawless.


Everyone I know with a Thomson says it's the best they've ever used. Haven't heard any complaints on those.
 
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Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
3,740
470
My Transfer is still fine, just get an aftermarket remote.
What's wrong with the Fox remote? I had the sideways lever with a Transfer on my last bike. Didn't have any problems.


So what is landed cost in the US for that BikeYoke Revive? Hard to tell what VAT gets assessed or not.
 

Carraig042

me 1st
Apr 5, 2011
732
353
East Tennessee
I looked at multiple, but just bit the bullet on a PNW Bachelor. I like how it is user serviceable, competitive weight, and has had good reviews. PNW is also having 20% off right now...

-Brett
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,571
24,186
media blackout
e13? Available in 31.6/150 (170 should be available early next year). Fully mechanical (coil actuated, it's all the rage these days right?) fully user serviceable with regular bike tools, 5 year warranty, comes with remote for under $300. Only downside (for some) is that it's 4 indexed positions instead of infinite travel.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,853
9,557
AK
After you get done riding the bikeyoke, you realize the transfer is filled with peanut butter.
 

Electric_City

Torture wrench
Apr 14, 2007
1,993
716
I had a KS Supernatural that got rebuilt after 3 years of me riding it. It lasted another 4 years with no issues. My KS Lev Integra was flawless this year and so were my buddies, both on their second year.

KS as far as I'm concerned is the way to go.

Reverbs suck. I can agree with you on that.
 

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,648
3,089
Vecnum Moveloc 2
Light, only the spring is air, the rest is mechanical, 4 positions only but works for me, external cable so you can switch to a regular post for park or shuttle days w/o the hassle of the internal cables. Only drawback I found was that it is sensitive to seat clamp pressure (getting sticky). On one frame I have to run Vecnum's tooloc clamp to make it work. Did I mention it is light?
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
KS Lev Integra was flawless this year and so were my buddies, both on their second year.
KS Lev Integra here too (black one), had it a few years and still good - same with my buddies.

Not sure what the so called "problems" are but I suspect they are with older models.

That said, the BikeYoke post sounds great too. That'd be my other choice.
 

rollertoaster

Monkey
Aug 7, 2007
730
179
Douglassville , PA
I'm another ks fan. I've had 5 and only one ever had a catastrophic failure. It was an older model.

My next post will probably be a bike yoke.

I can't stress enough about staying far away from any 9point8 products. What a fucking let down
 

Happymtb.fr

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2016
1,907
1,252
SWE
PNW and BrandX are the same. The seal and/or the top bushing wear through the anodising of the shaft after around 1000km then I got a new one under warranty. So it's cheap but you will have to clean it and regrease it quite often to make it last more than one season, unless you ride only in dry conditions...

The Drop Line from Bontrager is dope even with the new upgraded seal head. Mine is already getting harder to pull down after a few rides and the new so called improved seal head lives grease residues on the shaft meaning that it is not so good at sealing....
 

slimshady

¡Mira, una ardilla!
I'm surely going to start a shitstorm, but my Reverb has been flawless for me. Other than checking the air pressure maybe once a year, I haven't done anything for it in 3 years.

Now if I had to be useful, one of my friends got a Bikeyoke Revive and another got the Brand X recently. While it's been too little to comment on the Brand X reliability, both are solid options for their money bracket.
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
20,192
19,158
Canaderp
I've had three KS posts over the years, two supernaturals and one Lev, none have ever stopped working.

The Reverb that came on my Transition literally got stuck down one ride after the temperature dropped. It started to work as soon as I brought the bike inside and warmed it up.
 

amishmatt

Turbo Monkey
Sep 21, 2005
1,263
396
Lancaster, PA
Another vote for the Bikeyoke Revive. Excellent, solid post. Bonus feature with the Revive is that you can swap lowers to change it from 30.9 to 31.6 if you change frames. And, it comes in a 160mm drop for the same length as other 150mm posts.

I have a Thomson as well, but it always develops about 1cm of sag and needs a service every 6-8 months, which you can't do yourself. Service is free for a while, but eventually the warranty expires, at which point it starts getting expensive.
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,827
13,063
We've got two external Lev's, oldest 100mm is 5 years old, no issues, my 125 is probably 2 1/2 no issues. Normally ridden 3-4 times a week, I swapped some of the serviceable parts on the 100mm last year as I figured it was due.

e13? Available in 31.6/150 (170 should be available early next year). Fully mechanical (coil actuated, it's all the rage these days right?) fully user serviceable with regular bike tools, 5 year warranty, comes with remote for under $300. Only downside (for some) is that it's 4 indexed positions instead of infinite travel.
Got two of these on the way for our winter fatties for ~$240 each, I liked the idea that they're mechanical - should help in the colder weather.
 

Electric_City

Torture wrench
Apr 14, 2007
1,993
716
I got mine on their cyber Monday sale too. Had been holding out for the 170, but the price was too good to pass up.
Serious question here, why do you want more travel? I see a lot of people saying this now.
On my bike I thought 125 wouldn't be good enough (cause of what I read online) cause that's what XC racers use. But to be honest, 150mm is 10mm shy of being bottomed out in my frame and works perfectly for me, but 125 really would have left me some adjustment and be far enough out of my way.
 
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Cerberus75

Monkey
Feb 18, 2017
520
194
KS seems to have fixed their issues. Both of mine bought 2 years ago are flawlessly working. I do grease under the collar when I do a lower leg on the fork.
 

Electric_City

Torture wrench
Apr 14, 2007
1,993
716
Probably depends on how long your legs are and how you ride. For me, 125 was too short on jumps and rollers when I needed to get low over the bike. 160 has been perfect.
I understand that 125mm isn't perfect for everyone and some longer ones are necessary. But it seems to run a 200mm post, or whatever the latest is, you'd have a 15" seat tube on an XXL frame.
 
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SylentK

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2004
2,287
854
coloRADo
Some people just like to get low. I got a buddy that says he needs 150, minimum.

I got a new 9point8. Mainly due to the set back option they have. I like it. I like the company. Lots of vids and stuff to help you install and maintain.

I've heard the Race Face version isn't as good. Something about the seat interface is different? Not sure. But def recommend the 9.8.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,853
9,557
AK
What I've learned in this thread is that there are people using all of the shitty droppers that think they are great.
 

StiHacka

Compensating for something
Jan 4, 2013
21,560
12,504
In hell. Welcome!
jeez. did he just start riding? what did he do 5 years ago?!
Once you get used to it, there is no way back. I am totally addicted to a long dropper as well. Not (just) for jumps/drops, but for leaning the bike in corners and for aggressively charging chunk and rock gardens head on, even up the hill. I even prefer climbing shitty sections standing on pedals, with the saddle out of the way (until legs get too tired ;) )
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,571
24,186
media blackout
Serious question here, why do you want more travel? I see a lot of people saying this now.
On my bike I thought 125 wouldn't be good enough (cause of what I read online) cause that's what XC racers use. But to be honest, 150mm is 10mm shy of being bottomed out in my frame and works perfectly for me, but 125 really would have left me some adjustment and be far enough out of my way.
i'm about 6'1" with fairly long legs in comparison to my height. with modern bikes having such low top tubes and seat tubes, i could take advantage of all that seatpost and the extra travel from such a long dropper to get my seat really slammed on descents (which i have a preference for from my days racing DH). based on the seat height i ride on my MT, there's def space for me to have a dropper with another 20mm of travel.

that being said, i'm coming off a 100mm dropper, so the 150mm is gonna be a big noticeable increase for me. and as i mentioned, e13 had a cyber monday sale for 20% off, hard to pass up, so i pulled the trigger.
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
I have had very good luck with Thomson, I think my daily driver post is about 3 years old with almost zero issue. It did start to return slow so I sent it to Thomson and they rebuilt it for free...Pairing it up with the wolftooth lever was a great decision as well.
 

captainspauldin

intrigued by a pole
May 14, 2007
1,263
177
Jersey Shore
Here's what I've used and feedback:
  • Reverb 150mm - Worked great without fault for 3 years, then it needed a rebuild and 2 months after that it shit the bed. LBS recommended I just get a new post instead of trying to rebuild the Reverb again (no guarantee it won't fail again in 2 months). Reverb 1x remote is butter probably the smoothest remote out there, but not sure I can recommend a reverb based on how complex they are to rebuild.
  • Transfer Performance 150mm - Been working great for a year paired with the wolftooth remote (best cable remote I think I've felt) it feels pretty great.
  • CB Highline 160mm - Bought to replace my Reverb, didn't wanna spend a lot. Apparently the cartridge in my 160mm version came DOA, so LBS had to get a replacement from CB. Remote is nice, very adjustable, but not as smooth as the wolftooth. Return speed is a little bit on the slow side. Time will tell if it's reliable or not. It does have a very low stack height for people looking at that (I didn't know that was a thing until my LBS guy talked about it). User serviceable also if the cartridge blows, you just buy (if you're out of warranty) a new cartridge and install it.
  • KS eten 100mm - Came stock on my (bought in '16, model year 2017) Honzo, started to develop sag after about 2 months of use. Remote is nice, but this got moved to the loaner bike due to the issues. Also unrideabru based on 100mm drop.
 

Da Peach

Outwitted by a rodent
Jul 2, 2002
13,681
4,904
North Van
I had an external LEV for 3 years that was flawless.

I picked up the RF Turbine when I switched frames. So far so good in terms of reliability, but not as silky smooth as a Thomson, Transfer, or 9.8.