[Sandwich]

My bontrager line elite seatpost has some vertical play. I bought it because it's supposed to be cheap and easy to maintain, but instead it's gonna cost me $105 for a replacement cartridge. At that price I may as well buy a whole new post. Any thoughts on how to remedy it? I took it apart and relubed but it's still clunking. Seems like the cartridge has a tiny bit of play that is magnified when completely assembled. It's a wintek cartridge dropper, but it doesn't look like it uses exactly the same cartridge as anyone else.

 

[6thElement]

I think you can bleed the cartridges, check empty beer. But it sounds like a major pain in the ass and easier to just get the replacement cartridge/new dropper.

 

[rideit]

Big fan of the One-Up dropper. Have had two out of four transfers start to not extend out all the way after a season or two.
The price of the One Up retail is about the same as the Fox at wholesale, FWIW

 

[Westy]

 

[Jm_]

I've serviced one of my PNWs with the wintek, but not the cartridge itself. I thought it was crimped shut or something, totally non-serviceable? Anyway, these cartridges are the Crank Bros pedals of dropper posts. Disposable IME. I've blown 3 of them. I have original Bikeyokes from the first run and they are still going strong with a few service kits. The Wolftooth is similar. Nothing wrong with the throwaway posts if they are cheap...but that's the dividing line IME. Don't pay a bunch of money for a post that won't last like the Bikeyoke, pay as little as possible.

REI was recently blowing out some PNWs for half price. Damn straight I got one.

 

[Sandwich]

I've serviced one of my PNWs with the wintek, but not the cartridge itself. I thought it was crimped shut or something, totally non-serviceable? Anyway, these cartridges are the Crank Bros pedals of dropper posts. Disposable IME. I've blown 3 of them. I have original Bikeyokes from the first run and they are still going strong with a few service kits. The Wolftooth is similar. Nothing wrong with the throwaway posts if they are cheap...but that's the dividing line IME. Don't pay a bunch of money for a post that won't last like the Bikeyoke, pay as little as possible.

REI was recently blowing out some PNWs for half price. Damn straight I got one.

I think it is crimped shut. The idea was (I thought) that if you're having an issue, toss in a new cartridge and the issue was fixed. Less self-serviceable, but easily remedied. I'm not surprised to have an issue necessarily, but massively disappointed to find out the cost for my particular post is close to the cost of a new post from other brands. For $45 more I'd just buy a PNW, or honestly shop for another used SDG Tellis/onoff/etc. Was hoping to have some level of resolution perhaps without just throwing more money at is. Are all dropper posts trash? I tried a $450 thomson and now a $100 Bontrager and am unimpressed.

 

[canadmos]

$105 for a cartridge is just taking the piss.

I'm also in the OneUp boat. Its not as expensive as the ones @Jm_ mention, but its also not priced low enough to just be a disposable product.

I've had 3 or 4 of them and only one has had to have the cartridge replaced. But they shipped a new one under warranty, I didn't have to pay - it also didn't sag or anything, it would either lose air pressure quickly or bind while going up.

The cartridges for the oneups are listed at $73, so not too bad.

I also have a PNW on the fat bike, but that thing barely gets used in comparison. BUT, it does feel very smooth and doesn't complain about working in sub zero temps. It is heavier, though.

 

[Sandwich]

Yeah, it looks like oneup, onoff, transX, PNW, Bontrager, Orbea, and probably several others use the wintek cartridge. Mine works smoothly, maybe a little slow, and maybe a tiny bit of horizontal play, but the like 1mm of vertical play creates a knocking sound every time I'm on/off the saddle so it gets annoying quick.

I guess I'll just keep my eyes peeled for a similar replacement. I love the dropper otherwise so maybe I sell it as broken for $50 and buy a brand with a cheaper replacement for $100 as a takeoff.

 

[scrublover]

Agree on the One-Up posts. The nexus of their initial cost/user servicability/parts availability is pretty hard to beat. It sounds as if PNW works out about the same.

I'm still on the V1 One-Up post (3 in use) and in several years have had to replace one cartridge.
The V2 posts are for sure improved, but mine have worked so reliably, I've no reason to replace one.

 

[canadmos]

When I googled for images of the wintek catridge it looks like some have a rubber bumper or spacer; did yours go missing to wear out maybe?

 

[Sandwich]

When I googled for images of the wintek catridge it looks like some have a rubber bumper or spacer; did yours go missing to wear out maybe?

Not sure. My issue is that when topped out, there is like 0.5-1mm of play. Just enough to make a noise, but it's a looseness during direction change. It isn't like it drops slowly, or doesn't stay up at all or something. When I removed the cart to look at it, you could feel a tiny amount of play in the cartridge itself when doing the same direction change. It's almost like something isn't threaded all the way in, but everything is tight. The actuator is tight, the upper bolt is tight. I could see throwing a washer in there, but I think this is internal....just weird as it's not a "normal" failure mode.

 

[SkaredShtles]

<snip> Are all dropper posts trash? I tried a $450 thomson and now a $100 Bontrager and am unimpressed.

I had a Reverb for a number of years - it failed once but was fine after a rebuild. After a few more years it started to get dodgy again, but I bought a whole new bike instead of fixing it.

The bike I bought came with a cheap Giant Contact dropper and that damn thing worked fine for the last 6 years. It started to get a bit temperamental over the last year or so, and I was getting tired of the short drop (150mm), so I just put a 200mm PNW Loam. So far, so good - really like the longer drop. Hope it will be as durable as the cheap-assed Giant dropper.

 

[canadmos]

I'd try and warranty it, even if it's out of the warranty period. Worst they say is no or give you a deal on a replacement.

 

[Jm_]

Are all dropper posts trash? I tried a $450 thomson and now a $100 Bontrager and am unimpressed.

No. The whole idea behind the BY and WT droppers were to push the tech and the posts into the "not disposable junk" category. IME, they have done that. But there are still plenty that cost a ton and are going to shit the bed, like Fox, or cheap ones that you can throw away when they fail.

 

[Westy]

No. The whole idea behind the BY and WT droppers were to push the tech and the posts into the "not disposable junk" category. IME, they have done that. But there are still plenty that cost a ton and are going to shit the bed, like Fox, or cheap ones that you can throw away when they fail.

My Bike Yoke from 2018 has been flawless and has seen a ton of use in PNW muck. When I performed a very overdue service, it was damn near perfect inside. Cost wise the break even point would require several rebuilds of something like a PNW. Probably not worth it but I can say that dicking around with dropper cables is pretty much my least favorite thing to do on a bike, which is pretty much the only internal cable I will accept on a bike anymore.

 

[OGRipper]

Another vote for OneUp. Replacement cartridges are around $70 on their site. It's an easy swap.

That said, you might try to warranty it. As I recall there were some wintek cartridges that had an issue of air getting on the wrong side of the piston or similar with no easy fix.

 

[Sandwich]

lol you guys think I ever buy my shit new don't you know me by now? This was a take-off from somebody else's new bike. I guess it doesn't hurt to ask, but unlikely with the COVID slowdown that anybody is going to hook a bro up or warranty it for free. I don't know enough trek bros to ask for help.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

OneUp vote here too. Reasonably priced, reliable & easy to service. Kind of a win across the board.

 

[Jozz]

One Up! Can be serviced in 15 minutes.

 

[Jm_]

One Up! Can be serviced in 15 minutes.

The cartridge can be serviced in 15 min?

 

[Jozz]

The cartridge can be serviced in 15 min?

Basic maintenance disassembly/clean/lube/assembly is 15 minutes. Cartridge is sealed. You can keep one in your spare parts for easy swap. Been on One Up post 6 years (3) and no failed cartridges.

 

[Sandwich]

Basic maintenance disassembly/clean/lube/assembly is 15 minutes. Cartridge is sealed. You can keep one in your spare parts for easy swap. Been on One Up post 6 years (3) and no failed cartridges.

That's almost literally what I have. The line elite is the equivalent of a one up V1 post. Which is the same as an Orbea, KS, etc. etc.. A rebuild/lube service takes only a few minutes and the cartridges are sealed. I believe the V2 uses a custom cartridge and an additional keyway but is otherwise quite similar.

I will try another rebuild on this part to see if there's a loose bit and look into buying a new cart or full post. There's an italian webshop that has them for $45 and a new take off orbea for $80. Both still cheaper than a new cartridge for the bontrager at retail

 

[Jm_]

Basic maintenance disassembly/clean/lube/assembly is 15 minutes. Cartridge is sealed. You can keep one in your spare parts for easy swap. Been on One Up post 6 years (3) and no failed cartridges.

Oh, so not really.

 

[Sandwich]

alright well this is definitely isolated to the cartridge. There's just a mm or so of vertical play, otherwise it works fine. Looks like I need a new one. I still can't understand why trek prices there's at double what everyone else does. Now I need to decide whether to buy a new cart from italy or a whole new dropper and sell this one as damaged.

 

[Full Trucker]

Big fan of the One-Up dropper. Have had two out of four transfers start to not extend out all the way after a season or two.
The price of the One Up retail is about the same as the Fox at wholesale, FWIW

New bike came with a Fox Transfer that out of the box won’t extend all the way. Frustrating to say the least. This thread tells me to get a OneUp, but keep the Fox (once warrantied) as a backup and/or for when I sell the bike.

…but I bought a whole new bike instead of fixing it.

This is the way.

 

[Sandwich]

Ended up with a BrandX Ascend XL 200, which sounds more like a cheap roller coaster than a dropper post. Working on getting it to function then will report back with performance.

The bontrager simply had too much play, and I paid less for the brandx than the replacement cart would have cost.

 

[Sandwich]

Well the brandX is a nice post and there is no vertical play and less rotational. Seems the creak that was driving me nuts may have been coming from my saddle rather than the dropper. Oh well

 

[6thElement]

New bike came with a Fox Transfer that out of the box won’t extend all the way. Frustrating to say the least. This thread tells me to get a OneUp, but keep the Fox (once warrantied) as a backup and/or for when I sell the bike.


This is the way.

I think OneUp has a big Turkey day sale on right now.

 

[Sandwich]

I think OneUp has a big Turkey day sale on right now.

ugh, that's a nice deal if you can find the right fit. Not sure I can make a 240 work in my frame....200 works great though.

 

[Westy]

ugh, that's a nice deal if you can find the right fit. Not sure I can make a 240 work in my frame....200 works great though.

I am running a 240 and think it is unnecessarily long. If I get that low my ass is going to be behind the saddle and hitting the wheel.

 

[Full Trucker]

I’ve always had a 150-175mm drooper and it’s always seemed fine.More droop seems like it would be weird. That said I was always the guy with the slightly higher than fashionable saddle on my DH bike... YMMV.

 

[Sandwich]

Honestly I couldn't tell the difference yesterday between my 170 and 200. They are both great and better than my 125 thomson. Might be noticeable when it gets really steep. I am most excited in the lack of vertical play and the quick return motion.

 

[Jm_]

Honestly I couldn't tell the difference yesterday between my 170 and 200. They are both great and better than my 125 thomson. Might be noticeable when it gets really steep. I am most excited in the lack of vertical play and the quick return motion.

Naw, that's my theory and it seems to hold up. The most difference is like 4-5". I wouldn't ride a 4" post for general riding, but if it was light enough I might consider it for XC racing. For the record, I'm on 160 for XC racing, because it'd have to be a hell of a weight savings to make me go to 100. As you go past those travels, the effect is diminishing and then at some point, it really just gets in the noise and it's not doing anything helpful. That for me is somewhere around 7". If I'm riding a park, I *might* set my post a little lower, but really I should chuck the thing and put in a rigid for that kind of riding, since the mud flung up and everything else usually makes it take a beating. But back to general riding, even crazy steep stuff, I don't find that going lower than a certain point keeps reaping benefits. This is one reason I still ride 27.5, I can get much lower behind the saddle on steep rollers/slabs. Going that low on a 29er, your ass is on the wheel. Getting the seat lower to get it out of the way of your chest is helpful, but if you are already buzzing your ass on the wheel, you aren't going to get lower anyway. I think the 8" and longer stuff is just asking for more wear and tear with little to no additional benefit.

I think part of this comes from a sect of people that think the dropper travel should be all the way from the seat-collar to the saddle. Frame manufacturers will put this at different spots based on their structural and other design considerations, but often it's due to a dropped top-tube and not really indicative of where you should put the dropper. My Allied is a good example of this, the dropper stanchion+tube is half of the distance of the BB to the seat. The other half is the seat tube. There's no way you'd get a dropper in there that would be long enough to cover this distance to the pedaling position...but there seem to be people out there that assume this is how the dropper should be positioned/work.