[Jeremy R]

Man, it looks like Thomson is actually to you blowhards.
They just announced:

"All right people: The dropper will be offered in a stealth through the frame cable model in March, at the same time as the external model. You asked, we listened!"

 

[IH8Rice]

Man, it looks like Thomson is actually to you blowhards.
They just announced:

"All right people: The dropper will be offered in a stealth through the frame cable model in March, at the same time as the external model. You asked, we listened!"

now if only more frames had stealth routing...or every other existing frame out there

 

[Huck Banzai]

now if only more frames had stealth routing...or every other existing frame out there

Does drilling holes in your seat tube void warranties?

 

[mtg]

Interesting. They seemed pretty adamant that the cable was mounted up near the seat clamp due to reliability, and mounting it on the lower half would require a sacrifice. I wonder if they figured out a way around the sacrifice, or if they just decided to live with it on the stealth model.

 

[HAB]

Interesting. They seemed pretty adamant that the cable was mounted up near the seat clamp due to reliability, and mounting it on the lower half would require a sacrifice. I wonder if they figured out a way around the sacrifice, or if they just decided to live with it on the stealth model.

This is just a guess, but I think their initial objection was to putting the cable near the top of the seat tube, which is definitely harder than routing it out the bottom of the entire post like in the stealth arrangement, hence their willingness to consider that.

 

[Verskis]

I think HAB is right, Thomson did not want to do it KS LEV style, where the first cable ends near the seatpost clamp, the another cable goes from there to the bottom of the post inside the outer tube of the post.
In hydraulic seatposts, the mechanism (piston and the flow port closing mechanism) has to be inside the inner tube of the post (as opposed to Gravity Dropper style mechanisms, where you have no need to get the cable inside the inner tube), so you have no other options to reach the piston other than the very top or bottom. Now in the "Stealth" style post you can route the cable directly to the piston from the bottom of the post, which is very convenient compared to LEV-style mid-post cable mounting.

And I'm not saying the LEV is a bad post, it is just more complicated than these "Stealth" or regular cable-at-the-top posts, and I suppose Thomson wanted to make the post as simple as possible.

 

[Damo]

Forgive my ignorance, but why can't a 'stealth' seatpost not be used on a regular frame?

Surely if there are no tubing junctions/welds between the seatpost and the headtube, you could run it?

Carbon fiber frames should work ok? Maybe running a long cable down the seat tube, through the bb and up the down tube?

I have no idea, never seen one...

 

[Toshi]

Where would the cable exit, Damo?

 

[Damo]

I have no qualms about drilling a hole...

I imagined down the seat tube, up the down tube and out near the head tube???

 

[Freeridin']

Finally available, but extremely limited.

Order up!
http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1333374/

 

[Carraig042]

$430!!!! Yeah, ok.

-Brett

 

[IH8Rice]

wonder how he got them


-Angry

 

[Huck Banzai]

Prices have really gone bananas; and if some defender of industry chimes in about increased costs - he's getting kicked in the jimmy.

Really.

Spec, despite its huge size and market advantage, charges almost 1000$ more for a Carbon frame than SC, and almost 2000$ more than its Alu equal -- WTF.

No, Carbon doesn't cost, significantly, if any more; and being a Thomson product doesn't warrant a 100$+ price boost.


Disagree? Sheep often disagree with anything that isn't herd driven. Keep accepting those prices and watch the market goooooo.....

 

[Dogboy]

Prices have really gone bananas; and if some defender of industry chimes in about increased costs - he's getting kicked in the jimmy.

Not defending the price of the Thomson dropper, but the Reverb is $370, the KS Lev is $395, and the Thomson is $399. That puts it in line with the other "top of the line" dropper posts out there. Plenty of cheaper options out there, though none perform as well.

 

[marshalolson]

why is this post $105 (at wholesale) more than a reverb? $80 more than a LEV?

thats crazy talk. i get it, its built in the US. there simply isn't that labor content differential though, for sure.


edit: there is no way the thomson post is $399 retail. if you run the same margin as their fixed height post, then you are looking at $500+

 

[Dogboy]

why is this post $105 more than a reverb? $80 more than a LEV?

It isn't, the Reverb and LEV are just heavily discounted.

 

[dump]

why is this post $105 (at wholesale) more than a reverb? $80 more than a LEV?

thats crazy talk. i get it, its built in the US. there simply isn't that labor content differential though, for sure.


edit: there is no way the thomson post is $399 retail. if you run the same margin as their fixed height post, then you are looking at $500+

Is it? Suggests this was made (at least in part) in Asia:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QcnffkPrN-o

 

[marshalolson]

It isn't, the Reverb and LEV are just heavily discounted.

wholesale.

 

[canadmos]

The used $180 KS i950r Dropzone post that I picked up last year is wonderful. No issues, no breakage etc. You don't always have to spend top dollar to get something that works well. It also doesn't try to slam my nuts up my rectum like how some other seat posts pop up.

 

[Jeremy R]

Maybe Thomson made one that is reliable. My buddy has bought 4 different ones from 4 different companies so far. Those things $hit the bed more than my Aunt Dainy and she is 96.

 

[Carraig042]

My X-Fusion dropper cost about $200 and has held up great for over a year now. Dont have to pay double to get something that works good.

-Brett

 

[Electric_City]

Word. My KS 950r is from 2010 and there's no issues with it after 3 hard years. And Fwiw, the retracting cable doesn't get in the way. Ever.

 

[Huck Banzai]

80$ for my Spec 4" - it does the job perfectly, nothing fancier needed. Sorry but whoevers paying these prices is a tool and perpetuating the overprices nonsense.

 

[mattmatt86]

The used $180 KS i950r Dropzone post that I picked up last year is wonderful. No issues, no breakage etc. You don't always have to spend top dollar to get something that works well. It also doesn't try to slam my nuts up my rectum like how some other seat posts pop up.

Word. My KS 950r is from 2010 and there's no issues with it after 3 hard years. And Fwiw, the retracting cable doesn't get in the way. Ever.

Glad to hear about the KS 950, my new bike came with the 950 and so far it's been flawless. I had originally planned on swapping it out for the LEV or the Thomson but once I figured out how to run the cable so that the excess cable pushes to the front of the bike I haven't had a single complaint. It's hard to imagine spending twice as much and getting no added benefit.

 

[Freeridin']

QBP had their first shipment arrive on Friday...they're all gone now.

 

[Pslide]

I propose a boycott. Everyone who thinks the Thompson is too expensive, DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!

When the Mclaren F1 was released for $1 million a similar boycott was tried and over 6 billion people did not buy one.

 

[4gnegative]

Glad to hear about the KS 950, my new bike came with the 950 and so far it's been flawless. I had originally planned on swapping it out for the LEV or the Thomson but once I figured out how to run the cable so that the excess cable pushes to the front of the bike I haven't had a single complaint. It's hard to imagine spending twice as much and getting no added benefit.

i950 servicing is pretty simple. Takes like 15 minutes max.

I followed this service guide but I think step 6 varies on how much oil to put in between the i950 and i950r.
http://mytwowheelers.blogspot.com/2012/08/how-to-service-ks-i950r-adjustable.html

The thomson post looks great! I'm sure they did their homework on it, but it's still a 1st gen product, I'm gonna wait a season or until my ks posts are no longer serviceable before considering one.

 

[Huck Banzai]

I propose a boycott. Everyone who thinks the Thompson is too expensive, DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!

When the Mclaren F1 was released for $1 million a similar boycott was tried and over 6 billion people did not buy one.

Git it covered.

But if the tool'masters support this kind of pricing, it kind of f***s the rest of us.

'I can afford it'!? --- welcome to ass rape for the rest of us.




'Individualism!'/'dont like it, dont buy it' (Yep, the corporatists won..)



Tickle me Elmo aint got **** on MTBers.

 

[fred.r]

My X-Fusion dropper cost about $200 and has held up great for over a year now. Dont have to pay double to get something that works good.

-Brett

The HiLo?

 

[amishmatt]

So in a moment of weakness when Universal Cycles had stock, I ordered one. Only a couple of rides on it so far, but I can say I'm going to have to relearn to ride with this thing. 20+ years of riding with a seat all up in my ass has conditioned my to anticipate obstacles/drops/downhills/etc., so I'm already out of the saddle when I realize I want to lower the post and I have to sit back down to drop it. Just need to adapt my timing. On the first ride I hardly used it because I kept forgetting I had it.

Anyway, it's solid, as all the reviews say. No play. None of this "it has a little play when you grab the seat, but you never notice it on the trail" bull****. It's 100% solid, no play at all. Feels like my old Thomson in that respect.

I hate **** on my bars, so I whent completely OCD trying to route the cable in the most unintrusive way possible. After going through probably half a dozen variations, I bought a flexible cable noodle to allow a compound bend under the front brake lever. That tucks it out of the way and it runs along the brake line. It also allows me to run the remote lever rotated down more than I've seen most people running it, which is far more natural for me - I don't have to reach up and over the bar, it's more or less where a front shifter would be. It's a tight bend for sure, but it's holding up ok so far and works just fine.

I'm running a bigger loop below the post than I'd prefer, but any shorter and the cable hangs up on the pivot when returning to full height. I'm sick of re-running the cabling, so I'm going to leave it like this for a while, but I hope I can find a way to work around that issue.

Anyway, here are some ****ty pics I snapped this morning:

 

[dump]

So in a moment of weakness when Universal Cycles had stock, I ordered one. Only a couple of rides on it so far, but I can say I'm going to have to relearn to ride with this thing. 20+ years of riding with a seat all up in my ass has conditioned my to anticipate obstacles/drops/downhills/etc., so I'm already out of the saddle when I realize I want to lower the post and I have to sit back down to drop it. Just need to adapt my timing. On the first ride I hardly used it because I kept forgetting I had it.

This sounds very familiar

I had similar thoughts about learning how to make the best use of the post in my riding. There was the temptation to constantly mess with it while out on the trail because I could. After getting used to it what I ended up doing was pretty much just riding with it up until I get to a long stretch of downhill/jumps/drops at which point I drop it. I almost never see an obstacle and then drop the post... there just isn't time, it's overly fussy and often messes up the flow particularly since you have to sit to drop it down. In similar situations if I didn't have the dropper, I'd just ride it with the seat up, no problem. Ultimately, I'm using it almost exactly how I used my standard post – switching it only where absolutely necessary, except rather than having to get off to drop it down, I hit the lever.

 

[syadasti]

This sounds very familiar

I had similar thoughts about learning how to make the best use of the post in my riding. There was the temptation to constantly mess with it while out on the trail because I could. After getting used to it what I ended up doing was pretty much just riding with it up until I get to a long stretch of downhill/jumps/drops at which point I drop it. I almost never see an obstacle and then drop the post... there just isn't time, it's overly fussy and often messes up the flow particularly since you have to sit to drop it down. In similar situations if I didn't have the dropper, I'd just ride it with the seat up, no problem. Ultimately, I'm using it almost exactly how I used my standard post – switching it only where absolutely necessary, except rather than having to get off to drop it down, I hit the lever.

That's exactly how I felt with my AMP post I had back in 2007 which is why I didn't keep it very long - sold it and reverted to the Thomson Elite rigid post. I've had some droppers on rental bikes before and I'm going to give it another chance on my next bike. I ordered a KS LEV 5". A lot of frames now seem to be built with limited range so its forced on you thanks to laziness on the part of frame designers.

 

[bizutch]

I got to ride 3 different bikes in a weeks time, all with Rock Shox Reverb posts. I gotta say that I like the dropper for those 30 second long climbs in the middle of the downhills. But one danger is that if you throw yourself out of sync rushing to get it up or down for a section and misalign it in the up or "mostly" up, a dropper can just about KILL you.

I hit a section after a climb of water bars and didn't remember to drop it down. Was attacking full throttle and had a huge near endo experience by the 3rd water bar before I got it under control. Droppers should come with a wet nap for the first few rides. Almost soiled myself.

 

[blindboxx2334]

I bought a flexible cable noodle to allow a compound bend under the front brake lever.

oh how the little things matter... that looks great!

 

[slyfink]

This sounds very familiar

I had similar thoughts about learning how to make the best use of the post in my riding. There was the temptation to constantly mess with it while out on the trail because I could. After getting used to it what I ended up doing was pretty much just riding with it up until I get to a long stretch of downhill/jumps/drops at which point I drop it. I almost never see an obstacle and then drop the post... there just isn't time, it's overly fussy and often messes up the flow particularly since you have to sit to drop it down. In similar situations if I didn't have the dropper, I'd just ride it with the seat up, no problem. Ultimately, I'm using it almost exactly how I used my standard post – switching it only where absolutely necessary, except rather than having to get off to drop it down, I hit the lever.

That's exactly how I felt with my AMP post I had back in 2007 which is why I didn't keep it very long - sold it and reverted to the Thomson Elite rigid post. I've had some droppers on rental bikes before and I'm going to give it another chance on my next bike. I ordered a KS LEV 5". A lot of frames now seem to be built with limited range so its forced on you thanks to laziness on the part of frame designers.

That's how I felt at first too. But now that I've had my dropper for almost a year, I use it a lot more. I drop it for downs, obviously, but I also drop it for flat corners. I guess I've learned where to use it on the trails I'm more familiar with and I know what's coming. It doesn't hurt that it's replaced my front derailleur as I'm now running 1x10. One spot I'm surprised I drop it is on steep, punchy, techy climbs. It allows me to stay centred better and keep my weight over the nose of the saddle without being too far back.

In the end, I find the biggest advantage is not in being able to drop it, but rather to raise it (of course they're both related) at the end of a DH section when faced with a climb. It allows me to carry more momentum up the hill.

 

[Dogboy]

That's how I felt at first too. But now that I've had my dropper for almost a year, I use it a lot more. I drop it for downs, obviously, but I also drop it for flat corners. I guess I've learned where to use it on the trails I'm more familiar with and I know what's coming. It doesn't hurt that it's replaced my front derailleur as I'm now running 1x10. One spot I'm surprised I drop it is on steep, punchy, techy climbs. It allows me to stay centred better and keep my weight over the nose of the saddle without being too far back.

In the end, I find the biggest advantage is not in being able to drop it, but rather to raise it (of course they're both related) at the end of a DH section when faced with a climb. It allows me to carry more momentum up the hill.

Same here. Now that I've had a dropper for a couple of years I find myself using it constantly.

 

[astoria]

kashima upgrades?

 

[Verskis]

kashima upgrades?

Are you really willing to pay (even more) premium to get a negligible improvement on the sliding action of your seatpost? Or dou you just like the color?

 

[dump]

Are you really willing to pay (even more) premium to get a negligible improvement on the sliding action of your seatpost? Or dou you just like the color?

I think it was a joke

 

[profro]

Maybe Thomson made one that is reliable. My buddy has bought 4 different ones from 4 different companies so far. Those things $hit the bed more than my Aunt Dainy and she is 96.

I have had the same Specialized Command Post on my bike for over 3 years now and I have done ZILCH to it except change the cable about once a year.