Dropper seat posts: Name & shame

wobbem

Dropper seat posts are a relatively new thing with more are coming out all the time and though expensive can enhance riding experiance but; my brand new Reverb failed on its first ride, another bloke I know has taken his back for repair after 6 weeks, luckily Rockshox has a great repair service.......
So what brand is your dropper seat post?
How long have you had it?
Is it still as good as the day you bought it?
Can you service yourself?
Would you recommend it or buy it again?

CharlieH

Joplin 3 (got it cheap at Xmas from CRC)
Been on the bike since Jan and working fine, although I do use a rear crud catcher
I know they have a bad rep but mine is fine which is a shame because, with a 2 year warranty, I'm hoping it does fail so I can send it off and get it repaired/replaced with Joplin 4 internals

SPIRO

So what brand is your dropper seat post? - Specialized Command Post

How long have you had it? - 2009, came oem with the bike

Is it still as good as the day you bought it? - Yep

Can you service yourself? - Never had too. Has been used alot and apart from adjusting cable tension once in a while its been faultless.

Would you recommend it or buy it again? - Yes. does what it says on tin, although sure there are probably better ones out there by now.

Raymondavalon

wobbem wrote:

Dropper seat posts are a relatively new thing

Relatively new? I think not, they've been around for well over a decade, the earlier ones were pushed down by one's weight [gravity] and would be pushed back up by means of an external spring. One of my former work colleagues had one that was close on 15 years old.

Back OT:

Crank Bros. Joplin 3 inch with Remote upgrade. Made the mistake of not buying the remote model!

Over two years of use on my all mountain bike in all weather conditions. No protection or crud device as it's on an FS bike
It's had one service in all that time and has not skipped a beat. The only "issue" I ever had was the seat clamp bolt snapping from me over tightening it through the years, £3 replacement part and arrived pronto from 2Pure via my LBS.

Cannot fault the Joplin in any way, it's been absolutely ace and only let me down when I want it to :P

CharlieH wrote:

Joplin 3 I know they have a bad rep but mine is fine which is a shame because, with a 2 year warranty, I'm hoping it does fail so I can send it off and get it repaired/replaced with Joplin 4 internals

No they don't have a bad rep at all... the predecessor, AKA the Maverick Speedball had a terrible reputation, Crank Bros. bought Maverick out and by time it was released as the "Joplin" it was a fine product
Don't hold your breath for 4 inch internals now....

Northwind

I've got 2... My Gravity Dropper was bought used, I've used it an awful lot over the last year and a half in all weathers. The inner shims are getting pretty worn now which is causing it to slop around but it still works perfectly. Occasionally it needs a minor adjustment, and once it broke a seatclamp bolt, but other than that it's been more reliable for me than some non-dropper seatposts.

(a mate of mine is pure death to all mechanical components and he's had his for a year now, and yes he's managed to mess it up but it still works. He broke 3 standard seatposts in the year before that) He let it fill with grit and kept using it til the bushings wore out and the actual metal tubes got scored, amazing it still works but it does)

The other one's a KS i900r, and it's more of a mixed bag- it works well now, and has done for 6 months, but it didn't work from new and took 2 warranty returns to get it to work adequately. Partly the fault of the post, partly the fault of the distributor. But it's a nice bit of kit.

Raymondavalon wrote:

No they don't have a bad rep at all

They really, really do. Deserved or not is a different question

Anonymous

Joplin 4 here. I think I've had it since, erm, September-ish. It's been fine, although I did put an old innertube gaitor on it almost as soon as I bought it.

One slight niggle I've realised recently, is that if you have a saddle with some considerable flex designed in it, the mechanism that triggers the droppage will interfere with the saddle's flex.

Apart from that, it's fine.
I would recommend it, but the price is stil insane.

stubs

Had a KS i900 on my old bike and it worked fine just the lever got clogged up a few times and needed a poke out with a cotton bud. It wouldnt fit my new Canyon so I ebayed it. Boy do I miss it it wasnt just dropping it for downhill it was having it in the right position for climbing I also used to drop it an inch or so when the trails got muddy and if I was out of the saddle a lot just to get it out of the way.

Still mulling over what too purchase next but got to wait till sept got a shit lad of bills coming up.

miss notax

I've got a gravity dropper post, but only had it on the bike for about a week so can;t really comment on it's reliability!

In my opinion, it looks tosh but does exactly what it says on the tin - goes up and down at the press of a switch. Apparently they are easy to service too, and it's probably the only one that I would actually attempt to service myself (I am a mechanical idiot :oops: ).

The only minor irritation for me - which would be the same for all posts - is that i've had to cable tie the cable to my frame which looks even more rubbish. Not sure there is any way around that though..... :?

Anonymous

miss notax, some newer frames have cable lugs in place to accomodate a dropper post.

miss notax

yeehaamcgee wrote:

miss notax, some newer frames have cable lugs in place to accomodate a dropper post.

Yeah, mine's a 2007 frame so no such luck i'm afraid

Although I shall add it to my list of 'reasons to justify a new bike frame'

CharlieH

miss notax wrote:

yeehaamcgee wrote:

miss notax, some newer frames have cable lugs in place to accomodate a dropper post.

Yeah, mine's a 2007 frame so no such luck i'm afraid

Although I shall add it to my list of 'reasons to justify a new bike frame'

Look for Mpart stick on cable guides! They come in a pack of three, are curved to stick to the top tube and allow you to cable tie the cable to them. I actually left my cable ties a bit looser so when the seat drops, the entire cable moves forward rather than bending behind the seat post. Mpart also do a "fork" mount cable guide which I fitted to the back of the seat post and keeps the cable from flopping around under the seat

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=19014
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=19159

miss notax

Thank you for the tip - i'll have a look at those

ashleymp777

I have a RS Reverb - the nippple underneath the saddle snapped as its so pathetically small and had it replaced with a Goodridge part as it was a darn sight stronger and robust.

timpop

Raymondavalon wrote:

wobbem wrote:

Dropper seat posts are a relatively new thing

Relatively new? I think not, they've been around for well over a decade, the earlier ones were pushed down by one's weight [gravity] and would be pushed back up by means of an external spring. One of my former work colleagues had one that was close on 15 years old.

There was a lot of them around about 20 years ago. They were pretty basic but did the trick. However, if I need to lower my seatpost I just stop and do it manually. That works for me but the new models out now look swish.

Where are my stabilisers?

KS950i - Can't fault it, best thing I ever bought for the bike.

Anonymous

timpop wrote:

if I need to lower my seatpost I just stop and do it manually

What happens if you want to do it whilst still riding, without stopping?

do you also run nutted axles on your wheels, because you can just undo the nuts using spanners when you need to?

weescott

Joplin 4 here. Had it for a few months. Had an issue with the seatpost not staying up on one descent which was annoying as I didn't want to stop and cycle the post up and down as advised by Crankbrothers to sort it. Other than that it's been fine.

Anonymous

weescott wrote:

Joplin 4 here. Had it for a few months. Had an issue with the seatpost not staying up on one descent which was annoying as I didn't want to stop and cycle the post up and down as advised by Crankbrothers to sort it. Other than that it's been fine.

Just out of curiosity, how close is the shell of your saddle to the Joplin trigger thingy? Could be the seat setting it off by accident, you know.

sheepsteeth

had a maverick and it failed a couple of times but was fixed under warranty

have had 3 joplin 3s and they were all spot on, ace to use, worked flawlessly and look good (for a dropper)

i now have a gravity dropper which is ugly as sin, it could trick or treat down the phone it looks so ugly but it does work. was wobbly straight out of the box but i got some new shims for free from the US and fitted them myself, super easy to work on but the construction in no way justifies the cost. the remote is particularly stupid and the fact you have to bounce your buttocks off the saddle to make it move (by design i might add) is completely retarded in every way.

mind you, id rather have it than ride the bike without a dropper post.

also have a KS i7 on t'other bike and it is also exceptionally stupid looking with the little resvoir but it is a joy to use and the integrated remote which replaces a lock-ring on my grips is the best remote of the lot

Penylope

Joplin 4r here, owned for 6 months (ish)

No issues with it, although i do run a rear crud catcher which keeps it clean. I have stripped it to clean and re-grease which was a doddle.
The only (strange) thing i have noticed recently is that there is an air lock in the frame(!) There is a hiss from the frame (most noticable from the headset area) when it moves up or down, although there does not appear to be any adverse effects.

Northwind

sheepsteeth wrote:

the fact you have to bounce your buttocks off the saddle to make it move (by design i might add) is completely retarded in every way.

So, what would be a good word for someone who, faced with the choice of a gravity dropper classic which has that feature, and a gravity dropper turbo which doesn't, chose the completely retarded one?

Just for our records you understand.

Anonymous

knowingly?

DodgeT

KSi900 with remote here, had it around 5 months.. Used in all weather'conditions, also been through plenty of off's with me...
Wouldn't be without it. No troubles so far. I always give it a quick wipe after every ride, then every now and again spin the collar up and wipe round the join and grease.

bails87

sheepsteeth wrote:

the fact you have to bounce your buttocks off the saddle to make it move (by design i might add) is completely retarded in every way.

So when it's down, you have to press the remote and then bounce your arrs off it?!

Rick_huggins

Reverb here, no issues yet and loving the addition

sheepsteeth

bails87 wrote:

sheepsteeth wrote:

the fact you have to bounce your buttocks off the saddle to make it move (by design i might add) is completely retarded in every way.

So when it's down, you have to press the remote and then bounce your arrs off it?!

yup! it is webbo but at the timeit was the only post i could get in a 27.2 flavour. i didnt know when i was ordering it that it required the bum tap and it had been fitted and used before i realised how webbo a technique it was.

as for the turbo, thats even more webbo looking with the cable routing required.

weescott

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Just out of curiosity, how close is the shell of your saddle to the Joplin trigger thingy? Could be the seat setting it off by accident, you know.

Never thought of that, but it wasn't the issue as even when I got off the bike in the car park the post wasn't returning to the correct position properly. I haven't had any issues with it since, so all is good.

jonnyashworth

rockshox reverb - 4 months - faultless performance so far - really like it

milfredo

I have a Joplin 4 remote.

Although I love it when it works, I loathe it when it doesn't.

I am fastidious over the maintenance of my bike and the Joplin has just stopped working at the worst times ever. Normally during or following bad weather in the middle of nowhere when it's cold - Boot fitted or not.

Mine is not faulty

Even after two warranty repairs it's still rubbish.

I can see why the non-remote might get a few good reviews as mine is left operating as a non-remote after a light rain-fall and a splash of grit.

Servicing now does not iron out the issues and it never works properly. I can't even be arsed to get it serviced under warrantee and sell it on eBay to some unsuspecting buyer as the guilt would be too great.

It's design is flawed as the seals do not prevent dirt getting into the post and onto the guides.


I would not recommend it to anyone!

Propper gash

Northwind

I was reading on Singletrack the other day that you can replace the standard main seal in the Joplin with the aircan/shaft seal off a Fox RP23... Might be worth checking out.

milfredo

Got any links?