Reverb.....is it worth it?

welshkev

Ok, I'm thinking of finally biting the bullet and getting a dropper post. Are they really worth all that cash?

Is a reverb still the best option?

Opinions please

rockmonkeysc

I have had mine a year now. They are very good but I could live without it if I had to. I wouldn't pay rrp for one.

CitizenLee

Yes and yes.

My mate was dubious until he had a 2 minute ride on my bike. Had one fitted to his by the time we went out riding next

As with RM, I wouldn't pay full RRP but I don't think anyone actually does as it's always easy to find a good deal on them

Dave_P1

I was a little unsure at first as I thought it was a gimmick, but after one ride I was sold.

mcnultycop

I can't live without one on my AM/Enduro/etc bike* and when I can get a 27.2 Thomson for sensible money I'll have one in that too.




* so much so that I got a £108 reverb as a spare from Canyon in their 12 days of Christmas sale last week, for when my Lev needs an inevitable service.

Angus Young

Best thing since sliced bread. Wouldn't be without one.

bartimaeus

Yes - but it helped a lot that mine was £150 and even then I was thinking 'maybe this is an expensive toy'. Now I wish I had got one for my other bike as well.

Briggo

Got one on each bike, after front forks in my eyes most important bit of kit for enjoying riding.

.blitz

welshkev wrote:

Are they really worth all that cash?

Depends on you and your bike and where/how you ride but if you adjust your seatpost as much as you change gear then get one.

Personally I find them invaluable on two of my bikes another one is kindof borderline and the fourth bike is a definite no-no

If you ride like a drunk falling downstairs and have a slack-ish bike with a reasonable standover then a dropper post will be useful. If you ride with finesse on something a bit more XC then the advantages are not so clear. Similarly big climbs followed by big descents or flattish moorland doubletrack I wouldn't bother

Also you may or may not be able to notice the extra weight. On one of my bikes a dropper is quite noticeable a bit like having a saddlebag with a brick in it

CitizenLee

.blitz wrote:

If you ride like a drunk falling downstairs and have a slack-ish bike with a reasonable standover then a dropper post will be useful. If you ride with finesse on something a bit more XC then the advantages are not so clear. Similarly big climbs followed by big descents or flattish moorland doubletrack I wouldn't bother

Holy sweeping generalisation Batman!

oxocube1

I was in the same boat as you a few months back Kev but decided to go for one and haven't regretted it for one second!
I'd recommend choosing the RH lever if you want it on the left side of your bars (or vice versa), then mount it underneath the handlebars for a better position. Also it doesn't scrape on the floor if you put your bike upside down and less chance of it being damaged in a crash.

jimothy78

Some trails make it a lot more worthwhile than others - as someone stated above, if your normal riding is just spinning up to the top of a big hill and pelting down the other side, you can get away with just lowering the post once and a dropper is unnecessary. On trails that wind across hillsides, and/or frequently change from climbing to descending, then it's extremely useful to be able to adjust the saddle height on the fly (I first experienced this riding a mate's bike around Penhydd, and it was a revelation, so I then bought a dropper for my own bike).

I've also found that even when climbing, dropping the seat by just an inch and a half over technical sections (like the rocky steps on the Twrch climb) gives you a lot more freedom of movement and helps you work the bike more - but you wouldn't ever stop to drop the saddle manually for these short sections.

welshkev

Cheers for the replies guys. I do change my saddle height a lot so I think I'm going for it.

I'll keep an eye out after Xmas for the best deal

Angus Young

Stops me looking like a cünt when I get on and off my bike. Worth it for that alone.

twonks

I finally bought a reverb a few months ago.

Never felt the need to drop my seat post for any riding in the last 25 years but thought I'd have a go just to see what I was missing.

Ride mostly red and black trail centre routes and the occasional trip into the peaks / dales.

Never a jumper or lover of huge rock gardens but do like to ride fast ish when the downs call for it.

Put the reverb on my FS (SC Superlight), went for a ride, dropped the post on a few descents, got back, took it off and sent it back :roll:

Possibly depends on how and what one rides before the purchase and as I have never thought about my saddle when riding I suspect I'm just too old and crap to warrant dropping seat posts for a 2% down hill that has a few pebbles in it

Ferrals

Reverb and Thompson elite dropper are both with approx 30% off on crc with an extra 10% on top again. if I hadnt just put a new wheelset on the credit card I'd be sorely tempted - in fact I am sorely tempted!!

ilovedirt

Absolutely worth the money, to me at least.

Angus Young

twonks wrote:

Put the reverb on my FS (SC Superlight), went for a ride, dropped the post on a few descents, got back, took it off and sent it back :roll:

Possibly depends on how and what one rides before the purchase and as I have never thought about my saddle when riding I suspect I'm just too old and crap to warrant dropping seat posts for a 2% down hill that has a few pebbles in it

You ride fast/steep descents with your saddle at optimum pedalling height? Yikes!

arran77

Angus Young wrote:

twonks wrote:

Put the reverb on my FS (SC Superlight), went for a ride, dropped the post on a few descents, got back, took it off and sent it back :roll:

Possibly depends on how and what one rides before the purchase and as I have never thought about my saddle when riding I suspect I'm just too old and crap to warrant dropping seat posts for a 2% down hill that has a few pebbles in it

You ride fast/steep descents with you saddle at optimum pedalling height? Yikes!

He's probably also a higher pitched voice than most girls

I was also really skeptical before buying my Reverb but I seriously wouldn't be without it now.

Antm81

I had a dropper on my old trance and got one free with the new one, I wasn't overly bothered at first as my local riding didn't warant one, so much better on anything technical though, wouldn't be without one now. Not used the reverb, UST both version of the giant post.

twonks

Angus Young wrote:

twonks wrote:

Put the reverb on my FS (SC Superlight), went for a ride, dropped the post on a few descents, got back, took it off and sent it back :roll:

Possibly depends on how and what one rides before the purchase and as I have never thought about my saddle when riding I suspect I'm just too old and crap to warrant dropping seat posts for a 2% down hill that has a few pebbles in it

You ride fast/steep descents with you saddle at optimum pedalling height? Yikes!

Depends on your idea of fast and steep I suppose.
(EDIT - Sorry, that wasn't meant as a condescending comment.)

I could have adapted and likely got faster on the downs if I had persisted with it, but as I've never thought I was in trouble because I didn't have one I decided to keep with a simple seat post.

I'm not fast by any stretch of the imagination (around mid table of strava ists on popular trail centre downs (sorry for a strava association :oops: )) and don't go launching through and off rock gardens at huge velocity, so maybe my riding style just doesn't need to be low and dropped.

Do squeak when speaking occasionally though