Pekoe&Pedal Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 I had an e13 150mm for a few years on my bike. It needed a rebuild after about 1000 mi (wouldn't fully return) which I was able to do myself. After about 1500 mi something internal exploded and the shaft popped completely out of the sleeve. That ride was cut short fast.. impossible to finish with an over-extended (and spinning!) post. I could not repair it. But I'm a pretty active dropper user and I guess I'd say 1500 mi is not too bad of a lifespan for it. Replaced it with a OneUp 180mm. Love it so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockshins Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 Was an early adopter on dropper posts, they have a lot of issues but I love the performance. Got the first gen Reverb, it failed a bunch, got it serviced under warranty 2 times and finally gave up on it. Got a KS Lev and liked it better, but had a lot of side to side play and failed as well, got it serviced and sold that bike. Ran a Crankbrothers High Line and loved it, ran it for over a year with no issues at all. New bike came with a newer gen Reverb stealth. It has worked so far and will probably get it serviced under warranty when the time comes before I give up on it. Thing is the reverb has a great feel to it, the return is so nice and adjustable...when it still works. Best post I have tried is the Bike Yoke, but out of my price range. Would get a Brand X if I could find a 200mm drop. Looking at PNW and Oneup for my next dropper. How long has anyone ran a Oneup? Any issues? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Txduc Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 48 minutes ago, rockshins said: Was an early adopter on dropper posts, they have a lot of issues but I love the performance. Got the first gen Reverb, it failed a bunch, got it serviced under warranty 2 times and finally gave up on it. Got a KS Lev and liked it better, but had a lot of side to side play and failed as well, got it serviced and sold that bike. Ran a Crankbrothers High Line and loved it, ran it for over a year with no issues at all. New bike came with a newer gen Reverb stealth. It has worked so far and will probably get it serviced under warranty when the time comes before I give up on it. Thing is the reverb has a great feel to it, the return is so nice and adjustable...when it still works. Best post I have tried is the Bike Yoke, but out of my price range. Would get a Brand X if I could find a 200mm drop. Looking at PNW and Oneup for my next dropper. How long has anyone ran a Oneup? Any issues? So far I've only run the Oneup for about 3 months with no issues. The only issues I've had with my KS Lev posts (31.6 & 27.2) over the past 4yrs have been with the 27.2 on my SS and those are known to have cartridge issues. If the Oneup is as reliable as my larger KS Lev at ~1/2 the cost I'll be very happy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntonioGG Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 For those with a dropper on their MTB and also a road/gravel bike (with no dropper) how much lower do you set your dropper at full height vs the height on your non-dropper? I have mine set about 1/2" lower than my road bike but I don't use the dropper much. I wonder if I set full height for more optimal pedaling if I'd use the dropper more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 I try to set my dropper to absolute full extension. Why not? Of course I also have a dropper on my gravel rig, so maybe I don't apply to your question. And I also use the dropper constantly, especially for cornering. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notyal Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 19 minutes ago, AntonioGG said: For those with a dropper on their MTB and also a road/gravel bike (with no dropper) how much lower do you set your dropper at full height vs the height on your non-dropper? I have mine set about 1/2" lower than my road bike but I don't use the dropper much. I wonder if I set full height for more optimal pedaling if I'd use the dropper more? At with my dropper fully extended, the distance from the top of my saddle to the BB was exactly the same as my CX bike (no dropper). I didn't even do it on purpose. I just measured both the other day out of curiosity and was surprised to find out how close they were set just on feel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 1 hour ago, rockshins said: How long has anyone ran a Oneup? Any issues? I have probably 1,000 miles on a OneUp V1 170mm and another 1,000 or so on the V2 180mm over nearly 2 years. Coming from a couple of Reverbs, it seems a lot more reliable but you still need to take it apart and clean/regrease it every 6 months or it will develop some stiction (same with any dropper really). But it's much easier to take apart than a Reverb. You can take it apart for cleaning with no special tools without even removing the saddle and be done in 15 minutes. It's not slow in the cold like the Reverb. I wouldn't say it's quite as smooth as the Reverb, but it's close. I think it requires less pressure on the actuator. Only issue I had was a cartridge failure that caused it to slowly drop when my weight was applied so I had to keep popping it back up every few minutes to get back home (not quite as bad as my Reverb failures where it was stuck down). OneUp sent me a replacement cartridge free under warranty and it was a pretty easy install. Overall, I am much happier with the OneUp than I was with the (much more expensive) Reverb. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 (edited) I am using a PNW Bachelor with a KS Southpaw: (stolen photo, not mine but the lever is the same shape) the lever is quite stubby and I feel like it needs quite a bit of force to actuate it. I have to push hard, but because the throw is so short, it does not take much to actuate the post. I have the lever tucked way under my handlebar, closer to where the "release" paddle would be on a front shifter if I had one. I don't know if this is because the lever is short, the pivot is not very smooth, or the actuator on the post is not smooth. I have tested the cable and housing and those move smoothly. I was in a shop a while ago touching floor bikes and noticed that the lever action on most others is very smooth and light. it's not a deal-breaker, but does anyone else have experience with the Southpaw and find that it's all that stiff? Edited June 18, 2020 by mack_turtle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 13 minutes ago, mack_turtle said: I have tested the cable and housing and those move smoothly. I was in a shop a while ago touching floor bikes and noticed that the lever action on most others is very smooth and light. it's not a deal-breaker, but does anyone else have experience with the Southpaw and find that it's all that stiff? Like most stock dropper levers (even BikeYoke's Triggy) it looks like the KS lever pivots about a bolt or a pin. Both the PNW Loam and the WolfTooth (which I use on my BikeYoke) levers pivot on a bearing, which seem to significantly improve the feel of actuation. WolfTooth even has a longer version which should further improve the light action of the lever. https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/collections/dropper-levers/products/remote-light-action 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notyal Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 18 minutes ago, mack_turtle said: I am using a PNW Bachelor with a KS Southpaw: (stolen photo, not mine but the lever is the same shape) the lever is quite stubby and I feel like it needs quite a bit of force to actuate it. I have to push hard, but because the throw is so short, it does not take much to actuate the post. I have the lever tucked way under my handlebar, closer to where the "release" paddle would be on a front shifter if I had one. I don't know if this is because the lever is short, the pivot is not very smooth, or the actuator on the post is not smooth. I have tested the cable and housing and those move smoothly. I was in a shop a while ago touching floor bikes and noticed that the lever action on most others is very smooth and light. it's not a deal-breaker, but does anyone else have experience with the Southpaw and find that it's all that stiff? I had a Southpaw on a KS eTen for years. It was a huge improvement over the above the bar option that came with the post (before everything was 1x). I do remember feeling like the throw was kinda short and could be improved. I like my current lever better for sure. Overall, I been really lucky with droppers. {knocking on wood} I've actually had more bikes than droppers in the past several years. I started with the cheap eTen mentioned above. Transferred that over to a new bike that inexplicably came spec'd without a dropper. Now I have a Specialized Command Post that came stock. Aside from the usual stiction, I've never had any problem that a good cleaning didn't take care of. I use it many many times per ride, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted June 18, 2020 Author Share Posted June 18, 2020 57 minutes ago, Barry said: Like most stock dropper levers (even BikeYoke's Triggy) it looks like the KS lever pivots about a bolt or a pin. Both the PNW Loam and the WolfTooth (which I use on my BikeYoke) levers pivot on a bearing, which seem to significantly improve the feel of actuation. WolfTooth even has a longer version which should further improve the light action of the lever. https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/collections/dropper-levers/products/remote-light-action I have the Wolftooth that attaches to my SRAM brake. I like the bearing pivot, and the cable clamp. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 I have two Brand X droppers the one on my FS is three years now with no service and no issues. I use mine all the time. Had a KS Eten that started having issue after eight months. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRider3141 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 3 hours ago, Chief said: Had a KS Eten that started having issue after eight months. What issues? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 19 hours ago, TheX said: I have the Wolftooth that attaches to my SRAM brake. I like the bearing pivot, and the cable clamp. I keep 2 of their replacement breakaway axles in my toolkit. They're super cheap, and when you need one, you really need one. But after 2 years, I've only had 1 fail on a fairly slight impact. https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/collections/dropper-levers/products/remote-replacement-axle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted June 19, 2020 Author Share Posted June 19, 2020 I am a definite Wolftooth fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 Wolftooth gets a lot of well-deserved praise but after owning both, I prefer the PNW lever. The wolftooth tore multiple pairs of gloves until I put tape over the trigger, and I had the plastic piece break while reattaching it once. The PNW is nicer looking and just as smooth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 Literally the only reason I have WolfTooth instead of PNW's Loam...is because the Loam was out of stock when I was ready to order. And yeah, the knurled lever can wear out a glove right fast. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bestbike85 Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 On 6/18/2020 at 12:54 PM, AntonioGG said: For those with a dropper on their MTB and also a road/gravel bike (with no dropper) how much lower do you set your dropper at full height vs the height on your non-dropper? I have mine set about 1/2" lower than my road bike but I don't use the dropper much. I wonder if I set full height for more optimal pedaling if I'd use the dropper more? I wanted to follow up on this. I too had my MTB saddle about 1/2” lower than both of my other bikes. Recently I pulled my dropper to re-grease it and put it back in and matched it with the other bikes. 3 rides in now I just switched it back to 3/8-1/2” lower. I think I was running it 1/2” lower originally because at times on that bike I’ll get caught with my pants down off of a drop or in some chunk, and still have my dropper up, so that half inch was kind of my bail out in a bad situation. The last couple rides running it at full extent I lost that and had a couple incidents where I was looking for that half inch bail out. I’ll take a little less pedaling efficiency for a little more confidence that if I forget that dropper I won’t completely eat shit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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