Another Reverb tale of woe...

Nautonier

Eats Squid
Having been an avid Reverb advocate for years, I'm now at the end of my rope. I know this topic has been covered like a zillion times before, but I need my soap box.

About 4 months ago, I paid NSD quite a lot of coin to service the thing and replace several expensive seals etc as it was dropping about 15mm while weighted at full height. Now, after a weekend of 'normal' riding 4 months on, it is doing exactly the same thing. NSD assured me that they used the 'new' seals/parts and this would not happen again, but here we are.

I've just had a nightmare with a Giant Connect post on my other bike and am now in dropper post heaven with a KS LEV Integra, but I wasn't expecting Reverb issues so soon on my other bike, so don't really have unlimited funds to sort it out.

So my question to you, dear burners, is this:

What is the cheapest and easiest way to get back to having a seat post that stays at maximum height and drops 125mm reliably and consistently through rain, hail and shine year after year?
 

Boom King

downloaded a pic of moorey's bruised arse
What is the cheapest and easiest way to get back to having a seat post that stays at maximum height and drops 125mm reliably and consistently through rain, hail and shine year after year?
Sell the Reverb, buy KS anything.
 

Ultra Lord

Hurts. Requires Money. And is nerdy.
Fixed with a quick release lever.

They all fuck up. Although my giant contact has been awesome, others have broken theirs (yourself too apparently). Plenty of stories about reverbs, ks's, fox, fuckin everything. Pick a post and be a dick about it!

Pinkbike raved about the 9point8 fall line, and I haven't seen anyone bitch about that braking. I also havent seen one in aus either. Time for a test mule!
 

JTmofo

XC Enthusiast
Buy another KS Lev.
Even the B1 reverbs can suffer from the seal failure you're experiencing. Mine lasted 3 week.

Reverbs are junk. There is no 2 ways about it. Rockshox have over complicated the design and are determined to persevere.

You may be able to jag an older KS (gold shaft) for cheap. There are also some other fully mechanical options available, but non are cheap.
 
I've got a KS underseat lever operated post sitting here. 31.6mm 125mm drop
Not currently using it. Good condition.
Love the action and the operation but should have got it with the remote. Was advised this prior to buying it. Doh!

Am using an X-fusion Strate at the moment. Like it. Remote is one of the best I've used. Other bike has a Spesh Comannd post, which I've been pretty happy with for a while now. Coming on 4yrs and just recently had it all rebuilt after it imploded. But has been solid prior to that
 
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Wake Jake

Eats Squid
Give it back to Sram for warranty. My B1 lasted a few months before it was dropping 20mm and it was replaced no questions asked even though I purchased it O/S hand:
 
Z

Zaf

Guest
Hey man, Bike yoke are just starting to advertise a Reverb rebuild which includes a "revive" bleed port which gives the reverb the same functionality as their Revive Dropper. Looks EXACTLY like what you need.
I'll try and link the video I just watched on their facebook some time, also, having dealt with the company over some custom Yokes for the Stumpy, I can say they're absolutely brilliant bunch of dudes. I'll pretty much be plugging their products and buying everything they can sell for my bikes because of the quality of customer service they've given me so far.


https://www.facebook.com/BikeYoke/videos/421713214847591/
 

swaz

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I see KS LEV's go for around $200. I bought one 2nd hand from here 4 years ago and it is awesome. I would happily pay for a brand new one because the extra $ is worth it. I don't have to take time away from family, sleep or other hobbies (porn is a hobby right?) to bleed, lube, tinker or generally fuck around and swear at a dropper post that doesn't do it's very basic function.
My KS LEV was attacked by an axe and has still survived! Albeit only the cable was attacked.
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
Having been an avid Reverb advocate for years, I'm now at the end of my rope. I know this topic has been covered like a zillion times before, but I need my soap box.

About 4 months ago, I paid NSD quite a lot of coin to service the thing and replace several expensive seals etc as it was dropping about 15mm while weighted at full height. Now, after a weekend of 'normal' riding 4 months on, it is doing exactly the same thing. NSD assured me that they used the 'new' seals/parts and this would not happen again, but here we are.

I've just had a nightmare with a Giant Connect post on my other bike and am now in dropper post heaven with a KS LEV Integra, but I wasn't expecting Reverb issues so soon on my other bike, so don't really have unlimited funds to sort it out.

So my question to you, dear burners, is this:

What is the cheapest and easiest way to get back to having a seat post that stays at maximum height and drops 125mm reliably and consistently through rain, hail and shine year after year?
Just get a Thomson.

Laugh and mock but this cheap and nasty post has been flawless. Had one for over a year without issues. Nowhere near as smooth as a KS but it works and at $130 I'm happy it's lasted this length of time.
https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/tranzx-remote-seatpost-internal-30.9mm-490763
Are you within the 90kg weight limit? Just wondering how it would hold up for a heavier rider.
 

c3024446

Likes Bikes and Dirt
The problem with the reverb is the inner seal head comes loose over time. Every time the post slams back to the top it can potentially loosen the seal head. So the seal head needs to be tight as all hell, and loctited.

Slow the return speed back as much as possible. I run mine so it comes up "quick enough" but doesn't slam hard when extended, just a nice sounding "knock".

The new B1 posts haven't solved this problem because the same seal head is still there - it still loosens. Send it back to NSD, get them to loctite and tighten the hell out of it.
 

hifiandmtb

Sphincter beanie
Hey man, Bike yoke are just starting to advertise a Reverb rebuild which includes a "revive" bleed port which gives the reverb the same functionality as their Revive Dropper. Looks EXACTLY like what you need.
I'll try and link the video I just watched on their facebook some time, also, having dealt with the company over some custom Yokes for the Stumpy, I can say they're absolutely brilliant bunch of dudes. I'll pretty much be plugging their products and buying everything they can sell for my bikes because of the quality of customer service they've given me so far.


https://www.facebook.com/BikeYoke/videos/421713214847591/
Amazing! Need more info...
 

JTmofo

XC Enthusiast
The problem with the reverb is the inner seal head comes loose over time. Every time the post slams back to the top it can potentially loosen the seal head. So the seal head needs to be tight as all hell, and loctited.

Slow the return speed back as much as possible. I run mine so it comes up "quick enough" but doesn't slam hard when extended, just a nice sounding "knock".

The new B1 posts haven't solved this problem because the same seal head is still there - it still loosens. Send it back to NSD, get them to loctite and tighten the hell out of it.
Why cant Rockshox manage to provide a post that doesn't shit itself when being used within its design limits? If this issue is the cause of failure, why supply a post that has the ability to return so quickly? Why not retard the return speed on all the posts they supply to prevent this from happening?

Rockshox Reverbs can go and suck a fat one. They have a huge market share, but must have a massive ratio warranty return rate in proportion to other manufacturers of posts.

I've had 2 reverbs, first one spilled its guts 3 times in 3 months and was replaced by the LBS with a KS Lev.(Gen 1 Stealth)
Second one lasted 3 weeks (B1), before binding at 2Nm of the seat collar and sagging 20mm under weight. This has also been replaced by a LEV.

Is it acceptable, after all these years of market availability, customer feedback and evolution, that Rockshox still produce a sub par post? Knowing the remedy to the fault and not fixing it?
 

JTmofo

XC Enthusiast
Hey man, Bike yoke are just starting to advertise a Reverb rebuild which includes a "revive" bleed port which gives the reverb the same functionality as their Revive Dropper. Looks EXACTLY like what you need.
I'll try and link the video I just watched on their facebook some time, also, having dealt with the company over some custom Yokes for the Stumpy, I can say they're absolutely brilliant bunch of dudes. I'll pretty much be plugging their products and buying everything they can sell for my bikes because of the quality of customer service they've given me so far.


https://www.facebook.com/BikeYoke/videos/421713214847591/
These guys are doing some very smart work. Some real innovative solutions to common issues.
The revive post looks awesome too.... I was all one for one before jagging another LEV at an absolute bargain.

Great to hear the customer service is good too. I think MTB Direct are selling their stuff now too....
 
Z

Zaf

Guest
Just get a Thomson.
The Thomson is good, right up until it's not. Mine went through a good amount of usage then started to have the slop under weight, and the service bill for it will set you back what a Brand X or X-Fusion Mania will cost...and HAS to be sent away because they designed it with custom tooling in mind that only they hold.
I'll be getting a Bikeyoke Revive 160mm for the Stumpy in the coming months. It was on the shortlist with the e*thirteen but my recent great customer experience with Bikeyoke has me on a bit of "take my money" loving relationship in which they have all the power.
 

moorey

call me Mia
Reverbs have reliability issues? I didn't realize.

Seems odd that numerous companies offer them as an expensive upgrade on a Lev on bike builds. Go figure.
 

Boom King

downloaded a pic of moorey's bruised arse
Hey man, Bike yoke are just starting to advertise a Reverb rebuild which includes a "revive" bleed port which gives the reverb the same functionality as their Revive Dropper. Looks EXACTLY like what you need.
I'll try and link the video I just watched on their facebook some time, also, having dealt with the company over some custom Yokes for the Stumpy, I can say they're absolutely brilliant bunch of dudes. I'll pretty much be plugging their products and buying everything they can sell for my bikes because of the quality of customer service they've given me so far.


https://www.facebook.com/BikeYoke/videos/421713214847591/
Great idea but why should you have to pay $170 odd plus fitting to make your dropper work, when it should work in the first place?
 
Z

Zaf

Guest
Great idea but why should you have to pay $170 odd plus fitting to make your dropper work, when it should work in the first place?
Couldn't agree more, but given that a servicing costs $98 for the seals alone, it's not a huge stretch to spend the extra dosh to get something that'll work reliability once it has shit the bed, and at a price point half of a new one.
 

Nautonier

Eats Squid
Some great suggestions thanks guys.

Yuley, that's a very good price on the KS, only thing is I need internal routing. 30.9.

Zaf, great find on the RS mod, I agree that even at ~$170 it's not much more than I would pay to get it fixed and it's a lasting solution.

Of course the other lasting solution is a KS LEV Integra, if I can afford one. I manage to get the latest model for my other bike for $200 on ebay recently, but that was a hell of a lucky find that I don't think I could replicate. The older style gold ones can be found for about $380, but as I've been spending far too much on bike related purchases lately that's a stretch...

After spending some time on the KS, it really reinforces just how shoddy the Reverb is. The KS is just so smooth, solid and reliable. Everything about it just reeks of quality (apart from the lever, which was replaced by a Wolf Tooth). Having to bleed the hose at least 3 times every time you disconnect the post or lever is such a drag and as has been said the whole design of the thing is just way too complicated with too much to go wrong.

Regarding the possibility of pursuing a warranty replacement (so I could at least sell it for a half decent price), does anyone know if there is any way to contact Sram (or Monza) directly without having to go through a bike shop? Not too keen on hassling bike shops for warranty issues when I haven't purchased a product through them. There's nothing in it for them and that's usually reflected in the level of enthusiasm displayed.
 
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