Muddymoles mountain biking in the Surrey Hills and Mole Valley

Rockshox Reverb dropper post review

Posted by DaveC | July 3, 2012 | 5 comments so far

RockShox Reverb seat post extended

I’ve had a few months now with a Rockshox Reverb fitted to my Spearfish and wanted to report my thoughts.

Just to give you a little background to my experience with dropper posts I’ve also got a Gravity Dropper on my Orange Five and a Crank Brothers Joplin 2. Each has it’s pros and cons and I’ll come to that a little later.

So, the Reverb I tested is 125mm travel and can be locked at any position. Being a short arse myself 125mm was cutting it mighty fine for my saddle height, you can see form the photos there are literally 1 or 2 millimeters to spare. That’s not really the fault of the seat post though is it.

RockShox Reverb seat post lowered

Seat clamp is a fairly conventional set up and holds the saddle securely. I did have one occasion where it worked loose but that could have been my fault. It didn’t do it again after I’d re-tightened the bolts.

Out on the trails it’s just a case of seeing a need for saddle lowering and then pushing the standard Rockshox hydraulic release, familiar from all the XX forks, and weighting the saddle until you get the required height and releasing the lever.

RockShox Reverb remote lever

125mm, or 5″, feels like a lot of drop to me. Others may disagree but for what I do it’s more than adequate, especially given the Spearfish is an XC/Endurance bike. There is a very slight hesitation before it drops and before it returns but not noticeable once you are engaged on the trail. 125mm of  hose also has to go somewhere and although there is a cable guide supplied you do need to give the routing some thought so you don’t end up with your legs getting tied up or annoying tyre buzz.

RockShox Reverb cable guide

Over the 6 or so months it’s been being used I’d say it worked faultlessly. It’s not been the same for all the Moles and a local shop does seem to have had alarming returns rates (although no quibble repairs seems to be the order of the day) but for me everything still went up and down OK.

So how does it compare with my other droppers?

The Gravity Dropper I’ve had the longest and seems to be a reliable unit amongst the Moles in general. Only ever seen one fail. It takes little more getting used to as you have to unweight the saddle, press the lever, weight the saddle, release the lever and then lift again until it clicks. Actually very easy to get the hand of but takes practice. Cable is fixed length so no issues there. Only availing in 27.2, shims included for whatver size you need if you buy it from an authorised dealer.

The Joplin is quite old now and suffers from more side to side movement but I’ve kept mine fairly clean with an inner tube boot and I’ve not seen excessive wear. The release is also one of the best in my opinion as you just have to move it to release. this can be a push, pull or stab in the dark. NO 27.2mm option

The Reverb needs you to push the release in one way only but in reality that was no big problem. I suspect that after speaking to others the slight lag in release might mean the hydraulic release needs bleeding which I suppose it more complicated than oiling or replacing a cable. If you have Avid brakes the procedure looks the same as bleeding those. Again, no 27.2mm option.

So in summary I’ll give it 4.5/5

Filed under Components, Reviews in July 2012

DaveC

About the author

Dave's been riding seriously since about 1997 and is one of the founding Molefathers — along with Matt and Mark — that came up with the idea of a MTB website for Mole Valley riders.

He's had several different bikes but it's now mainly 29ers in Dave's stable, apart from an Orange 5.

Current Bikes: Orange 5, Salsa Spearfish and Kona Big Unit

There are 5 comments on ‘Rockshox Reverb dropper post review’

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  1. Lloyd says:

    Just providing some comparison – I have the KSi950 with the manual lever under the saddle as opposed to the remote release. Also 125mm of travel. I chose the KS as it had a manual lever. I did not want remote release as it was just another cable and bar clutter, and given the riding we do most times I expected to have time to manually lower the saddle.
    Having had it for 9 months it has worked faultlessly. The seat clamp is secure, adjustment can be set at any level in the travel and it stays solid at the set height – and dare I say it but 5 inches seems adequate.
    Negatives, well there is some initial stiction when lowering but once used to it it is not a problem. The jury is still out on the remote release or not, there have been times when it would have been useful but not enough for me to retrofit one although making the choice again I would probably go quick release. Overall I have been very happy with the KSi950 and at £100 less than the Reverb it has been excellent value.

  2. Andrew AKAK says:

    I have had the 2012 reverb running very happily for about 2 months. I have nothing to compare it to so I will only say that in my opinion the RH remote mounted under the bar on the left is tidier (especially without a front shifter). Also the placement of that plastic guide on the seattube is critical for controlling what the loose cable does – the spearfish looks a bit awkward in that regard (and the mount is IMO upside down in the pic).

  3. LordOnOne says:

    Nice review! I went with a Command Post Blacklite for the mechanical cable, mechanical internals, offset head and reasonably untarnished reliability. Nothing particularly amazing but it works…at the moment.

  4. Markymark says:

    A nice piece of kit, made more reliable by a few key upgrades for 2012. While actuation of the original Reverb relied on the same type of plastic tubing used on RockShox’s X-Loc suspension remotes, 2012 models are instead fitted with hydraulic brake line.

    Evidently the first generation Reverb’s plastic line and barbed press-fit line fitting detached too easily in crashes. With the new line, the fittings are also replaced.

    At the post end there’s a sexier looking replaceable branded fixture (oh, you also get a handy little packet of spares), while at the remote end there’s a new thread-in design that should prevent disconnection under stress. The new thread-in fittings also make line adjustment easier; simply unscrew the fitting, cut the line and then thread the fitting back into the line, after which the system may need to be bled. It’s even easier to bleed than brakes and even comes with a bleed kit.

    Worth pointing out that the fluid is RockShox 2.5w suspension fluid, not the same as the DOT 5.1 brake fluid used in the Avid’s, so dont mix ’em up by mistake.

  5. Steve says:

    I bought my Cube in November 2012 by Mail order from a Bike shop and had them fit the Reverb. They did a nice tidy job and it works well, however just this weekend whilst cleaning my bike after a ride, I noticed the cable had detached from the lever on the handle bars. It looks like an interference fit but keeps popping out. Not sure if I snagged it on the ride but still this is pretty poor. Taking it to a local shop today to have a look at as the shop I bought it from couldn’t do much without looking at it. Funny thing is that the seat still drops and works fine when I push the cable back in.

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