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Dropper post for cold temperature?

16K views 40 replies 26 participants last post by  dirtrider76 
#1 ·
I have a Reverb on my FS bike and I'm thinking or buying another one for my HT, which I mainly use as an early winter bike. I will ride at temperatures down to -10*C or so. I found out last year that the Reverb is useless for these temperatures and I read that the KS LEV isn't much better.

I need a 27.2mm diameter and I'm thinking that the GravityDropper should work well for that application. The Thomson should be good also (when available), as it seems they engineered it to be usable at very cold temperatures.

Are there other good options I should consider?

Any good points for or against the GD? I read that the lever is awkward... How will I like it compared to the Reverb? Is the mechanical operation still a good option compared to the newest offerings?

Any Thomson users? I own several Thomson products and I am a fan, but the dropper is fairly new and I didn't see much feedback about it.

Thanks!
 
#32 ·
Late to the party, but I would like to share my experience with the LEV.

Mine has worked great down to 15 degrees F. And even then, the problem was with the cables and housing. It would continue to work under that temp if you pull on the housing at the post to actuate it. I have not experimented with different cables, housing, or housing lube. Im sure there is a particular cocktail that would be more freeze-proof than the next.

Anyway, a stuck dropper post isnt #1 on the list of priorities when your water bottles freeze up!
 
#36 ·
I have been having issues lately with my Gravity Dropper.
It seems like the cable might be stuck, or the internal mechanism.
On one ride it wouldn't lock onto any position, up or down, this was at about 15f/-10C.
A while later, it wouldn't unlock from the lower position(in which it had been stored). This was at -5F/-20C.
I've never had these issues before, including all of last winter with temps down to-30.
This started happening after a very wet beach ride, so my theory is that water go in the post and freezes things together when it's cold.
I'll have to pull it apart and see if a clean and rebuild solves the issues.

Btw, I'd say that a non functioning dropper post is much worse than frozen water bottles. I can ride just fine without drinking(for a while), but it's real hard to ride with a saddle way down or compressing up and down.
 
#39 ·
See part #52 at the GD link below. It screws on to the top of the dropper shaft, you will find it if you lift up the bottom of the boot from the post. Others can explain why, but loosening/tightening this cap, it acrews on, affects how the post operates. It is possible that it needs some tweaking in really cold weather.

When I did my service of my GD this was the last thing to tweak, just little increments loosening or tightening affected whether the post gets full extension or stays extended.

About the coldes I have used my GD is 29-30 degrees. First opertion was a little sluggish, but after that it worked no problem.
 
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