RockShox’ latest Reverb looks the same but has brand new SKF sealed internals plus long and fat fit options with all the same fully hydraulic pros and cons of previous bikes.
The upside is that hydraulics completely remove any worries about tight, kinked or dirty cables affecting performance.
The downside is that installation into internally routing frames is more awkward given the size of the fixtures on the end of the hose.
Even with the cunning self-sealing Connectamajig plug, removing/intalling the hose can be awkward though and while syringes and fluid are supplied bleeding the post is more complicated than changing a cable if there is a problem — particularly trailside.
The plunger doesn’t sit that well with Shimano shifters either, but SRAM’s Matchmaker syncing is superb. New 170mm stroke and 34.9mm seat post sizes increase versatility and it’s also one of the lightest posts available although it’s heavy on the wallet.
Unfortunately while the pre-production posts we originally tested were fine, subsequent early production units have had a very high incidence of assembly faults that have left them bouncing up and down at the top of the stroke. This can be sorted with a rebuild following the correct procedure and QC and SRAM assure us that all new production batches will be sorted before sale but it’s been a serious inconvenience for early upgraders.
