Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

RockShox Reverb Thread

874K views 3K replies 735 participants last post by  Jetta2010 
#1 · (Edited)
Figured we should make a thread for all the thoughts and common issues from Reverb owners and for potential Reverb buyers. It'll also be a great place to post short, mid, and long term reviews of the post, as well as pictures of Reverb setups.

A lot of this information was pulled from the ajdustable seatpost thread. Thanks to BMJ and tscheezy for their contributions.

Strengths
1. Incredibly smooth actuation
2. No degradation of cable to worry about
3. Substantial fork seals should keep contaminants out
4. Easily serviced by any place that services forks
5. Very little play, can't be felt while on bike, only while moving saddle by hand with bike stationary
6. Stupid easy to bleed and shorten cable
7. Solid 2 bolt saddle clamp mechanism
8. Lightweight at 515g claimed weight (30.9mm diameter, 380mm length version)
9. Infinite adjustability
10. 5 inches of adjust
11. Adjustable return speed
12. Syringes/Oil included in box
13. Combination clamp for SRAM shifters included
14. Mounts with matchmaker clamp if you have SRAM shifters and Avid brakes (not included)
15. Quiet. No noise when engaged or moving into a setting
16. Slick looks

Weaknesses
1. May need to be filled pretty much right from the factory if your post is slow (see below).
2. Seatpost clamp bolts may back out on first ride. Make sure to tighten well and possibly loctite. Does not appear to reoccur after things are settled and re-tightened.
3. Hydraulic cable has coil memory and has to be trained a little before it will behave.
4. Hydraulic cable forms large bends when lowered. On some frames need to be creative with cable routing to avoid cable getting into linkage/contacting rear tire with suspension travel.
5. SRAM shifter combination clamp is a pain to setup (not an issue with standalone clamp).
6. Can be sensitive to clamping force if over-tightened. This is true with most adjustable posts. I have not experienced this as I'm a bigger guy.

You Decide
Torx bolt at remote clamp instead of Allen can be annoying if you don't have a newer multitool with Torx head, but less chance of stripping bolt.

Important Note:
For anyone who is experiencing slow return speed out of the box, you pretty much have to follow the procedure that BMJ did, listed below, unless you are shortening the line.

Shortening Line:
You should already have the remote mounted to your bike and the cable routed how you want it at this stage. If you are shortening the line, dial the barrel adjuster all the way to the slowest setting. Remove the line from the remote. The instructions in the SRAM link below say to cut a slit in the cable and then pull off, but I had problems cutting the cable. I used pliers and was able to gently pull the cable off the barb without much trouble. The barb will stay on the remote, so no need to worry about barbs and olives like hydraulic brakes.

Measure and cut the cable to the desired length with a proper cable cutter that won't crimp the hose. Make sure to leave enough cable for your handlebars to completely turn both ways without pulling the cable out of the lever. Hold cable vertical when cutting and plug end with finger to ensure you don't spill any oil. You should have oil up to the end of the cable. Reattach cable to barb of remote. You should be able to push it all the way on with your fingers. If you have problems, wrap a rag around the cable and use pliers to push the rest of the way on without crushing or gouging the cable. Turn the barrel adjuster to the highest setting. Work the seatpost and remote. You should now have fast return like expected.

If you did spill some oil it is ok, you will just have to add some more. Follow BMJ's instructions and the SRAM guide below. It is very simple with the included syringe. You really should fill it with the barrel adjuster in the slowest setting so you get fast return. If you top it off with it in the fastest setting, the post will creep up like a snail.

Bleeding Process:
BMJ said:
I set the speed dial full slow, which pulled in the lever. I then filled one of the syringes and threaded it into the remote bleed hole. I pumped in fluid untill the remote lever was full out again and put a little pressure on the system. Upon removing the syringe, some fluid backed out and then I sealed it back up.

Results....

Full slow is now what full fast was. Full fast is twice as fast as it was. Not as fast as my Joplin or Amp post but alot faster than out of the box. The remote now activates approx 1/3rd the way in instead of all the way in. Now I can use the full speed range and the fast setting is MUCH closer to the way I like it to be.

Either they set it wrong in Taiwan or the barometric pressure / temps are dramatically different here that the settings fluctuated in transit.
Instructions and diagram for hydraulic remote can be found here:
http://www.sram.com/_media/pdf/sram/dealers/XLoc-Hose-Adj-and-Bleed-Procedure.pdf

2 year warranty, original owner only

User Submitted Specs
Actual Weights:
30.9/380 - 522 grams (tscheezy)
30.9/420 - 565 grams (scottg)
31.6/380 - 537 grams (mitja)
31.6/420 -

Install lengths:
I measured about 7 1/4" from bottom of fitting to bottom of seat rails, about 7 1/2" to top of seat rails.
Bottom of silver fitting to the seat rails is 190 mm when post is fully extended. (scottg)
You need a minimum of 195mm of exposed post (from the enter of the saddle rails to the top of the seat tube/collar) to run a Reverb. (tscheezy)

80mm Minimum Insertion Length or about 3.15 inches (Reverb Manual)
 
See less See more
#2 · (Edited)
Short term impressions are great. Despite the few setup quirks, so far this has been the best upgrade I've made to my bike. I love being able to put the saddle wherever I want it for various terrain without having to worry about finding any stopping points along the way. I drop it 1-2 inches for technical descending and all the way down for the steep, rough, downhills. So far the post has been excellent. It moves smoothly without any issues. It doesn't drop or come up when it's not supposed to. The hydraulic remote feels awesome. We will see how it holds up long-term.

Also, just a little quirk. The post will work perfectly fine if you engage it while you're already sitting on it. It does work smoother however, if you unweight the saddle, press the remote, and then sit on it to lower it.
 
#6 · (Edited)
in the trees said:
Rail to bottom of collar measurements need to added to this thread as well. And confirmed weights.
I'll get you up some measurements, but I'll leave it to someone else to post the confirmed weights and I'll add them. I didn't bother to weigh mine before I installed it, and I'm not weight weenie enough to own a parts scale. :p Various posts I've seen around have put it at just around or a tiny bit above the claimed weight, with a little bit more for the longer version and the 31.6 size.

Edit: Added information from previous posts (thanks to scottg and tscheezy). Haven't heard of anyone with either 31.6 version yet though.
 
#2,163 ·
Sorry if this has been answered--I did check and couldn't find it. I can't get used to my reverb--I'm like Goldilocks, it's never right, and nearly wreck I'm so distracted by my post. It was so bad, I took my post off and went back to rigid. Is there a way I can limit my 100mm to 50 mm, that way I can just slam it be done with it? What travel spacers would I need? Thanks!
 
#10 ·
Rick Draper said:
Does the reverb come with a seat post clamp as red somewhere you need to set it to a specific torque so as to not affect the function of it.
No just get a bolt on clamp and use a torque wrench. They do specify torque settings in the manual. No need for a QR anyway with an adjustable post. I didn't have a torque wrench handy, so I just guessed on mine. I tightened it down until it was pretty damn tight, but didn't brute force it tight. If you use a small allen key or multitool like I did, you're unlikely to over-torque it too much with the minimal leverage, though you certainly could if you ape-handed it. It works fine for me.
 
#11 ·
adding air?

Does anyone know if you can adjust the return speed of this post by adding air via a pump? It seems from the instructions given in the beginning here that the return speed of the post is, at least in part, determined by the oil level and proper bleeding.

thanks,
peter
 
#12 ·
chenpj said:
Does anyone know if you can adjust the return speed of this post by adding air via a pump? It seems from the instructions given in the beginning here that the return speed of the post is, at least in part, determined by the oil level and proper bleeding.

thanks,
peter
I don't have one, but my understanding is that the return speed is adjusted by a barrel adjuster at the remote since it is hydraulic and not cable actuated. Someone correct me if I'm wrong
 
#15 ·
5. Torx bolt at remote clamp instead of Allen.
pls move this into the 'strengths' column, where it belongs.

chainring bolts, disc rotor bolts, small clamp bolts (especially if made from aluminum, e.g. hi end formula brakes) are increasingly torx not allen, for sound engineering reasons.

multitool mfg'ers are starting to realize this as well.
 
#17 ·
frorider said:
pls move this into the 'strengths' column, where it belongs.

chainring bolts, disc rotor bolts, small clamp bolts (especially if made from aluminum, e.g. hi end formula brakes) are increasingly torx not allen, for sound engineering reasons.

multitool mfg'ers are starting to realize this as well.
Let's just list it as an either or. ;) For me it was annoying. Personally, I've never stripped out a 4 or 5mm allen before. I've never even stripped out the tiny ones on my lock-on grips in all the times I've taken them off and put them back on.
 
#23 ·
I am very interested in getting a reverb to replace the joplin 4 post I am currently running. The newer joplin has been working well so far but the reverb has so many significant performance advantages that I am looking to make the switch soon. The only thing holding me back at this point is the remote switch. Seems that only right hand remotes are shipping and that a left mount may end up being an aftermarket add on anyway? Also, people are running their RH switches upside down on the left side so the lever doesn't stick up so much. I want to run the remote on the left and it seems that this might be the way to go. Are people running them this way happy with the setup?
 
#700 ·
I too wanted the remote on the left, so I tried it upside down (on the left) I did not like it for one reason. Most of the time I'm dropping the post when the downhill has started and I want to use the front brake. Very difficult to use both the dropper and the brake at the same time. So for months and a few crashes I've had it on the right with no problems.

Giant Reign 2010
 
#24 ·
sessionrider said:
Also, people are running their RH switches upside down on the left side so the lever doesn't stick up so much. I want to run the remote on the left and it seems that this might be the way to go. Are people running them this way happy with the setup?
Nearest I can tell, that's only an option if you aren't running a shifter on the left side. The ergonomics would seem much improved if you are able to run it on the bottom.

I'm also not happy with the LH/RH lottery. Hopefully the next round of shipments will have this as an option.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top