Budget Dropper Posts?

Any suggestions for a sub $250 dropper with external routing?

X-fusion Hilos at MEC fit the bill (and MEC's warranty seems like a good thing for a component like this).  Anyone have experience with recent Hilos?

i have been using the x-fusion from MEC for about 5 months, no problems so far. fairly solid and does the job

Giant Contact Switch is good as well.  I would highly recommend a thumb style remote for it though.

The brand-X Ascend gets pretty good reviews, and it's even cheaper than the Giant:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/brand-x-ascend-dropper-seatpost/rp-prod149024?gs=1&;utm_source=google&utm_term=&utm_campaign=Chain+Reaction-UK-PLA-PLA-All-DT-SE-Shopping+QLB+Manufacturer+Desktop&utm_medium=base&utm_content=mkwid|ss4U34U72_dc|pcrid|161845658788|pkw||pmt||prd|543321UK

I'm in somewhat of the same boat looking for an affordable dropper, but my biggest issue is the 27.2 tube that it has to fit in.

Does anyone have any experience with the PNW Rainier?  That's one of the only options I can find.

Two of my my friends have the PNW Rainier. One says it works flawlessly and has been quite happy, the other has had some cable housing issues which has left the dropper with a bit of a sticky feel to it, but I think that could be mitigated through proper installation.... PNW seems to make great stuff and they stand by it as well.

Posted by: Ninjatarian

I'm in somewhat of the same boat looking for an affordable dropper, but my biggest issue is the 27.2 tube that it has to fit in.

Does anyone have any experience with the PNW Rainier?  That's one of the only options I can find.

A few years back i had the x-fusion hilo 100 in 27.2 that i purchased from mec.

i ran it a summer season on a hardtail, weighing in at about 100kgs, so not the nicest environment.

i sold it to a cheap friend who wanted it, and it survived another summer under him till he sold the bike. pretty sure i'd of heard if it broke / failed while he owned it.

nothing fancy, and only 100mm of travel, but it went up and down

Here you have super cheap dropper post https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/tranzx-remote-seatpost-31.6mm-490757/wg_id-369

I ended up getting the Hilo 125 from MEC.  Did my first ride on it yesterday, and it was all good. We'll see how it holds up.

I have the Giant Switch and it needed a full cartidge replacement at 10 months.

Posted by: Ninjatarian

I'm in somewhat of the same boat looking for an affordable dropper, but my biggest issue is the 27.2 tube that it has to fit in.

Does anyone have any experience with the PNW Rainier?  That's one of the only options I can find.

I've got a 27.2 PNW Rainier I really like their lever design. And it's been working fine for me.

I've got a Thomson Elite in a different diameter, and it's been working flawlessly as well. I know they make it in 27.2, albeit pretty pricy. 

How comfortable with used equipment? I've seen some used Thomson Elites go for ~$300 USD.

The Giant my Trance came with is a bit of a disapointment. 

The wiper seal cant keep dust out, and the slider now looks like an old fork that has never been serviced. The seal is also not replaceable so I'm watching it die a slow death to be replaced by something else when it finally collapses. Rotational and side to side play is also way too much for my liking.

My friend has giant dropper and he already has got 2 replacements for new ones so he doesn't complain and  cartridge in Poland cost less then 30 $

I'm trying out the new X-Fusion Manic. If it dies, I can get a new cartridge out of warranty for $25 USD, which sounds like it's easily user-installed. I paid $20 to ship my KS Lev Integra back for a warranty repair, so X-Fusion's approach is appealing.