My understanding is rebuilds are $90 to $120. I have one that came on a new bike. Under 10 rides and its done. I bled it to fix the slow return but now it has the built in suspension.
I bought a KS Lev to replace. That's the best way to fix a Reverb.
$160 doesn't seem unreasonable. Dunbar was doing a special in January where they were charging just for parts but not for labour, and I think I paid $80 or so for the rebuild parts alone. I think they usually charge around $150 all in.
Bleeding the remote has no effect on what's inside. It's the equivalent of changing the cable on cable operated post. Lifting the bike by the saddle when dropped can cause issues. I had one of my Reverbs do the saggy thing after about a year of use. Vorsprung rebuilt it for $100 and it was good. My current Reverb is heading into year three with no issues. Yet.
There are a number of rubber o rings and seals that wear. There is a new floating piston available now that supposedly improves performance. I agree that it's bullshit if the shop merely bled the remote. Clearly that mechanic doesn't understand how the post works. If the remote needs a bleed, the symptoms are slow or non existent return and drop. Pisses me off when I hear that . Does that shop sell you new tires when your shifting gets bad?
Yeah, bleeding the line / lever has no effect on the internals, only on the valve that allows the post to move. Dave at the Bicycle Hub knows his way around Reverbs in Vancouver, or just get it to Fluid Function in Squamish who are the local Sram / RS experts. We can rebuild them in our shop but we just give them to FF due to their quality and price, and it leaves us to concentrate on other things.
I had three years of trouble free use with my Reverb. It needed the occasional bleed, but that was all. Last fall it turned into a suspension post and then it stopped going up and down completely. I ordered the $9 basic rebuild kit from the LBS and rebuilt it myself. The seat post operation is now better than new. It took several tries to get the IFP set right, but I can now do a full breakdown and reassemble in less then an hour. It’s worth learning how to do if you plan on keeping it. You don’t need any of the specialized Sram tools.
Posted by: FraserU
I had three years of trouble free use with my Reverb. It needed the occasional bleed, but that was all. Last fall it turned into a suspension post and then it stopped going up and down completely. I ordered the $9 basic rebuild kit from the LBS and rebuilt it myself. The seat post operation is now better than new. It took several tries to get the IFP set right, but I can now do a full breakdown and reassemble in less then an hour. It’s worth learning how to do if you plan on keeping it. You don’t need any of the specialized Sram tools.
Great info. Are there videos or guides for the rebuild of the post?
I've had 3 different Reverbs since 2012(ish) and IME if you get a good one you're fine but if you get a bad one, or your good one finally shits the bed, what you're experiencing is totally normal and, to me, ridiculous.
In retrospect I should have ditched mine as early as possible and I'd be waaaaaay ahead financially. Mine failed again recently, a few weeks after being rebuilt, and I finally replaced it with a PRO. Good news is that there are now reliable posts out there at $300ish so at least the retail price of these things is finally dropping.
Anyone distributing 9point8 in Canada? Or is direct the only way to buy one?
Probably doesn't help OP now, but I would first see if you are in the warranty period before doing anything with the post. I bought my original Reverb from Merlin online in the UK. Post failed after 14 months, luckily SRAM UK = 2 year warranty so I sent it back and was given a brand new post which worked fine for the following 2 years until I sold that bike. Insured postage to the UK was half the price of a rebuild!
New bike will have a Turbine dropper, hoping it's more reliable.
Posted by: rideitall
Great info. Are there videos or guides for the rebuild of the post?
Sram has a couple videos on Youtube that are ok. Here’s a link to the one for the regular posts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_Eiv1QaRc8. There is one for the stealth as well. They also have a few tech docs on their site. For setting the IFP height I used a wooden skewer marked at 125mm (the same as my seat post travel).
I paid around $300 for my Pro, and I think the Fox Transfer is around there as well.
Posted by: Endur-Bro
Anyone distributing 9point8 in Canada? Or is direct the only way to buy one?
They're made in Ontario and priced in $CAD. Why would you want a distributor?
Posted by: craw
Posted by: Endur-Bro
Anyone distributing 9point8 in Canada? Or is direct the only way to buy one?
They're made in Ontario and priced in $CAD. Why would you want a distributor?
Cuz he doesnt feel right not getting ripped off by a middle man! This direct to consumer thing can be weird for us Canadians :)
^Partly because they're the same price or slightly cheaper in Germany than in Canada. WTC remote can come stock with them now.
I'll likely go Transfer post as I'm unsure if I can justify the additional cost.
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