Thanks lads, replies much appreciated.
Have decided to pull the trigger, will report back once in my hands after ive had a run with it!
Rigid in rock garden is always fun
In the words of JP “Dave, get that dropper down…yeeeeeoooowwwwwwwwww”.
Pick your line.
Reverbs down to $266 at Merlin, if anyones interested.
Mine should arrive today.
In other words you ignored all the advice in the thread! Make allowance for servicing. And not something you really want to try yourself- a million small prts inside
Im pretty sure the general consensus was that they work, and are a good addition to your mtb.
Servicing maybe pricy if something goes wrong, just like all fancy doodads, but nothing out of the ordinary in terms of longevity or being prone to breaking prematurely!
From someone who raced DH in the 90s and now rides MTB socially five times a year I would just like to ask what the point of them is?
I have a dual suspension bike with a four dollar quick release seatpost and I change the heights of my seat at the top or bottom of trails and it costs me maybe 10 seconds on a social ride.
I get there is a purpose to them but I’m not seeing it.
Rhys you curmudgeon! They allow you to change your seat post height on demand. You never have to stop riding (apart from catching your breath and talking shit). They are actually great and make general trail riding fantastic. I have only used the ‘low’ position on mine on actual DH trails ( and there it stays) but on my regular rides u switch between the ‘mid’ and ‘high’ positions regularly.
Droppers are everywhere now. You even see them in the first row of XCO WC now. Their purpose is not in question the only issues with them are weight, durability and expense… all of which are being improved year on year, except the latter :).
Sure some elite XC riders (thinking Nino Schurter, Sam Gaze, Anton Cooper) can take on DH tracks with 100mm travel, their seats jacked right up and slammed negative degree stems, but not your average rider. I’d rather be able to ride uphill efficiently and charge down and gap doubles and take decent drops. Droppers rule.
But…but…I questioned them? 
Thanks for explaining. I understand now what they are for and that I don’t really need one. But they sound cool.
I’ve been on the fence about getting a dropper for ages. The biggest thing stopping me is 1- the rip-off prices, and 2- the sucky reliability.
I mean the local RRP for these things is as much as a mid-range suspension fork- I mean, come on!
In defence of droppers they are every bit as complicated as a mid-range suspension fork.
I agree that MTB is getting ridiculously expensive (I rode with a guy the other day who’s SC was more expensive than my car!), it doesn’t need to be. FWIW I have a rigid SS 29er which is the perfect winter bike. cheap and low-maintenance. At the end of the day it depends on the trails you ride and how you fast you want to ride them. For tech trails punctuated with steep ups and downs they are the biz.
I did a few rides with dudes using droppers and I have to say they look rad.
I can definitely see how cool they are but for now I don’t spend enough time on the MTB to justify getting one. One day…
A dropper post is the second most important thing on a MTB after the brakes imho. I would rather ride without suspension than without a dropper. Its just MUCH MORE FUN.
Yes in the old days I just dropped my post manually but in the old days I also used to ride UP and DOWN a mountain not up and down and up and down up and down up and down…
I have a Specialized dropper post, works without issues since day one.
1st ride with dropper today, awesome.
Took a little getting used to, but being able to drop my centre of gravity further really helped my confidence through the rough bits. Particularly felt good going through the wooden berms being lower, jumps felt better as i was able to scoop the rear without the saddle hitting me.
Obviously have a long way to go in making it second nature, but easily worth the cash imo.
Numbers dont lie! PRs on sections where it was mainly downhill, berms etc
Shimano are coming to the party
All the endurobro’s having a moan about no 150mm+ option though. I can’t see it being too far away though. Cool that it’ll integrate with the existing levers etc.