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Dec 23, 2023

RockShox Reverb AXS Seatpost Review

This review is for a RockShox Reverb AXS seatpost, 31.6mm post diameter with

This review is for a RockShox Reverb AXS seatpost, 31.6mm post diameter with 170mm travel. It has been transferred between bikes and had the saddle changed quite frequently, so the experience is quite a ‘living with it’ one as opposite to a short term review.

Wireless technology on mountain bikes is an innovation you’d struggle to be negative about. It's tidy, efficient, responsive and easy to work with. Personally I believe one of the best upgrades you can make to your bikes is an AXS groupset, so naturally I’ve got my hands on an AXS seatpost to see if I feel as strongly about this.

The RockShow Reverb AXS is currently available in 100mm, 125mm, 150mm, 170mm travel options, with a post diameter choice of 30.9mm, 31.6mm, 34.9mm. The post length for each travel is listed in the chart below, with a hydraulic Reverb Stealth equivalent also listed to show the gain in overall post length for a Reverb AXS.

Until RockShox manage to compact the innards of the seatpost, 170mm is the longest drop available.

The remote is easily attached to a matchmaker brake clamp by one bolt, and the position can be adjusted. The remote buttons are sharp, easy to press and the perfect shape for a thumb. Unlike some lever action remotes, you need no force to press it down. There's no wandering thumb, looking for the lever in a moment of panic, as the paddle is large enough to immediately catch the thumb. The ease of use is, in my experience, exclusive to this remote. In torrential rain you won't slip a thumb, or 10 hours into an endurance race you won't lose strength to be able to press it.

The speed and smoothness in which the post comes out is bob on. It won't spank you, but it's fast enough to be as responsive as the remote itself. I have transferred this post between several test bikes for the past few months, and I’ve done a lot of bike carrying, sometimes by the saddle. As yet I haven't needed to use the Vent Valve, but if the post were to develop squish, it's a simple case of taking the post out to access the valve, with no pulling of none existent cable. (It can be quite common in Reverbs for air to swap to the oil side of the IFP, resulting in squish. The Vent Valve moves the air back into the air chamber with no disassembly required.)

The AXS battery has a green LED light to show the battery level is high. If the light changes to red, you have 50% or less charge, so you need to remember to check it. The AXS remote battery is a 2032 and I haven't even considered changing that in the time I’ve owned the post. I do, however, always have a 2032 battery in my tool bag so it's not a big concern.

The saddle rail fitment is as pleasant as they come. One bolt to secure it, one bolt to adjust tilt, no loose pieces.

If you have more than one mountain bike with the same post diameter, a RockShox Reverb AXS Seatpost is a great purchase. If you have an internally routed bike, it's a great purchase. If you like a tidy cockpit, it's a great purchase… There's no getting around the price though, so if the convenience is irrelevant to you then it would be more of a luxury upgrade. The long and short of it is that it works really well and the remote is markedly better than any cable or hydraulic lever, and I don't think that's just an opinion, it's a fact.

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Nice review Amanda.Question: Do you think a small saddle pack would ever work with this post (Tube, levers, gas canister)? I’m imagining the battery would make fitment tricky.

Just debating whether to gat a Reverb AXS for my drop-bar mtb.Cheers

Some EWS racers have turned the post 180 degrees so the battery faces forwards. In that setup there would be plenty of clearance for a saddle bag

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@stanley I use a small weecog bag on mine and it works just great 🙂

What's the weight difference? I could look that up but I feel like it should be in a review.

I’m personally not interested until they get 200mm+. But even then it's a lot of money for a tidier cockpit and slightly nicer lever feel + some real world downsides (need to remember to charge/carry spare batteries around).

Having said that, I’ve never used one. Perhaps they feel so amazing I’d be convinced!

They do feel amazing, also you can change which button actuates it when paired with AXS gears, which is ace, battery concerns for me are a non issue, needs charging maybe once a month if you don't do it out of habit every ride. And again, if using AXS gears, you can use that battery to set the post wherever, then swap back. Or just carry a 25g spare if you are paranoid.

I stopped caring about weight a few years ago, but IIRC it's about 750g, 100g more than a regular one

@wishiwascalledsteve Got any more info or links to how this was done?

some real world downsides (need to remember to charge/carry spare batteries around).

Unless you are off to ride for more than a week of 9+ hours of riding a day then that isn't really a downside. Spare battery is always handy, but it isn't needed for every ride. Charger isn't a major hassle to pack either, but you do need to make sure you have access to power when you do need to recharge.

I don't ride every day but I’m recharging the battery every 2 months, so it does seem to have plenty life in it.

Your concern seems to suggest you may be thinking it is like Apple products (and some other large screen smartphones) that need to be charged every single day…it isn't. It also only really uses power when it is being used, so unless you are using it constantly whilst riding (as in raising and lowering it constantly and not just for adjusting for the terrain) then the charge lasts a good while.

@spannermonkey – at a guess, you remove the saddle, turn the post round so the battery housing is at the front and then refit the saddle. The tilt adjustment is then at the rear of the bike and you will just wind the adjuster to get the required adjustment that you need. The battery part of the unit only goes as low as the seatpost collar, so unless you have a seriously angled top tube, the battery shouldn't come anywhere near the bike frame when the saddle is fully dropped.

@dickbarton unfortunately not as simple I believe, Berm Peak have a YouTube video where he tried, but the battery pushes up against the underside of the saddle

Will be interesting to have a wireless dropper comparison soon – trans-x and magura (updated viron) both releasing posts this year.

RE turning the post 180 degrees..Jesse Melamed has jsut popped a vid on pinkbike showing around his EWS bike and he does this… apparently SRAM made new mounts or something, to allow it to fit.

MAY be something for aftermarket companies to make?

DrP

@spannermonkey – it isn't something I’ve tried myself, but that sounds a reasonable issue – I hadn't considered angle of saddle and battery pack, just the lower bit and the frame space…

@DrP ooo that's interesting "Rockshox made me custom seat clamps"

Reason I’m interested is that like in the Berm Peak vid, I’d end up with the post dropped right to the collar and can't see how to get past the issue of buzzing the battery on the rear tyre at full compression and then ripping out the battery

Had my 150mm since the launch 2 years ago, swap it between 3 bikes using a Crank Brothers seatpost shim, same saddle, though I swapped it over a fair few times before settling on the ‘one saddle to rule them all’. No issues with battery life even with multi day camping trips, use AXS gears so I do have a spare battery. Absolutely no issues and I love what I call the ‘bump’ feature, a quick tap and the post drops 5 to 10mm to give a bit more maneuverability on techy climbs. Yesterday I rode a demo bike with a cable operated dropper and missed this ‘feature’ so much. As for cost when I purchased it was the same as 3 x service for my Fox Transfers so pretty much a no brainier, at current prices it is a luxury option if you are just replacing one post. The only negative is that by just undoing the traditional hex bolt on your clamp the whole thing can be carried away by a light fingered thief, sorted this by using a ‘security’ hex bolt on both clamp and trigger bolts. The mechanics at Bike Park Wales thought it was a neat idea and it does the job.

since the launch 2 years ago,

4 years ago…

Surely a con is the near £600 price tag. For a seat post.

Where you can get the same functionality for less than £100 from Brand-X.

It's not the same, of course, but it's absolutely a negative. Until there's mass adoption the price of wireless is still gonna be eyewatering.

Surely a con is the near £600 price tag. For a seat post.

The first listed ‘Con’ is that it's expensive.

Provides more of a benefit over standard droppers than spendy cranks do over budget ones though.

Where you can get the same functionality for less than £100 from Brand-X.

Yes the price is a eye watering…. But I bought my first one new for £450, so in line with other top end posts of the time, and my other 2nd hand at £300. Both have been as reliable as brand-x but have a much much nicer feel and benefits of wireless. If I were building a bike on a budget id go with brand-x and a nice lever. No budget build, axs if by far the best at the moment….

We’ll see how the trans-x / brand-x wireless post stacks up later this year but the £500rrp will still put it in the ‘silly price’ category for most people.

I’d also disagree on ‘same functionality’. Yes, the seat goes up and down, but the speed of actuation/lack of lever throw means that you barely even have to think to operate it, never mind push a lever through all its travel to activate it. Then when combined with AXS shifting, the ergonomics mean I barely have to move my thumb to make it work on the RHS shifter, using the knuckle of my thumb.

Surely a con is the near £600 price tag.

Err, try £791 RRP… 😲

They are bloody good, but not that good.

Look at what they actually sell for though – around £500, I’ve never paid more than that.

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