The RockShox Reverb is one of the most common dropper posts on the market, found on everything from trail bikes to burly all-mountain rigs, and over the last few years has proven itself to be one of the best options available. That's not to say that it's 100% perfect, and one area that could use improvement is the shape of the remote lever. The stock lever works well, but it's not the most ergonomically friendly, especially when compared to the levers found on cable actuated posts like Specialized's Command Post or the KS LEV. Due to the Reverb's hydraulically activated design creating a lever that mimics the shape of a shifter is a more difficult proposition, but Novyparts, a small company based in France, have done just that.
The Novyparts remote is designed to be used with 1x drivetrains, and sits underneath the left side of the handlebar where a front shifter would typically reside. Pushing the wide, flat aluminum paddle is all it takes to activate the post, and the speed at which the paddle is depressed determines how quickly the seat will rise to its fully extended position. The unit is CNC'd from aluminum, and weighs in at 50 grams. No handlebar mount is included, but the remote is compatible with SRAM's Matchmaker clamps. MSRP: $149.00 USD.
www.novyparts.com. US distribution is handled by
Prestige MTB.
Installation Installing the Novyparts remote requires a RockShox Reverb bleed kit, a 6mm open end wrench, a 1.5mm hex wrench, a 2.5mm hex wrench, and a little bit of patience. That patience is required because the setup isn't quite as simple as a bleeding a regular Reverb remote, and involves removing the lever blade in order to access the bleed screw, along with the additional step of depressing the piston a few times during the bleed process to get any stubborn air bubbles out.
If you're comfortable bleeding a regular Reverb remote the process is about the same level of technical difficulty, but it did take me a few tries before the lever was working correctly. I performed the same steps in the same order each time, so I'm not sure what changed to make the third try work, but in any case there wasn't any need to bleed it again over the course of the next three months.
Operation
Out on the trail the textured lever blade is easy to reach at a moment's notice, and once depressed moves smoothly through its stroke. The amount of effort it takes to push the Novyparts remote lever is on par with how the stock Reverb remote feels, but the amount of distance the lever needs to travel is slightly longer. For comparison's sake, it's roughly the distance a rear shift lever moves to shift up three gears. I didn't have trouble with the extra amount of throw, but another tester found it to be too long for their liking, and I could see it being a potential issue for riders with smaller hands, who may find it difficult to easily push the lever far enough without rotating their hand on the bar.
Depressing the lever partway brings the seat up slowly, and pushing it all the way sends it upwards at full speed. That return speed is adjusted the same way it would be on a regular Reverb remote, by turning the aluminum dial located where the hydraulic line enters the remote. Even though the lever's edge's are chamfered, I was still a little wary of its rectangular profile, but the position I ended up settling on had it tucked almost directly underneath the handlebar, and I never smacked my knee or snagged any clothing on it.
Issues The cylindrical pivot that the lever is attached to had a tendency of trying to escape upwards and out of the lever body every so often, usually after 3-5 rides, even with the set screw securely tightened against the pivot. The nylon washers on either side helped keep it from working itself all the way out, but it was an inconvenience. After alerting Novyparts about the issue, Maxime Bouchez, the company's owner, said that the remote will now be shipping with an
additional axle that has a groove machined in the center that should help keep everything in place no matter how much usage the remote sees.
Pinkbike's Take: | For riders that are frustrated by the ergonomics of the stock Reverb lever, the Novyparts remote is a well constructed replacement. There are a couple of quirks, but overall its performance is on par with that of the stock remote, with the benefit of a better lever shape. Of course, it wouldn't be surprising to see RockShox release an updated remote of their own in the future, but until then, Novyparts are the only ones who have stepped up to the plate with a viable alternative. - Mike Kazimer |
Handmade Cnc,hard anodized, laser engraved with small local companys around me here for one thing : the passion of the beautiful functional product.
no doubt you will feel the difference
I know initial price is a lot more, but this could be very popular, the standard Reverb remote is a bad design, easy to break and not very ergonomic!
Email is your needs at prestigemtb@gmail.com
Thank you
Cheers
Yes $149 is a lot of money, but it is not a part you will replace or brake.
For some people it is worth the investment, for some people it is not. We understand that.
If the manufacturing of this item can scale sot he price drops closer to $100, then will buy one, as soon as my OEM switch breaks.
2 bucks is not too bad. As he sells more he will be able to demand better pricing to his providers, productivy discounts, commodities pricing other mfg improvements through time and so on, putting all of that together they will be able to reduce a descent chunck from the msrp.
Apart from that isnt MTB a demand driven market? Companies can set whatever pricing they want. No disrepect Nobyparts just curious.
Those of you moaning about the price obviously have no idea about economies of scale. Rockshox make 10's of thousands of remotes and they are only a little bit less. And, they are crap.
The function is really good and installation was not a lot harder then a regular Reverb bleed or lever replacement. It fits my Hope matchmakers and the hose routing is better (more in line with other cables/hoses on the handlebar).
As far a the pricing goes, it is on sale at the moment and is the exact same price as a standard lever at one of the reference online stores.
I feel like it takes a little magic for it to work juuuussst right for even the standard lever.
I use a RH lever underneath on the left, but since the levers on SRAM brakes are so long, if you mount it as the brake lever mount, and have your brakes levers positioned properly for 1-finger braking, then it's pretty far away. I have really long thumbs, and I can reach it, but it's not optimal. Other people who try my bike are like, how can you reach that?
The other option would be having to run two mounts, which I should try, but that might put it in too close, and really they should update it so that it works ergonomically at least with their own brakes.
some one should combine the strengths of all three. x fusion is the easiest to fully dismantle. ks easiest to maintain. outer tube slides of wipe seal. internals protected from crud, slickest movement, best lever . reverb for not having a cable and stealth
I had a reverb. I'd take another if it was a good price, but I can't say it was any better than the giant dropper I have now.
The giants need cables replaced every couple months because the metal part by the lever lets water in the sheathing.
They're harder to adjust incrementally, full up or full down they're fine.
The post jams and gets hard to operate unless you periodically grease the shaft. I started packing the underside of the wiper seal and found it would work for a few months.
You also have to clean all mating surfaces and use loctite when installing and your saddle still will slip nose up/down with the bolt torqued to spec.
The single bolt that holds the saddle stripped on my wifes bike, it's sitting on my workbench waiting for me to go get another. It's a hex, but it kind of looks a bit like a torx for some reason, and i think that has something to do with it stripping. I was using a torque wrench.
They have been reliable other than that. They've never completely failed in one direction.
I have seen issues with cables on other droppers. Maybe so far I have been lucky.
If you wanna spend $150 (like $195 Canadian) for a $39 product, have at it...
Looks like you can find the RS remote for $93. If mine broke and this was one was $100, then I would buy it. However, I would not pay that much to replace something that is currently function for me.
Put it this way - I spend money on all sorts of unnecessary parts to experiment on my bike (Hope Grip Doctor, alloy valve caps, Push Elevensix, etc...) and I also hate the ergonomics of the Reverb lever so have been dreaming of something like this. I am having some issues with a Reverb on a month-old new whip, but my mind is wandering to the 9point8 / Race Face Turbine / Easton dropper... The Reverb is likely going to be relegated to the backup parts shelf, thus spending any money on this lever is unnecessary.
Sadly, this will by Noviparts taking it in the pants when Rock Shox decides to rip off and duplicate it...
Seems like everyone wants to find reasons to justify this thing being priced this highly but the bottom line is that it doesn't enhance your riding or your bike's performance one bit and only resolves an arguable non-existent ergonomic issue at an unreasonably high price.
You are right about SRAM just copying the idea in the long run though, which only further proves my point that it's a stupid business decision. If your economy of scales require you to price it this highly and the demand is only marginal, it should at least be something that no one else can easily replicate. If he sells even a thousand units I'd be shocked... but Rock Shox would then just adapt their design and he's shit out of luck.
I won't be buying one... and like I said, I'd be willing to bet not too many others will be either.
www.amazon.com/RockShox-Reverb-Remote-Lever-Assembly/dp/B0063HGFBW
Are you f*cking serious? If you have ever worked in a bike shop for more then
10 mins you know the reverb has the most issue out of the lot. Out of all posts sold in
2014, every single one got warrantied. WHAT A JOKE pinkbike.
100% better that the 2 reverbs i had wich both broke within a few weeks, in saying that i love my pike and monarch+ RC3 shock!
problemsolversbike.com/products/mismatch_adapters
Assuming Shimano brakes, but is there any other choice?