FSP-502 Mountain Bike Hydraulic Dropper Seat

I recently purchased this dropper seatpost to replace a used KS Dropzone i900r that I had for 2 weeks before returning it. These are the first two dropper posts I have owned and only after a few days of riding on it, I am absolutely in love with this FPS-502 and much like all the pro riders say, you may not think you need one but once you have one you’ll never go back. Ok, so the pros and the cons. I was between this and the “upgraded” 180 dollar version of the DNM dropper. I should also mention I'm 6'7 230# and ride really hard.

I chose this over the DNM for several reasons:

1. Same price, but DNM was not Prime eligible, this one was.
2. The cable connects much lower on this one, down at the base of the seat post not up under your seat like most other externally linked brands, including KS. This allows for more of an “internally routed” feel and look without actually internally routing.
3. As I stated, I don’t have much experience with droppers but in my extensive online research, the biggest complaint across the board, especially with regard to KS and DNM posts is that the remote is simply uncomfortable, breaks easily or both. This one is plastic, versus the KS being metal but man is this one SO MUCH easier to engage. You have to push it “all the way” down for it to work flawlessly but I’d rather it be loose and easy to engage than have my left thumb hurting after a short ride, which the KS lever definitely did.

Here are a few more positives, not compared to the DNM:

1. There honestly weren’t that many 31.6 mm droppers with 125 mm travel for under the 300$. I did an expansive search and came across this one, which had a few recent and decent reviews, another plus in my book.
2. It comes with PLENTY of cable length which allows you to mess up a few times and still be able to cut it shorter if need be.
3. I have made it a point to push this thing the last few days and it has not backed down one bit. Still quickly extends all the way up and smoothly goes all the way down. Will update here in a few months.
4. Full year warranty and although I haven’t had to use it yet and hopefully never will, another reviewer said they were great to work with, responded quickly and sent him a new post so that's promising.

Cons: Some will surely consider these nitpicking but they’re worth mentioning.

1. Aside from the amazon reviews there is literally no information about these products anywhere. I looked all over the web, on MTBR (which I’m going to try and change) and anywhere else I could think of and I couldn’t even find info on FastAce let alone a legit review of this thing, and that’s really too bad.
2. The screw that tightens down the lever clamp is a small allen key and its really a pain in the ass to get in and easily adjust/tighten.
3. Same goes for the mechanism up top involving 2/3mm allen keys and in my case some prayers and loctite to get it to stick correctly, and I’m still not convinced it’ll hold through my rough riding this winter but we’ll see.
4. The directions are poorly printed and even more poorly understood but I’ve worked with enough bike stuff to get it figured out. Just remember, measure twice, cut once.
5. The cable adjuster is simply a nut on the lever, yes it works but it would be nice to have a true barrel adjuster like the KS because the post itself slows down a bit in the cold and it would be nice to adjust on the fly.
6. Finally, there is just a tiny little bit of side to side play in the saddle and I have it tightened as tight as I feel comfortable but its nothing that will stop me from riding it or even buying another.