I bought a pair of these and had the same problem with the lining around the bottom of the sole's coming off. Can't say I was happy about throwing down that much $$$ to have the sole's come apart after walking around town a couple of days. IMO, these are nowhere near as confortable as the Impact 2's. They look really good, but I think they need a bit of work.

You're right to a degree, but if you're on a trail that undulates frequently from a steep, technical descent to a steep climb you ruin the flow-but that's just a personal preference. I've been lucky to not have a Gravity Dropper break on me, but I have had two QR seat collar bolts break in years past. That's not saying that GD's are indestructable. Like any component, if you don't take care of it you'll run into problems. For $15 plus return shipping I send both of mine back to Gravity Dropper once a year over winter. They completely clean it and upgrade anything they've changed since the previous year, swap out the cables/housing with a new set and send it back ready to ride.

I'm all for adjustable seatposts and have been using the Gravity Dropper brand for 5 years now. I've often thought about changing but never had one break-the only issue ever being cable stretch right out of the box, which happens just like your new derailleur cables-and only takes a minute to unscrew two bolts and retighten the cable. What's been a huge turn off from other hydraulic models is: [B]1.[/B] Size. If you're running an older Turner or some other brands you're going to be hard pressed to find a hydraulic model that will fit your 27.2 seat tube. [B]2.[/B] I can tear my Gravity Dropper down completely with a simple set of allen wrenches. [B]3.[/B] The cables are static and attached to the lowers of the seatpost, so they're not moving up and down with the saddle and hanging off the side of the bike like the other brands-[I]that looks really cheap IMO[/I]. If a company is going to ask a customer to dish out $250+ for a seatpost, they need to think out the aesthetics of their product a bit more. I do think the Joplin, etc... look cleaner and nicer. But that long cable dangling off the side of the bike is just an accident waiting to happen. Get that caught on your shoe as you're going down and you're riding home without a seatpost that works and hydraulic fluid all over the place. Like hampsteadbandit mentioned with his customer, a good friend of mine who will only buy Specialized experienced the same problem with his. After one ride, the thing wouldn't work. A simple coil, derailleur cable and 3 magnets and my Gravity Dropper have been going strong for years-and I weigh about 215 lbs with gear on.