Hi Roy, No play in the rear end. I had mine assembled at the shop. No problems with the dropper lever yet. Does look a bit weak and the cable fit is crap. Will be interested to see what you come up with.
Now just over 100kms. No probs with chains and sprockets but I am "mechanically sympathetic" after reading issues for others.
This thing gets me to places I would not previously considered. Pretty awesome.
Ok i eventually got the dropper working. required a bit of macgyvering. Basically The screw in the barrel was too short and wouldnt screw in far enough for the cable diameter, it was pulling through the lever when i would go to activate it. I didnt have a longer screw with the same thread/size so I cut some metal, dropped it in and screwed the screw back in, gave it a bit more length so now its holding strong. The dropper is a cheap POS. The action is crazy. Not sure if anyone has seen a dropper that activates by the cable sheath ‘pushing’ up on the activation mechanism, but thats how this one works. I’m looking at replacing it if i have ANY trouble whatsoever. Last thing i want to worry about on the trail is the dropper being stranded at a certain height.