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I need a new dropper post for my big bike - the £35 Reverb I bought 2 years ago has finally got too annoying.
I currently have a 150mm drop, but could just about squeeze a 180mm One Up in there. However I've never felt the current drop hinders me in any way. As its on a 29er I tend to buzz the back wheel before I hit the saddle on truly steep stuff.
Is it possible I don't know what I'm missing...?
I'm 5'10" if that makes any difference.
I have the longest drop I can get without saddle hitting the tyre and my correct pedal height
Yes.
Granted, I'm taller than you at 6ft 3in, but I've gone from a 150mm dropper to a 200mm on one bike and 210mm on the other, it's so much better.
If you are buying a new dropper why wouldn’t you get the most drop you can fit? Are the extra 30 or 50 grams of the longer drop important to you?
If you are buying a new dropper why wouldn’t you get the most drop you can fit? Are the extra 30 or 50 grams of the longer drop important to you?
Well this is exactly what I'm asking. If there's no practical benefit to the extra 30mm drop, then I'll take the 45g. Lighter is ALWAYS better, providing it doesn't compromise anything else.
Going 125mm->150mm was a useful improvement, but I've never had any issues running into the saddle since then, so I'm not sold that adding more drop just for the sake of it is a benefit.
I can’t tell you whether you will get any benefit. I, at 5’8”, am OK with 150mm but do prefer 170/180mm and would try longer if the opportunity arose. In my opinion the risk/reward balance is heavily on the try longer side but you may think different.
Go for the longest drop you can afford and fit. It wasn’t that long ago we all thought 100mm was fun, then 125, then 150. I’ve gone from 125mm to 200mm and don’t think I’d go back if I could help it, to the point where seat tube and seat post insert length are numbers that I not deem to be as important as HA, Reach and STA.
Edit - I’m 5’11” with a 32 inside leg and love my 200mm dropper
I’ve got one of the first Reverbs (no idea what the drop is) and I rarely drop it all the way down. I used to ride bmx and never slammed my saddle as I like it between the bottom of my thighs to keep good control.
It might help that I’m 5’7” with short legs but I can’t ever see me wanting a long drop post.
I can only use 125mm droppers as I'm too short to use a longer one.
200 felt weird and like I didn’t need the full length for about 3 rides, from then on it made the 150mm on the other bike feel restrictive. Not very restrictive and you get used to it again pretty quickly, but if you can go longer I’d go longer.
5’10 on a 29er too.
Out of curiosity has anyone gone to a longer dropper and gone back? 200 is starting to feel to me feels like around the point where the I could settle, but you never know until you try.
I think once you have more drop, you'll use it and be glad of it tbh. You mentioned rubbing the tyre but that's not totally all that's going on here, if you can get the seat lower then you don't need to be so far back over the tyre.
If you can fit it in then why not?
Go for the longest drop you can afford and fit. It wasn’t that long ago we all thought 100mm was fun, then 125, then 150.
Yep. Unless you are racing XC, the longest post you can fit makes sense.