[Closed] Dropper posts - convince me.

i'd give up rear suspension before a dropper post.

Droppers are one of those things that I laughed at the first time I saw one, but now really can't do without - it feels really sketchy to do any kind of drop or jump, or anything properly steep without the seat dropped, but I want the seat instantly back up as soon as I start a climb or pedally bit, I feel properly disadvantaged now when I ride without one!

Weight weenie XCO riders can see the benefits of the additional weight. For them it's not so much about being faster on a descent, but not elevating their heart rate as much & thus allowing more recovery time. For us mere mortals it definately improved descending prowess and tech single track attackage.

As you get older being able to drop your saddle makes it easier to get on & off the bike?

I can't imagine spec'ing a bike without one. I've had no reliability issues on either an original reverb or my latest Fox Transfer. The ability to get the saddle out of the way or where you need it on a variety of trails is great IMO

I too would give up rear suspension before the dropper...

I built up a hardtail on the cheap a couple of years ago 'cos I fancied a change from my full sus. The Reverb I had didn't fit, so I decided to slum it with a 'normal' post.

I'd bought another dropper before the second ride.

So I guess I did give up rear suspension before a dropper. For me, on the terrain I ride, it just feels horrid not being able to drop the saddle on the fly. I tend to ride quite rugged terrain and I use flat pedals, which may make a difference - if all my riding was on gentle singletrack I might not be so bothered.

If you don't like 'em, don't use 'em, no one's making you.

It's a bit weird that you find it makes riding harder though, do you not drop your saddle at all ever? I mean, having a saddle stuck up your bum is not something that you can argue makes for better riding on technical terrain, otherwise all the pro DH riders would be hitting Val Di Sole with 18" of seatpost on their bikes and BMXes would all have proper saddles. Dropping your saddle out of the way lets you ride tech stuff better, and if you find the opposite then you're definitely doing something wrong there, sorry.

Personally I'd not go near a proper ride without a dropper, they make a massive difference to my ability to not crash, they only weigh a few hundred grams more, and I've genuinely not had a proper malfunction out riding in, what, 9 years of using various different makes and models (X-Fusion, Thomson, and Rockshox, among others). I'd go further than just rear suspension, the only modern innovation I think is more important to have on an MTB is decent disc brakes, I'd rather get rid of rear and front suspension and gears first.

Still in the 'completely irrelevant' camp here... I've got one... i fit it if i go to Afan/BPW, other than that, i don't even bother fitting it... Even there, i hardly ever use it.

Way down my priority list.

Short bloke with long legs here. I have always been a saddle height fettler...no way can I ride tech descents with my saddle at optimum pedalling height.

Droppers are a godsend, fully dropped for steep stuff and drops? Easy. Slightly down for fast, but pedally stuff? Done. Saddle back up instantly at the bottom of a chute to pedal out? Sorted.

I use it more than my gears.

@OP: if you have any 27.2 or 30.9 droppers that you'd like to donate to my kids to make their year then let me know 😉

My mk1 reverb only failed this winter (developed some up/down movement so needs an IFP bleed), I'd say that's a pretty reliable 6 years. It's last bike was a rigid SS, so echo the above comments, it's more useful than suspension and gears!

If none of your riding mates have them I presume you ride fairly tame XC somewhere fairly flat, in which case they're pretty pointless. For everything else it was great.

Caveat to that, I've not bothered replacing/fixing it and TBH haven't particularly suffered as a result. There's less margin for error on steep bits, and jumps are a bit clumsy, but I've not crashed or died. We all managed just fine without droppers, yes they make life easier, but at the same time being able to ride typical XC singletrack with a saddle up isn't a difficult skill to learn, and people who put them up halfway down a descent to sit down for a rest should just work on their fitness, if you can't ride to the bottom of the hill in most of the UK without having to sit down for a rest there's something wrong!

Depends on where, and what you ride. When I lived in Bristol and my regular ride was a couple laps of Ashton Court after work I really couldn't see the point of them.

Now I'm in the Cotswolds, and regularly the singletrack point down I wouldn't have a bike without one. Infact my gravel/Road vice has one.

I'd also forgo suspension for one - my mtb is fully ridgid. Each to there own, but my Pont of view would be 'what's the point of a full sus trail bike without a dropper'? The dropper arguably provides more benefits that 100mm of travel (again purely my personal opinion and not based on any science or fact).

The key indicator of its usefullness is once you reach the point where the thought process is not 'do i need my seat down here', but rather, 'do i need my seat all the way up here'.

Wouldn't be without one now, and I am a long way off riding super gnarcore enduro stages every day.

A lot of love for Droppers. We ride mainly in the Lakes and Dales, by the way.

I have never used one. I've only been riding for a few months now and desperate for one. PITA having to stop and bring my seat back up

I didn't have one for ages, like you I never felt the need.  But I now have one on one bike.

For me, they are almost essential on my long travel bike, because of the long travel.  With 6" up front, if my weight is high up on the bike and I brake, it dives like a footballer, which is rubbish.  That kind of bike needs your weight low, which is why the saddle needs to be down.

However I do not like it slammed at all.  I need the saddle as a reference point, so this is maybe why you feel nervous with a dropper. I usually only drop it a couple of inches.  I only slam it if approaching something very steep bum-on-the-back-wheel type stuff.  Which isn't very often.  I too feel weird and a bit unstable with it all the way down.

In fact, that kind of steep riding is not the main advantage of the dropper for me.  I use it to get my weight lower in singletrack, and I put it up for the climbs or road only.  So it's more of a raiser than a dropper.

I do not have a dropper on my XC bike or my rigid bike, and I don't think I will fit one, because they just aren't that kind of bike.  They don't need it really.

So I would suggest trying it with the saddle an inch or two lowered.

When I lived in Bristol and my regular ride was a couple laps of Ashton Court after work I really couldn’t see the point of them.

Funnily enough, Ashton court is where I realised that sometimes the default position is an inch low, and only put up for some things.

The last bike I built was rigid, it still had a dropper. It’s not just the descents I use it on either, I drop the seat to get a different riding position for a bit of a change on long flat rides/commutes, drop the saddle a bit on technical climbs to get a better COG/allow for more movement. It really is the most useful non essential bit of tech on a bike.

The only mtb I can envisage me having without one would be a full on DH race bike. And I’m far too much of a mincer for one of those now.

If you don't get the benefit of moving your saddle you won't get the point of a dropper so no point trying to convince you, a few people will get some nice deals on droppers so plenty of winners there.

I suspect that the people who don't see the point to droppers have their saddle a lot lower than mine when climbing. Each to their own, but my old knees appreciate having the saddle at the "right" height when grinding up the climbs.

Depends on where, and what you ride. When I lived in Bristol and my regular ride was a couple laps of Ashton Court after work I really couldn’t see the point of them.

That's one of my regular local rides and my dropper is up and down like a yo-yo on a couple of sections - it's just become an unconscious part of my riding, like changing gear. Also ridden it plenty of times with no dropper, certainly not essential there.

When I tried them I just couldn’t see the point, in fact I seemed less confident on the steep stuff.

You're broken, sorry.

I'd almost go back to v brakes before giving up my dropper.

yup on my bike without one approaching any slight tech or seteep descent I go to action the lever with my thumb to find it missing!
I also find it useful getting going on ascents, leg over with the saddle down up and after one pedal stroke down...saddle up!

Hit Boffins Bridge hard enough and you'll want one.

...When I tried them I just couldn’t see the point, in fact I seemed less confident on the steep stuff.  Also, there’s the weight and the reliability issues....

Seeing as you've tried them, have come away with a list of issues and don't really see the benefit why force yourself to run with the crowd?

I very much love mine but not everyone will, you gave it a go, still not convinced I'd take the cash and weight saving if I were you...

When I tried them I just couldn’t see the point

Do you ever change the height of your saddle on a ride?

I was in the "pfft, really?" camp before I got one but now I'd give up gears before the dropper, and it'd be a close run thing between the dropper and my nice forks. It's handy when you bool to a stop as well, just press the button and you're feet-on-floor and bum-on-seat 🙂 I built my new frame up without one (different size) and was on the CRC website ordering one before the mud had dried on the tyres after the first ride 😆

I'm in the yet to be convinced camp myself, quite happy to stop drop the seat & have a play or drop for a specific downhill section but for the expense & hassle they're not for me yet*

* self confessed late adopter

 quite happy to stop drop the seat & have a play or drop for a specific downhill section but for the expense & hassle they’re not for me yet

and when you pop the seat back up it's in exactly the right place for pedalling, and straight no matter what you do. One of the key benefits and when you misjudge the height on the way down you can tweak it on the way.

I'm now in the dropper camp for most things. This has coincided with lots of trail pixie activity locally so there's drops and jumps everywhere. The dropper just makes all that seem safer/ more accessible. This is on an xc hardtail too btw. I have a rigid post set up with an identical saddle too for quick swaps if needed.

Like Molgrips, I feel unstable with it all the way down.  It's funny, because many years ago in the days of fully rigid, canti-braked, long stem bikes, we used to sometimes drop saddles before a tricky descent.  I haven't even had a quick release seatpost clamp for about 10 years.

Having said all that - I may try again.  I'll need to buy a bleed kit because when I took it off I lost some fluid from the lever.  Never say never.

They suit some people + some bikes but not everyone

I have a couple of bikes that work great with droppers and a couple that don't.

Personally I'm used to descending with the saddle up I use it for balance and to judge where to put the bike. I also find dropping the saddle breaks my pedalling rhythm and on undulating ground I prefer to ease off a bit on the descents and cane it on the climbs

I was unconvinced when droppers first appeared and swore blind they were a rip off and totally unnecessary, and without a remote lever (as most of the first available posts were) I would say they still are. Bought a bike with one fitted around 6 years ago and wouldn't consider a PROPER MTB without one now. If u honestly can't see the benefit of dropping the saddle for certain aspects of riding ( talking steep rough descents and jumping mainly),  you could possibly benefit from a bit of coaching. As i say i had the same view when they first appeared but 1 ride and i was 110% convinced, within 3 weeks I had convinced all riding mates who had been equally sceptical to buy one and even if I was a xc racer I personally think the weight penalty would be worth it

I was a naysayer, now I'm a convert. Even have one on my road bike now.

 quite happy to stop drop the seat & have a play or drop for a specific downhill section

This. I'm ambivalent about them. I do have one on one bike, but the other I just drop the saddle when I need it  -but this is more of a play bike I guess so it's not up and down all the time which is where the dropper is useful.

I have a rigid SS, I miss having a dropper on that bike more than gears or suspension.

I don't think they're perfect by any stretch, even now what must be 10 years since they arrived on the scene and 6/7 since they became standard issue for most riders they seem a bit of an afterthought design wise, yes stealth routing helps as does the newer style integrated clamps but they still seem to be a solution crammed into a space designed for just a metal tube, I think it's part of the reason they must be one of the least reliable, least robust parts of an MTB but having said all that, I couldn't live without one now - they were a complete game changer for me.

in fact I seemed less confident on the steep stuff

This part made me wonder - does the OP not drop their seat for descents? If not they're really not making anything like the most out of their bikes, yeah for the first few years I didn't either, clamping the seat between my knees make me feel more secure, but as soon as a learned to loosen up it was night and day, once that happened 1) I wanted the seat as far a way a possible on the 'fun bits' and 2) my speed and 'flow' doubled.

Something as nice and 'traily' as a Primer doesn't want to be ridden like some featherlight XC race bike, rider arse up, it wants to be grabbed by the scruff of the neck and given some treatment, get the seat down and throw it around like the dirty whore of a bike it is.*

*I'm aware I've gone a bit 50 shades now.

In a way i'm jealous though - droppers are expensive, and can go wrong - if you really don't feel the need, or desire to drop your seat on the fly for the riding you do, then that saves some cash and maintenance, and that's always a good thing!

I'd have thought the fact that even pro XC racers are now converting to droppers because they clearly make you fast downhill would be enough evidence to say they're worth having?

ok,so,first off,I only ride rigid SS,that's my choice,has been for 15 years,I've ridden all manner of terrain,UK,and other places,off-piste,and a few trail centers.I have never seen the need for dropper posts,IMO,just another thing invented by the big manufacturers,for them to extract your hard earned.No one needed them back in the day,I never heard anyone say'OMG,I can't ride down that,until someone invents a dropper post'

secondly,I worked as a workshop manager in a well known bike shop for two years, and can honestly say,I recon we had more dropper posts in for warranty,claim,or a bleed than any other  item,including forks ! most weeks it would be at least two or three units,quite often,more.

I'm not going to brand bash,but lets just say the most were from a very well known leading manufacturer of said item,and forks 😉

so,if you want to buy stuff like that,fine,keeps bike shops ticking over,but,why not try riding a good old fashioned hardtail,slide of the back of the seat when it gets steeper,learn some skills,the amount of wknd warriors I've seen who rely on gadgets to ride,then fk up big time through lack of skills when out off their assisted comfort zone,is scary.

what next,electrickery bikes ?

oh,wait.......

remember-KISS.

<span class="skimlinks-unlinked">.No</span> one needed them back in the day,I never heard anyone say’OMG,I can’t ride down that,until someone invents a dropper post’

Did they perhaps use the QR attached to the bike to vary the height of the saddle? Kind of a manual precursor to the dropper post?

I’m not going to brand bash,but lets just say the most were from a very well known leading manufacturer of said item,and forks

Yep Reverb, easily the most common out there on the market. Everyone knows that

,but,why not try riding a good old fashioned hardtail,slide of the back of the seat when it gets steeper,learn some skills

Tick done that, it's OK but far from ideal when there is a much better solution available

the amount of wknd warriors I’ve seen who rely on gadgets to ride,then fk up big time through lack of skills when out off their assisted comfort zone,is scary.

Pedals? Chains? Not sure which other gadgets you are going on about there

remember-KISS.

Or remember calm down granddad, it's still a relativity new sport working out what it's doing. If your having fun squishing your belly on the saddle and contorting yourself down things on elastomer forks and canti brakes then keep going.

for years I didn't see the need for one and rode quite happily on all trails without....until I got a new bike that had one, now I wonder how the hell I used to ride! They are brilliant 🙂

I'd never seen the point before, equally I'd never bothered dropping my post, I just rode everything as-is.

Then my new bike came with one and I still wasn't that bothered. But then I remembered to actually use it and I'm totally converted!! Just makes the fun stuff even more fun! Definitely worth getting an under-bar lever as it's way more natural to use it then (provided you're running 1x obvs).

As you get older being able to drop your saddle makes it easier to get on & off the bike?

This. And sitting comfortably on the bike when you stop.

After having one on my main full sus bike I 'had' to get one for the hardtail too.

Winch and plummet would be 'ok' with a quick release seat post I suppose, but so much easier with a dropper, especially on undulating sections when the dropper lever is getting as much use as the gears.

<span class="skimlinks-unlinked">No</span> one needed them back in the day,I never heard anyone say’OMG,I can’t ride down that,until someone invents a dropper post’

That's because they didn't exist 'back in the day'.  But MTBs often came with seat QRs, to allow the seat to be dropped.

Also, MTBs then were totally different.  As I said - certain bikes benefit much more.

And lastly, I was there 'back in the day' on rigid 26ers with cantis (as were many other riders), and whilst I rode steep tech stuff then, it's MUCH more fun now on a proper bike.  With a dropper.

I bought a new hardtail because having got used to the dropper on my full suss I couldn't ride it anymore.

If you don't see the point of a dropper, because you're happy dropping it manually, then think of it as an upper post. It was a ride at Drumlanrig which really converted me, because it's not descents and climbs, it's all over teh place so being able to put it up for a short section of climb was awesome.

I reckon it feels a bit different if you've got all the skillset of riding hard stuff with saddle up, and not much experience of riding with the saddle down. But saddle down, for any sort of difficult terrain, is just better. It lets you move better, it lets the bike work better.

Me, I had a dropper in my rigid Soda- riding without suspension is fun and challenging, riding without a dropper just spoiled rides, for me.

mmm,

Mikewsmith,

yes I remember cantis,V's were a vast improvement,as were then discs.

not quite a grandad yet,although,can't see any problem with being one,as I inferred,each to their own,we all gota make a living,shame big corporate manufacturers take the lions share,but hey...

as I said,I've been riding my own style for a while,and I think I'm happy as I am,if folks want to spend £2-300 on a uppy downy seatpost,that's their prerogative,each to their own,same goes for suspension,to me it;s all high maintenance/high cost BS. ....IMO.

PS, dont need to 'calm down' as not angry.

you've got that confused with 'amused'

the amount of wknd warriors I’ve seen

genius.

TBH i don't GAS if you use a dropper or not. enough of my mates do, and screwing around with my seatpost while they disappear in to the distance got pretty old pretty quickly.

Keef, is that rigid SS fixed or do you take the easy option and run a freehub? Nobody needed those back in the day.

I have one on my hardtail, but I don't often fit it as it's used for bikepacking mainly and my main bikepacking bag is a seat pack. I know I can fit my dropper and my seat pack but I still find it better with a normal seat post. If I take this bike for a 'proper' ride that's not bikepacking then it'll have a dropper on it

My rigid bike doesn't have one but that's because nothing I ride locally requires a dropper

to me it;s all high maintenance/high cost BS. ….IMO.

So it's you versus the world.  Just don't try telling us we're all idiots fooled by marketing 🙂

Whenever I give my ‘88 Explosif an outing, the thing that I miss (even more than disc brakes) is a dropper post.

I was out for a ride with a mate today and funnily enough he said that he’d give up suspension forks before he’d do without a dropper post now.

I was on my rigid singlespeed but even that has a dropper...

I think I’d give up suspension and gears before my dropper posts. Also, if you think of them as upper posts they make more sense (to me, anyway!)

I wonder what the OP's bike rides are like.

I wonder what the OP’s bike rides are like.

Have someone repeatedly kick you in the bollocks.

Like that.

I wonder what the OP’s bike rides are like.

It's dangerously close to mocking, which isn't my intent, but if another MTBer tells me that they're happy riding around with their saddle at optimum peddling height all the time I assume either they're some hardcore XC racer who can ride though the rock gardens and drops of those sorts of races arse-up, head-down and they're immensely impressive to me, or ride the sort of rides I take from time to time, over hill and dale, caring more about the view and chatting with mates than busting KOMs and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, I just feel a bit sad for that awesome Primer though, it's meant for so much more...

I'm of course aware that very few of us are able to exploit our bikes to the full and I hate the term 'over-biked' but jeez if you can't throw your weight back on a Primer and giver 'er some now and again it's almost criminal.

As you get older being able to drop your saddle makes it easier to get on & off the bike?

Not just me then....

I'm in the 'yeah, it's ok' camp, I use it (more as time of bike/dropper ownership) goes on. I could do without one.

I don't have one but I can certainly see the point: my saddle position is a bit too low for efficient climbing and a bit too high for descending.

I went back to a rigid post last autumn & was surprised how little I missed the dropper.

I started with a Maverick Speedball before ending up with Thomson ones on both my bikes, so it’s been years. The new xc race bike doesn’t have routing for one & while I pondered drilling for an internal post I just stuck an old USE carbon post in.

There have been a couple of occasions I missed it but not where I expected; technical descent etc. Mainly gates, getting on & off the bike!

I think I’ll leave it off the xc bike but when I inevitably build a new fs bike I’ll probably stick one on that.

I never used to drop my post for any riding. It was a full height and stayed there. I was quite sensitive to the saddle being the correct height and the thought of moving it and then not getting it back in exactly the correct position was part of the problem.

I started to struggle on steeper/more technical trails so bought one 2nd hand to try. I wouldn’t build a mountain bike without one now. I did find it took a while to get used to, but it’s brilliant. I’ll only use a rigid post when bike packing, but the riding is more sedate, so less of an issue.

If you only ride mellow trails then I agree you might not need one, ride anything steep though and they're a welcome addition.

I personally like them for the ability to get on the bike without pulling a hamstring!! Having the saddle at the right pedalling height means it's much easier to go on with the saddle dropped and then extend it once moving.

As you get older being able to drop your saddle makes it easier to get on & off the bike?

I'll admit to that, particularly as bikes have got longer travel they can get bloody high when unloaded!

Back when it was a post with a QR I'd rarely get it right first time putting it back up - always would be not quite the right height or perfectly straight, it'd annoy me then I'd stop again to adjust it.

Can't imagine not having one. Even if I built a cheap rigid winter singlespeed I'd stick a brand-x dropper on it.

Tomhoward,

I must confess,I've just sold my fixed cross bike,and yes hands up,I run a big girls freewheel,(but in my mid 50's with a knee op a few years back,I'm getting soft in my old age) stil ride fixed on road/gravel etc,tho.

but then again,I don't recall many running fixed mtb,when it all started,but have dabbled,and I'm not the only one....

Molgrips, no not all of you 😉

Just Googled the OP's bike.  Flippin eck.  If you aren't dropping your saddle then you're wasting your money on that bike and aren't even close to using it the way it was designed.  If you really don't like a dropped saddle sell that bike and get something else.

I have no desire to go back to the days of riding steep stuff with my post at full mast and getting stuck behind the seat when i reached the bottom.

Or getting my shorts sucked in between the canti straddle wire and the rear tyre for that matter.😲

My brother and I designed one on an envelope back in the 90s before even the Gravity Dropper existed. We thought it'd be essential for the kind of riding we could do but I didn't have any resources to take it any further back then.  Turns out we were right and I wouldn't be without one on any xc through trail to enduro type bike. The downhill bike can easily do without one.

Of course don't forget the hite rite...

Like I said before, we mainly ride in the Lakes and don't fight shy of the gnarly stuff. The bike gets used as intended.  My riding chums are much braver (and younger) than me and they don't use droppers either.  However, since I've still got it, I'm going to put it back, give it a bleed and see if it improves my riding.  I'll persevere for a bit longer this time. Thanks for all the comments.

I drop and raise my saddle more than I change gears. A dropper makes me feel safer on any form of tech.

My riding chums are much braver (and younger) than me and they don’t use droppers either

Do you drop your saddle though? If not your in the complete minority.

I've been riding a rigid again for about four years now..i mostly ride fireroad with bits of singletrack and a couple of enduro's like Scott/Dyfi. I have just put a £127.99 reverb on last week to do Builth and it was much easier in the mud by getting the saddle out of the way. I didn't need one for the dyfi last year as I had no problems (it was dry) but it'll be much easier this year with a dropper on.

I mostly ride on the North Downs here in Kent so nothing truly extreme and I'm not an extreme rider anyway. 😃

I would say they are very useful but not essential, for me anyway.

I like the consistent pedaling position, the ease of mounting or dismount (a great unforseen bonus!) And being able to lower the saddle going down.... Yes, it's bloody handy but not essential. To me.

All of that said, what parts parts bike are essential when all is said and done? Most of my bike consists of parts that strictly speaking don't need to be there. However I enjoy those parts and what they do, so it works for me.

Basically, there is no right or wrong on this just opinion and riding expectations surely?

Anyway op give it a try for a month and if they arent for you then sell it on to the converts? 😃

(Not me though, wouldn't touch a Reverb when there are Brand X's available for peanuts. Lol)

Enjoy the riding either way!

They are terrain depended.

Flat fields, green routes and tow paths = don't need a dropper (don't need a mountain bike either)

Anything else = a dropper will make it more fun and allow you to ride faster/cleaner/safer/more fun

Just to add to the general feeling - droppers are a long way from boost hubs and new headset standards in the things the bike industry does to irritate me. I've had one since 2007 (a gravity dropper) on my big bigger bike, and I hate not having a dropper now on any bike.

I even use one for bike packing (I don't use a seatpack).  I did the highland trail 550 and the lakeland 200 with the dropper on last year. I was considerably slower than the winner on the 550, but he used a dropper too...

He rode 550 miles with 53000 ft of climbing in 3 days 10 hours, including some pretty technical terrain. Maybe keef can show him the skills he clearly lacks!

I don't even use a bike anymore, just a saddle and dropper post gaffer taped to my arse, as I pogo down the trails.

🙂

That's great, you are now immune to standard changes, faffing with what tyres for what trail conditions and its super light.  Win win win.

If you feel you don't need one, then I can see why you'd think it was just one more thing to go wrong. Having moved up from the Chilterns where you don't need one at all really,  to Calderdale where it's pretty steep (and slick in the winter) it just gets the post and saddle our if the way enough to allow a greater range of "body English". Certainly adds to the fun, I think.

Try it for a month, see what happens? If you still don't like it, flog it and you at least have a lighter bike

Ianpv,I bet he had gears too.....;-)

like I say ,each to their own.

The bike gets used as intended.

Unlikely, since it will have been designed to perform around a rider whose body weight is lower than yours will be.