Dropper seat posts - are they worth it?!

ljs1977

I have just come into some money to buy my self some bike gear!

Roughly enough for most of the dropper seat posts on the market.

As a trail rider 90% of the time are they worth it? or should I spend my hard earned on a plethora of biking goodies.

My current list is

Dropper or

Bike Lessons
SPD's and shoes
Flat's shoes
Mule
Gloves

Cheers

cooldad

How often do you drop your seatpost on a ride?

ljs1977

That's the issue I leave it a little low and therefore ride inefficiently and make it hard work.

I can never be bothered to get it right and then drop it ..... repeat

DodgeT

I very rarely used to change the post height, but now i have a dropper, I use it all the time. Best money i've spent on upgrades / kit so far.

msduk

I really fancy one of these but they seem very expensive for part of an office chair. Are there any sub 150/100 models? Not too fussed about weight.

notax

Can't see the point of dropper seat posts personally, if the OP feels his saddle is too low why not gradually increase the height each time you ride? You'll barely notice the difference. Even riding in the Alps I never drop my seat post - I just hang off the back if things get too extreme 8)

Anonymous

Notax must be a DH god then, since it appears none of the world cup riders have the same DH skillz as him.
Aaaaanyway.

Dropper posts are awesome. It means you can ALWAYS have your seat at the right height for either hooning it, or for pedalling.
But, none of them, not a single one, is worth the insane prices on them.
So, recommended? yes
Worth it? Highly dubious.

jrduquemin

DodgeT wrote:

I very rarely used to change the post height, but now i have a dropper, I use it all the time. Best money i've spent on upgrades / kit so far.

+1 to that

tri-sexual

i have several mtbs, only one has a joplin seat post
i tend to pick that one for most of my riding,
they are really good
fairly heavy for a seatpost but the extra weight well worth carrying

notax

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Notax must be a DH god then, since it appears none of the world cup riders have the same DH skillz as him.
Aaaaanyway.
.

Not into DH, but then neither is the OP who rides trails 90% of the time and is considering SPDs. I may not be a DH god (in fact I'm NOT a DH god as I'll prove at Megavalance in 2012 ) but I do ride trail centres pretty fast and never have to lower my post

cat_with_no_tail

Notax wrote:

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Notax must be a DH god then, since it appears none of the world cup riders have the same DH skillz as him.
Aaaaanyway.
.

Not into DH, but then neither is the OP who rides trails 90% of the time and is considering SPDs. I may not be a DH god (in fact I'm NOT a DH god as I'll prove at Megavalance in 2012 ) but I do ride trail centres pretty fast and never have to lower my post

Got no reason to doubt any of what you say of course, but have you ever actually tried a dropper post? And I don't mean like a quick ride over flat ground or something. Like genuinely given one a proper go and given it a chance without instantly thinking it's a waste of time and money.

I was of much the same opinion as you, there wasn't a great deal I couldn't ride with the post up. But after getting a Joplin cheap from CRC, and being able to try it out properly (with a remote or they are pointless) I am totally converted. It's now one of my main considerations when buying a bike.

paddlemyowncanoe

Mine definitely gives me a lot more confidence on the technical stuff downhill so I am much more inclined to have a go and not bottle it.

Anonymous

Notax wrote:

Not into DH, but then neither is the OP who rides trails 90% of the time and is considering SPDs. I may not be a DH god (in fact I'm NOT a DH god as I'll prove at Megavalance in 2012 ) but I do ride trail centres pretty fast and never have to lower my post

Well, put it this way. If riding over technically demanding terrain was as do-able with the seat at "a proper" height, then don't you think the world class DH riders would be doing it, you know, seeing as their speciality is covering technical terrain at speed?

estampida

well its a matter of taste

but round inners and glen tress they are only used in the car parks or going past people, and they realy should only be on all carbon scotts and of course "the peter" bikes. And if really want to XC the shit out of a car park like that, be my guest.

DodgeT

I thought for a long time, they were a waste of time. Then my knee problem started playing up again. So, I thought a dropper might help my knee, because instead of having the seat at a "compromise" height all the time and not getting best pedalling efficiency, I would be able to have it at the right height all the time - putting less stress on my knee.

I bought one and couldn't beleive how good it is (KSi900 with remote). I certainly wouldn't be without it now.

My friends who I ride with thought it was a stupid idea. They had a go on a trail with mine...
2 of them now have droppers, 1 a KS and 1 a joplin, and the other is saving for one.

jimexbox

Once you've had a dropper there is no going back. I thought they were an expensive luxury until I tried a mates, I ordered one the next day. A lot heavier than a normal post, but who cares when your whole ride improves dramatically.

Sure they are needlessly expensive and folk disagree on which one they prefer, but the concept is a sound one. I just wish I bought one long ago.....

rhialto

If you are looking to incorporate skills for riding steep, technical terrain as taught by many instructors, you HAVE to get that saddle out of the way. A dropper-post is not the only way to do this, just the quickest.

Although the OP's 2nd choice list also includes bike lessons. In terms of building skills for a trail rider, that might be a better first choice. And then the dropper when you start tackling more challenging terrain.

supersonic

Personal preference. Borrow one, test it, buy if you like.

I don't use one, but many do for the reasons stated.

And some DHers like the saddle high as they use it to manoevere the bike with their legs:

Once you've had a dropper there is no going back

I went back lol. As have many others.

rasumichin

Hi the forca ssp 350 gets very good reviews in german forums and costs mostly below 100€ at ebay.de including a remote lockout kit
http://www.forca-sports.de/
http://www.wavers24.de/a-5001271/?ReferrerID=14
It works with a mechanical instead of a hydraulic system which is supposed to be very reliable and seems to make less trouble than higher priced products.

I'll get it for my new bike, but this will take another month or two.

Anonymous

supersonic wrote:

Personal preference. Borrow one, test it, buy if you like.

I don't use one, but many do for the reasons stated.

And some DHers like the saddle high as they use it to manoevere the bike with their legs:

Once you've had a dropper there is no going back

I went back lol. As have many others.

Still not at an efficient pedalling height though eh?
Unlike in South Africa recently (every time I try to type RSA, it gets autocorrected to Russia!) where there was a lot of pedalling, so all the top guys were using dropper posts.

supersonic

Looks high to me lol. But again is personal preference, not all riders ride at the height that would be most efficient anyway. For my riding the dropper makes little difference, and as I tend to stop and start a lot anyway if I do drop the post (very rarely) is a 5 sec job with the QR.

Anonymous

supersonic wrote:

Looks high to me lol. But again is personal preference, not all riders ride at the height that would be most efficient anyway. For my riding the dropper makes little difference, and as I tend to stop and start a lot anyway if I do drop the post (very rarely) is a 5 sec job with the QR.

Where I found it makes a difference is when I'm riding a trail, with the seat way up, then come across a technical section. Rather than just plod along, I can drop the post and rag it like a madman.
But it depends on how and why you ride I suppose.
I ride for the techy bits, and to go as fast/high as possible. The rest of the riding is just a means to get there.

jambo13

I recently got a Rockshox Reverb, and have to agree with the others who have become converts after using one.

That said, whilst it's awesome on the bike it's another thing to maintain once you get home. I've had to bleed mine a couple of times since I got it in January and it's just went back to CRC as it's blown a seal.

That said, looking forward to getting it back!

tri-sexual

supersonic wrote:

Looks high to me lol. But again is personal preference, not all riders ride at the height that would be most efficient anyway. For my riding the dropper makes little difference, and as I tend to stop and start a lot anyway if I do drop the post (very rarely) is a 5 sec job with the QR.

granted, its a five sec job with qr but a dropper post allows you to do it without stopping (yes i have seen youtube vids where they do it with qr without stopping, but thats just rubbish)

supersonic

If I need to drop it, I'd rather take 5 secs and save £200 lol. I can see why people like them, just not for me. This time next year we will see one at 100 quid.

tri-sexual

i dont like to stop, it breaks the flow, i dont like to ride like that
everytime i stop, my speed is slower when tackling an obstacle
i prefer to carry more speed through tough sections

the way things are going, i can only see price rises, i dont really see bike components getting cheaper anytime soon

i have a friend who bought a cheap dropper post (just over a year ago), it was a budget one for about £60 (rrp), cant remember the make, it lasted just over a month in winter before finally seizing up, it was a real piece of crap (i think it was reviewed in mbuk or similar), it seem to work ok if mounted vertically but doesnt like to be mounted at an angle (like a seat post). i think who ever designed it used to design office chairs

Shaggy_Dog

supersonic wrote:

If I need to drop it, I'd rather take 5 secs and save £200 lol. I can see why people like them, just not for me. This time next year we will see one at 100 quid.

My thoughts exactly, I don't want to spend £200 on a heavy, high maintenance post when I can either: A - learn to ride technical downhill with my saddle up, or B - If I really feel the need I can hop off the bike (I used to just reach down and open the clamp then get off at the bottom to put it up) and put the saddle down with a QR seatclamp.

Northwind

I'm totally with Yeehaa on this one, they're both fantastic to have, and not worth it. But I'm prepared to pay the stupid price for them anyway because of the difference they make to my riding. Even if I take out my XC bike, I'm going without any suspension, and without most of my gears, but I'll still fit the gravity dropper. The only time I don't want it fitted is for DH and that's just because I'm more likely to crash and break it.

estampida wrote:

but round inners and glen tress they are only used in the car parks or going past people, and they realy should only be on all carbon scotts and of course "the peter" bikes. And if really want to XC the shoot out of a car park like that, be my guest.

Scuse me, but do you realise your post is total gibberish?

Funnilly enough Innerleithen and Glentress are good places to have them. Not on the DH trails obviously, but there's a big mix of pedally then fun. Coming down Minch Moor? Lots of flat out pedalling, then a jump or a rock garden to do. Riding down Falla Brae? Stick it up for the climb. Boundary Trail? Oh hells yes, Boundary Trail's a superb advert for the things. And I used mine a lot at the last enduro race at innerleithen, will do again in a couple of weeks.

I have no idea what a "the peter" bike is though.

sheepsteeth

i wouldnt be without a dropper post, they are too expensive, no question but i would say for me, they are worth the price because i have one, if i thought they werent worth the money, i wouldnt buy one.

supersonic

We all seem to be agreeing (a BR 1st!) this is a marmite thing. I just like the feel of a few inches between my legs when I go down.

;-)

rhialto

supersonic wrote:

I just like the feel of a few inches between my legs when I go down.

That's what she said.

Sorry, couldn't resist.