weird feeling indeed ! I was never one for moving my post on a ride and up till early last yr rode my Rock Lobster HT and my 5 with a fixed post. Sold those bikes, built up a Soul with a reverb and ridden nowt else off road since. Reverb currently away under warranty and have done 3 rides with a fixed post – some repositioning required and some scary moments on some steep stuff – things that I used to take in my stride pre dropper days…. I think it will be another 3 or 4 rides till I get the reverb back, so hoping to find the mojo asap 🙂

Really hate riding without one now. Although I can ride most stuff with the saddle up, dropping it just allows you to rail stuff faster, safer and more confidently.
Best invention since that whole wheel thing…

I’ve gone back, don’t miss the dropper. I didn’t really use it anyway.

I barely use mine. If the Commencal goes this weekend I think the dropper will go too, I’m in no rush to replace it.

When I built my rigid bike, I still put a dropper in it- riding without suspension is fun, riding without a dropper was just irritating.

Financial commitments resulted in my dropper being sold. Miss it but, new bike is all bouncy so I’m having too much fun to notice.

Will definitely get another when I can afford. Not sure if I’d get another Reverb.

I needed some cash sharpish. Oakleys and Garmin can go before the dropper. Wouldn’t want to be without one now.

prawny – Member
I needed some cash sharpish. Oakleys and Garmin A kidney can go before the dropper. Wouldn’t want to be without one now.

FTFY 😉

One bike has a Reverb, two without. Do madder stuff with the dropper, so has a use. However, don’t miss it at all on the other bikes. Could certainly live without it, but would have to miss out on some real fun stuff now and then.

kayak23 – Member
prawny – Member
I needed some cash sharpish. Oakleys and Garmin A kidney can go before the dropper. Wouldn’t want to be without one now.
kayak23 – Member
FTFY

If anyone is after a kidney, I’m open to offers.

interesting views, I guess I need to grow a pair for the next week or so till I get it back 😛

I loved it when i had one but tbh i soon got used to not having it anymore when i got rid

I reckon it depends how long your ride is going to be and fitness levels too – If it’s a shortish trail centre ride then no harm in starting ride with saddle a bit too low in order to accommodate downhill sections….

all natural stuff, usually couple of hrs. Dodgy knees so cant really accomodate pedalling seated with it not right up, unless it’s dropped right out the way for steep downs..

There is no going back

Wont do without one now. Best upgrade I’ve made.

Really missed mine when it was away for warranty. The Malverns have a lot of short ups and downs and really noticed then seat height not being right most of the time..

I want one on my road bike just because they’re so much fun. (that might not be strictly true).

Mine is away having a service at the moment. I rode last night without one.

It’s rubbish.

I’ve never had one, not sure if I want to risk trying it. I can imagine it’d be the same as when I got my first fs bike. I was blissfully ignorant riding everything on my old trailstar but I dont really like hardtails any more, they just feel unbalanced and weird.

I’d rather have a dropper than suspension.

I’ve been riding mostly without one since I got my Stooge and it’s been “interesting”.

I too, used to be a never-drop-the-post kinda guy but riding with a dropper for a year or two has changed all that and completely modified my technique.

My plums have taken a battering in the last few weeks without a dropper because I now habitually drop my weight but keep my body further forward instead of hanging off the back like I used to in the bad old days.

Whereas pre-dropper I never used to stop and drop my saddle, now I’m doing it several times a ride.

Riding with a dropper is so much more fun. Even on non-steep stuff. I drop my saddle a tad for flat, twisty singletrack or anything slightly techy.

I *need* one of those shiny Thomsons.

I want a dropper for the eminently unsensible trails I’m riding my CX on at the moment…

I don’t find I use it that much on the mtb though I reckon that’s very dependent on where/what I ride.

Northwind – Member
When I built my rigid bike, I still put a dropper in it- riding without suspension is fun, riding without a dropper was just irritating.

agree

I have one on my 26, it gets used but largely because it’s there. I don’t have one on my 29, it’s not ride ruining.

Tbh most of my riding takes the form of climb a big hill,go down a big hill, rode along the bottom up down along etc and for that is no loss to get off and adjust my normal post.

For those rides which are more fluid in nature I just ride with my saddle lower any how.

One thing which does strike me is they’re pretty much as mandatory a piece of kit as wheels on “enduro” bikes which is entirely the sort of along, up, stop, down, stop repeat riding that you don’t really need them for IMHO yet xc where stopping is a cardinal sin they’re too heavy to use. I suppose it’s because in the main we buy “enduro” bikes because they appeal to our idea of what we ride but then we go ride what’s largely xc anyhow. (I don’t ride xc because I’m too slow so it would just be embarrassing, better to call it all mountain…)

I dunno I use my enduro bike or riding enduros on !, droppers are very useful on stages
id say majority of riding is at trail centres, where they are useful for letting you keep the ‘flow’ ™
for long xc (bridlewayesque?)rides i still reckon the extra few hundred grams on the few occasions you really need them

dangeourbrain – Member

One thing which does strike me is they’re pretty much as mandatory a piece of kit as wheels on “enduro” bikes which is entirely the sort of along, up, stop, down, stop repeat riding that you don’t really need them for IMHO

I’ve only ever done one enduro when it wasn’t useful to have one tbh (an old inners night/day race with 2 fully downhill stages, run twice).

So, any cheap, half decent droppers in 31.6 with layback about? Doesn’t need remote if that helps.

*my opinion is doubtless largely influenced by the fact my dropper only ever gets used in fully up or fully down positions, partly as the minimum insert at full extension still puts the saddle below my prime pedaling height.

*Ahem*

Just because you don’t have a dropper doesn’t mean you have to put up with a high saddle getting in the way/smashing you in the nuts while riding over/around/down stuff.
Guess it depends on your local trails but round here pedal to the top, drop your saddle, ride to the bottom, put saddle back up is what we’ve done for donkeys.

I do like dropper posts tho.

One thing which does strike me is they’re pretty much as mandatory a piece of kit as wheels on “enduro” bikes which is entirely the sort of along, up, stop, down, stop repeat riding that you don’t really need them for IMHO yet xc where stopping is a cardinal sin they’re too heavy to use. I suppose it’s because in the main we buy “enduro” bikes because they appeal to our idea of what we ride but then we go ride what’s largely xc anyhow.

Don’t agree with that.
I did my first ‘enduro’ several years ago, the Kona Mash-up at Afan. Most of the stages had quite a bit of flat before the ‘downhill’ bits and a dropper would have been a godsend then.

It is brilliant nowadays as most trails have uppy and downy bits and they are brilliant for keeping your flow on and keeping good technique on steep bits.
Even if we do stop, it’s way nicer to just hit a button than use a QR. Actually, they are brilliant for when you do stop, as you just drop the saddle and have a nice sit down. 🙂

I ride my ‘enduro’ bike for everything from gondola-fed Alpine downhill tracks to flat Warwickshire xc and I wouldn’t be without my Reverb now. Brilliant invention.

As above
There does seem to be a scary amount of people that didn’t know it was possible to drop there seat until the day a handy button appeared on there handlebars. Woah there.. suddenly I can ride properly 💡

^personally I just can’t be arsed with even more shit to go wrong on my bike and don’t mind stopping to open my QR to drop the seat.

I will admit I do have one, but it hasn’t been on the bike since the Dyfi Winter Warmer back in January. I’ve only missed it on one ride to be fair