[Closed] Do I need a one of these expensive dropper posts or not?

Depends on your riding, if you're alternating short climbs and short steep descents, then they very quickly become part of your riding, I almost find myself reaching for the saddle adjust more often than a gear change these days, just niuce to have the saddle out of the way for jumps and to make it easy to move around on the bike.

Probably not for everyone, there's a weight, price and maintenance penalty to pay, but personally I wish I had one on my hardtail too.

"but something is niggling at me to get one."

Is it peer pressure, or the pressure to conform?

Personally I cant see the point for the type of riding I do, which is Pennines, Peaks, Lakes, Trail Centres etc. Ok if your doing more DH/Trials/Technical riding I could justify it but not for normal trail/xc riding.

i ride mostly in the scottish borders and my rides are big chunks of up and then big chunks of down.
i raise/lower my seat, but not nearly enough to justify one of those things.

i think they're well ugly, too. compared to my silver thomson.

that said, i just bought a chromag QR and i'm well psyched to try it out.
the lever is much longer than the hope one.

i love leverage.

Do I need a one of these expensive dropper posts or not?

Not. Probably. I reckon 1% of the biking population really need one, the other 99% can manage without.

I ride a lot of steep ups and downs but then I ride out of the saddle a lot and have my seat on the low side. Tried an uppy downy post but in the end it was something that I can do without. (More stuff to go wrong, ended up running the seat to high XC style so was less in control, and heavy)

I would say the main criteria for having one is that you sit down a lot 🙂

99% can manage without.

We could all "manage" with Argos / Halfords specials as well.

I know I don't need one, but I'll probably get one in the next 6 months to see what the fuss is about. I'm not a saddle dropper at the moment as I can't be arsed with the stopping adjusting and then getting going again. I think a dropper would mean that I can experiment with getting the saddle out of the way.

I'm tempted to buy one, but my thought is...

"None of my friends have one and I'd have to wait for them to drop/higher their seats.. So whats the point?"

"None of my friends have one and I'd have to wait for them to drop/higher their seats.. So whats the point?"

You'll be 67.236% more gnaaaar than them. FACT.

Tempted as bike purchase includes kit offer - don't need much, so tempted to add one. I ride a lot of XC/trails stuff with odd trip to Lakes. Found that XC bikes suit me best, especially 29ers. At the moment, I move my saddle a lot during rides (except races) and hence like the idea of a dropper but wonder if they are silly on a XC bike - epics and anthems seem to have locked seat posts? Plus put off by reliability concerns voiced here. Choices, choices....

I didn't need one and still don't but I love it nonetheless.

As a few others, "it depends".

What's your riding style?

Bimble in the saddle on the up and flat, boulder down?

Or

Attack everywhere out of the saddle, prefer not riding in the saddle, though you need a perch when you get tired or it's boring?

Or somewhere between?

I don't feel the need on my hardtail, i'm strong enough to put the saddle down and leave it there, for good lengths of time. However on my 6" bike, it's harder work, the saddle gets used more, but there are still obstacles that spring out at me on the flat and up that i still want to attack, i love having a dropper on this bike. It's never clear for me, saddle for the ups, down for the downs, it's all over the place in between.

I don't NEED one, but they are brilliant and I will always use one for all riding. You will be surprised at how often you use it once fitted, but pay the extra and get the remote on the bars.

How much drop do they actually give though, they look like say for example a 12" dropper post will only have 6" of drop, therefore your not actually gaining that much, where as if you use a quick release you can drop 12" post by about 11"..

I guess all dropper posts, and the like make you look the biz in car parks... which is always a good thing

yes you do need one

contrary to what some posters have said above they are very useful for xc/trail riding, didnt plan to leave mine on my bike but its never off it now

great bits of kit imho

you can get the 3inch drop forca vario? ones for 70odd

kimbers - so whats the advantage of 3" drop whilst riding XC?

Yes, you need one. You just don't know you need one until you have one

need, probably not. want - i would say so. i bought one in a moment of extravagant weakness. i have to say i would miss it a lot. the concept of them is brilliant. the execution - i am constantly worried that it will fail. I know 2 other people that have them, and the both have had minor niggles, mine failed on day 1 (air seals)

i use the drop for all sorts of things. i always use it just before i jump off to open a gate or whatever, makes it easier for my aging body to 'leap' back on. i also have short legs, so it also makes it easier for me at junctions as well.

Best piece of kit in recent years IMHO

KS and Reverb both very good.

Bike is easier to ride downhill with saddle out the way.
Moving the post to a half way spot between usual climbing saddle height and full on drop often makes techy single track easier to ride.

Couldn't live without one now.

Warning - when they go wrong (and it will) this is mighty anoying, often with saddle stuck down.

FunkyDunc - Member
kimbers - so whats the advantage of 3" drop whilst riding XC?

well my 4 inch drop one (GD very reliable so far) is brilliant its enough to lower my cog and allow you to shift your body around much more- makes anything vaguely downward pointing or technical easier and faster and i can have my seat at max height for climbs in a jiffy
not to mention any cheeky drop offs or jumps you might see along the way

i stop less, ride smoother, trails flow more and i have more fun, whats not to like?

I would say the main criteria for having one is that you sit down a lot

I would have thought the oppsite. I thought the point was you can get the seat out of the way quickly so it's stuck up yer arse!!

Need = No

want = Probably

I ended up using my for XC as well as messing about. It makes things safer, fast and more fun.

I put it in the need category now its changed my riding experience so much.

Yes, you need one. You just don't know you need one until you have one

this.

Also: don't cheap out and get one without a lever on the bar. I'm sure many of the riding gods on here could adjust the height on one without hitting a tree.... but I susspect that I couldn't

I wasn't entirely sure how much I'd use mine, but I wouldn't be without it now. It's quickly become second nature to adjust the saddle height mid trail.

I could rarely be bothered to faff putting the seat down (compromising fun on the DH), and when I did I could never get it back in just the correct place afterwards quickly (annoying when pedalling).

Dropper post takes care of that nicely. If you rarely drop the seatpost as you don't ride trails that warrant dropping the post, then you don't need one.

or factor in the cost against getting off and putting down/up your saddle.

do what i do just ride with the saddle about an inch lower than optimum, i ride in the lakes all the time and i hvae no issues.

I can see the point and the convenience, but the number of people posting on here with problems suggests theres still a lot of work to be done in terms of having a reliably performing one.

I ride up - saddle up
I ride down - saddle slammed down

simples.

Not sure 125mm would be enough anyway as ride small frames as well.

the number of people posting on here with problems suggests theres still a lot of work to be done

Start a thread entitled: "who has got a dropper-post and has had no problems with it".....

Why?

I want one, but don't know why they are so unreliable and so expensive.

Afterall, the same system as been in office chairs for decades.

If you have to ask if you [b]need[/b] one you don't you sort of [b]want[/b] one.

Why?

people who have had a negative experience are more likely to tell you about it, than people that have had a good/as expected one.

Start a thread entitled: "who has got a dropper-post and has had no problems with it".....

Why?

I think because people usually post when they have problems with stuff. People don't tend to start threads saying I've got x and it hasn't broken.

EDIT: Too slow

I'll be getting one, the trails I ride normally are very steep, but in short sections. I often ride alone and like going a steady pace, no stopping, no phaffing. I do currently stop to drop the saddle before quite a few descents and I'd drop it for more if I could do it immediately. I feel they are still very overpriced for something that you're pretty certain is going to go wrong though. Reckon I can last another summer before buying!

Edit, I wouldn't bother if I still ride around Leicestershires mellow hills.

Definately not needed, but still ace. Even when I'm riding my £300 carrera rigid made out of bits off the garage floor, I usually fit the gravity dropper- I miss it more than I miss suspension and a granny ring.

If you appreciate the benefits of riding anything twisty or downhill with your saddle down, and you do rides which are quick/long enough that you can't handle all the climbs standing up or with the saddle too low for strong pedalling, then you'll appreciate one. If not, then you won't. I wouldn't be without my Gravity Dropper but I hate riding anything even vaguely interesting with my saddle up and I like fairly quick XC rides too.

I had same thoughts as OP. Bought one and blimey, what a difference. I think im faster, I feel more 'planted' on my bike...seat at normal height feels very wrong when going down. Im riding more stuff, most not quicker but certainly riding more stuff. Been a revelation and I was thinking it would last 2 weeks then be sold...8 months now and very pleased.

I would have thought that for DH, there would be less issue getting off the bike to drop the saddle. DH riders tend to be about long ups and long downs where manually adjusting seatpost height isnt an issue. Where these seatposts excel is on trail riding.

I wouldn't want to do without mine. I obviously could, but then, I could do perfectly well without gears or suspension either, but I prefer not to.

Dropping the seatpost more than an inch makes it so much easier for me to ride small drop-offs and other small obstacles. With the seatpost up, I simply can't move my centre of gravity as freely, and end up with a much more constipated, jerky riding style. It's so much easier to ride more fluidly with the seatpost further out of the way.

I bought one to go on a new build. Spent 4 weeks riding my usual trails, never touched it. Just got back from Coed Y B, where I used it constantly. Very useful piece of kit, when required..

They are not ugly but there are a few cables needing hidden. I bought one for my carbon HT as i couldn't put a quick release on it and i get more confidence and speed if the saddle isn't there. Plus it makes your mates jealous (until it fails anyway 😉 )[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/62751421@N05/7165534386/ ]Linky[/url]

the number of people posting on here with problems suggests theres still a lot of work to be done

People insist on buying models that don't work. People are still buying Joplins FFS, and getting all excited about the new model which will probably have all the old issues, and a whole set of teething issues all of its own (though, it'll be a sort of teething that never ends).
People bought reverbs in year one, ran into the initial faults and design flaws, people buying them now get the benefits of the live beta. And then there's random ones off the internet that cost 50p.

TBH riders make noise about reliability but when it comes to the crunch a lot of them don't buy reliable- they buy pretty, or cheap, or fashionable.

How often do you adjust your seat height when riding?

If you find it more comfortable with the seat raised up for climbs and the seat lowered out of the way for descents, then yes you need one.

I agree with the previous comments that the Dropper seat post is the best additions to the MTB in recent years.

I have had 2 reverbs due to a change in frame size. The first one had an issue with the air seal that was replaced under warrantee, the second has been without fault.

I like mine but the main thing for me is getting the seat back to the correct height. I've can easily drop a normal quick release seatpost down, even whilst still riding but I've always struggled to get it at exactly the right height again.