[Closed] Dropper posts - educate a luddite?

The new Brand-X Ascend dropper post (about £150) is externally routed.

There's also the Magura Vyron wireless dropper post (£310). It's a bit different but not too bad.

Internally routed, in my opinion, just makes life harder.

> when I’m not sure if I need it or not? So sell it to me!

In East Anglia, you don't need one. But it's very handy for steeper places where one moment you're going uphill and the next moment you're going down.

It says 'Stealth Ready' in the frame blurb so you will be able to fit an internally routed dropper if you decide to go for one. There should be a little rubber grommet on the seat tube somewhere for the cable or hose to go through.

Does the bike have a port (opening) on the seat tube by the shock?

I was always happy with my LX veebs... However, the new disc thingys are pretty darned good.
I was always happy riding without suspension and a fixed seat post too. In fact I really didn't take to suspension when I first got it - probably because it was rubbish back then.
However, when I got a dropper, it was clear from the first ride that I'd never go back to a fixed post. You never have to compromise seat height again - the rule of thumb always used to be to set your seat just below an efficient height and that meant not ideal for pedalling but still so high that it gets in the way when cornering and is a liability on steep stuff.
Get a dropper and you can have efficient pedalling (and be kind to your knees) and more room to move around (you've never had this last one, but trust me, this is what you won't want to give up).
Oh, and don't buy a hydraulic one, cable ones are great, cheaper and easier to look after.

three camps on this:

1/ we never needed them before, just add weight and complexity.

2/ i only use it for steep stuff

3/ the ability to have a post that's a bit lower for riding (even flat) singletrack and then back to full height for cruising or climbing efficiency

Depends on your riding to some extent but this is where I disagree with oldnpastit. You don't NEED it for east anglia (or anywhere, as long as you have a QR clamp and can be bothered to change it old skool style) but if you have the mindset of 3, then I think it is hugely useful and grin inducing. I don't live in EA but close to swinley and deepcut and I use my dropper all the time, but rarely fully dropped, usually down by a couple of inches is all you need to get the saddle out of your arse and transform my xc mile muncher to a singletrack slayer 😉 (if only the jockey wasn't incompetent)

If I had the choice between a rigid bike with a dropper and a bike with suspension and no dropper, I'll take the rigid bike.

As for fitment, you need to check how much exposed post you have at present to calculate the amount of drop you can have. You'll need to allow for the top collar of the post too.
If there isn't a port on the seat tube you may be Able to route the cable through a drain hole or bottle boss.

For longer drop posts external routing is a pain if it clamps at the saddle not the collar.
I have on one bike an external routed 150 mm dropper and because the cable terminates at the saddle end, the cable loop/rub when dropped is a pain to manage.

First mtb 1987?

V brake set up sorted

First dropper March.

I find it very useful. My saddle was always at road height and I could ride down loads with the saddle up. But it's easier with the saddle out the way. I'll drop for a single corner

Shhh you can even drop every time you stop for an easier remount

Brand X is the Deore of dropper posts - there are lighter, better finished alternatives, but they are more expensive and the functionality is pretty much the same.

Externally routed is slightly less hassle to install. I have them on three bikes and an internal one on another bike. I don't mind zip tying the cable in place, but a lot of people like the clean look of an internal one. If your bike already has a hole for internal routing, it makes sense to use one.

There are still a few holdouts who don't think they have any benefits. It's kinda like disc brakes were 15 or 20 years ago - people who didn't use them came up with all sorts of weird arguments about why they weren't necessary. I bought a GravityDropper when they first came out and would never ride off-road without a dropper now. Being able to constantly adjust your saddle height on rolling terrain makes a huge difference.

Droppers aren't (only) about steep stuff, they are about getting your centre of gravity lower. This means that even on flat single-track that's twisty you can manoeuvre much more quickly. If you want to go fast on flat single-track then they're ace. At Ashton Court for example near Bristol my dropper becomes a riser; I do most of the lap with it lowered about 2/3 of the way and only put it up for a few climbs.

But that only applies if you are hammering along looking for speed. Of course you can still go fast without one, but not AS fast and it doesn't feel as good. I drop my saddle on road corners sometimes because I can, and it's better to bomb around a corner low.

Also if you have long travel then it allows you to get behind the forks so they don't dive like mad when you brake.

I'd be very surprised if a 2017 bike didn't have internal dropper routing, it was the norm five years before then

I always alter my saddle height with a qr but a dropper is much easier / beneficial for more trail riding rather than push up / winch up where you change height once a run.

Well worth it. Also if your mates all have one you become the slow one stopping to adjust all the time! So even for winch up rides it becomes more useful if you ride with others.

So, this looks like my port in the seat tube

Right, time to go shopping...

IMO the routing options go external at saddle -> internal -> external at collar from worst to best options. External at collar means you can pull everything probably just by snipping some cableties. Some varieties of KS Lev are set up that way. If you get wedded to the idea of a particular post that's internal only it's not a big deal to drill your frame, assuming you are ok drilling in to a tube (IMO easy, but not everyone has the same skills/confidence in the same things).
Get the longest drop you can fit for your frame.
Like everything they're a pain when they're broken, but such is life. You'll love it.

I'm pretty sure I'm right in  thinking that Cube used internally routed posts, but only for the last section. So it's externally fixed alongside the rear brake hose using the same loop mounts, and then dives into the seat post via that port you've just found.

Enjoy, I think you can fit upto a 150mm dropper

the range of movement and control over the bike is increased massively - you don't need to get behind the saddle any longer, just centre and low
a coach I know thinks it's the most beneficial upgrade you can get just for this

Oh, and don’t buy a hydraulic one, cable ones are great, cheaper and easier to look after.

For clarity, I assume you mean the actuation (as only none AXS reverbs have this) as the vast majority have hydraulic internals.

I built up a cheap winter bike, a rigid hardtail with normal seatpost.

I was getting dropped on all the descents and they kept telling me to put a suspension fork on.

I was getting dropped because I kept stopping to drop my saddle. A dropper Post later and I'm keeping up with full suspension bikes on most stuff.

As above, I'd rather have a rigid bike with a dropper than a full suss with a normal seat post.

Once you've used one, you will wonder how you ever managed without one.

I've tried lots of posts over the years. Currently have a ks and a brand x. The next one I'll buy is another brand x.

Get the longest drop you can fit for your frame.

Personally I don't think this is vital. Mine are only I think 120mm or 140mm but still hugely beneficial.

I was getting dropped on all the descents and they kept telling me to put a suspension fork on.

Conversely I think that a rigid bike is one of the places you could get away without one! Because you can lean on the front much more, and you can run a frame with a steeper HA (due to no dive) and this speeds the handling back up. But I still want one on my rigid bike ultimately, for tight technical stuff.

Riding technical stuff on that bike without the dropper, it feels very precarious, like I am miles up in the air!

Personally I don’t think this is vital

I don't think it's vital either but if you ain't sitting on it you may as well get it as far out the way as you can. 🙂

True but if you cannot find a 170mm drop it's not an deal breaker 🙂

My 120mm drop is on my XC racey bike - it's light, and doesn't go too low.

Just fitted a 120mm to my 29er ridgid inbred. Love it.

ogwen, in case you need any more convincing - it sounds like we are a similar age and I used to live in Yeadon, with riding in very similar places to you. Ramsgill was my favourite local (relatively) loop, long before trail centres became a thing.

For many years I avoided dropper posts as I simply couldn't see the benefit. Bought the first generation Reverb with 100mm of travel and sent it back after one ride as I thought it ruined the ride as the bike felt out of control when it was lowered.

Then twigged I was riding downhill with the saddle held between my thighs and effectively steering it through body position. Not quite sure how I managed it now I look back but, I eventually got another dropper and persisted.

Now I wouldn't be without on on my main off road bike. Even about to put one on a rigid light weight build as it is just a nice feeling moving the bike around underneath you over undulating terrain.

I was riding downhill with the saddle held between my thighs and effectively steering it through body position.

You can still do this with a dropper post, you just have much less chance of getting smashed in the nuts if things get rough.

You would not believe how much easier it is to get a bike in a car with a dropper.

I thought it ruined the ride as the bike felt out of control when it was lowered.

Yeah I used to think this back in the day which is why I never lowered mine, I didn't have a QR on my bike. However whilst being really low and rearwards can be a bit weird on a bike with a really steep HA like 70.5 degrees, this can be countered a bit with a modern shorter stem and wider bars, and maybe big wheels. And you just moderate your position a bit.

But a lot of modern bikes are designed around a dropped saddle really.

Ah- Q21r- had a pair of those. Remember how the elastomers used to stiffen up in cold weather? Turned them from yellow pogo sticks to yellow noodles on the front of the bike. Mine were one inch threaded steered. Paid £280 for them iirc. Aren’t we lucky now! I converted mine to coil by throwing a random spring of approximately The right length in, a bit of oil sloshed in. Vast improvement.

On droppers, I consider them essential now on an mtb. I’d go stealth if it’s possible to do so, and I’d want 150 drop as a minimum, more if it will fit.
Brand x will make one that fits your frame. Buy it.

You would not believe how much easier it is to get a bike in a car with a dropper

and get off the bike when stopping for Haribo 😀

Another perspective, not quite so middle-aged [wink] - ever since my kid has ridden regularly, he's had a bike with a dropper - he hardly ever has the saddle up, probably just climbs and long flat sections - anything faster, vaguely singeltracky and the saddle's dropped out of the way. Amazes me how fast he can pedal not sat down.