Dropping the droppe...
 

[Closed] Dropping the dropper.

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Anyone tried it and gone back to a normal post?


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 8:46 pm
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Nope.


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 8:48 pm
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Only well it's been broken, life seems poorer without a dropper in it


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 8:52 pm
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jam bo - Member
Anyone tried it and gone back to a normal post?
Burn the heretic for suggesting such wickedness!!!! 😉


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 8:55 pm
 jedi
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i hate it without.


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 8:55 pm
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yes on another bike its like going back to rigid you can still do everything but its not as much fun or made any easier.


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 8:56 pm
 SOAP
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I'm thinking about selling a frame after 2 rides just so I can run my reverb.


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 8:57 pm
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I've considered it as much of my riding is up for 20 or 30 minutes and then down again. Very little along. But, I've only considered it...
Droppers (even under the seat lever ones) are just too easy compared with getting off, undoing a QR, dropping the saddle down, make sure it's straight and do the QR back up and then do it all again at the bottom 5 minutes later. Kinda ruins the flow of a ride.


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 8:59 pm
 GEDA
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Depends on the trails and the bike. Dropped saddle and standing up pedalling for techy stuff up and down. Uppy downy post for the boring slog bits with tech.


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 9:01 pm
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Never, best add on buy ever.


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 9:03 pm
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Yep. Binned my ks wotsit and now use a thomson. Admittedly its a layback but I honestly can't say I miss the dropper.


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 9:10 pm
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Sent mine off for a service missed it, constantly being reamed is not fun, 😀


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 9:13 pm
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Anyone tried it and gone back to a normal post?

yes.

only because i killed my gravity-dropper, and can't afford to replace it.

they're ace, and make lots of sense for a hardtail.


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 9:13 pm
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Only when (Assume this was what you intended!) it's been broken

As others have said, a game changing upgrade.


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 9:15 pm
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I'd sooner drop suspension than dropper tbh. Possibly a wheel as well... If I lived near proper mountains where the regular rides consisted of epic non-stop climbs followed by epic non-stop descents it would of course be a different story.


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 9:23 pm
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Purchased one due to people raving about them. It took me a while (and a trip to some big mountains) but I wouldn't be without it now. Absolutely fantastic bit of kit.


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 9:26 pm
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Tried one yesterday, don't see the point. Dropping your seat is just a phase you go through.


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 9:27 pm
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I'll never be without one.

A "phase" ? Lol, i'll cope.


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 9:28 pm
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Yes. Reliability.


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 9:30 pm
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Yup. Used it all the time on my old bike, but on the new one never really felt the need for it so took it off. 😀


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 9:37 pm
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Tried one yesterday, don't see the point. Dropping your seat is just a phase you go through.

If you don't need to drop your seat then your not tryin ard enough


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 9:44 pm
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[i]If you don't need to drop your seat then your not tryin ard enough[/i]

Or you can manage just fine, thanks 😉


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 9:51 pm
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*snaps fingers* Look into my eyes, not around my eyes, into my eyes ... you NEED to purchase a dropper post *snaps fingers*


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 9:55 pm
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I'm sure you can on your way to the shops 😉


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 9:55 pm
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I do occasionally, but most of the time it's annoying... Swithering about putting my old gravity dropper on the Soda, it seems a shame but weight saving for its own sake's pointless I suppose. (it's rigid- I miss the dropper more than I miss the suspension)

kiwijohn - Member

Dropping your seat is just a phase you go through.

Weak attempt.


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 10:28 pm
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Dropped, no, but didn't bother replacing one after my bike was stolen.


 
Posted : 24/03/2013 10:34 pm
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I've hardly used my dropper lately as it won't fit my SS and that's what I have been riding in the current weather.

I do miss having a dropper but it is also fun riding a "low tech" bike on the same trails and seeing how you get along...

Roll on summer.


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 1:28 am
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I have four MTBs, XC race full-suss, XC race HT, rigid SS and coil-sprung trail bike.
The first three have ISPs, so I don't even have the option of stopping and doing it! The ISP is excellent for what those bikes do.
The trail bike has a dropper, I bought it for an Alps trip last summer and I'm glad I did! On the right bike in the right place I wouldn't be without it. For most of my riding it's overkill. I appreciate it when I need, but I'm in no rush to drop the ISPs (really bad pun) on the other bikes.
Actually, most of my bikes have ISPs, the TT bike does too and the road bike has a seized seatpost so that might as well be, it's only the winter road bike which has a 'conventional' one, and that's got an allen bolt clamp, so 1 normal, 1 dropper and 5 ISPs here.


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 1:59 am
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Sold my reverb warranty replacement and bought a cannondale ss, that has improved my riding more.


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 3:06 am
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Dylan08
mine for sale bud lol
Yes tried,it loved it semi lost without out it but life will go on as now it's FOR SALE.. 😀


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 5:00 am
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I'd sooner drop suspension than dropper tbh.

My go-to bike for local riding has neither gears nor suspension. I put a dropper on it a month ago just to try it. It's staying.


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 8:08 am
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I've only just gotten used to having one on the (new to me) fs. It's a lot handier than i thought it would be. My ht is an old style, allen key out jobbie and i still don't mind it. If on uppy-downy trails i set the height an inch or so below ideal, so I have a bit of freedom to move about but can still pedal ok. I'll only stop to adjust it if it's a big up or big down. I'd be tempted to get a dropper for it too, if a) they weren't so expensive, and b) the seat tube was wider than a straw. Might go half way and get a qr clamp 😉


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 8:49 am
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I've got a cheap KS one. It works. I used it in the Alps for a week, then took it off and it's been hanging up in the garage ever since. It's a novelty. I don't really need it, especially in the UK.
It probably needs a service now but it was OK when I hung it up. £25 posted if anyone wants it.


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 8:58 am
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Pete YGM


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 9:14 am
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Yes, the bike feels so much nicer without it, until you get to a section where you normally use it and then the bike feels so much worse without it.

Personally I run the dropper fulltime and just keep a conventional post and saddle bolted together and ready to fit at any time. I then just figure out what ride and switch if need be. If I'm off out with more XC biased, long distance group, I'll loose the dropper.


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 10:19 am
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I have a Full sus that has had one for nearly 3 years and a HT that wont take a proper dropper as it's 27.2.

The dropper allows me to ride more continuously and enjoy myself. It's been great for racing and really has helped.

The HT comes out a lot (less recently due to some achey back issues) and I'm very tempted by a new frame so I can fit a dropper.

Strangely I do ride more stuff seat up than I used to but that is due to having a lever not remote post.

Conclusion I like. Go back Never.


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 10:32 am
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2 rides in I remain to be convinced, but maybe I'll end up converted. I measured the difference between extended and comfortably dropped from the tide mark...it was 7mm! Drop it further and I'm either standing or pedalling monkey legged. I probably need to ride something approaching DH steep to warrant dropping it lower.


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 10:43 am
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If you don't need to drop your seat then your not tryin ard enough

I can shift my weight behind the saddle without my gut getting in the way...


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 10:45 am
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I really hope someone makes a basic dropper,

I don't personally understand why the droppers need seals etc like forks, other than to keep the cost up. Why does a seatpost need ultra smooth supple travel?

I can understand why rebound would be nice to stop you ****ting your boys, but that could be achieved by a soft rubber/foam bump stop rather than an expensive oil chamber.

Unless I am mistaken and this is not how they work.

TL;DR, I want one, but not for 200 notes.


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 10:45 am
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ransos - Member
If you don't need to drop your seat then your not tryin ard enough
I can shift my weight behind the saddle without my gut getting in the way...

It's the balls I struggle with.......

2 rides in I remain to be convinced, but maybe I'll end up converted. I measured the difference between extended and comfortably dropped from the tide mark...it was 7mm! Drop it further and I'm either standing or pedalling monkey legged.

Standing is quite a good way to be on technical terrain


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 10:47 am
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@mike XFusion HiLo works fine on my 27.2 XC bike. You dont need to buy a new frame just to make it dropper compatible.


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 10:47 am
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It's the balls I struggle with.......

Try wearing clothes...


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 10:48 am
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Never used one, but having said that I've not bothered to drop my post since I used to go ride the jumps in the park after school, and I plan to keep it that way.

Although if you are one of the crowd that stops at the top of every decent to put your seat down, or worse, ask what height your seat should be at, then please buy a dropper because you have me looking like a bulldog licking piss off a thistle the whole way round.


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 10:56 am
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Never had one and don't feel the need for one either... But then again my rides are usually a two hour slog uphill, then a stop at the top to enjoy the view, then pull on pads and helmet and a 30 minute or longer descent.

Was out with some lads, each of them had a dropper. It didn't make the faff any quicker.


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 10:57 am
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I can shift my weight behind the saddle without my gut getting in the way...

It's not the same. You're a local, go and ride picnic bench with the saddle up and the saddle down and tell me it's the same!

Hell, I even use my dropper on upper quarry trail which only has 10m of elevation change!


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 10:58 am
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TBH the best thing about the dropper isn't necessarily being able to put the saddle down. Its being able to press a button to get it back to the right height and know you have the perfect height for climbing everytime


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 11:00 am
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It's not the same.

It's absolutely not the same. The big wins of the dropped saddle are ability to move over the bike exactly as you want, and you can truly get your weight on the pedals, or forward if you want.

A**e hanging off the back just doesn't do it.


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 11:04 am
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TBH the best thing about the dropper isn't necessarily being able to put the saddle down. Its being able to press a button to get it back to the right height and know you have the perfect height for climbing everytime

+1000

I ride faster with the saddle in the right place for the trial I am riding. In the end those who sneer a little at those people faffing with saddle height can just do one really and get on with your own riding.
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8529/8589132546_002854ed0f.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8529/8589132546_002854ed0f.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikewsmith/8589132546/ ]ML8_3638[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/mikewsmith/ ]Mike Smith 79[/url], on Flickr
Saddle at the correct height having passed heaps who were teetering down on doing the massive exaggerated seat up off the back thing.


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 11:07 am
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Getting the saddle out of the way makes it easier to move your weight around, which is more fun. Not having to stop to do this means you can keep going, which is more fun. Fun is why I ride.

Having said that, I do think that dropper is a bad name. For me, it's really more about having the saddle at the right height for climbing. Without a "dropper" I'd tend to ride with the saddle a bit lower, which puts more strain on my knees on the climbs. As I lurch towards 50 I find myself becoming quite protective of my knees 🙂


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 11:10 am
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re climbing, I've got one on my SS which means lots of climbing out the saddle, so use it to put the saddle out of the way for those too.


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 11:38 am
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It's not the same. You're a local, go and ride picnic bench with the saddle up and the saddle down and tell me it's the same!

I agree that it's different. But better? I'm not convinced.

Hell, I even use my dropper on upper quarry trail which only has 10m of elevation change!

Because you're a girl!


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 12:08 pm
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Because you're a girl!

Race you! 😛

Just think, you could kill two birds with one stone, proving droppers and single pivots are a load of shite!


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 12:18 pm
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I don't see the point in one on my SS, stood up on the climbs and stood up going down, so I put the seat 3/4" below optimum for climbing and then only sit down on the flat.

If I ride my XC bike I tend to leave the seat up as that's what the bike is all about and if you're racing you need to ride stuff without pratting about with your seat height.

I do need one on my Jekyll though as it's got all the adjustment for the suspension on the bars, so it's annoying to flick various levers and then still have to get off for the seatpost. So I'll probably get a reverb in the near future.

I have 6 mountain bikes, so there's no way they're all getting one!


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 12:21 pm
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Race you!

Just think, you could kill two birds with one stone, proving droppers and single pivots are a load of shite!

Ha! The fact that you'd win if we swapped bikes would prove that it's the workman, not the tools...


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 12:23 pm
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If I lived near proper mountains where the regular rides consisted of epic non-stop climbs followed by epic non-stop descents it would of course be a different story.

+1


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 12:25 pm
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Dropping your seat is just a phase you go through.

It's a phase I've been going through for over twenty years now...


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 12:26 pm
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Ha! The fact that you'd win if we swapped bikes would prove that it's the workman, not the tools...

Oh, but we could do some proper silly pseudo science and mix the bikes up and do multiple runs and the proclaim something definitive yet outrageous but ignore all the variables!


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 12:49 pm
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never in a million years would one think that!


 
Posted : 25/03/2013 12:50 pm
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Agreed Its 80% workman, 20% tools.. but nothing wrong in getting the best from your tool.
Doing most of my riding in the SW Pyrenees I use a under-seat lever dropper on an old 5 spot. The XC French all ride solid posts regardless of the impending descent (doom). However its noted they are far slower and more unbalanced on the steep tech and high speed twisty trails, therefore you can normally leave them for dust :).
To compare I did a long weekend with some UK mates and TP's Ash Smith in the Alps and he was using a remote dropper, so with the the undulating flowing trails I would say its essential, especially when your being timed on your descents.
The long and short of it is, if you can make yourself more centred, balanced and lower on the fun stuff - you will ride better and you will definitely enjoy/survive the 'OMG where did that come from! section of every big day...
That said I hate a cluttered cockpit with lots of levers and cables... but a small sacrifice for a enhanced ride, at the flick of a switch - in my opinion.


 
Posted : 06/04/2013 7:18 pm
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I have, my new build requires a shim for the dropper and i'm not letting myself order one until i've pulled the post apart and serviced it.

I must say I haven't struggled without it, but I do miss it.


 
Posted : 06/04/2013 7:40 pm
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I run one on my full susser and my hardtail.

I thought it was a total gimmick when the Reverb came out 2 years ago - but now, in my opinion, its up there with disc brakes and SPDs

I'm 6ft 4" and have always struggled with stupidly long seatposts getting in the way!

Wouldn't be without it now on my main bikes. They're pretty reliable now as well

Also really handy when getting the bike with wheels on in the back of the car and really, really handy when you come to stop waiting for people, and you can put your seat down and wait comfortably on the saddle

I also use a rigid SS a lot, but this does not, nor ever will, get a dropper, as its used to make me refine my riding - although i do miss the dropper!


 
Posted : 06/04/2013 9:54 pm
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Well today decided it for me, I'm off shopping for a reverb. I ride reasonable distances which are normally 30mins up followed by very steep descents. I also hate stopping so want to flow into the descents. £200 is a lot for a seat post, but I think the smiles might just be worth it...


 
Posted : 06/04/2013 10:09 pm
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Tried a Gravity Dropper on my SIR.9 last summer for a month or so, but wasn't impressed. I can see they would come in handy on the right type of bike, for the right type of terrain, but not for the jey boy mincing I do. Plus, it seemed to make the ride quite harsh.


 
Posted : 06/04/2013 10:54 pm
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I'm 6ft 4" and have always struggled with stupidly long seatposts getting in the way!

I'm 5'10 and I struggle the same with regularly sized seatposts since the relation between saddle height-inseam is probably very similar to yours. 😉


 
Posted : 06/04/2013 11:06 pm
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Spent a year on a cheap dropper (Forca Vario) to see what difference it makes. Even though I did mostly XC type stuff and trail centres I wouldn't be without one now and upgraded to a Reverb a couple of months ago.

Having been Jedi'd, I still use the droppage even on the flat rides round here - anything vaguely twisty or techy and the saddle goes down.

As a shortarse with short legs, I need an easy way to get the saddle out of the way so I can keep the bike mobile and my weight in the right place on the bike.

IMHO up there with tubeless and bouncy forks that actually work in terms of tech that has transformed MTB over the last decade.


 
Posted : 06/04/2013 11:12 pm
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yep, for the weight, cables and extra maintenance.but I'm an xc rider. for trail riding they are a great addition!


 
Posted : 07/04/2013 7:42 am
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Anyone put one on their road bike ?


 
Posted : 07/04/2013 8:05 am
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Erm, why would you?


 
Posted : 07/04/2013 9:41 am