[Closed] Leaving yer saddle height untouched throughout all of your riding

Of course you can but is it as much fun?

Yes, all the time. Never bothered dropping my seat until a mate told me how great it was, but I didn't like it; felt like I was missing the ability to control the bike using my thighs against the seat.

I'm sure people find the ability to drop the seat a big help, but I don't.

Quite a lot recently. Bit me in the ass the other day and had to climb off the front of the bike.

Ok, so people love dropping their saddles at the top of a descent. My mission has been to try and forget the height adjusts and just ride, as an element of my back to basics approach

been thinking the same and have come to the conclusion that I would never use a dropper post.

I used to. It was OK. Now I have a droppper post and drop it. It's much better. Some people ride all day without changing gear, too.

There are things I won't ride with the seatpost up, absolutely. It just depends what your riding entails really.

But most of the time it's not can you, but why would you?

I never drop mine. I suspect that I should learn to so I'm buying a dropper post to take away any excuse for not doing it.

Don't have a dropper post, just old fashioned QR
Would never ride without dropping my seat for descents - particularly techy ones. Allows me to get my weight back/let the bike move around. Can't imagine riding downhill properly with the saddle up anymore

sorry? what? faffing with saddle height on a ride? sorry I work on, get on bike pedal, loon about and have fun..only stop when time for cake. Is this stopping to adjust saddle height a trailmincer thing, or another excuse for the terminally crap? "yeh man, i would have cleaned that gnar-radsik root hop, but my saddle was like 1" too high man"

tazzymtb - Member

Is this stopping to adjust saddle height a trailmincer thing, or another excuse for the terminally crap?

Don't think so. Is this not dropping your saddle lark something that people that never ride anything difficult do? 😉

A long time ago people used to seat post QR's most people gave up on them, what seems to be happening is that some people have discovered an expensive way of basically achieving the same thing. Agreed they might work a bit better, WHEN THEY WORK.

The number of people i have met and heard of who are constantly complaining about dropper posts not working, wearing out etc.

Are they here to stay, i am not actually that sure, certainly for some, but like most things bike related they will go out of fashion and reemerge at a later date...

mrmo - Member

Agreed they might work a bit better, WHEN THEY WORK.

Which, with both of mine, is all the time- they've been more reliable than standard seatposts have been for me! (I did manage to break my KS in the alps by whacking the lever off a mountain, at which point it stopped being a dropper post and because a normal post. I can deal)

Honestly, half the problem here is that people keep buying the bad ones, or the untested ones.

I used to and was quite happy with it on the whole. Descending feeling like I was constantly about to go over the bars was kind of entertaining but never that fast

I started to learn to get the wheels off the ground, and started to drop the saddle more and more (though not a lot as felt unstable without my thighs on the saddle) as a way to make doing more out of my comfort zone eaier

Got to the point that the ~80mm seatpost drop of my frame (post was chopped so on minimum frame insert at pedalling height) was getting a problem on steep steppy stuff, went with a dropper in an attempt to stop me 'justifying' a new frame

2 and a bit years later the post breaks, never got round to getting it fixed. Ran with old post for ~8months, could ride everything I could already ride, but progression/new things were evident as a potential issue
Feeling bike was getting abused/perhaps keeping me back from more stupid stuff I was making it do, so got a longer travel frame with full saddle drop. Now riding with saddle slammed more often
A 6" dropper appeals, but for dropping more than 6", would actally be more of a faff than dropping my normal post. Also I find dropping a normal post on the move quite easy

My mission has been to try and forget the height adjusts and just ride, as an element of my back to basics approach

yep.. me too..

deffo not a good idea on a rigid Soul around some of the steeper technical rocky descents of East Dartmoor.. It's all still rideable (just about, as long as you've got good handstand skills and retractable bollocks) but it's no fun, and is definitely courting disaster..

Don't even have a QR seat collar & aven't felt he need to drop my saddle in 20 + years of riding - I must be shite I guess.

The main advantage of dropper posts for me is that the in ride punctuation of stop-at-the-top-of-a-descent-put-seat-down then stop-at-the-bottom-of-a-descent-put-seat-up thing is slightly less tedious; I'd just ride the descent and carry on, with the 'I don't know how you can ride that with your seat up' chorus in my ears.

I 'simply' ride the bloody thing with my saddle at (more or less) the right height for everything. Very very rarely do I think 'whoaa, need a dropper here'. I have occasionally dropped the seat for proper steep stuff but for the amount of that kind of riding I do....
Done Lakes rides where it gets steep & I'll drop it but for my usual stuff I just go!

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

Saddles up arses = check X 2.

depends where I'm riding. rarely drop it in the UK as the descents tend not to be either a) that long or b) that technical. Even in Scotland i tend not to.

In the alps, at the top of an alp, i often do so, just because I know I'm going to be descending for an hour or two.

Off to the alps in a couple of weeks, and probably won't drop my saddle there though, tbh, as I'll be on the race bike and i can't be done with faffing with allen keys.

if i decide to do the trans nepal this december, i'll not be dropping my post as i descend a himalaya...

I do 🙄 when i hear people say you 'have' to drop your seat for a paticular trail though.

Is this not dropping your saddle lark something that people that never ride anything difficult do?

😉

I may get an owie or booboo if it gets rough...strictly fire road extreme for me

Saddles up arses = check X 2.

yeah, but that's hardly technical is it..?

It's the whole having to change from arse on back tyre to balls on stem to arse on right pedal and back to arse on tyre again, all in the wink of a gnats chuff that I can't manage with 18" of seat post right in the way.. I've only got diddy short fat legs compared to those ahtletic fellas in the pics though

Never bothered my self

Even when i raced dh the saddle was still higher than most . I like to grip it with my thighs.

Rocked up to the les arcs and my guide told us we had to drop our posts to ride the downs.

No - infact i dont. Didnt slow me down any.

Define "hard technically".

I'm not to sure I'd be able to navigate the gap in that berm/wallride safely which Absalon is making look easy up there.

Used ride everywhere with a saddle height too high for steep techy stuff and too low for ideal pedalling, dropper posts allow the best of both worlds, doesn't make me any faster but makes a ride more fun 🙂

I've always ridden with a full height post - don't know any different. What I'm curious about is what downhills people drop their seatposts for - is this for extremely hard stuff, or just stuff at trail centres?

I rode with a reverb for 6 months until it broke... Love it, thought id never go back. Ive been riding with a fixed saddle height for ages now and im more than used to it again.

The reverb always had play in it from new, so the fixed post feels so much better. Rode the full end2end and passportes with feeling the urge to ever drop my saddle.

You can but you won't ride it as well. There's a reason that every DH bike has its saddle low and every competitive gravity enduro racer uses a dropper post. I could comment on some of the stiff and slow riding I saw at Bristol's newish trails recently, saddles up way too high to flow fluidly on bermy pumpy trails...

The other factor is that I think MTBing with a dropper post (and flats or good unclipping skills) is usefully safer than riding the same trails at the same speed without - I've lost count of the number of times I've saved myself from a crash by getting my feet down and/or having my body lower.

Minds me of the fella who cursed me for passing him at the top of the final descent at 10 under the ben

He was droppin his saddle on his trek ex8 and as i passed him asked me to wait till he had gone as he would be passing me again in a couple minutes since i was on a rigid xc bike.

Never saw him again till i watched him come into transition.

Define "hard technically".

no thanks 🙂

I know what you're getting at, but those pics show very smoooth flowing trails though..
I don't want to get into a 'was the Olympic course hard enough' type debate.. as FWIW I argued that it most definitely was..
Those pics show very little undulation though, not the type of riding that requires a lot of frequent, large and rapid shifts in weight distribution.. which is what I was thinking of when I used the term 'technical..'

I've always ridden with a full height post - don't know any different. What I'm curious about is what downhills people drop their seatposts for - is this for extremely hard stuff, or just stuff at trail centres?

Everything. It isn't just about balance on steeps, it's about being able to move better around the bike. If you can corner well with a high saddle, you'll corner better with a low saddle.

It's all still rideable (just about, as long as you've got good handstand skills and retractable bollocks)

Are those handlebar-remote or lever-actuated retractable bollocks?

[i]You can but you won't ride it as well

Everything. It isn't just about balance on steeps, it's about being able to move better around the bike. If you can corner well with a high saddle, you'll corner better with a low saddle[/i]

LOL.

Some of us don't ride that way.
Some of us ride well with a saddle up, and some of us have been doing it for years.

There are just different techniques and preferences. To some people it's great to get the seat out of the way to fully lean the bike when cornering, or when going off steep stuff, but you can do it with the seat there if you like. Just it's more comfortable and aids confidence with no seat.

The guys above at the Olympics are used to seats rammed up their arses though as much as wearing tight lycra. It doesn't make seat lowering wrong. Just look at the DH races. And lets not forget the many crashes at the above said Olympics MTB 😉

Myself, on trails I'm comfortable with a mid height seat, but on climbs it needs to be higher. It's way too high for me for anything but climbs though so has to go down. On descents, it's just nice to get it out of the way and my technique is better if I'm on the pedals and not the seat all the time. I could and have ridden plenty with seat at a fixed position, but the ride has been more lazy and less technically competent... for me.

I can ride everything round here with my saddle up, but I'm much quicker and have more fun with it down.

I haven't even got a QR....but I'm not great at descending....Having said that I've rode with lads that have dropped their saddles and I've got down with no probelems...and enjoyed.
Each to their own etc...some people just love faffing about and spending money...I'm not a fan of either..

Some of us don't ride that way.
Some of us ride well with a saddle up, and some of us have been doing it for years.

Doesn't mean you wouldn't ride better with your saddle down (once you've acclimatised to being able to actually move!) But do go on telling yourself that you're as good as you can be, if that makes you feel better. 😉

[i]Just it's more comfortable [b]for me[/b] and aids confidence [b]for me[/b] with no seat.[/i]

I'm a-fixing that for you with my seat up..

[i]But do go on telling yourself that you're as good as you can be, if that makes you feel better.[/i]

...and do go on telling me how much better I'd be if only I listened to you.. guru... 🙄

Are those handlebar-remote or lever-actuated retractable bollocks?

pah.. don't be so old fashioned..

mine are electric and are operated by brain impulses picked up by a sensor implanted under the foreskin..

Can't afford a dropper post so will be doing things old school.

If you can corner well with a high saddle, you'll corner better with a low saddle.

So if I'm getting round the corners at the limit of my tyres' traction (or just without braking) with a full-height post, what advantage will I notice when I drop my saddle?

But do go on telling yourself that you're as good as you can be, if that makes you feel better.

...and do go on telling me how much better I'd be if only I listened to you.. guru...

Don't forget to ignore every pro downhill racer, every pro enduro racer and everyone riding pump tracks, because clearly none of that is relevant to other forms of MTBing...

[i]mine are electric and are operated by brain impulses picked up by a sensor implanted under the foreskin..[/i]

Youv'e got a foreskin? Bit old fashioned innit?

Not all downhillers slam their saddle

See steve peat for example - its not xc height but its higher than most of the gnar monkeys at glentress shreading

You'll probably be surprised to find your tyres still have traction with further leaning and importantly the correct footwork, if you lean the bike and not so much yourself, which is much easier to do... with the seat out of the way 😉

Something I was somewhat amazed at when I was taught this, and I didn't even get the bike over as far as it could probably go and it would still maintain grip as was demonstrated to me.

So if I'm getting round the corners at the limit of my tyres' traction (or just without braking) with a full-height post, what advantage will I notice when I drop my saddle?

So you're loading every corner are you, by pumping the bike into the ground to massively increase grip?

[i]Don't forget to ignore every pro downhill racer, every pro enduro racer and everyone riding pump tracks, because clearly none of that is relevant to other forms of MTBing... [/i]

Aah, I didn't realise that you were their spokesman, you should have said. The last time I rode a pump track it was on my cross bike, fixed saddle, drop bars, yet I managed perfectly well.

I'll have to discount the last 20 odd years of riding and racing; I've obviously been doing it all wrong...

Some of us manage perfectly well, the other folk seem to need dropper posts.

im going to get a dropper post next month as im having trouble having enough post to ride xc then still have enough frame to hide the post in to go ride pumptracks clearing tables and doubles with a high saddle is really uneasing i did it on my hardtail but but only as i couldent be assed to stop with allenkeys in the middle of a ride.

aracer - Member

So if I'm getting round the corners at the limit of my tyres' traction (or just without braking) with a full-height post, what advantage will I notice when I drop my saddle?

Seems to be a genuine question so... The more you can move around, the more you can weight the bike/move your weight to improve traction.

Youv'e got a foreskin? Bit old fashioned innit?

it's what keeps my brain safe.. I don't really want to get drawn into the helmet debate again though..

Not everyone struggles to move round their bike with saddle up though. Can appreciate some folk need the room thoigh

"i couldent be assed to stop with allenkeys in the middle of a ride"
QR levered collar?

Interesting that folk who need to drop their saddles seem a bit threatened by those who don't...

Interesting the amount of bollox in this thread

james - i dident have a qr as my post at the time kept sliping and genraly i dont like qr collars so when the dropper comes my current qr will be ditched

Never bothered and doubt I will 🙂

I've never bother dropping my saddle and it's been fine for my riding. I've always hated the feel of the saddle being at the wrong height, something a dropper post which would return to full height would resolve. I bought wor lass one 2nd hand off here and it's definitely worked for her. It doesn't interrupt the flow of riding by having to get off and alter a qr.
Each to their own.

As per several post above, I 'hold' the bike saddle with my thighs when descending (if I dont need to get behind the saddle). Are drop post user still able to do this, or do the choose not to? Is it an advantage not to, tried lower my saddle all the way a couple of times & it felt very unsettling. Im just left wondering if I'm missing something

trail_rat - Member

Not everyone struggles to move round their bike with saddle up though

It's not about struggling though... A dropped post lets you move around more easily, sure, but it also lets you move more, and get your body into places and shapes that are impossible with the saddle up.

Whether or not you're bothered, or would use or benefit from that capability, is a different question of course. I'm not daft enough to tell other people I've never met what the best ways for them to ride are but the thread does seem to have a few folks who are.

Kind of curious about the "hold the saddle with the thighs" thing... Now I'll sometimes use the saddle to control the bike a little, with one leg or the other (this works fine with the saddle dropped) but I'm not sure what the benefit is of gripping it with your legs? When would you do that, and what does it do for you?

Hmmm, mate of mine sometimes does using the QR...I tried to follow his lead but to be honest it just felt all wrong like something was missing.

Still, each to theirs though...

I drop it all the time. You can still rest the saddle on your leg in corners but the rest of the time, if anything, I ride bow-legged so the bike can move around beneath me.

Last time I didn't bother to drop the saddle I went over a jump at llandegla and the saddle hit me in the balls and I nearly went over the bars. I will stick to dropping it if that's ok with the OP. It is better for me and I find descending more fun when I can go faster with the saddle down.

A few years ago i sat the Trail Cycle Leader exam then quickly followed it up with the Mountain Bike Leader exam and the instructors at the time tried to batter into me the importance of dropping the seatpost for difficult sections but i had a major disagreement with them regarding this as surely on a ride when your blatting along and you come to a downhill or drop-off section of trail you do not have the time nor stopping distance to halt and drop your post before carrying on, you have to learn how to get your arse over the back of the saddle and feel comfortable and confidant adjusting your body position as you see fit dependant on the trail conditions - where is this rant going?, i dunno really but if you feel the need to drop your saddle every time you come to a tricky section then perhaps you should learn or get taught some basic bike handling skills rather than rely on a dropper post or waste time by dropping it manually.

I've recently returned to biking after 4 odd years off the bike (past 2 months riding) and last week i was held up at kirroughtree as there was folk on full suss Lapierre's and one Giant dropping their posts on the trail before descending Talnotry hill, it's a friggin trail centre for christ sake, there is now't on that trail worthy of dropping a seatpost for, i've took kids of 10yrs old round sections of the red and black, including Talnotry Hill and Hyssing Syd and they're on 24" wheels, by the end of a session they all managed to ride everything without incident with their seatpost in the usual riding position.

Perhaps on a true wilderness ride you may need to drop your seatpost and i understand this, hell... I've done it myself descending from hills i'm unsure about but every trail centre course is designed to be ridden at speed, that is why they can be graded in such a way as red or black etc.

Personally none of my bikes have a quick release seatpost clamp and i discourage my mates to drop their seatposts - learn to ride with a saddle in the correct position as you don't know what the trail will throw at you, i guess this doesn't apply to the jumpy crowd but then again they would have the confidence and the balls to ride anything anyway.

I struggling to give good reason why i grip the saddle (a firm-ish yet relaxed 'giving' grip not a vice like one), it just how I've always ridden.

From memory, with the saddle right down (out of thigh range!) I didn't feel I knew where the bike was (position or angle wise), and felt very detached & lacking control of the bike (feel I can't angle the frame confidently) even though my feets & hands are attached. I 'do' wonder if it something I should try more, to get the hang of it?

Somafunk - I struggle with long sentences, is saddle dropping for dudes or douches?

Before I start
26" wheels
Turn my bike over to remove the wheels
Schrader

Of course you can ride with your saddle up.
Of course it's good to be able to ride something that comes out of the blue with your saddle up but
It moves, it's fine, it works well.
As above most people having issues with untested dropper posts and the crap ones. My KS has the newer internals and touch wood is going strong 2 years in.
I move around my bike to get my weight into the right position for what I am doing. Having a seat post in the way gets in the way of that.

Fair enough z1ppy, makes sense to me. Quite glad I don't have that issue though!

Just ride with it slammed, mtfu and stand up on the uphill and flat sections. Doing jumps with a seat up your arse is no fun at all.

I'm an XC rider through and through. Can't be 'arsed' having to think about changing saddles heights when it's not really needed around my area

I used to stop and lower my saddle before descents, but it just interfered with my flow, maaaan. 😉 Like someone said above, I like having a familiar reference point between my legs when I'm moving about on the bike. I am a mincer, though.

invisible post? 😕

EDIT: new page glitch

mikewsmith - Member
Before I start
26" wheels
Turn my bike over to remove the wheels
Schrader
(dropper seatpost [ed])

I wonder if there's any correlation - anybody else care to add a data point?

26"
Bike right way up to remove wheels
Presta
Full height seatpost

I wonder if there's any correlation - anybody else care to add a data point?

26"
Bike right way up to remove wheels
Presta
Full height seatpost

Lol sums it up never trusted anyone who doesn't turn their bike over 😆

I rode for many years with my seatpost at full height. I never saw any need to and never considered dropping it at all.

I was swayed by reading so many reviews from riders who had tried a dropper post and said that it really changed their riding. So I bought one, and I'm now damn near a dropper seatpost evangelist!

I'm able to move around so much better, especially to lower my center of gravity when needed. Some short, steep (near vertical) descents that used to scare the crap out of me with the saddle at full height are a piece of cake with the saddle dropped. i was amazed at the difference.

Expensive? Yes. Heavier? Yes. More complex? Yes. Worth it to me? Yes!

I just run my post on the low side all the time. I don't mind standing up and pedaling. I don't really like xc height seat posts as I find it is harder to pump and respond to the trail, a bit like running suspension with no sag. I always thought that one needed to get one's weight back but for downhill stuff weight down is what you want and this is not so easy with your seat right up as hanging off the back of your saddle tends to push your weight to the back. My theory is this is a hangover from running fully rigid and needing to have all the weight off the front wheel. Now everybody has decent front suspension it is amazing how much your front wheel can plough through with your weight more centred and down. I posted a film of some Danish xc lads doing big drops and gap jumps with their saddles right up where the sun don't shine. They don't hang off the back of the saddle.

Dyed in the wool tradutional seat post user, but mainly coz
A) can't afford a dropper
B) wouldn't want the extra weight
C) hate anything that is unreliable
D) needs loads of maintenance
Which is also most of the reasons i don't have a FS

26" wheels
Turn my bike over to remove the wheels
Presta
No dropper
& probably equally as relevant, clipped in.

I also run my saddle a tad lower than ideal, but with the nose tilted up a touch to help with steep climbs when you slide forward on it.
& I agree, you really don't need to hang over the back that much.
With 6 inches of travel front & rear, I seldom even stand any more.

I prefer to lower my saddle and inch as I feel more flexible and confident on the bike. I can and do ride saddle up on xc descents but on steeper ones I tend to lower it, sometimes two inches. It mainly helps with steep braky corners where you don't get hooked up as you both lean the bike before releasing the brakes (not explained well)

I have a giant contact switch dropper post but it's problematic. Usually stuck up or down. And it drops four inches which feels really weird. I Don't use it.

Someone above mentions managing to ride a CX bike perfectly well round a pump track without dropping their saddle.

There is a big difference between riding round a pump track and pumping a pump track.

Maybe this is a good way of defining riders that will find a dropper post useful. That and wether there wheels regularly leave the ground?

Not there is anything wrong with either riding style but it does explain why some folks don't need them. As someone who likes to lower my post a bit for off road and a lot for descents I would now be lost without mine. I have altered my riding style so much that without the ability to drop it I feel 'too tall' and lacking in grip.

That it adds FUN 🙂