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I wasn't being sneery and condesdending! I was highlighting my opinion on dropper posts. Some people get very touchy instead if taking things at face value Enough insults eh?
Can you really NOT ride stuff without hitting that button on the heavy expensive post, or stopping to do a twist 'n' drop?
I use one because I never need to back pedal like you
Obviously this is not condescending or sneery just take it at face value eh
glasgowdan - Member
I think this is the problem - I wasn't being sneery and condesdending! I was highlighting my opinion on dropper posts.
Bollocks.
Once upon a time I rode everywhere and everything with my saddle up.
Since I've had a dropper post I can't even pop off a kerbstone without reaching for the dropper remote.
Conclusive evidence, should it be needed, that dropper posts are a waste of money and actually make you worse at riding your bike.
Would you speak like this to someone's face?
I was looking to question what people think, including myself, before riding something technical. I am now stopping and thinking 'actually, I'm going to try this without dropping the saddle'.
I think focussing again on basic skills is a good thing to do and the less I rely on compensatory devices the better I feel about clearing things.
It has degenerated into the usual 'You're wrong' crap.
welcome to singletrack!
although I think mountain biking is such a broad church and humans are such a tribal animal, that it's no wonder that folks will always find something to designate a tribal belonging to, even if it's droppy or non droppy post, shenanigans.
or single speed vs gears or wheel size or suspension use or bar width or body armour use.....in fact I hate everyone that's not me...YOUR ALL WRONGUNS!
Crag - Member
Once upon a time I rode everywhere and everything with my saddle up.Since I've had a dropper post I can't even pop off a kerbstone without reaching for the dropper remote.
Conclusive evidence, should it be needed, that dropper posts are a waste of money and actually make you worse at riding your bike.
i can vouch for the crap standard of crags riding 😀
Nicely said Tazzy... Although I'm never wrong of course, that would be everyone else 😉
Well I have a dropper post (27.2mm) and am getting shims so I can use it on all my bikes. Do I feel any less of a man (no) Just cos some on here can defy the laws of physics it does not mean we should all feel inferior. ( I suppose the ones that do not drop their seatpost may not have them up as far as the rest of us do when climbing)
Would you speak like this to someone's face?I was looking to question what people think, including myself, before riding something technical. I am now stopping and thinking 'actually, I'm going to try this without dropping the saddle'.
I think focussing again on basic skills is a good thing to do and the less I rely on compensatory devices the better I feel about clearing things.
Yes.
Good for you.
First bit of your OP, fine. Second bit - pretty obvious sneering , eg why mention the posts being heavy and expensive? What relevance does that have to anything? Are you too weak to manage a few extra grams uphill (there's another example for you)?
anotherstan - Member
Crag - Member
Once upon a time I rode everywhere and everything with my saddle up.
Since I've had a dropper post I can't even pop off a kerbstone without reaching for the dropper remote.Conclusive evidence, should it be needed, that dropper posts are a waste of money and actually make you worse at riding your bike.
i can vouch for the crap standard of crags riding
Me too.
I leave my saddle up and I'm rubbish, too.
If you stop thinking of them as 'dropper posts' and instead as 'raiser posts' then you'll understand them better. Use them when you're on a long ride and haven't got enough in your legs to pedal standing up all the time. They're a compensatory device for weak legs, not for poor skills. If you're only out for a few hours, put your saddle down (not necessarily dirt-jump slammed) and then get on with riding without stopping. If your legs can't take it, put the saddle up for the bigger climbs.
At last! This thread has finally turned the corner into a bitchfest. Thank god it was boring the arsenal off me, this is what STW is all about.
If you stop thinking of them as 'dropper posts' and instead as 'raiser posts' then you'll understand them better. Use them when you're on a long ride and haven't got enough in your legs to pedal standing up all the time. They're a compensatory device for weak legs, not for poor skills. If you're only out for a few hours, put your saddle down (not necessarily dirt-jump slammed) and then get on with riding without stopping. If your legs can't take it, put the saddle up for the bigger climbs.
You really don't understand XC riding do you?
welcome to singletrack! although I think mountain biking is such a broad church and humans are such a tribal
animal, that it's no wonder that folks will always find something to designate a tribal
belonging to, even if it's droppy or non droppy post, shenanigans. or single speed vs gears or wheel size or suspension use or bar width or body armour
use.....in fact I hate everyone that's not me...YOUR ALL WRONGUNS!
+1
A dropper post is just a bike component. You are entitled to your opnion on them I suppose, but bad mouthing someone for owning one is in the same vein as SS Purists calling all gear users unpleasant names...
and who wants to be that sort of tool really?
Read this thread from start to finish. OP raises a valid point I think but as usual on here there are people who act hard hiding behind a keyboard. Just about everyone we meet on the trail is friendly ,pleasant and interested in this bit of kit or is that bike any good etc etc. If someone just shot there mouth off cos I hadn't dropped my seatpost for a downhill or was generally rude and abusive they'd get a shock when i shoved his dropper post up his arse and extended it!!!!. Rant over.. I have put a few post on here regarding droppers.After 20 years of MTB's I have never used one or dropped my seat and was thinking that maybe the hype is valid but on saturday we rode for 6 hours around the Edale Hope valley and if i'm honest never once did i feel the need to drop my saddle. Maybe I'm missing the point and the terrain around there is not rad enough but there was a guy with us with a dropper and we smoked him and alot more folks too down chapel gate. I appreciate that the jump crew and proper downhilling requires a different set up ( not just seatpost but head angle etc etc) but after saturday I think i'll be leaving it. Feel free to tell me if you think i'm wrong
Your all talking bollox.
Now go and ride your bikes, because tommorow you'll have to get in the audi and go back to your it job.
You really don't understand XC riding do you?
That depends on what you mean by XC riding? The last solo ride I did was round Puddletown Forest up the fireroads and down the singletrack and DH runs (with some pushing back up) but the one before that was a one hour blast of 10 miles and 1000' of climbing up and down Stanmer's twisty singletrack. And my regular group night ride is about three hours, 20 miles and 2000' of the same, sometimes with some mini-DH/DJ to warm up. Not an XC racer certainly but I can pedal a bit!
Why don't you try dropping your seat for a bit and then you can make your own mind up if you're wrong or not. Too many anti dropper posters argument format is "i've never used one. I was faster than someone who wad using one. I am awesome".
Fwiw sometimes I use, sometimes I don't, depends what I'm doing.
Thats sort of what I'm getting at...I'm not anti dropper (not anti anything with 2 wheels) just wondering if would it make such a massive difference.I'm not awesome by the way...wish i was...just love the buzz of scaring myself to death..gonna be too old for it soon. I'll try it and get back to you if i'm still around...
I think that's the point Teamslug, if you got a dropper you [u]might[/u] ride faster and scare yourself witless for many more years to come 😉
Seriously though, I'm curious about what type of bikes those 'for' and those 'against' ride and the type of trails you would ride if you had the choice. I appreciate some of you have more than one bike so it's not straight forward, we're all (mostly) tied by time to the trails on our doorstep but 'what if'?
I would always choose to ride fast, steep, technical and just plain fun trials given the opportunity. As such I have a Five and a dropper so I can throw it about a bit, turn round and ride back up without stopping to faff with the post. I don't for a minute think that being able to ride those trails with the seat 'up' would make me a better rider or, most importantly, the ride more fun. So I'm firmly in the 'droppers make riding more fun' camp 😀
In the usual "angry of stw forum" there are a few folk who completely fail to understand the intended context of what is posted and immediately reply by means of an accusatory reactionary insult or by use of selectively using the quote function to repost a few lines out of context regarding what may have been a valid point when read as an entire post.
I'll refrain from using the quote function to highlight who this is directed at, as otherwise this thread will degenerate into the usual insult lobbing outcome as so many others have, so please take the time to read an entire post and keep it in context.
Using a dropper post at a trail centre is fine - knock yourself out, go ahead if you feel the need, but the point i was trying to make is i see people who have been sold an all singing all dancing mtb with a dropper post fitted as standard, and by-god they are going to make use of it no matter what. If the trail happens to point downhill or there's a drop off then down it goes as why on earth would it be fitted to the bike otherwise?, why would the vast majority of the mtb publications or online articles constantly mention the necessity to drop your post for descents or technical sections as this will help you get better position on the bike thus garnering you more control....and by the way check out our gazillion dropper seat post reviews in the next issue - out soon....buy now before you crash and hurt yourself....real bad.
I'll reiterate one of my original points that was the crux of my argument for learning to ride without dropping your post, not "i'm a better rider than you coz i don't drop my post therefore get off my trail you ****in newbie", but as usual in true STW fashion this point seems to have been overlooked as it's much more fun to selectively quote out of context.
What happens if your dropper post seizes on the trail?,, do you get off and walk down everything as you've never ridden with the saddle up so high and you have no experience of getting over the back of the bike?, or perhaps you approach a technical rocky section at speed, unprepared for whatever reason and cannot reach or fumble for the lever in time before you enter it, do you panic as you consider the fact that "shit...my saddle is high....what do i do now?", whilst fumbling away for the lever your hand/thumb is not securely holding onto the bars, your mind is in overdrive, almost panicking and has not spotted the natural line through the section nor the exit point where you should be focusing on but rather your thought is "Oh...... shite i'm gonna stack it big here........"
Perhaps this process does not hold an issue for you or you can subconsciously multi task succesfully (are you male?, yeah...well there you go) 8) .
If i'm riding wild in the hills i may stop and drop my seatpost for descents i have no knowledge of but even then it gets dropped an inch or two at the very most but that does not make me a more skillfull rider than someone who removes their post and drops it in their camalbak (artistic over dramitisation - my post, my rules), it just says i feel confident in my ability to cope with whatever comes my way and surely every mtb rider wishes to have more confidence on the trail?.
Note : Trail, not jump park or downhill track nor pump track nor northshore riding so reign it in boys, step away from the keyboard.
I dunno where i'm going with this now as i'm getting bored and my tea will be getting cold but it's still brewing in the kitchen so i'll have to heat it up in the microwave and imho that spoils a cup of tea so i'm gonna have to go to the hassle of wasting another twinnings tea-bag and more electricity by boiling fresh water.....gawd life is so unfair sometimes, I could've been sat in my comfy chair reading my David Millar autobiography i bought yesterday but here i am trying to explain as succinctly as possible why i don't drop my seatpost and why i don't advise my friends to do it either unless necessary, all the above essay has been a pretty ****in pointless exercise don't ya think?, i mean...... why should i care anymore?, does anyone care?.
One final thing before i toddle off to the kitchen and stare out the window as the rain falls again whilst pondering why i've wasted 15mins of my sunday night on folk who's personal opinion of what i wrote means abso****inlutey sod all to me?.
To the poster who asked if i choose to ignore the instructor (craig n' rich - cyclewise - hi peeps, wot do you think of this thread?, pointless eh?), i didn't choose to ignore them, i consider myself a competent rider therefore i made an informed decision based on my riding experience, others on the course with me followed their advice though.
I doubt very much that Tony is doing it wrong, different style of riding completely and if was privileged enough to get a skills session with him i'd follow his advice to the letter and adapt whatever i was taught into a form and style that worked for myself rather than stick rigidly to what he advised.
Run my own skills courses?...DOH!....why didn't i think of that?, d'ya mind if i use that idea and run with it? - how much commission would you expect for that very original concept?. Bit sarky so i'll apologise here n' now but i get agnsty without my cup of tea.
If you'd like a free skills course then get in touch, i'll not promise to turn you into a riding god or big hucker but i will say i'm confident i'll be able to offer advice that if you follow it and adapt it into your riding style will improve your bike handling skills.
To everyone else....there's no need to be offensive, it's not big and it's not clever.
Sorry, that was rude
there was a guy with us with a dropper and we smoked him
Think I'm just gonna sell mine now.
there was a guy with us with a dropper and we smoked him
that's a bit harsh.. 😯
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It might have ruined/wasted your brew,but well said.
What is the argument?
Your tyre will decouple from the ground above a certain speed if you cannot match the terrain with bike/human suspension and tyre diameter. The choice is how fast do you want to go and in how much control? Everyone is different.
On my bikes that I use for XC and racing I have fixed posts, they can be dropped but I need to get the allen keys for that so generally dont bother.
I have a dropper post on my Blur LT and use it quite a bit whether I am on natural stuff or at a trail centre like Golspie, Inners or Laggan. I am lucky enough to have a spare dropper post for one of my XC bikes and use it every now and again if I am going to be doing a lot of steep descents on longer natural rides but dont want to take the FS.
So, the short answer - yes I drop the post but not very often but thats just me. Its whatever someone enjoys most so they get the best out of their ride 😀
locally there really isn't the terrain to warrant a dropper post, if i was lucky enough to live somewhere Alpine i'd deffo consider one
Somafunk, just because someone uses a dropper post and/or likes to drop their saddle doesn't mean that they're not capable of riding with their seat at full height. Also, writing off opinions on seat dropping because they're a "different style of riding" is totally missing the point. All the bike handling skills and techniques are fundamentally the same, whether you're an Olympic XC racer, a Red Bull Rampage freerider or a World Cup DH star - or indeed someone on this forum. It's all riding bikes offroad and down hills (at least some of the time!)
Dropper post users; they don't like it up 'em....
bump
All you none dropper post users:
You sound more like roadies than mountain bikers!
Why dont you go and put your lycra on, get on your light weight mincing machines and then go and ride round some muddy fields.
The sport has evolved since the 90s. Or have you never bothered to take a look at whats going on in MBUK?
My advice would be:
Get yourselves to a decent trail centre like Glentress, then you can see what mountain biking is really about. Although before trying to ride there, I'd advise you invest in a 160mm trail bike, a droper post and a Met parachute. Otherwise there'll definitely be tears before bedtime.
isn't anyone going to congratulate me on my ****ing hilarious visual gag ..?
I'm still letting out involuntary giggles 49 minutes later..
Surely I'm not going to have to post it again am I..?
Trail centre?
Oooh you so cool...
times move on
+ people said disk brakes weren't worth it
+ some people said hydraulic disk brakes weren't worth it
+ they said front suspension wasnt worth it
+ they said full suspension wasn't worth it. Rememeber the hard time that proflex had when it first introduced FS mountain bikes here? some may even remember my 5" travel kit for the proflex - Lots of folks back then in the industry told me that no one would ever buy a 5" day to day mountain bike
same now for droppers.
The irony is that I've seen the OP (Dan) crash over his bars here on our local trails on tricky steep sections...!!
Trail centre?Oooh you so cool...
The new breed of trail centre rider is cool.
We winch our way up the hills so we can shred the downs in an aggressive manner.
I'd recommend you go on a skills course. You'll be pumping, jumping and wheelying round your local trails in no time. Maybe then you'll see why a dropper post is so important.
Erm?.... I think he "may" have been attempting sarcasm - the mbuk mention gave it away for me
I must admit though i prefer riding in lycra, and riding my lightweight sub 20lb scandium mincing machine with 80mm locked out nae travel forks - I'm not keen on muddy fields though?...can i still come and play?.
I noticed it yunki, I declined to comment though as i gave up smoking fags and t'weed 3 weeks ago but i've had no withdrawal symptoms as of yet which leads me to believe i must have a few years worth of thc in my system to work through first, and your post has reminded me that there's nothing cooler than lounging around in wool cycling gear whilst smoking a mahoosive stoogie, chicks dig that shizzle fo sho dawg.
It's the winching and the shredding that troubles me, I've always tried to attack the climbs and send the descents, but I can see where I'm going wrong.
It's the winching and the shredding that troubles me, I've always tried to attack the climbs and send the descents, but I can see where I'm going wrong.
😀
I reckon the proper XC racers will end up using them soon.
i've had no withdrawal symptoms as of yet
s'all psychosomatic innit..
a viscous lie perpetrated by the Eton Mafia to ensure that the lower orders keep paying their snout tax..
they put a stop to it all when the baccy smuggling got out of hand, smoking ban in the pubs etc, works out cheaper by saving on NHS costs..
s'all a big con.. embrace your new found lungs, reduced stress and enhanced social status
Yup. Xc racers will be using them pretty soon. (i think).
Since I got a dropper post a massive 3% of my riding has been at trail centres...
You guys are scaring me now, earlier this year I got chance of a very expensive bike very cheap but I daren't go out on it 'cos I'll get mentioned on here " saw that w*nker jamesco yissday on his new bike an he slowed me right down - he cant ride it properly an he'll never know how - the old mincer!"