Just replaced my seatpost with a dropper but still using a saddlebag of the type which velcro straps over the saddle rails and around the post itself.
Obviously, when I slam the dropper down now, the velcro strap rubs against the shaft.
I guess premature wear may occur if I do this a lot, but is any other damage likely (and what can I do to mitigate)?
I'm assuming I need some sort of dropper friendly saddle bag eventually.
On a related topic, I used to have a Reverb Enduro collar which limited post drop.
Are there generic versions of this which work on narrower dropper posts?
(Mines a 27.2mm KS Eten-i)
TIA
Buy a topeak DP mount
https://www.topeak.com/global/en/products/298-Bottle-Cage-Mounts/1139-dp-mount
Two of the four bikes I use for bikepacking have droppers. I simply use a bit of pipe lagging around the post before fixing the strap. That solution has done me for several years and I've not damaged the posts in any way.
Hey mate destroyed his brand new dropper post by wrapping the velcro strap around the shaft then going for a two or three hour ride in March.
The slight wiggle of the bag and the abrasive grit totally trashed the top 5 cm of the shaft.
Every time he dropped the post fully, an amount of crap was pulled past the seal.
You don’t really want the Velcro bit around the dropper. Can you bodge/modify it to attach to the saddle rails as well. I did this with a small roadie one, but eventually the rattling pissed me off and I just went to a Huck strap and drybag on the seat tube inside the frame.
Have you got an old inner sleeve from a bottom bracket? Clean it up, Slice it open and pop it under the strap. Works on mine, although this is a bit wider, you could slice it again lengthways to reduce the diameter if it's slipping.
It will stop the dropper going too far and messing with the strap, and protect the stanchion.
A better but pricier version of this is the wolftooth valais.
I use a woolftooth valais - it is pricy but has been fit and forget and does the job it needs to.
The first answer - Topeak DP mount.
I use a woolftooth valais – it is pricy but has been fit and forget and does the job it needs to.
The first answer – Topeak DP mount.
Hmmm, both pricy (and not currently available) for what they are so I'll try some foam pipe lagging and check for wear/scoring, I guess
A wrap of insulation tape to protect the post, or if you want a stop, an old bit of rubber from all those handlebar bracket spacers that you have stashed away (with tape)
If I can't be bothered to remove a dropper before bikepacking, I just wrap the whole thing in insulation tape, seems to work fine.
