Just pulled the trigger on a dropper. Will I be ok keeping my qr seatclamp, or do I need a collar type clamp?
No reason you can't keep your QR. I have a bolt on mine now, but only 'cos the QR one died.
All mine also have a QR, I don't always want to have the seat only 150mm down (and sometimes I want a "very down" and "slightly down" rather than "up" and "down")
Perfect. Ta.
I'm really overly sensitive to saddle height and if I switch to different shoe sole thicknesses I do like to change the height. easier to change with the QR. Makes no difference probably but it would nag at me on climbs.
Yip, on some very steep descents, I'll drop the 40mm I have as well as the dropper. Very rarely, but worth having the option IMO.
When it's set it's set for me, 150mm of drop is enough and I like the right height feel when it's up. I swapped out the QR as it was needed for another bike.
I use bolt collars purely because it's easier to get the right tension - reverbs are a bit susceptible to having the right amount of torque on and it's easier to do that with an Allan key. Qr works fine though just use a bit of assembly paste on the post and don't close it super tight.
LEVs can be sensitive to clamping force as well - if its too tight they won't extend fully. The installation manual even warns against it:
Do not over torque your frame's seat collar as this may inhibit proper function of your seat post
They specify a clamp bolt torque of 6-7 Nm which isn't really much at all - the same as stem bolts. I'm pretty sure I used to do my QR ones up way more than that, but of course the problem is you can't measure the torque on a QR so you don't actually know how tight it is.
I guess the answer is - if the dropper sticks then loosen the QR off a bit until it doesn't 🙂
A bolt up collar offers more security for your expensive dropper, if it's ever locked up outside anywhere.
I keep mine on the qr as if it were ever to fail mid ride I could lift it as high as I dare relatively easily.
Sort of a built in redundancy.
I go with bolt up for security.
Reverb provide a little collar in case of failure.
Just a piece of advice for all you peeps using bolt up collars - make sure you take out the dropper and grease it every once in a while, a stuck dropper is very hard to get out without damaging it.
Blueadvocate - MemberReverb provide a little collar in case of failure.
That's for limiting the height range of a reverb, not for jamming the post up in case of failure- probably not a good idea to ride about with it bearing weight.