[Closed] Uppy downy seat posts - experiences?

TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR - Member
Go on then smartarse - what's the correct height?

I'm sure you have enough braincells to figure that out for yourself.

Flow's correct - apparently the Spesh DH World Cup team is going to be riding with there saddles up next year, they've proved there's no advantage to it.

(I have a new type i900 which after i'd swapped the crap cable it came with has been ace, and is very handy for riding undulating trails quickly)

[i]Pointless. End of.

I'm sure you have enough braincells to figure that out for yourself[/i]

With these well constructed arguments I think i'll put my credit card away.

I can ride any trail on my hard tail - doesn't mean I don't chose to ride my full sus sometimes and have "more fun" 😉

fwiw I'm currently looking to get an uppy downy post, primarily for the Mega but I reckon it'll get a fair bit of use after too.

Sorry I though we were talking trail bikes/riding, not world cup DH courses 🙄

I rode a WC DH course on this at the weekend - my trail bike. I'd love to see you try it with the saddle that high - or the majority of my local 'trails' too.

[img] [/img]

Bought one for my Blood for the Mega, but already a firm convert.

I think most mortals would agree that you don't need to be a World Cup DH racer to be "trail riding" in places where having your saddle down a bit is a distinct advantage?

I musyt add - it didnt suit my riding and wasnt worth me buying it as it was on loan to me. If it suits you then great - try one and make your own mind up - i did and it didnt help.

Good night all !

I rode a WC DH course on this at the weekend - my trail bike. I'd love to see you try it with the saddle that high - or the majority of my local 'trails' too.

If you were riding a world cup DH course you wouldn't need a ****ing adjustable seat post would you, you would have the saddle down. I would love to show you how to ride a bike on your local trails without one to, is that why you ride flats, because its to demanding for SPD's? :lol:. What do you think I do, ride on the flat all the time, you joker!

Tool - they are CB Mallets, so yes I rode the DH clipped in thanks.

I don't doubt some people are capable of riding with their saddle up 99.9% of the time, but with long legs, a large frame and short torso, it is totally impossible for me to get off the back and be in control, thus shoving your previous comments roughly in the same place as your head seems to be.

So because you feel the need to use one, you think that people who don't are wrong? You're the one who needs to pull your head out your ass.

Jebus. Kaesae, ro now flow?

No I'm not, but sometimes people get on my tits, sorry.

flow - Member
So because you feel the need to use one, you think that people who don't are wrong? You're the one who needs to pull your head out your ass

You started with "pointless, end of" or something similar if I remember correctly did you not?

I can't be arsed any more - night!

*goes to sleep smashing head against wall*

err

no that pointless . end of was me !!

sorry if it caused offence - it was intended to be banter !

out of interest whats your fav local trail in the peak then STR? Oh yes I have ridden the ft bill DH trail too...

snowpaul

You started with "pointless, end of" or something similar if I remember correctly did you not?

snowpaul - Member
Pointless. End of.

Nope

Ah, yes my bad - sorry about that one, but the argument remains.

One of my faves would be Stanage Edge - plenty of people could possibly ride with their saddle up, but with my body shape it's bloody hard at the very top (puts my COG waaay high) and as I said earlier I just can't get off the back.

I almost made the same mistake Went back and read the old post first, Arguing On Teh Internetz 101.

northwind- I ride most of KT with my seatpost slammed, it can't be ridden as fast otherwise and for me it just doesn't flow as well if not ridden flat out.
with your seat at full pedalling extension, you simply can't jump, manual, pump or hop properly and you can't corner as fast.

Me, now........ 😀

[img] [/img]

STR - nice trail - causeway up and down the rock slabs? Yep thats fine with my lithe body = post up! I love the roman road / hagg farm/ shatton moor and even cavedale - now thats hard and prob the only place I would consider a dropy post in the peak- but thats just doable post up albeit prob slower than if it were dropped but i wouldnt want the weight to slow me on the ups- I used to race xc and come from a 'post up / good' background and my pride would take a hit if i dropped the post plus all the other whippets I ride with would rip me for doing so...

I reckon up / downy posts are rather like the riser bar arguement... some will accept some wont.

I actually love a thudbuster on my HT now thats an acquired taste !

snowpaul

This is me now 😉

[IMG] [/IMG]

We start from Fox House - Houndkirk - Redmires - Plantation - Burbage (shhh), but do all sorts in the area.

Love the Beast, Lockerbrook, Hagg Farm and Jacobs etc - not done Cavedale yet though for some reason, although mates have.

On topic - love my gravity dropper multi with remote, but as someone mentioned it can be tricky finding slight drops, but full drop is easy.

Back on arguement - I cannot ride anything technical with the saddle up my **** , whereas one of my riding friends can. I'm sure your body geommetry has something to do with it. I am 5'11" with long legs, long arms (I think) and short torso and everyone comments on my long seatpost.
My friensd is almost 6'2" and I find his saddle height about right for me, yet he is three inches taller. Anyway I'm loving my gravity dropper
and wouldn't go back.

If you go down that line you won't come back. Its as important (for me) as gears etc.

Gravity Dropper all the way.

Another one here for never dropping the seat. I just cant be arsed really.

Another one here for never dropping the seat. I just cant be arsed really.

Which is exactly why uppy downy seatposts are good. You don't have to be arsed. It is very very easy and no faff whatsoever.

People going on about them being pointless - did you say the same about disc brakes and suspension forks? Because I'm sure you could go mountain biking without them right?

Leaving the seat at a good pedalling position when descending is fine if you enjoy mincing slowly down smacking your balls into your saddle constantly. 😛

Loved my Gravity Dropper, for the first three rides, before I had to send it back to CRC for repairs. It doesn't look like I'll have it back anytime soon either. Would I buy again? No, I'm done with beta-testing but the idea is great and yes, although it is humanly possible to go down a hill with the seat up, why not harder, faster and higher if you can?

I have a bike with a curved seat tube so I can't drop a normal post by more than an inch.
I've now got a Joplin 3" with remote and it's enough to transform the handling of the bike and my playfulness on the descents. So much so that I hardly ride my other bike with the fixed seatpost any more.

So functionally, I think the idea is excellent. However, I've had a few technical issues.
1) Layback only seatpost isn't ideal.
2) My saddle has deformed slightly and started to push the release lever when riding. I had to fiddle with the cable tension and lever stop position and even file the top bolt down a little to sort this problem. It's probably worse because of the extreme seat angle on my bike though.

The Rockshox looks better thought out to me. But we'll see. I don't think I'd trust mine to last a winter in the peak district, but I can really enjoy it through the other 9 months.

I had 2 KS i900s which both went wrong in various ways and had to go back so I wouldn't have another of those until all their little problems have been sorted out.

I got an i900R last year. It went back twice under warranty, getting revised internals both times. It's been working fine for many months now so I'm reasonably convinced that the major problems at least are sorted. Sorted enough that I got another one for another bike, anyway.

I'm also wholly unconvinced at the need to spend £200 more than a QR when it's not inconvenient unless you ride nonstop or your mates are mindblowingly impatient.

They're not going to be to everyone's tastes but then again neither are front suspension, rear suspension, aluminium frames, multiple gears, etc.

However I find my uppy-downy seatposts great. Not having to faff with a QR is great. Not grinding mud and grit into my seat tube every time I drop my saddle is great. Being able to drop my saddle while on the move, so I only need to drop it for the bits of a trail where I really want it dropped is great. Being able to ride the rest of a trail with the saddle high enough that I can pedal comfortably whilst seated is great. Being able to adjust my saddle height in reaction to the changes in an unfamiliar trail is great. Not having think as much about it as I would if I had to stop and faff with a QR is great.

Pointless. End of.

Obviously not. 🙂 A wide range of views have been expressed on this thread. Hopefully mcinnes and anyone else who's been considering getting one will have gotten some idea of what benefits (and pitfalls) they bring and what sorts of riders think those benefits outweigh the pitfalls.

Yes it's true that people with a ride everything with the saddle up mentality probably won't appreciate it. Especially as a fair few of them are probably XC types who won't like the extra weight. Similarly people with hyperactive Gnar! glands never put their saddles high enough to require them. But amongst those who do drop their seatposts for the downhills and technical stuff I think there'll be a fair few who'd really appreciate an uppy-downy seatpost.

People going on about them being pointless - did you say the same about disc brakes and suspension forks? Because I'm sure you could go mountain biking without them right?

You should have seen the arguments that were going on about the merits of full suspension when I first found this place. Gordon Bennett, if you think this thread is full of opinions stated as fact, nonsense (on both sides of the argument) and general petty sniping, the threads about the efficiency of full sus, suspension bob and the like back in 2002 would turn your hair white! 🙂

My final comment would be that, for me, a lot of benefit in having an uppy-downy seatpost requires that it be one with a bar mounted remote. Dropping the post just as a trail changes from flowing to technical is a lot easier if you don't have to take a hand from the bars in order to perform a Michael Jackson-like crotch grap maneouvre...

KSi900 - I got an original in Nov 08 and it started to scratch about 10 months later. Sent back to France and got an newer revised one and it's much better. If you fancy one then get one and see what you think - you'll be able to sell it on no bother if you don't fancy it.

Most of the naysayers have never tried one/are not interested in lowering their post at all but I think they are well worth it. Perfect for my riding anyway.

Got mine from here and were excellent with the warranty replacement:

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/uppy-downy-seat-posts-experiences/page/2

sniff where did yours come from? I bought one from France but when it broke they never replied to my emails.

[b]el_boufador [/b]

Which is exactly why uppy downy seatposts are good. You don't have to be arsed. It is very very easy and no faff whatsoever.

They are expensive.

They are sometimes a pain

BUT they rock. If you like to ride your bike in an attacking position without faff they are for you. If you don't then the are not. Continue as you were and keep thinking that you can ride your bike down anything with the saddle up.

Saddle up has never got in my way, maybe its because I am tall and gangly? I ride a 20inch inbred and I could not drop further back with my seatpost removed than I can with it up.

@Grum

Sorry meant to paste shop URL ....got it from xxcycles. I just emailed saying I had an issue and they said send it back £10 recorded and got a replacement about a week later..

Hello,

Please send the seat post at the following address:

XXCYCLE.COM
Zac de Gabardie
39 Rue Paule Raymondis
31200 TOULOUSE
FRANCE

We will take care of the guarantee.

Best Regards
Stephane
commercial@xxcycle.com

I google translated my original email into French - not sure if that would help?

Thanks sniff - will try again.

I don't understand this "I've got long legs so I don't need a droppy seatpost as I can get off the back perfectly well" attitude.

Part of the point of lowering your seatpost is to lower your centre of gravity and create space to allow you to move your weight around, both forwards and backwards. Just hanging behind the saddle doesn't really allow you to move your body weight around much. Your arms are likely stretched out and less able to steer without weight low and over the front wheel. A high saddle just isn't conducive to control while descending.

I don't really see how that point is arguable, though I can understand that some people might not want extra weight, complexity or ugliness. But not performance?

i have a GD and a Joplin. Like it use them. Prefer Joplin as it can stop in any position. I can ride most stuff without dropping but slower. Each to their own. If you drop your seat post get one if you dont dont. They are expensive for what they are though

I had one it was a cheapy KS 850 and didn't perform that well (it had a lot of play up and down which bugged me)

Concept wise it's useful I suppose. There are always times when a saddle could be lower. I found that I'm so set in my ways that for the trails I ride it's just not going to get used 99% of the time. On my usual ride it was down for around 200 yards. If I were riding the Alps or some such I'd just drop my saddle all day.
If one comes out that's under £100 and simple, ie not hydraulic I'll most likely have another go as I can see the point but I'm pretty comfortable on my bike without irrespective of how steep it gets. .

.

if that refers to me [b]mansonsoul[/b] I did not mention long legs, I said I was gangly. I have long arms and a long body and long legs. When I stand up I have plenty of room to move my weight around. Its not an attitude its a fact.

That's cool mrear, I'm not haranguing anyone. As an honest question, how do you lower and centralise your centre of gravity while keeping weight on the front wheel to give more grip when you corner with your seatpost up?

Never really thought about this. I have tried droping my saddle but it gets in my way and feels so wrong, I think its from growing up in Lincolnshire. When cornering I put most of my weight on my outside pedal which means my outside leg is straight and my body falls into position from there. I have no problem moving the bike around underneath me and never had a problem with front wheels grip apart from last Wednesday night when we had a little rain and the slate turned to glass. Saying that there was a problem with rear wheel grip too 😀