# Dropper post installed!!



## GJSnow (Aug 29, 2018)

Hello folks,
I cannot believe I am posting in a 50 plus thread. I’m actually 57 and have been mountain biking only this year as the roads were just too hot this summer.
I’ve purchased a FS XC bike 2019 Cannondale with lefty Ocho, scalpel carbon 4 replacing an old,old Schwinn Moab 26er.
Despite careful riding, I’ve gone over the handlebars a few times this season. Mostly locking the front brake. Operator error for sure! Fortunately no serious injuries.
I just cannot get back fast and far enough on the seat.
Anyway, just got a dropper. Wow, what a difference! Worth the subtle weight penalty and cost. Time will tell.
Any advice?
GJSnow


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

If you're new to mountain biking and came from road biking, you very well may have had your saddle high. Prior to a getting a dropper, like a lot of mountain bikers, I had my saddle a little low, maybe an inch, to allow easier rising off the saddle. But now with droppers, we can have the best of all worlds, high for climbing, dropped for descending, and just slightly dropped for hitting rough spots to allow floating off the saddle. If you haven't been dropping just a little at times, give it a try.


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## Taildragger (Mar 13, 2005)

chazpat said:


> If you're new to mountain biking and came from road biking, you very well may have had your saddle high. Prior to a getting a dropper, like a lot of mountain bikers, I had my saddle a little low, maybe an inch, to allow easier rising off the saddle. But now with droppers, we can have the best of all worlds, high for climbing, dropped for descending, and just slightly dropped for hitting rough spots to allow floating off the saddle. If you haven't been dropping just a little at times, give it a try.


Dang, you just nailed that! Really!


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## GJSnow (Aug 29, 2018)

Will Do!!!
GJSnow


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## TwiceHorn (Jun 18, 2014)

Yeah it does take some getting used to. I think chazpat kind of encapsulated it. I think most newbs kind of look at it as a binary, all-the-way-up or slammed kind of thing and that's a mistake unless all you do is climb and descend.

I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate it into turns more. I think I could benefit from having it more than a little low to carve some sections of flat fast singletrack, but it's not working out quite as straightforwardly as you might think (or maybe I'm just extra-dumb).


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## RustyIron (Apr 14, 2008)

GJSnow said:


> Anyway, just got a dropper. Wow, what a difference! Worth the subtle weight penalty and cost. Time will tell.
> Any advice?


Yeah, don't be so reluctant to try out these newfangled bike parts. We promise not to call you a Millennial Snowflake... at least to your face. I got a dropper about six years ago, and I thought I was the last holdout.


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

I sometimes like to point out that dropping the saddle long predates the advent of droppers. QR seatpost clamps were an innovation that eliminated having to get out a wrench to do it.


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

I've gotten to the point where I almost call it a riser post rather than a dropper. It's useful on the down, of course, but on fast flowey trails that are more level, having the seat lower really helps in getting the bike tilted over to engage the cornering knobs. Experiment around. They are incredibly useful.

Also, my initial mistake was getting lazy and keeping my butt on the seat in those conditions with the dropper down. That unweighted the front tire and reduced the bite on the front tire. Just keep weight on the front and it's great.


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## GJSnow (Aug 29, 2018)

RustyIron said:


> Yeah, don't be so reluctant to try out these newfangled bike parts. We promise not to call you a Millennial Snowflake... at least to your face. I got a dropper about six years ago, and I thought I was the last holdout.


I've never been called a Millennial anything. I guess that's a compliment!! LOL.
My shop didn't recommend the dropper even after I told them I went over the bars! It wasn't until I was on the trails and ran into a great rider who was 67. He said I definitely should get one.
Happy I listened. Hopefully this sport will now be safer.
GJSnow


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## hippymtnbkr (Jun 5, 2007)

I purchased a new bike for my 60th birthday, and it came with a dropper post. I have long legs, and it never seemed an issue to me getting behind the saddle. Sometimes when I drop the saddle, I miss having the seat right there to take a rest. People keep telling me I shouldn't be sitting on it in the dropped position. So I'm wondering, is it just for moving the seat out of the way on descents. It seems the cost is excessive to do just this one thing


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## Legbacon (Jan 20, 2004)

Dropper posts, preventing ER visits for 12 years.

I use it for everything except most seated peddling. Seated peddling if its super chunky/techy. Cornering especially, even on the street to and from the trail. A DH coach told me to not touch the saddle while descending, and it has been good advice for me.


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## hippymtnbkr (Jun 5, 2007)

some of us old fart riders use the seat for steering purposes


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

hippymtnbkr said:


> I purchased a new bike for my 60th birthday, and it came with a dropper post. I have long legs, and it never seemed an issue to me getting behind the saddle. Sometimes when I drop the saddle, I miss having the seat right there to take a rest. People keep telling me I shouldn't be sitting on it in the dropped position. So I'm wondering, is it just for moving the seat out of the way on descents. It seems the cost is excessive to do just this one thing


No. That is not all it's for. It also makes it easier to drive the bike over to engage the cornering knobs on the tires, whether it's downhill or more level. 
I'm an older fart than you. Using the saddle for steering just isn't a very effective technique.
Using the intermediate positions on the dropper can also be useful, depending on the trail conditions.
It won't damage the dropper to sit on the saddle with the dropper down, it just isn't an effective way to use it while riding, generally.


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## GJSnow (Aug 29, 2018)

chazpat said:


> If you're new to mountain biking and came from road biking, you very well may have had your saddle high. Prior to a getting a dropper, like a lot of mountain bikers, I had my saddle a little low, maybe an inch, to allow easier rising off the saddle. But now with droppers, we can have the best of all worlds, high for climbing, dropped for descending, and just slightly dropped for hitting rough spots to allow floating off the saddle. If you haven't been dropping just a little at times, give it a try.


I do exactly what doctor Chazpat ordered. My post can stop at infinite settings so I get just the right amount of drop when needed thru the technical sections. I heard some of the earlier droppers were all or none, fully down or fully up. On the uphills, I like the seat up for maximum torque on the pedals. For the nasty downhills, I drop the post. Most of the time, I am in between. I can appreciate the difference and it has instilled a bit more confidence out there. I hope it keeps me safe.
I almost never sit on the seat in the max dropped position. It's too low!


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## YJ Bill (Jul 16, 2013)

The dropper on my bike has probably saved my life! Use it getting on and off the bike too. Just learned you shouldn't lift the bike by the dropper when the seat is down.


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## GJSnow (Aug 29, 2018)

YJ Bill said:


> The dropper on my bike has probably saved my life! Use it getting on and off the bike too. Just learned you shouldn't lift the bike by the dropper when the seat is down.


Wonderful life saving maneuver!! Worth the price, huh???


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## YJ Bill (Jul 16, 2013)

Defiantly worth the price! My first one was only $108. Second one was a little more but it came with a bike


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## BCsaltchucker (Jan 16, 2014)

depends on the terrain. most old school XC trails I could live without a dropper. Most trails I rider here in BC it boggles my mind that we didn't have dropper posts 20 years ago! OK back then we rode the top 'up' and then got off and lowered the saddle for the downhill. Now I am hitting that button every 20 seconds on the trail it seems. 150mm dropper is about right too.

And now the cyclocrossers are catching on to them too.

in fact, I look forward to the day I have a lightweight dropper on my road bike, for big descents, stopping at lights, etc.


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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

Using the seat for steering is old technique, not recommended these days unless you're riding muni 

Seriously, getting your butt off the seat will improve you're riding. Use your knees, hips, head and shoulders to steer. Keep the seat for support when you're spinning up hill or riding on the flats.



hippymtnbkr said:


> some of us old fart riders use the seat for steering purposes


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## Osco (Apr 4, 2013)

The secret to the dropper post Is not In knowing when to lower your saddle but when to raise it !~

Ponder this on the, "Tree Of Woe" 
Grasshopper


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

Yep. Think of it as a "riser" post.


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## Ptor (Jan 29, 2004)

Got my first dropper post when I got my first full suspension bike last year. I love the dropper and as I've gotten more experienced with it, I use it more. My stable of bikes include two identical hardtails except one is a singlespeed and has clipless pedals (as does the full suspension bike) and the other is geared and has flats -- neither hardtail has a dropper. For various reasons I've been taking the hardtails out on the local trails and find that with clipless pedals I only miss the dropper post a little bit -- I can still move around on the bike and tackle technical terrain, just not as comfortably or as fast. But put me on the bike with flat pedals and I'm REALLY missing the dropper post. The rough terrain that has the seat jostling around just under my crotch can knock me off the pedals far too easily, unlike when I'm clipped in. I'm thinking some of the intense love that droppers are getting might be coming in large doses from those using flat pedals. Yes, I really like my dropper even when clipped in, but it appears damn near essential (for me) when riding rough terrain with flats. My fat/snow bike has flats and a dropper and that's been allowing me to ride some of the toboggan-run downhills much better than before getting the dropper.


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