# Dropper post and seat height adjustments...HELP a Newb



## kblaine123 (Apr 8, 2014)

Sorry for the newb question, but thought I'd ask here first.

My dropper post is a Fox Transfer 150 mm. 

My problem: The dropper post goes down all the way to the frame when retracted. When fully raised, the seat is at correct height. I'd much prefer the dropper to be 6 inches higher, however, if I raise the dropper the 6 inches to the level I would prefer, then my seat is 6 inches too high.

Do I need replace the dropper with a different length ? Or is there a way to lower the seat but raise the dropper...if that makes sense. 

Thanks


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

Wait, you said when the dropper is raised, it’s at the correct height. Guess I don’t understand what you want to do nor why you want to do it.
=sParty


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## brex17 (Jan 31, 2019)

After reading through that a handful of times, I'm still a bit confused as to what you mean by "the dropper". If the saddle is at the proper height when the dropper post is fully extended, then you have it adjusted to the right place. Why would you want the saddle 6 inches higher than the proper height for pedaling/riding?
Do you mean the collar of the post, which would be the bottom point of the post when retracted? Do you want that to be six inches higher? If so, why? And if that's what you want, then yes you need a much shorter dropper post.


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## mik_git (Feb 4, 2004)

When you hit the lever to drop the post, let the lever go when you get it down as far as you want it...you don't have to go aaalll the way down.


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## kblaine123 (Apr 8, 2014)

mik_git said:


> When you hit the lever to drop the post, let the lever go when you get it down as far as you want it...you don't have to go aaalll the way down.


Sorry guys....guess the question was badly worded. It would just be easier if the seat didn't go all the way down to the collar (the dropper goes that far down) and only went down as far as my preferred level which happens to be a few inches higher. And yes, I can simply push it down as far comfortable, but it would be preferable for it to simply go to a suitable height.....rather than 6 inches lower than suitable height. I think I have my answer though....and thats to get a dropper thats not as long as the current one

Thanks for the comments


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## mik_git (Feb 4, 2004)

Yeah it would be good if there was available, or more widely available a doodad that would limit travel of droppers ( I hear the exist), some people want all the travel in the world, other not so much. Even after years I still have no feel for where its at and spend half the time with it down, going up a bit, down a bit, screw it, I just won't use it.
I guess you could always make one.


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## mik_git (Feb 4, 2004)

You'll also have to watch, if you are wanting less, then it might be too short for your frame...

but isn't 6 inches like 150mm?


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## Yeah right (Jun 1, 2019)

I've been reading elsewhere about an adapter to allow a saddle bag to be mounted to a dropper post. Essentially, it limits the range of drop of the post while also providing somewhere to strap the saddle bag.

So, why not use something like that: the 76 Projects Dropper Post Collar just to limit how far your post drops? Just clamp it on your post as far down as you want the post to go and don't worry about attaching the bag.

I don't know, maybe there are other similar products just for limiting the travel.

Edit to add: I too am a bit confused by wanting the fully dropped position to be 6" higher when that's the 150mm length of travel of the post.

2nd edit: Wolf Tooth also has a similar collar for saddle bags. There's a collar for RockShox just for limiting height, but I believe that's 25mm and you want 26mm for Fox.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

This problem confuses me, too.

Infinitely adjustable dropper posts are exactly that...infinitely adjustable. That means you can put the saddle wherever you want. It doesn't have to be full up or full down only. And as mentioned already, there are collars that you can use to limit the drop. 

So...problem that's not a problem?


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

duplicate


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

mik_git said:


> You'll also have to watch, if you are wanting less, then it might be too short for your frame...
> 
> but isn't 6 inches like 150mm?


Yup, the way i read it he's f'n with us. Youll need shorter travel by the amount you want it higher, which would mean you need to find a 0mm travel dropper. 
Being an ex-trialser, i embrace as much drop as possible, and infinite adjust so can run it at not full drop if desired, which i often do.
If your not messing with us and misstated amounts, yes youd need a shorter travel dropper, but have to watch the minimum insertion depth.


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## downcountry (Apr 27, 2019)

I think he’s thinking that the dropped position is the normal seated position and then in special circumstances, you raise the seat. So he would prefer the dropped position to be 6 inches higher. 
Just a guess.


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

downcountry said:


> I think he's thinking that the dropped position is the normal seated position and then in special circumstances, you raise the seat. So he would prefer the dropped position to be 6 inches higher.
> Just a guess.


Could be. But I think the answer may be simpler than that.

I believe it may be riding technique that's getting in the way.

As an example I'll offer my story as briefly as I can. Forgive me if you've heard it before; I've told it several times within these forums.

I got my first dropper post maybe 10 years ago when I was slated to join a road trip to Moab (believe it or not for the first time.) Everybody said I'd need a dropper there. Well, I hardly used the dropper because I wasn't used to having one. Besides, I liked steering with my thighs. Following that trip I got back home and sold the dropper because I didn't feel it benefited me much, if at all.

A year or so later I was talking to my riding buddy Ken (who wanted to go back to Moab) and I said I don't need no stinkin' dropper post. Ken said words to this effect: "You don't just buy a dropper. You buy a dropper AND learn to ride a new way. Get a dropper, learn to ride The New Way and you won't have to slow down for the corners."

I briefly questioned his words but Ken's a pretty damn good rider and generally knows what he's talking about so what the heck -- I bought another dropper. Plus did my best to understand this New Way Of Riding, which clearly didn't include using the saddle to steer via my thighs. I mean with the dropper dropped that saddle wasn't there anymore.

It didn't take all that long, really. Whoa! Ken was right. It wasn't just the dropper itself -- it was the dropper combined with new understanding, new technique.

From the posts I've read here on MTBR over the years, I've come to believe there are many riders like myself who've got the hardware but have yet to implement the software.

Cuz once one experiences the benefits of a dropper -- ALL the benefits, including learning the New Way To Ride -- the hardware itself is understood to merely be a vehicle to facilitate the New Way To Ride. It's not the dropper, it's the technique, but we can't acheive the technique with the saddle in the way. Once a rider gets it, better get out of his/her way. It's low elevation flying made easier, safer, funner.

FWIW I'll just add the longer the dropper the better. Two days ago I rode at Black Rock and watched a guy on a hardtail (Chromag Rootdown) nail a road gap. No way he'd ever have attempted such a move without a dropper that put the saddle all the way down against the seat collar.
=sParty


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## mack_turtle (Jan 6, 2009)

Is the saddle too high to pedal at some point? I am still confused.

With the post fully extended, fix it into the frame at the same height that you would a static, rigid post. That's your pedaling height. Leave it there whenever you are sitting and pedaling the bike, just like everyone did in the decades before dropper posts.

If the collar of the dropper post hits the top of the frame seat tube before you can set it to your normal riding height, you need a shorter dropper or a frame with a shorter seat tube. That sucks, but there's no way around that.

If you don't want the saddle to drop all the way, then don't push it down all the way when you drop it. Or get a post with less travel. Most people want the saddle to basically disappear when they drop it, so if that's your concern, you're the first and only person to complain about too much drop, which is really, really weird.


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## mack_turtle (Jan 6, 2009)

Yeah, you need to learn how to take full advantage of the full drop. I rode BMX for many years, and you never ride a BMX bike with the saddle more than a few inches above the top of the seat tube. The saddle is basically below your knees when you stand up, and you only sit to coast or when resting. Having the saddle completely slammed down out of the way makes throwing the bike around possible. Doing the same on a mtb makes it very bmx-ish in this regard.

When I first started riding a mountain bike, I felt like "how in the hell do you wrangle this thing with the saddle in the way!?" It took me a long time to unlearn the BMX way. I got it after some time and moving around the saddle became less of a chore. A decade later, I got a dropper and using it was second nature. I felt right at home on it, but it still took me a while to convince myself of its full utility.


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## jeremy3220 (Jul 5, 2017)

I think you'll get used to it and learn to appreciate the extra drop.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Sparticus said:


> From the posts I've read here on MTBR over the years, I've come to believe there are many riders like myself who've got the hardware but have yet to implement the software.


I was an even later adopter of dropper posts than you. Riding in the midwest, I just didn't "get it" especially with the technique part. I had used them on demo bikes and never really "understood" their use and promptly ignored them. On a ride in Pisgah, I had a bit of an epiphany years after my first exposure to them. Riding a downhill several miles long and I truly felt the saddle was in the way. Bought a dropper after I got home, and it didn't take me long at that point to finally "get it" and get that sorted.

A couple years later, my wife got a new bike that had a dropper. It took her a LONG time to get over the desire to steer with her thighs. She liked doing that and felt comfortable and secure with it. She felt out of control when trying the "New Way" as you described it, and it's taking her awhile to implement that. She's getting better with it. But certainly not everyone grasps that technique as quickly as others.

I agree with you, though, that this is one of the big hangups people have with dropper posts. I see this failure to learn "The New Way" as also being a hangup riders have with being comfortable on platform pedals after riding clipless for many, many years. Similar with the more modern long/low/slack geometry. Some people have said outright on the forum that they don't want to learn anything new about riding anymore. Period. They don't want some "New Thing" that forces them to learn a new technique, or modify what they've been doing for decades.


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## kblaine123 (Apr 8, 2014)

downcountry said:


> I think he's thinking that the dropped position is the normal seated position and then in special circumstances, you raise the seat. So he would prefer the dropped position to be 6 inches higher.
> Just a guess.


EXACTLY....Thanks for clarity.

OTOH, yes, it is my first experience with a dropper. I think the confusion came from my not knowing the correct terminology in asking the question to begin with. I do think I will get used to it and yes I can drop it to a level where is suitable....I guess that simply requires a more anticipatory retraction of the dropper.

Thanks for the conversation on the topic.


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## mack_turtle (Jan 6, 2009)

The dropped position should NOT be your normal seated position. Start by setting the height with the post extended to it's longest for normal seated pedaling. No saddle should ever be higher than what's comfortable for seated pedaling. There's no reason for that. It's a dropper post so that you can drop it below your normal seated height, not a riser post so you can raise it so high that you can't touch the pedals.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

kblaine123 said:


> I guess that simply requires a more anticipatory retraction of the dropper.


Yes. you need to read the trail and plan ahead to decide when to drop the saddle.

My recommendation is to start off dropping it every time you want to stand up. You'll probably start dropping it less and less over time, but it'll help you get a feel for the times where you like it dropped, and the times you don't...or when it doesn't matter and dropping it is a waste of energy.


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## slapheadmofo (Jun 9, 2006)

Maybe a dropper with different multiple defined stopping points like the e13 TRS would be more to the OPs liking. It's got stops at 150mm, 110mm, 80mm, and 0mm.
If I ever start riding highly technical terrain again regularly and decide I needed a dropper, I would be looking for something along these lines. I'm not a fan of trying to set position using my body weight.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

slapheadmofo said:


> I'm not a fan of trying to set position using my body weight.


It's not a big deal. For me, it's typically either full up, somewhere in the middle, or full down. And the somewhere in the middle position is the least frequently used. I don't know of a single post where you don't have to use your body weight to press it down to whatever positions it offers.


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## Forest Rider (Oct 29, 2018)

I don't think you are explaining it improperly.

It's that you are using it improperly.

The sole purpose of a dropper post is for you to raise the seat to maximum position and ride your bicycle.

If/when you get into something a bit technical or you're shooting down a fast and/or steep hill, you lower the seat to make maneuvering more easy. If you seat it high (normal height), it can come up and buck you in the backside and that feels uncomfortable, like it's going to launch you over the bars. So by lowering the seat, you no longer get bucked by the seat.

So yeah, there is no need to set the seat low and make that your preferred position then eventually decide to raise it for some reason.

You'll get there!
You may notice people riding around with the seat all the way down -you should only notice that while people are standing up and being nimble on the bike. Not really sitting and pedaling their bicycles.

And yes to some previous posts. Sounds like you need to do some math conversions. 150mm is a little more than 6", or making your seat 6" lower would mean you'd effectively keep the dropper at the lowest position.
Most of us make meaningful bicycle adjustments a couple millimeters at a time. For example, 3mm is similar to 1/8" which is a lot for some adjustments.


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## richj8990 (Apr 4, 2017)

Could be. But I think the answer may be simpler than that.

I believe it may be riding technique that's getting in the way.

A year or so later I was talking to my riding buddy Ken (who wanted to go back to Moab) and I said I don't need no stinkin' dropper post. Ken said words to this effect: "You don't just buy a dropper. You buy a dropper AND learn to ride a new way. Get a dropper, learn to ride The New Way and you won't have to slow down for the corners.

_
Really? I was terrible at switchbacks with a rigid post, I read on here about droppers, the more I read the more I realized this was exactly what I needed. Put it on the bike, I lowered it before the corners, I took the corners better. Immediately. It was exactly what I needed, I knew that before I ever used one. _

FWIW I'll just add the longer the dropper the better. Two days ago I rode at Black Rock and watched a guy on a hardtail (Chromag Rootdown) nail a road gap. No way he'd ever have attempted such a move without a dropper that put the saddle all the way down against the seat collar.
=sParty

_OK wait a minute lol. Now I'm missing something. You need a longer dropper for climbing, not descending. Or if you are really tall. You can't lower it below the frame's seat tube. Now, maybe some of them don't have that little collar on the bottom that is above the seat tube, so maybe you can lower it another 1/2 inch or so if it's a certain type, but the longer ones are for extending up past a certain point in the air for your leg extension while climbing, not to lower it more. If one is 100mm and one is 150mm, they both lower to the same level, just above the seat tube. The 150mm will raise 50mm more for climbing steeper trails. This is also what I need (for the opposite reason) because 100mm is not enough for me with the new bike's geometry that has the seat stays parallel with the top tube. If the bike's geometry is older and/or the seat stays are bent down more from the top tube, then 100mm is plenty for the avg. rider under 6 feet tall. _


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## mik_git (Feb 4, 2004)

richj8990 said:


> _OK wait a minute lol. Now I'm missing something. You need a longer dropper for climbing, not descending. Or if you are really tall. You can't lower it below the frame's seat tube. Now, maybe some of them don't have that little collar on the bottom that is above the seat tube, so maybe you can lower it another 1/2 inch or so if it's a certain type, but the longer ones are for extending up past a certain point in the air for your leg extension while climbing, not to lower it more. If one is 100mm and one is 150mm, they both lower to the same level, just above the seat tube. The 150mm will raise 50mm more for climbing steeper trails. This is also what I need (for the opposite reason) because 100mm is not enough for me with the new bike's geometry that has the seat stays parallel with the top tube. If the bike's geometry is older and/or the seat stays are bent down more from the top tube, then 100mm is plenty for the avg. rider under 6 feet tall. _


If you have a frame that for your height/where you like the seat, can run a 150mm post, then you can also fit a 125mm, or a 100 maybe. The seat raise will be at the same hieight, but dropped, the 150 will be lower. 
Usually if someone is running a long drop post, the have the collar of the post slammed to the top of the seat tube/seat collar(or as close as they can that still gets them the right seat position when up), but a shorter drop post will have a bunch of post above the seattube/collar to the seal collar.

SO you have it back to front, or upside down.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

richj8990 said:


> _
> Really? I was terrible at switchbacks with a rigid post, I read on here about droppers, the more I read the more I realized this was exactly what I needed. Put it on the bike, I lowered it before the corners, I took the corners better. Immediately. It was exactly what I needed, I knew that before I ever used one. _


So some people take to them faster than others. What's your point?



richj8990 said:


> _OK wait a minute lol. Now I'm missing something. You need a longer dropper for climbing, not descending. Or if you are really tall. You can't lower it below the frame's seat tube. Now, maybe some of them don't have that little collar on the bottom that is above the seat tube, so maybe you can lower it another 1/2 inch or so if it's a certain type, but the longer ones are for extending up past a certain point in the air for your leg extension while climbing, not to lower it more. If one is 100mm and one is 150mm, they both lower to the same level, just above the seat tube. The 150mm will raise 50mm more for climbing steeper trails. This is also what I need (for the opposite reason) because 100mm is not enough for me with the new bike's geometry that has the seat stays parallel with the top tube. If the bike's geometry is older and/or the seat stays are bent down more from the top tube, then 100mm is plenty for the avg. rider under 6 feet tall. _


Yeah, you're missing something. A person's ride height (of the saddle) is their ride height. It doesn't change. What DOES change from one frame to the next is how much seatpost sticks out to achieve the ride height. Sparty mentioned which frame he was talking about (chromag rootdown), so we can pull up an image to look at it.










Two things this frame permits. One is that it has a fairly low standover clearance. Second is that it has a pretty straight seat tube (with the bend very low), allowing you to get max insertion on a dropper post. It allows a rider to maximize the amount of drop in their dropper post pretty well. Now, compare that bike with mine, which doesn't permit maximum drop. My bike is the Guerrilla Gravity Pedalhead in the foreground. We don't know why the dropper collar isn't lower on this particular bike. Could be one of many reasons in all honesty.


1117191334 by Nate, on Flickr

I cannot slam the collar of the dropper post to the seat clamp on this frame, because the bend in the seat tube is too high. I have my dropper post inserted as much as it will go to get the most drop I can. It's about 130mm or so. But if the frame had a seat tube that was straighter, I could insert the post farther and run it at a full 150mm. Also if I had longer legs, I could run more drop. It's a Oneup dropper, so it's got adjustable drop for just this reason.


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## slapheadmofo (Jun 9, 2006)

Harold said:


> It's not a big deal. For me, it's typically either full up, somewhere in the middle, or full down. And the somewhere in the middle position is the least frequently used. I don't know of a single post where you don't have to use your body weight to press it down to whatever positions it offers.


You can decide what's 'no big deal' and works for you, I'll decide for me. I want/need a fully dropped seat on my trail bike a handful of times a year, tops. I would use a slight drop quite a bit, but hate trying to repeatedly position the seat reliably into a certain position with my weight while I'm riding. Works better for me to just run it an inch or two lower than 'roadie height' at all times and just deal with it.

The difference with the post I suggested is that it stops a defined increments along the way. That would be my preference over infinite adjustability. It also sounds to me like a 'fix' to the OP's issue, if I interpret what he's saying correctly.


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## slapheadmofo (Jun 9, 2006)

richj8990 said:


> learn to ride The New Way...
> 
> ... No way he'd ever have attempted such a move without a dropper that put the saddle all the way down against the seat collar.


Well, actually, he would've just dropped his seat manually while he was scoping it out, the way millions of other drops/gaps have been sent in the past. Dropper makes things more convenient for sure, but let's not get carried away into any 'not possible without one' silliness. 

As far as being 'The New Way', it's only new to people who never rode BMX/DJ/DH/FR in the past; many of us have been riding slammed seats when warranted for ages. It's mainly just the XC crowd that's finally figuring it out. And of course, now think it's never been possible without dropping hundreds of dollars on a finicky new gizmo.


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## BrianU (Feb 4, 2004)

Harold's explanation is spot on with why there are different length dropper posts.


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

richj8990 said:


> _OK wait a minute lol. Now I'm missing something._


My hardtail is a steel Kona Honzo, size XL. Since I'm 6'2", I have a lot of exposed seatpost above the big frame's long seat tube. In this case I'm able to run a 210mm dropper. The static portion of the dropper is buried in the frame and the dropper's collar (where the post changes from static to dynamic) sits just 3 or 4mm above the frame's seat collar.

Before I got the 210mm dropper, I ran a 150mm dropper. Once I installed the longer dropper, I was amazed at how the bike was transformed. It turned my 29er hardtail into a dirt jumper.

It's okay if you're missing it. I was too - until I actually did it. Then... revelation.
=sParty


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

slapheadmofo said:


> Well, actually, he would've just dropped his seat manually while he was scoping it out, the way millions of other drops/gaps have been sent in the past. Dropper makes things more convenient for sure, but let's not get carried away into any 'not possible without one' silliness.
> 
> As far as being 'The New Way', it's only new to people who never rode BMX/DJ/DH/FR in the past; many of us have been riding slammed seats when warranted for ages. It's mainly just the XC crowd that's finally figuring it out. And of course, now think it's never been possible without dropping hundreds of dollars on a finicky new gizmo.


"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to slapheadmofo again."

You're absolutely right. I was that XC guy lacking BMX skills for many of my mountain biking years (cuz I'm so old that BMX wasn't a thing when I was crawling.) How I wish I'd gotten those skills when I was younger. Thankfully I did spend some years off-road motorcycling so I learned a modicum of 2-wheeled jumping skills, but it wasn't until I embraced today's mountain bikes' geo, longer travel suspension and the dropper post that I began to really get my wheels off the ground - that's when the biggest smiles came.

Sure, we don't need a remotely operated dropper to lower our seats, but a handlebar-operated dropper sure is nice. I think it's possible I raise & lower my post more than I shift gears. One thing I don't do: push my bike up hills that can be ridden. 

Guess there's still a little XC in me.
=sParty


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

slapheadmofo said:


> You can decide what's 'no big deal' and works for you, I'll decide for me.


Come on, you've been around long enough to know that's not the way it works around here.


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## slapheadmofo (Jun 9, 2006)

J.B. Weld said:


> Come on, you've been around long enough to know that's not the way it works around here.


Touche!


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## downcountry (Apr 27, 2019)

kblaine123 said:


> EXACTLY....Thanks for clarity.
> 
> OTOH, yes, it is my first experience with a dropper. I think the confusion came from my not knowing the correct terminology in asking the question to begin with. I do think I will get used to it and yes I can drop it to a level where is suitable....I guess that simply requires a more anticipatory retraction of the dropper.
> 
> Thanks for the conversation on the topic.


You are quite welcome. I've been told(here and elsewhere) that I excel at thinking backwards, so no biggie. (-:
I've had a dropper now since '16, and truthfully, their utility is a bit lost on me. 
I found that my knees can take riding with the seat slightly lower than what most would call optimal, and I'm comfortable with that setting over the drops-3 to 4 feet- and small jumps we have around here, and I feel it helps my cornering, too. 
I did find the dropper useful on my riding trip to Colorado and Utah last spring, but ironically,
I used it more for technical, stand up climbing than for downhill. But , I didn't ride very demanding trails, either. 
My best advice- just play around with it in all of your riding. You'll figure it out.


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## Kevin Van Deventer (Jan 31, 2015)

Pretty sure he just wants a 125mm dropper.


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## richj8990 (Apr 4, 2017)

Sparticus, I understand now what you were trying to say about a longer 150mm dropper for going down to the top of the seat tube. At least I assume I know: you are tall enough that you can't use all 150mm for both climbing and putting it all the way down. If you want to climb steeply you have to raise the bottom collar an inch or so above the seat tube top. That loses one inch of drop down. How tall are you?

Last night I rode pavement as a test and raised one of the 100mm ones I have about 1.25 inches above the top of the seat tube; on a steep 20-25% grade it works well. So for me, at 5'8", 125mm is probably the sweet spot for both climbing steeply and lowering it all the way down. I'll live this one until it dies, and then get a 125mm Fall Point 9 dropper that's only about one pound including lever and cable. That will drop 0.4 lbs off the bike. 

(segway to a different topic) The lightest Rekon 27.5 x 2.6 is 760g which is exactly 0.1 lbs lighter than the one I have on the front right now. Last but not least I'll try an Ardent Race 27.5 x 2.35 that's 655g, that is about 0.25 lbs lighter than the current Rekon 2.4 in back. With those tire changes, and the lighter dropper, that will take the bike from 23.8 lbs to (in theory) just a hair over 23.0 lbs total. So close! Oh well, it's only a number, right. You may ask why the hell I'm running a 2.6 on a light XC bike. So I don't crash, DUH! lol


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

richj8990 said:


> Sparticus, I understand now what you were trying to say


I believe in maximizing all drop-able space between the frame's seat collar and the saddle's rails.

If my saddle's rails lie 8" above the top of my frame's seat collar and my dropper's collar consumes an inch of this, then ideally I'll enjoy 7" of drop. A 5" or 6" dropper would fit just fine, but my philosophy is why not use all available drop-able space. Doing so allows me to move around the bike most freely.

I'm 6'2" tall.
=sParty


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## Kevin Van Deventer (Jan 31, 2015)

Cause being buzzed on the ass isn't fun.


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