# Dumb question, leave dropper post up or down when not used?



## PTCbiker (Sep 15, 2020)

I have a Giant branded post, I’ve been advised to leave the post up or down depending who’s giving me the advice.


----------



## targnik (Jan 11, 2014)

PTCbiker said:


> I have a Giant branded post, I've been advised to leave the post up or down depending who's giving me the advice.


Personal preference applies...

If you're a stander and masher, leave it in the down position.

If you can ride anything with a post up ya date, leave it extended 

Sent from my HD1900 using Tapatalk


----------



## Tommy E (Oct 30, 2019)

Are you talking about while riding or when off the bike and storing it?


----------



## PTCbiker (Sep 15, 2020)

Tommy E said:


> Are you talking about while riding or when off the bike and storing it?


Im talking about storage, when it's hanging on the wall. Somebody told me if I leave it down it puts pressure on the post, wondering if he's full of crap.


----------



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

I don't think it matters a whole lot but I would default to leaving it up.


----------



## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

I always leave it fully up. I received endless warnings from my LBS back in the day with Reverbs, to never lift the bike by the seat into my truck (or otherwise) with the seat down. Not sure if there was any truth to this, but I didn’t want to test it myself. I complied, and have ever since, regardless of brand.


----------



## Tommy E (Oct 30, 2019)

I always store mine in the up position too. I assume there would be more pressure on the seals when it's in the down position but it's also designed to be in that position so i wouldn't think it would hurt anything. When hauling more than one bike on my rack, I have no choice but to keep them in the down position and I haven't seen any ill effects.


----------



## Impetus (Aug 10, 2014)

I always leave mine up, I have the belief that it's less stress on the system- I mean there's 200+ psi in my OneUp posts when I checked them last (in the extended position)

That said: Both my posts were shipped to me in a "semi-collapsed" position, so they were obviously like that from the factory, and like that for a long time.
Also, pretty much every YouTuber who's livin that "VanLife" stores their bikes under the loft bed, and the seat has to be down to fit, so... (see also: bike bag shipping for flights or freight)


----------



## Loll (May 2, 2006)

My friend said longterm storing them in the down position creates a lot of unnecessary pressure and stress to the parts.

I was having issue with my fox returning fully on a regular basis. After a period of keeping the post up when not riding, the issue seemed to have reduced a bit. Though I don’t stress about it if one night I forget to bring the post to full up position.


----------



## the-one1 (Aug 2, 2008)

I leave it in the position its most happy at and brings it the most joy


----------



## Fajita Dave (Mar 22, 2012)

I think it depends on your dropper post. They all seem to have a different design to do the same function.

I leave mine down but it sits up against a wall on a scorpion bike stand. It looks a bit better with the seat down and feels more out of the way even though it doesn't matter if it's up or down. It's a Crank Bros highline with a sealed cartridge for the dropper action so no air pressure or anything to adjust. I'm sure there is some sort of pressure in there to push it back up but for the year I've had it leaving the dropper down hasn't caused any issues.

If it's going to be hanging by the saddle I'd definitely leave the seatpost up.


----------



## EABiker (Jun 24, 2004)

mtnbkrmike said:


> I always leave it fully up. I received endless warnings from my LBS back in the day with Reverbs, to never lift the bike by the seat into my truck (or otherwise) with the seat down. Not sure if there was any truth to this, but I didn't want to test it myself. I complied, and have ever since, regardless of brand.


I have accidentally lifted mine by the seat while it was dropped, and it did cause issues. The seat suddenly developed a one inch drop at the top when I sat on it . Fortunately, there is a "bleed" button at the top of the post that you can depress, while cycling the post through it's range, that fixes the issue.


----------



## Ian Limburg (Oct 27, 2020)

If it's hydraulic definitely store it up. Air I don't think it matters quite as much but that's what my local bike shop said to do.


----------



## the-one1 (Aug 2, 2008)

Ian Limburg said:


> If it's hydraulic definitely store it up. Air I don't think it matters quite as much but that's what my local bike shop said to do.


Most modern posts are both hydraulic and air. The air to raise it and the hydraulic to lock it.
The old Gravity dropper had a coil spring to raise it and a pin to lock it.
The old Command post had air to raise it and a colet to lock it.


----------



## Ian Limburg (Oct 27, 2020)

My current dropper post (PNW Cascade) Is only hydraulic, no air. That's what I was talking about. Thanks for the response though, I didn't know that's how many of them were made.


----------



## 127.0.0.1 (Nov 19, 2013)

PNW....it has air, it's just sealed air, right ?..
I leave posts up to reduce pressure on the gas seals. does it help? who knows but it doesn't hurt


----------



## Amt0571 (May 22, 2014)

Up. For a couple of reasons:

1. Less pressure inside the post components means less probability of a leak.
2. If, by mistake, you pick the bike by the seat when it's down you can cause funny issues with the post. It's not like they can't be solved, but if you leave the post up you can avoid them altogether.


----------



## Le Duke (Mar 23, 2009)

Ian Limburg said:


> My current dropper post (PNW Cascade) Is only hydraulic,* no air*. That's what I was talking about. Thanks for the response though, I didn't know that's how many of them were made.


You might want to read the literature on your dropper post again...


----------



## Ian Limburg (Oct 27, 2020)

Le Duke said:


> You might want to read the literature on your dropper post again...


I dunno, I could be wrong but that's what I had been told by the dealer 🤷‍♂️


----------



## Amt0571 (May 22, 2014)

Ian Limburg said:


> I dunno, I could be wrong but that's what I had been told by the dealer 🤷‍♂️


If it doesn't have a valve it has a sealed cartridge with air or probably nitrogen inside for sure. How do you think it returns to it's position?


----------



## VTSession (Aug 18, 2005)

A mechanic told me keeping your dropper down while stored was like "driving around with your foot on the clutch pedal." I have no idea how accurate this is but he insisted on keeping the dropper down only when necessary.


----------



## the-one1 (Aug 2, 2008)

Le Duke said:


> You might want to read the literature on your dropper post again...


PNW Cascade is coil with hydraulic for the lockout.


----------



## Fajita Dave (Mar 22, 2012)

I had a KS Lev and accidentally picked the bike up by the saddle a few times with the dropper down. The post would extend a little and you can feel it trying to suck back down. That sudden lack of pressure and the resulting suction can cause a gas bubble to seperate from the oil. You'll have a spongy seat post after that but luckily my Lev stayed solid. I am assuming this is the problem but also possible that it could suck air past the o-rings.

My CB Highline doesn't seem to have that problem. I pick it up by the seat with it down all the time. It stays locked down so no risk of developing a bubble. I still won't be hanging it by the saddle with the post down though.

Manufactures might be using different oils now that have been degassed or don't carry as much risk of degassing when you pick your bike up by the saddle.

I have a hard time imagining there being so much pressure with the saddle down that it could cause premature failure of seals. But our bike stuff is built light and sometimes pretty close to failure even for normal operation.


----------



## Le Duke (Mar 23, 2009)

the-one1 said:


> PNW Cascade is coil with hydraulic for the lockout.


*WEATHERPROOF SEALED AIR CARTRIDGE*
Like all of our droppers, the Cascade rocks a sealed air cartridge that is known for its performance in below freezing temperatures. This design also makes the post easy to self service when it comes time for maintenance.









CASCADE DROPPER POST


Named after the mountains in the Pacific Northwest, this post is a workhorse. Loved by our customers, The Cascade Dropper Post now features 125, 150 or 170mm travel options.




www.pnwcomponents.com


----------



## Ian Limburg (Oct 27, 2020)

the-one1 said:


> PNW Cascade is coil with hydraulic for the lockout.


^^^ This


----------



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

the-one1 said:


> PNW Cascade is coil with hydraulic for the lockout.


PNW says it has an air cartridge.

*WEATHERPROOF SEALED AIR CARTRIDGE*
Like all of our droppers, the Cascade rocks a sealed air cartridge that is known for its performance in below freezing temperatures. This design also makes the post easy to self service when it comes time for maintenance.

I guess it doesn't matter though since that's not the op's post


----------



## BmanInTheD (Sep 19, 2014)

You need to ask it if it identifies as an "up" post or a "down" post.


----------



## Darth Lefty (Sep 29, 2014)

...so it can get an upvote or a downvote

I leave it however it fits best next to the other bike


----------



## the-one1 (Aug 2, 2008)

J.B. Weld said:


> PNW says it has an air cartridge.
> 
> *WEATHERPROOF SEALED AIR CARTRIDGE*
> Like all of our droppers, the Cascade rocks a sealed air cartridge that is known for its performance in below freezing temperatures. This design also makes the post easy to self service when it comes time for maintenance.
> ...


I wonder if they changed it from coil to air.









PNW Cascade Dropper Post: Rider Review


Have you been considering getting a dropper post but fear the price tag? Well, PNW recently began making a bunch of awesome and affordable dropper posts. Our friend Doug picked up one of the PNW Cascade Dropper Posts and wanted to share his thoughts, check it out below!




www.worldwidecyclery.com


----------



## loudog1975 (Sep 12, 2012)

PTCbiker said:


> I have a Giant branded post, I've been advised to leave the post up or down depending who's giving me the advice.


I'm not sure of any industry quote on up/down storage of a dropper. That said, I keep mine up because it's under far less pressure and that makes the most sense in my head. You compress the dropper just like a fork when it is in the fully compressed position. Is it right? No idea.


----------



## DtEW (Jun 14, 2004)

Leave it up. Any compression spring, be that coil or gas, benefits from being kept in the least-compressed state as often as feasible.


----------



## cookieMonster (Feb 23, 2004)

I leave mine down and hang the bike by the seat over my work stand. No issues ever ever.


----------



## 006_007 (Jan 12, 2004)

So if leaving it up to reduce pressure is better would letting the air out of it when not in use be even better?

Maybe I should be letting the air out of my fork and shock as well?

Tires?

So many decisions to be made during the winter.


----------



## Sidewalk (May 18, 2015)

I've always left mine up. Just paranoid from the things I read about the Reverb (though my Reverb is still working 5 years later as far as I know). 

But I'm building a van, and will probably do the down storage soon.


----------



## WiWa (Oct 8, 2019)

Isn't the cartridge similar to what you'd find on a car hood/trunk/hatchback? They seem to handle constant compression just fine.


----------



## high_desert_mud (Jul 22, 2017)

I have a 9.8 fall line with not-great seals. If I leave it in the down position for a few days, i have to re-charge the air cylinder. Leave it up


----------



## SDM44 (Apr 17, 2015)

Not a direct answer to the OP's specific dropper, but I asked PNW about long term storage with my Coast dropper (sealed cartridge), and here was their response:

_It is ideally best to store your post in the upright position since the air pressure in the sealed cartridge (not the suspension part you pump up) increases exponentially as the post goes down. So there is a higher probability over time if the post is stored down it can lead to an air leak. This is the same for all dropper posts but I have also done my own tests with our droppers and have not had any issues so far but it is something to keep in mind for the long term life of the dropper. _

With that said, I already keep my dropper extended when I store my bike away for an extended period of time, but still good info nonetheless.


----------



## kapusta (Jan 17, 2004)

I think the Cascade changed from coil to air, because my understanding when I bought mine 2 years ago. was that it was coil. That was a selling point for me.


----------



## Brad (May 2, 2004)

Leaving the post compressed puts prolonged pressure on the cartridge seals that will not be good for the long term reliability of the post


----------



## dysfunction (Aug 15, 2009)

If I leave my revive down, and the temperature drops significantly (it's the desert, it does that frequently) then it develops a lot of play and I have to cycle it several times to get it to stop. If I leave it up, that never happens.


----------



## Brad (May 2, 2004)

It's obvious a lot of folk didn't take physics or thermodynamics in high school. A compressed gas is much more susceptible to changes of state when temperature is changed. Coil sprung dropper, then knock yourself out store up of down. Compressed gas cartridge then leave the post up when not needing in to be down when on the trail. When I read these threads I thank God I left the bike industry because dealing with customer induced warranties was a freaking nightmare


----------



## dysfunction (Aug 15, 2009)

Brad said:


> It's obvious a lot of folk didn't take physics or thermodynamics in high school. A compressed gas is much more susceptible to changes of state when temperature is changed. Coil sprung dropper, then knock yourself out store up of down. Compressed gas cartridge then leave the post up when not needing in to be down when on the trail. When I read these threads I thank God I left the bike industry because dealing with customer induced warranties was a freaking nightmare


I did know that, I just had forgotten it was down one night.. even engineers can do that ya know 

I figured a 'real world' example may just help, lots of folks seem to hate the abstract.


----------



## DtEW (Jun 14, 2004)

Brad said:


> It's obvious a lot of folk didn't take physics or thermodynamics in high school. A compressed gas is much more susceptible to changes of state when temperature is changed. Coil sprung dropper, then knock yourself out store up of down. Compressed gas cartridge then leave the post up when not needing in to be down when on the trail. When I read these threads I thank God I left the bike industry because dealing with customer induced warranties was a freaking nightmare


I'm pretty sure there's _zero chance_ that the type of compressed gas in a dropper post will undergo any changes in state at any condition a dropper post will find itself in. If you like to keep your dropper in a cryogenic dewar, maybe. Or in a tokamak (in the other direction). It's not like it's filled with refrigerant designed for phase change at non-exotic temperature/pressures.

Most gas struts are filled with nitrogen. Nitrogen has a critical temperature/pressure (when it starts to phase change into liquid) of *-233 degrees F, 492psi.*

Seriously dude, misplaced angst. And apparently a sub-high-school appreciation of physics.


----------



## Brad (May 2, 2004)

dysfunction said:


> I did know that, I just had forgotten it was down one night.. even engineers can do that ya know
> 
> I figured a 'real world' example may just help, lots of folks seem to hate the abstract.


Wasn't replying to you but to the advocates of it doesn't matter ?


----------



## Brad (May 2, 2004)

DtEW said:


> I'm pretty sure there's _zero chance_ that the type of compressed gas in a dropper post will undergo any changes in state at any condition a dropper post will find itself in. If you like to keep your dropper in a cryogenic dewar, maybe. Or in a tokamak (in the other direction). It's not like it's filled with refrigerant designed for phase change at non-exotic temperature/pressures.
> 
> Most gas struts are filled with nitrogen. Nitrogen has a critical temperature/pressure (when it starts to phase change into liquid) of *-233 degrees F, 492psi.*
> 
> Seriously dude, misplaced angst. And apparently a sub-high-school appreciation of physics.


Seriously who talking about turning to liquid? Ideal gas law refers


----------



## kapusta (Jan 17, 2004)

Brad said:


> Seriously who talking about turning to liquid? Ideal gas law refers


Well what "change of state" were you taking about?


----------



## wayold (Nov 25, 2017)

Brad said:


> It's obvious a lot of folk didn't take physics or thermodynamics in high school.


Maybe high school physics has changed since I took it, but I don't recall thermodynamics at that level getting much further than delta heat = Specific Heat * delta temp. I took thermo a bunch more times in college / grad school and I'm not sure exactly what you're talking about here.


----------



## DtEW (Jun 14, 2004)

kapusta said:


> Well what "change of state" were you taking about?


He must mean Florida. Significant deltas in temperature is liable to provoke his over-stressed and compressed gas to seek more-temperate environs and relocate to Florida.


----------



## Varaxis (Mar 16, 2010)

Leave it extended when not in use. Less to go wrong with it (internally) in that position.

The old RaceFace* dropper and Specialized Command Post IR dropper would lose air pressure quickly if stored fully dropped. These posts only needed like 15-25 PSI, and were sensitive enough that adding 5 PSI would make them slam your crotch a lot harder. I'd always try to keep these extended to mitigate the air loss. Nothing too serious if I forget, just extends slowly and perhaps stops short of the top. Are cheap cartridge-based droppers able to be pumped back up?

* (older 9.8 brand tech, rather than Fox tech)

Not a good idea to pick up a bike by the saddle with the dropper down. On the RockShox Reverb, doing this can result in the post being "saggy". In other words, the dropper compresses noticeably when you sit on it.

One exception: I leave my KS Lev partially down, cause it sticks if left unused for a few hours. If it's fully up or down, I have trouble unsticking it. It generally unsticks easily if left mid-travel. If I left the saddle up, it would sometimes take over 30 minutes of trying to get it to unstick, forcing me to "high-post" down steep pitches.


----------



## Brad (May 2, 2004)

wayold said:


> Maybe high school physics has changed since I took it, but I don't recall thermodynamics at that level getting much further than delta heat = Specific Heat * delta temp. I took thermo a bunch more times in college / grad school and I'm not sure exactly what you're talking about here.


If you did those things you'd know the ideal gas law is the simplest expression of a change of state in a gas..... 
Compress the gas from p1V1/T1 to p2V2/T2
That is referred to as change of state. Best move to Florida and take up golf. 
But before you do change the temperature while keeping the volume the at V2


----------



## DtEW (Jun 14, 2004)

Brad said:


> If you did those things you'd know the ideal gas law is the simplest expression of a change of state in a gas.....
> Compress the gas from p1V1/T1 to p2V2/T2
> That is referred to as change of state. Best move to Florida and take up golf.
> But before you do change the temperature while keeping the volume the at V2


Keep digging, and you'll make your way to Florida yet! ?


----------



## wayold (Nov 25, 2017)

OK, a bit clearer now. So by that definition any change in P, V or T is a change of state (as opposed to a change in phase, which I think some of us thought you might mean). You said, "A compressed gas is much more susceptible to changes of state when temperature is changed". I'm still trying to parse that, but I think you mean that since pressure is proportional to temperature when an ideal gas is isothermally compressed and P increases then dP/dT increases as well. While this is true I'm not sure what significance it has in this discussion.

PS. I spent enough decades doing physics research that a Florida vacation actually sounds kinda nice, but I'm pretty sure even if our nomenclature differs I still more or less understand thermo.


----------



## DtEW (Jun 14, 2004)

wayold said:


> OK, a bit clearer now. So by that definition any change in P, V or T is a change of state (as opposed to a change in phase, which I think some of us thought you might mean). You said, "A compressed gas is much more susceptible to changes of state when temperature is changed". I'm still trying to parse that, but I think you mean that since pressure is proportional to temperature when an ideal gas is isothermally compressed and P increases then dP/dT increases as well. While this is true I'm not sure what significance it has in this discussion.


It's a face-saving obfuscation with a strong statement that's technically factually-correct, but actually irrelevant to the subject-at-hand. That's why you, an attentive thread participant, can't argue against it... but also can't make it fit anywhere. Not toward the OP's inquiry, nor the obfuscator's responses to that inquiry. The obfuscator can eventually just shrug and claim that we're all too dense to understand and see the whole picture, and then exit the thread so to not waste more of his time.

(One needs to point this out explicitly for all because not everyone reading this thread will have the interest/attention-span to parse out what's actually going on.)

A step back: having a brain fart and throwing out an ill-considered assertion is a common occurrence on the Internet. It's even easier these days with smartphones, when you can participate in discussions even when you're in-the-midst-of/distracted-by other things. We've all done it. But to take the effort to be aggressively condescending while touting a professional background in said subject matter is a bid to build reputation and elevate social status... or to completely wreck your 'net self construct. To simply admit to the human error can stem the bleeding and reset the conversation.


----------



## kapusta (Jan 17, 2004)

Brad said:


> If you did those things you'd know the ideal gas law is the simplest expression of a change of state in a gas.....
> Compress the gas from p1V1/T1 to p2V2/T2
> That is referred to as change of state. Best move to Florida and take up golf.
> But before you do change the temperature while keeping the volume the at V2


Perhaps you could actually come out and say how you think any of this is relevant to the topic at hand. Work through the numbers to show us the catastrophic consequences you critically allude to.


----------



## SprSonik (Jul 29, 2004)

kapusta said:


> I think the Cascade changed from coil to air, because my understanding when I bought mine 2 years ago. was that it was coil. That was a selling point for me.


 Sucks that they went to air. I should have bought the coil for my other bike too. I hate messing with air pressure.


----------



## coachhomer (May 9, 2017)

Loll said:


> My friend said longterm storing them in the down position creates a lot of unnecessary pressure and stress to the parts.
> 
> I was having issue with my fox returning fully on a regular basis. After a period of keeping the post up when not riding, the issue seemed to have reduced a bit. Though I don't stress about it if one night I forget to bring the post to full up position.


Physically speaking I don't disagree but aren't car shocks consistently in a compressed position? Not fully compressed but under pressure nonetheless.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## 006_007 (Jan 12, 2004)

Varaxis said:


> Leave it extended when not in use. Less to go wrong with it (internally) in that position.
> 
> The old RaceFace* dropper and Specialized Command Post IR dropper would lose air pressure quickly if stored fully dropped. These posts only needed like 15-25 PSI, and were sensitive enough that adding 5 PSI would make them slam your crotch a lot harder. I'd always try to keep these extended to mitigate the air loss. Nothing too serious if I forget, just extends slowly and perhaps stops short of the top. Are cheap cartridge-based droppers able to be pumped back up?
> 
> ...


My lev used to stick like that as well, then I finally got off my butt and did a rebuild - the brass fingers were worn and I believe we're the cause of the sticking and have not had the problem since.

Sent from my SM-A515F using Tapatalk


----------

