Droppers

"Dropper Seatpost" - only a handful of search matches! What- don't we like to pedal our offroad bikes?

For my main bike (an old XC- it's my lightest @ 75lbs w/battery), my seat has gotta be totally down to comfortably touch the ground when offroad. That's about/over 100mm lower than optimal pedal stroke and I don't even have a quick release post clamp lol. Sure, I do have 10hp or so, and of course E-torque from a mid, but I like pedalling and have the gears for it.

SO I'm thinking of dropping the coin for a dropper but my main complaint is that only one brand I've seen actually lists minimum/full insertion depths and stand off from frame, and the standoff is like 110mm. It looks like I can cut 2.5" from my Klein Mantra seat tube, but that still means I can't go over 95mm standoff to the seat rails.


Looking at the eten by kind; but looking for dimensions. I'm curious what people on here are using and what the standoff height is from frame to seat rails?

Dropper seat posts are meant to give you clearance of posture when riding downhill, and go back to proper height for optimal crank work when needed. They are infinite adjustable and come in three common max extended length: 100, 125, 150mm. You have to make sure that your bike can fit the longer ones before buying them. I don't see the need on an ebike, unless it is a PAS. They are either expansive, or sh*t. Even the best ones are far from the stiffness of a good standard seat post because they are spec relatively low torque on the collar, and the mechanism always develop a little play. Hydros are better than cables. Magura does make one that is wireless...

I never liked them because I crash the bike too often in the mountain, and droppers don't like it. I need a seat post to be robust, and value light weight. I use Thomson Ti seat posts. I have them layback and straight, expansive but lifetime lasting. I have more than enough power to never think about crank work anyway.

I use a dropper and love it.

You pedal the high speed bike that I saw racing motorcycles ?

I guess you are using a dropper on another, plain pedal bike...
So did I, before ebikes had sent all my other bikes and motorcycles rotting in a garage. :wink:

I kinda always pedal (unless completely impractical or coasting). Like pedal assist but my mind takes care of the power supplimentation via throttle.
When I'm out on the road or a long path I get tired of pedalling it like I'm riding a bmx lol.
But the need to put feet down is almost a given when I decide to go ripping off up/down a steep or unknown hill/path.

Anyway, good point on them being not as robust= That seems like it'd be true.
The ARE freakn expensive for what they are (office chair hydro?), but maybe I could spend 200 for the KS Eten if it'll even work on my bike, and if it holds up.

Practice riding without ever putting a foot down more? That can be kind of fun too, though it generally means a bit less toward the ripping way to ride. It can be a fun game though, to get in a ride without putting down a foot, including the stop signs.

Very hard to put a foot down on a MX motorcycle too, until you are leaning it enough. Which I'm generally doing when I do put a foot down while still in the saddle of an off road ebike. So the foot reaches the ground fine then.

I do though, run a lower seat height on my off road bikes. by about an inch at least. But once I'm really blasting dirt, I tend to just ride standing up. Maybe not ideal, but an old riding habit that goes back to really crap suspension on 70's motorcycles.

If its going to be a long descent, you can always lower your seat the hard way. Takes what, 30 seconds vs 2 seconds?

dogman dan said:

Practice riding without ever putting a foot down more? That can be kind of fun too, though it generally means a bit less toward the ripping way to ride. It can be a fun game though, to get in a ride without putting down a foot, including the stop signs...

Click to expand...

Remains from my younger Trial years. Part of the trick is in the bike tuning: Low PSI tires on wide rims, low COG and a wide handlebar, are making the exercise much easier.

I prefer a layback seat post to a dropper on the ebike. Setting the saddle low but further on the rear is keeping the crank away. It is a compromise, so you can ride steep DH and still able to find an acceptable saddle posture once on the flat. Dropper posts can't survive many crashes. Usually they have a bothering play after the first, stucked or broken after the third. My experience with them is old though, the later models may be better.

I'll have to look into a 'layback' post too. When the post is low enough to 'touch' ground, it moves forward more than I like.

Just to clarify, My inseam is 32 and my optimal 'low' (lowest possible) position is about 35" to top of seat, which feels similar iirc to my last dirtbike.
However, to even approach proper leg extention the post gotta go up about 7". Some of it's the trade off for a 15" BB, which I do like for clearing obstacles w/chainring and pedal strike.

I'll at least get a qr skewer for it, but I'd prob like to move it up/down maybe a half dozen times in one typical 1/2 hr ride. And one big down side is I'd need a step stool to mount the damn thing when it's sitting @ 41".

. . . OR, a running start and some 'training'?
[youtube]DirGdV6DiK8[/youtube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DirGdV6DiK8

In case anyone was wondering, I was thinking the second one would be good. (in the video). Possibly the third. I'm not sure if the any of the rest. . . uhhh.

Yeah the dropper seat post. Interesting, useful gimmick for down hillers or anyone who needs to lean back going down an embankment, ditch or washout. I used to like doing that.

I just bought me a nice lay-back seat post for $5 and it looks brand new. Goodlife Cycle sells used bicycles and has bins full of used stuff. I find some awesome shit in there. My red springy seat would retail easily for $100, I snagged for $5, also a single speed freewheel $5, basket, handlebars. Sometimes I just buy shit I dont really need and just figure its a donation. Like a few days ago I bought BMX handlebars and the layback seat post, $10 in all. I thought I could use the BMX handlebars as a cruiser bar, but Niagara has some good bars.

Dropper seatposts are just another expense, specialized expense. They are cool, I first knew about them 6 months ago, so late to the game. Chatting up some stranger who had one.

There was a gadget to do the same job in the '80s, during the first wave of MTBs. It was called Hite Rite. It was popular on fancy expensive bikes, and then it wasn't.

Twenty-five or so years after people get bored of dropper posts and forget about them, someone will bring something like that to market again.

Hite Rite

https://youtu.be/yuPnfpfpCdU?t=103

Droppers completely change the way you can ride a bike offroad, and while having it down while descending is an obvious advantage, having it part way or fully down on more rolling, curvy trails is the eye opener. You can move around on the bike way more easily and increase the lean, so it'll corner quicker and with more pressure. I use mine ALL the time, it's really common once you're used to it, to adjust the seat height often not just when going up for a long time, or down for a long time.

They certainly are expensive, but they are more reliable than the first few generations were. Whether it's worth it's to you depends on what sort of riding you like to do and how technical the trails are. I wouldn't want to ride offroad without one.