Dropper or not?

Discuss light weight issues concerning mountain bikes & parts.

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mattr
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

TheRich wrote:
Sun Jun 30, 2019 10:25 pm
I'm not sure you do. If you're charging into terrain when you're not ready for it, that's maxed out.
:roll: Yes, i'm completely mentally maxed out, absolutely. Charging into terrain i've never seen before. I'll just sit down on this unexpected run of baby heads/greasy clay and root filled gully and lower my saddle. :lol:

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mattr
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

Alexbn921 wrote:
Sun Jun 30, 2019 9:35 pm
Dropper will make you faster on almost all race courses. The weight penalty is always worth it.
Almost certainly. It's added ~250grams to my bike. But, fit and useablity trumps weight.
Alexbn921 wrote:
Sun Jun 30, 2019 9:35 pm
2. You don't need a lot of drop for XC, in fact 100mm is pushing it and beyond this you lose pedaling efficiency (yes you need to pedal going down hill sometimes). I have a 200mm on my trail bike.
Saw a collet on one of the pro bikes last year that can be fitted to some posts to restrict travel. Pondering on sketching one up and 3D printing it, bring the the travel down, big plus is i can experiment as i have a 3D printer at home. Cos even seated pedalling at -50mm feels horrible, knees up round my ears.........
Alexbn921 wrote:Get one, train on it, race on it.
Already been doing that.......

TheRich
Posts: 1037
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2019 1:36 am

by TheRich

mattr wrote:
Mon Jul 01, 2019 6:48 am
TheRich wrote:
Sun Jun 30, 2019 10:25 pm
I'm not sure you do. If you're charging into terrain when you're not ready for it, that's maxed out.
:roll: Yes, i'm completely mentally maxed out, absolutely. Charging into terrain i've never seen before. I'll just sit down on this unexpected run of baby heads/greasy clay and root filled gully and lower my saddle. :lol:
Dunno what to tell you other than what I'd tell myself, if everybody else can do it, it must mean I'm doing something wrong.


Other than rear tire/saddle (bag) clearance, there's no need to limit travel, since they'll stop going down at whatever point you stop pushing the lever and pushing down...nor is there a need to sit on anything other than a saddle at full extension. Unless you want to, since sitting on a dropped saddle is a pretty comfy way to sit and rest/bs while stopped.

mattr
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

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Last edited by mattr on Mon Jul 01, 2019 7:56 am, edited 1 time in total.

mattr
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

..

scant
Posts: 270
Joined: Fri Apr 30, 2004 2:05 pm
Location: S.Wales UK

by scant

"rockshox reverb enduro height collar" might be the collet you're describing?

mattr
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

That or the Wolftooth Valais.

HansZuDemFranz
Posts: 137
Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 11:39 am

by HansZuDemFranz

Reviving this old thread, as I recently got into XC-Mountainbiking.
I got myself a Cannondale Scalpel HT, which has a 27.2mm seatpost. Thinking about getting a dropper post and since I like a "clean" cockpit, i would really like to get the reverb xplr. The only issue is, that it only has 75mm of travel (is travel the right word?).

So is anyone using a dropper with only 75mm fon their mtb? Is it even worth it for that amount of travel?
If its important, I have quite a bit of seatpost exposed, so from that perspective, i could probably fit a dropper with 175mm, if anybody made one in 27.2mm.

Hexsense
Posts: 3269
Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2015 12:41 am
Location: USA

by Hexsense

Yes, I'm using Fox Transfer SL 75mm.
Coming from 100mm Bike Yoke Divine SL on another bike, I actually like 75mm better. It need less squat to drop the post.

Have you try the saddle just 10mm lower than usual seat height? It already help a lot on technical climbing.
IMO, the most benefit from dropper post come from the first 50mm of drop. 75-80mm is plenty for XC. Actually, more isn't better for me. I still need saddle between my legs to control the bike.

HansZuDemFranz
Posts: 137
Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 11:39 am

by HansZuDemFranz

Hexsense wrote:
Thu Oct 27, 2022 9:51 pm
Yes, I'm using Fox Transfer SL 75mm.
Coming from 100mm Bike Yoke Divine SL on another bike, I actually like 75mm better. It need less squat to drop the post.

Have you try the saddle just 10mm lower than usual seat height? It already help a lot on technical climbing.
IMO, the most benefit from dropper post come from the first 50mm of drop. 75-80mm is plenty for XC. Actually, more isn't better for me. I still need saddle between my legs to control the bike.
That sounds reaffirming, thanks a lot. I will definetly try the reverb xplr and report back, once I had some time with it.

de lars cuevas
Posts: 182
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:28 pm
Location: the Netherlands

by de lars cuevas

Don't forget the fun factor! A dropped seat make the bike more manoeuvrable, jumpable and therefore more playful and fun in all sorts of terrain, no just on steep drops. :-D

HansZuDemFranz
Posts: 137
Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 11:39 am

by HansZuDemFranz

In case anyone is looking to buy the Rockshox Reverb AXS Xplr in the future, here are my thoughts:

So I have had the Reverb AXS Xplr for over a week and put about 15 hours of riding on it.
First the good things:
- the isntallation was (as expected) super easy
- 75mm of drop is definitely enough for me.
- The button-press on the controller is super nice and "satisfying"
- It has worked absolutely flawlessly

Now to the bad things:
- The upper part of the seatpost (the bit that actually drops down) has a decent amount of play in it (you can turn your saddle slightly)
- The battery gets in the way of most seatbags
- quite heavy

And while I really liked the ease of the buttonpress (comapred to a regular dropper), I still returned the seatpost. Mainly because of two things: The lateral play and the seatbag-situation. The lateral play really just makes it feel super cheap and the seat-bag situation was just annoying to me.
I now got myself a Crankbrothers Highline XC (100mm) with a FOX remote, which also work as expected. All in all the Crankbrothers dropper was 400€ cheaper than the Rockshox, so this played a huge part in my decision. I wouldnt mind paying so much for the Rockshox, but only if it was the clearly superior product.

I hope this is helpful for someone in the future.

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