Mountain Biking - Got me a pretty new seatpost today.

My new seatpost arrived for my MotoLite II today. I decided that it might be nice to not have to stop and drop the seatpost every time I came to a downhill. I have never had this problem in the past with my cross country bikes, however the higher bottom bracket on this bike really puts me up in the air when the seatpost is in it's normal location.

It does weigh a little more than my Extralite post though. I am hoping I'll be able to ebay the Extralite and recover some of the money I paid for this one though.

Tomorrow will be my first ride with it, looking forward to it.

Oh yeah, weight is 511 grams. :o

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b148/LowCel/001-7.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b148/LowCel/003-1.jpg

I decided that it might be nice to not have to stop and drop the seatpost every time I came to a downhill. I have never had this problem in the past with my cross country bikes, however the higher bottom bracket on this bike really puts me up in the air when the seatpost is in it's normal location.

Can't you just get behind the saddle on those downhills? Please let us know how it works for you.

... Brad

Sweet...let us know how it works.
How much does it drop?
How much effort & travel needed on thumb lever to raise again?

You'll love it...it's the best thing I have put on my trail bike. And I was extremely impressed about how you can fine-tune the setup/perform regular maintenance.

It's faster and much more fun with your saddle lowered.

That's what she said. (sorry, I couldn't resist)


I've never lowered my saddle on the trail. Perhaps I'll give it a shot the next time out.

... Brad

It's faster and much more fun with your saddle lowered.


+1 on that...plus, I wouldn't want to do some of the descents around here with the saddle at climbing height!

I didn't find the Moto-Lite too tall to run the post at normal height. All my bikes have a similar pedal-to-seat height, and I've just gotten used to getting behind the saddle. I have to admit that flipping the TALAS to 140 makes steep descents a bit easier.

I didn't find the Moto-Lite too tall to run the post at normal height. All my bikes have a similar pedal-to-seat height, and I've just gotten used to getting behind the saddle. I have to admit that flipping the TALAS to 140 makes steep descents a bit easier.

By dropping the saddle you can pump the bike a lot more, lean it and throw it around in the turns, and just ride faster overall. With the Gravity Dropper, I find that I ride with the saddle in the lowered position a lot more because I can flow with the trail.

I didn't find the Moto-Lite too tall to run the post at normal height. All my bikes have a similar pedal-to-seat height, and I've just gotten used to getting behind the saddle. I have to admit that flipping the TALAS to 140 makes steep descents a bit easier.

How far up do you have your saddle? From the center of the crank to the top of my saddle is a hair over 30". With all of my other bikes this wasn't a problem, however with this one I just don't feel confident, actually I almost feel trapped. It just wasn't working out for me so I had to do something.

I've never lowered my saddle on the trail. Perhaps I'll give it a shot the next time out.


Neither had I until I got this bike but wow, what a difference it makes. However, it wears my legs out in just a couple of minutes. Not sure how those downhill guys do it.

Sweet...let us know how it works.
How much does it drop?
How much effort & travel needed on thumb lever to raise again?

This is the "turbo" model so it drops 4". I'm installing it now so I'll let you know how much effort it takes in a few minutes.

Wow, now you really are turning into a hard-core freerider, LowCel ;) What's next, baggy shorts, a tat and a buzz cut?

Nice piece there. One of the more useful bits o' bling around.


How far up do you have your saddle? From the center of the crank to the top of my saddle is a hair over 30". With all of my other bikes this wasn't a problem, however with this one I just don't feel confident, actually I almost feel trapped. It just wasn't working out for me so I had to do something.Trapped is a good way to describe it, perched to far up there. You will enjoy it - -and it sure beats getting impaled in the bread-basket by a too-high seat from getting behind it.

Seatpost are for sissys. Real me don't use 'em. Lowcel is the new Wade Simmons.

Okay, it takes very little effort to push the little release lever on the bars, I'm pleasantly suprised. However I did notice one thing real quick. I don't want to hit this thing by mistake when it is down, it has some power! I would hate to see what this thing could do to the boys. :eek: :eek:

I drop my saddle every time I go on the trails... I didn't realize so many people didn't do it! I find it a lot easier to ride over rough terrain with a lower seat as you can just jockey the bike over the bumps. Your shoulders and head remain level and all while your bike goes all over the place.

You might argue that you can jockey it with the seat at the normal riding position (and just be higher), but sometimes you can't. I don't know, maybe it's just me riding the trails with heavy vegetation, but there are parts where if you stood up you'd get clotheslined by a tree branch. It's nice to stay low!

Oh yeah, weight is 511 grams. :o



What, almost a third of the weight of your Fuji frame? Are you Sick?!:eek:

Okay, it takes very little effort to push the little release lever on the bars, I'm pleasantly suprised. However I did notice one thing real quick. I don't want to hit this thing by mistake when it is down, it has some power! I would hate to see what this thing could do to the boys. :eek: :eek:

You can decrease the preload on the internal spring from the bottom of the post. 6mm allen head, I believe.

I use mine all the time. Great part that will be going on any new mtb of mine from now on.

Get used to being asked why you're running a suspension post an a suspension bike.

I was very impressed with it on my ride yesterday, I feel that it is a must for this type of bike. It made a huge difference in the bike. It actually took me from not really being decided if I liked the bike or not to thinking that the bike is awesome! My ride yesterday was amazing.

By dropping the saddle you can pump the bike a lot more, lean it and throw it around in the turns, and just ride faster overall. With the Gravity Dropper, I find that I ride with the saddle in the lowered position a lot more because I can flow with the trail.

I'll admit that I'm not much of a DH guy, but for the trails that I do ride, I can pump/manual just fine. The few times I have dropped my seat haven't made that much of a difference. I guess I've adapted to having my seat high enough to pedal reasonably well, but low enough that I can get off the front/back/sides with ease.

How far up do you have your saddle? From the center of the crank to the top of my saddle is a hair over 30". With all of my other bikes this wasn't a problem, however with this one I just don't feel confident, actually I almost feel trapped. It just wasn't working out for me so I had to do something.

My saddle height is similar on all my bikes. <runs out to measure> On the Brodie and Titus, it's 30.25", on my Cervelo, it's 30.5". I could raise it a bit more, but then it starts to get tricky to get off the back - I definitely know that "trapped" feeling you're talking about. Back in the day, I ran my saddle around 32" from BB center for both mtn and road. I was more flexible back then, and it worked okay, but as the local trails deteriorated over the years, I needed more flexibility in where I could position my body on the bike. It took a while, but I lowered the seat a bit at a time until I arrived at the current height a few years ago. If I go lower, my knees hurt and I lose what little power I have on the climbs.