Originally Posted by
Steve B.
Been mt biking since ‘89 and learned how to get my butt off the back of the seat way back then to descend. Mind, 90% of my mt biking now a days is on L.I. with only short descents and generally mild terrain features. Even when I spent 10 years riding in NM I was OK in descents. When my FS came with a dropper, I gave it a try. I had heard it also helps in turns, never figured out how. I ended up just pulling it off the bike, it’s stored away somewhere. Never drank the Kool Aid on a dropper. Dont miss it.
By dropping your centre of gravity 6”, you improve cornering grip.
Your old-school butt-out-the-back descending technique is what modern mtb geometry and dropper posts have pretty much eliminated. Can’t say I miss those days, but I moved on and never looked back.
Having said this, just riding around mild flat-ish terrain doesn’t require a dropper. But once you start riding down steep descents it’s a whole lot better and way more convenient than messing with a QR.
Dropper posts are NOT Kool Aid! They are not some kind of fad.
Edit: I forgot to mention earlier, the taller you are, the more benefit you get from a dropper post. At 6’ 1” with long legs, my saddle was always much higher than I would prefer for even mild descents.