Dropper Post vs No Dropper Post?
 

Greetings everyone! How important would you say dropper post is? Do you think it's a must have on a bicycle or you think you can it's possible to ride a bicycle in rough terrain even without a dropper post? Also, in the case I don't have a dropper post, if I adjust the saddle height very often during a day in the case I encounter different types of terrains or a succession of hills and valleys, would the friction force between the rod of the saddle and the seat tube damage the seat tube over time ?

It depends on what you are riding over.

If you are talking about modern trails, berms, jumps, drops, and rock gardens, a dropper is more important than rear suspension. It takes a few rides to get used to but it’s an absolute game changer.

If your rides are primarily on dirt roads and single track without too many major obstacles, you won’t need it. There might be a few spots it’d be nice to have but you’ll be fine without it.

Either way, you’ll be fine. Ride what you have and when it starts getting apparent that the lack of dropper is holding you back, or you’re riding around obstacles instead of trying them, then it’s time to get one.

It also makes more sense on a more modern bike. If you’ve got something from the 90’s, adding a dropper would be fun but probably wouldn’t make it ride much better. Get something from this year and you’ll quickly see it’s designed around being able to drop the post.

For just using a quick release and dropping a regular post. It’s only logical on big descents where you can stop and set up for it. For a single feature or two on trail, it’s best to either use a dropper or ride around the feature. More annoying than helpful.

My rides in socal were mostly climb, climb etc on the first leg and descend, descend, etc on the return (loop or out and back), so I avoided one for a long time.The rides haven't changed much, but apparently I have, so I enjoy one now. RF nailed it!

I will be using it on paved road and off road. It will be typical countryside off-road with holes, bumps, forest roads, probably medium size stones and occasionally bigger ones, sometimes I will be riding on dirt road with dried stiffen mud hoof shapes which makes the road uneven and shaky for the rider. I will use it on mud road with dried stiffen tractor tires shapes. I will also climb and descent steep hills that are around 25 degrees. During hill descent I might ride over bumps, stones. Maybe a couple of times per year I will be using it on mountain trails and downhill on easy or medium paths. I don't know what terrain obstacles I will encounter, but since I buy a MTB I want it to be as good as my budget allows it. If I understand that some features of the bike could be useful I also might increase the budget.

I want to buy a MTB and I don't know if it's worth spending extra money on a bike that comes with a dropper post. Since I have no prior MTB experience it's hard to say what I want from a MTB. But I think that as I gain experience, my demands on the my bike will also increase. I have a more detailed post regarding some MTB models on MTB section. You're right that using only quick release on regular post on difficult terrain will be annoying but my main concern is in the case that I do it, will constantly adjusting the seat height damage the Seat Tube because of the friction ?

I would get the dropper on a mountain bike. It will make steep descents a whole lot safer. Easily one of the best mtb devices to appear in the last 25 years. A few pro road racers have even used them to great effect on steep alpine descents.

You can of course ride steep roads without a dropper, but it doesn’t mean you should.

I love my dropper personally and would not want an MTB without it. However is it absolutely crucial and cannot live with out it? Not really it is just a really nice thing to have and easy to obtain in various quality levels but the important thing assuming you get a decent quality post is the lever, spend good money on the lever have had too many people come to me and say yeah my lever sucks or have had to try and fix bad levers and replace a bunch of them. My Paul lever was not cheap but it works amazingly and there are other great levers but a lot of stock levers lead a lot to be desired.

If the frame is decent it will have the ability to mount a dropper so buying a bike that comes with a dropper is not as needed but generally a good quality bike will come with one. Really it should have an air fork, thru-axles and ability to mount a dropper. If it comes with a decent one great but so long as it can mount one easily and internally then you are good.

My riding is similar and my new hardtail mtn bike came with a dropper, which I use on occasion but not every ride. Had it not been standard equipment I'd perhaps have saved the weight and remained blissfully ignorant. That said, it CAN be handy including just at the end of a hot day when I don't even want to swing my leg over the saddle.

My other hardtail mtn bike has a shockpost, which I like but for different reasons.

You don't need a dropper to drop the saddle for descending, just a q/r pinch bolt works fine.
The Hite Rite was launched in 1984, that's 41 years.
It should be called a raiser, not a dropper - it puts the saddle back in the optimal position for the flat or uphill after you survive the hairy downhill.

Personally, I find dropper posts way more useful on mtb trails. But I guess it depends on your trails. Mine gets a lot of use.

Thanks for the history of dropper posts. But they didn’t become mainstream until the mid 2000s. First one I had was a Gravity Dropper around 2005 and they were pretty rare back then. They certainly didn’t appear on standard new bike builds until much later.

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.

A few years ago I would have agreed with you. I was riding plenty of stuff and just never seemed to need the dropper. I had enough skills from the old skool days that I was fine.

Turns out, I was riding the wrong trails and the wrong bike. Once I got adequately aggressive, I began to understand.

I wouldn't ride a mountain bike without one now.

Depends on the trail, whether I consider a dropper necessary or not. That being said, there are significant upsides to a dropper post, with minimal downsides.

I've had dropper posts for several years now on my trail/all-mountain/enduro bikes. They get ridden on rough terrain that makes a lower seat position almost mandatory...with the seat up, you're liable to go over the bars on some of the trails. Up until a couple years ago, I used to race XC on a bike with a rigid seat post. Nowadays, even my current XC bike has a dropper and I use it quite often.

For the riding I do, a QR lever is not a replacement for a dropper post. I cycle the dropper dozens of times during a ride. Even during the course of a long descent, there will be a mix of pedal-y sections and steep technical sections, each making a certain saddle position optimum.

Tried a couple, couldn't get into it.

Put the seat on your chest and bomb down the hill.

(but do what brings you joy)

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.

My Kool Aid comment was directed to a recent thread about folks who’ve drank the Kool Aid and found that new and improved gear or techniques have improved their riding. I dint think there a fad either, just not something I need on the trails I ride and for my style of riding.

Nothing steep enough where I ride to warrant a dropper.

Back in the day Annadel had a decent we called suicide. We would put the seat in out belly and ride down this way. Probably long before many had mtn bikes.

Ok, fair enough. FWIW I don't "need" a dropper post on my local trails either, but it is certainly preferable.

I have one of the infinitely adjustable posts and it's quite nice to just drop the post an inch or so even when pedalling on flats or slight downhills through twists and turns. It's not just for gnarly descending. Before I started using droppers (pre 2005) I often set my saddle slightly lower than optimum for pedalling (about an inch lower than my road bike) as a compromise. Now I set my dropper at the same fully extended height as my road bike. It's just so much more versatile.

Honestly I wouldn't mind having a dropper post on my road bike, as we have some really steep 20%+ local descents.

Been there, done that. But let's be honest, it's a terrible compromise that is simply not necessary today!

Except it was Flavor-Aid that was used in the Jonestown event. I don't see how improved techniques are bad and gear either but I can see where people have issues with new or seemingly new gear but techniques is just a thing to learn and improve and grow. So if you are talking about Kool-Aid as a water flavor improvement than yes one would drink the Kool-Aid but people following a cult leader would be Fla-Vor-Aid (and cyanide I believe)

It sounds like you don't miss it because you never figured it out.

I also come from the days of 26" wheels and rigid forks. Yes, we learned how to get off the back of the saddle. We made it work because that's the only option we had with the saddle in the way. A few years ago, I bought my first 29er MTB - a light, racy hardtail with a rigid post. Out of curiosity, I put a dropper on it, just to see what it was about. I gave myself the chance to learn how/where to use it, and let it get incorporated into my riding style. What I found was that a dropper gives me more space to move around over the bike - and more freedom for the bike to move under me - than I could ever get with a rigid post. The biggest thing is being able to position my body a LOT better on steep stuff. Instead of hanging off the back, it's more of a crouch over the top, balanced and in control. I also found that even on non-steep, non-technical descents, a dropper lowers my CG and makes fast sweeping turns even more grippy and fun. I ride my gravel bike (no dropper) on a lot of the same trails I ride my MTB, and the lack of space to move is immediately evident.

Don’t make that assumption, I watched a bunch of YT’s to find out how and where to use it, I found it fascinating to learn folks would lower the seat thru turns to lower center of gravity, aiding tire grip. That made sense so I gave that multiple tries. Our local trails tend to have a ton of twisty and tight single track, so it seems that would be a good place to try this. What I discovered was the seat was going up and down, up and down as I was finding I wanted the seat back up at height to be able to more efficiently pedal coming out of turns, then I needed to drop again for more twisty, then up again and after a few try’s at this found the whole thing annoying. It wasn’t improving my handling at all as I was just distracted trying to get the seat lowered and then back up again. And as stated prior, we have short and few hills, so no need to use on downhills,

Off it came.

By your own words, you said you never figured it out. You just it confirmed again. In my experience, there is a learning curve to get to the point where you make the changes instinctively, much the same as shifting. That said, there is certainly terrain where it doesn't really add a benefit. I guess that's your terrain.

Correct.

Neither is a $400 seat post that fails in 3 years.

Neither is a $400 seat post that fails in 3 years.

A hite- rite lasts and lasts & lasts.