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Dropper versus no dropper test.

Tom K.

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Plunger style. Has not been bled. It's not super easy to depress the button all the way, if that's what you mean by "actuate," but I have no trouble doing it. The problem is that even with the button all the way down, it takes a ton of force to get the seat "unstuck". Once it's unstuck it works fine.

Here's a kind of goofy, short-term workaround that saved my wife on a 10-day mtb trip where we had no access to a Reverb rebuild kit -- easy to do with two people:

1. Flip bike upside down on floor.

2. While one person pushes the pluger in, the other collapses the bike down through the full travel of the dropper post.

3. While still collapsed and upside down, release plunger.

4. Flip bike over right side up, depress plunger, and allow dropper to extend.

5. Repeat a second time.

By flipping over the design of the hydraulic cartridge in the latest Reverb redesign, this is what Rockshox allow to be done with a tiny little bleed port, while the bike is right side up.

Good luck!
 

Erik Timmerman

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Just take it to the shop, the bleed isn't too big of a deal. I'm not sure that's your problem, but I do wonder if refreshing the fluid could help.
 

Tony S

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Just take it to the shop, the bleed isn't too big of a deal. I'm not sure that's your problem, but I do wonder if refreshing the fluid could help.

All our shops are totally slammed right now. Measuring turnaround in weeks, not days.
 

Erik Timmerman

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Have you checked the air pressure?

300 psi is recommended, but I wonder what will happen if you drop it to say 250? Air valve is under the seat.
 

Tony S

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I rode tonight and naturally the post worked nearly flawlessly. :huh: All I did was read helpful suggestions and ignore them all.
 

EricG

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Once you learn to ride with a dropper post it’s hard to not to have a dropper post. I’m even spec’ing my new gravel frame with an internal dropper routing.
 

Slim

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The only question is: which dropper post weighs only 300 grams?
The Reverb AXS is over 600 grams and the Bike Yoke I am eyeing is about 390 and is considered to be very lightweight. That is the Divine SL which is 400mm and only 80 mm drop-not a proper dropper by DH and trail folks, but perfectly fine for XC.

So, are there lighter options on the market?
No, no dropper for 300g, @Josh Matta was talking about the fact that a dropper post is ~300g heavier than a rigid post.
So the question was, on a trail riding loop, would the dropper be faster or slower? The dropper is faster in technical terrain, but the 300g higher weight slows you on the climbs. What is the net outcome? That was the OP.

Of course for most of us, who are not top level XC racers, the decision is easy: get the dropper. More fun, more safe, and not noticeably slower.
 

Tony Storaro

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Of course for most of us, who are not top level XC racers, the decision is easy: get the dropper. More fun, more safe, and not noticeably slower.


Yes indeed. I am getting one soon.
 

Philpug

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- wow, I get it. I really like adjusting seat height for all sorts of different trail sections. I use it as much or more than my derailleur.
What I have learned with by dropper is that it is not just on/off as in just low or high, there are many intermediate heights that I use. Like you say I feel I do use it as much as my derailleur....and that goes back to even before I got an EMTB.
 

EricG

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No, no dropper for 300g, @Josh Matta was talking about the fact that a dropper post is ~300g heavier than a rigid post.
So the question was, on a trail riding loop, would the dropper be faster or slower? The dropper is faster in technical terrain, but the 300g higher weight slows you on the climbs. What is the net outcome? That was the OP.

josh got banned over the winter so he won’t be posting results.

very few people are going to notice the additional weight of the dropper seat post. Adding 3-400g in tires/wheels will be much more noticeable.

My dropper post for the next bike just came in yesterday. it will be nice to have a 120mm dropper , 700x50‘s & drop bars.
 
Last edited:

Rod9301

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Additional thought on riding without a dropper post.

Obviously doable if you lower your seat on downhill.

But if you don't lower it, even on flat corners, there's no way you can corner as fast as dropping the seat.
Because you corner fast you must learn the bike a lot, which is impossible with the seat up. The seat gets in the way once you leaned the bike a bit.

So even for flat trails, if you have corners, the seat must be low so you can lean the bike

And if you don't lean the bike, you're slow in corners.
 

Tony S

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Additional thought on riding without a dropper post.

Obviously doable if you lower your seat on downhill.

But if you don't lower it, even on flat corners, there's no way you can corner as fast as dropping the seat.
Because you corner fast you must learn the bike a lot, which is impossible with the seat up. The seat gets in the way once you leaned the bike a bit.

So even for flat trails, if you have corners, the seat must be low so you can lean the bike

And if you don't lean the bike, you're slow in corners.
Are you saying that if you have a conventional post it's better to ride with it lowered?

Typical riding in the NE consists of continual short climbs and descents.

In this scenario, assuming a full suspension bike, there's really not much choice, IMHO, but to leave a rigid post tall. No matter how inefficient your downhill riding might be compared with using a lowered dropper, the penalty of attempting to ride climbs and flats with a low seat - i.e., standing - outweighs that inefficiency by a mile. For starters, you spend a lot more minutes climbing than you do descending.

I have found over the years that my speed and power decrease dramatically if my seat is even 1cm low.
 

Rod9301

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Are you saying that if you have a conventional post it's better to ride with it lowered?

Typical riding in the NE consists of continual short climbs and descents.

In this scenario, assuming a full suspension bike, there's really not much choice, IMHO, but to leave a rigid post tall. No matter how inefficient your downhill riding might be compared with using a lowered dropper, the penalty of attempting to ride climbs and flats with a low seat - i.e., standing - outweighs that inefficiency by a mile. For starters, you spend a lot more minutes climbing than you do descending.

I have found over the years that my speed and power decrease dramatically if my seat is even 1cm low.
No, I'm saying that you should always use a dropper post.
 

Tom K.

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Additional thought on riding without a dropper post.

Obviously doable if you lower your seat on downhill.

But if you don't lower it, even on flat corners, there's no way you can corner as fast as dropping the seat.
Because you corner fast you must learn the bike a lot, which is impossible with the seat up. The seat gets in the way once you leaned the bike a bit.

So even for flat trails, if you have corners, the seat must be low so you can lean the bike

And if you don't lean the bike, you're slow in corners.

I would love to take my dropper-less bike on a curvy, unulating trail ride with you. :ogbiggrin:
 

Rod9301

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I would love to take my dropper-less bike on a curvy, unulating trail ride with you. :ogbiggrin:
That's not a competition.

The reason you can go faster in a corner when you lean the bike a lot is that you now are on the side knobs, so you have a lot more traction than when you lean it less, because then you are in between the brake knobs and the cornering knobs( side knobs)

And there's no way to lean the bike a lot if the seat is high, because it touches the thigh.

If the trail is tacky, ok, but if it's dusty or off
camber, you need the side knobs.
 

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