Dropper posts, why and should I?

[Supratada]

I noticed someone selling a bulk load of mtb parts and they had two of those seatpost spring things in there. Did they ever work? You'd have to have a very greasy pole, so to speak, for it come back up again.

On ebay? Got a link if so?

It was a FB page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/579498092116390/

In Virginia though, and a closed group though I imagine most people here are in it.

 

[Paddler]

I finally bit the bullet and invested in a 2019 mtb ...with a dropper ... oh my word its a game changer... Cornering , tech stuff, downhilling , etc etc
Plus if you have a tweaky knee you can tune the ride position very subtly especially climbing. I've been riding a lot lately and my knee pain which I thought was permanent and heading for a knee scope has vanished! I think the dropper has contributed to this!

 

[ishaw]

Re:

Tell me more about the cure for knee pain. I've had 4 knee ops and generally suffer from pain most days just living, and after an hour of cycling, my knees want to quit. Anything I can do to avoid/alleviate when cycling I'm all for learning more about.

 

[klunkrider]

I noticed someone selling a bulk load of mtb parts and they had two of those seatpost spring things in there. Did they ever work? You'd have to have a very greasy pole, so to speak, for it come back up again.

On ebay? Got a link if so?

It was a FB page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/579498092116390/

In Virginia though, and a closed group though I imagine most people here are in it.

Ah nevermind, cheers anyway.

I'm going to get some piano wire off ebay and try and make my own.

 

[Paddler]

Re: Re:

Tell me more about the cure for knee pain. I've had 4 knee ops and generally suffer from pain most days just living, and after an hour of cycling, my knees want to quit. Anything I can do to avoid/alleviate when cycling I'm all for learning more about.

I had just a grumbling knee... but enough to concern me, I'm 56 so I just resigned myself to 'this is it now'....

My pain was at the front of my right knee slightly to its left. Cycling in general is good for it but the dropper just allows me to tune my ride position. Our knee conditions may be very different.

One thing I do avoid is flat pedals , I notice a difference when using my Spuds.

The new geometry of modern bikes really suits me in other ways. I used to get neck and shoulder pain on my '91 race ready GT , the new Fathom is an armchair ride in comparison.

I hope your knees improve mate... best wishes.

 

[shedobits]

Re: Knee Pain and Droppers

After a motorbike accident about 14 years ago I had an operation so that I could bend my knee through 120 degrees and continue to cycle.
A couple of years ago I bought a dropper after all of my riding buddies recommendations.
For me it didn't work as dropping the post whilst sitting caused me to bend my knee too far, (the pain was too much). Later I tried dropping the post whilst standing beside the bike at the top of a very long technical descent. Providing I didn't peddle there was no pain but I missed feeling the saddle whilst standing.
I bought a travel reducer (from here) but the dropper post dumped all of its fluid before it arrived. So after just 6 months I sold it for half of what I paid.
I see the sense to them and sometimes feel that I'm the only one in the regiment who's in step but my advice would be to try before you buy.

 

[drcarlos]

A shock for £80 has more components so why are we asked to pay £300 for a dropper?

Cheaper ones are available, but I agree they seem expensive for what they are.

You can get them for about 100 quid. 80 quid suspension forks are utterly shit and barely function. 300 quid droppers aren't particularly shit and work quite well. Part counts is a really shit way to work out how expensive something should be.

You can also get travel restrictors, or 3D print them if you're up to it, for most of the posts around. (I've got a 35mm restrictor sat on SD card ready to go on the printer next time i fire it up.)

The £100 Brand-X/Tranz-X ones are actually very good, seem to outperform/outlast the £300 Reverb by some margin and the travel restrictions are generally in the small diameter ones because of the diameter and not the pricing.

I have a dropper on the trail bike but on the XC for the amount of time I encounter the obstacles where I'd use a dropper I don't have one due to cost, the weight penalty and the fact I'd need a bigger sized frame too (I am right on the crossover for 17 and 18 inch frames and have the 17).

I love it on the trail bike though and use it all the time.

 

[mattr]

I got both mine for much less than £300, in fact, both were less than half price...... brand new with warranty.

And thanks to my location, i effectively have a 3 year warranty.

 

[The History Man]

Mine was a nasty spring/body weight jobbie that cost £30. Has worked perfectly on various bikes for a few years. Has been kept well covered and well greased.

 

[brocklanders023]

Re:

I've got a Fox Transfer and have had a Thomson Elite Dropper and a few RS Reverbs.

Thomson was by far the best engineered and nicest one to own. It's still going strong on my mates bike without maintenance. Fox is smart too but always thought the Reverb simply functional and nothing more.