Thinking about losing the dropper

[MrTheCatLady]

Any of you ever go from a dropper BACK to a standard post?  Walnut Creek is my jam, and I ride twisty sections seated with my dropper about halfway down, and often leave it halfway down until I need to climb something.  I find the pedaling "efficient enough" with the post halfway down.  And although I put the post all the way down for descents (what descents there are at WC, that is), halfway down may also be "out of the way enough".  And I could probably stand on climbs - the practice would do me good, at any rate.

What's driving this is that I have a fairly light bike ('19 Santa Cruz Blur C, S build, 29er) and it bugs me to have the extra weight of the dropper on there.  Yeah, yeah this isn't the road bike forum, but MTBers can be weight weenies too!

I'll probably just take off the dropper this week and see how I like it...I never even rode the stock seatpost on my Blur so if I put it back on and just lower it a couple inches it may be just fine.  Anyway, I just wondered if any of you have ever gone back to a non-dropper - or even replaced a stock dropper with a non-dropper, since many bikes come with them stock these days.

-cls

[Albert]

I have yet to even try a dropper post, and I've had so many people tell me what a significant difference it makes in their riding that I feel like I am missing out.  Maybe I won't like it, but I feel I should at least give it a shot given all the positive reviews people have given me.  So it's interesting to read your perspective about possibly ditching it! 

 ..Al

[The Tip]

Getting a dropper was a bigger game changer for me than going from 26" to 29". I will never ride without one from now on.

[ATXZJ]

cross bike is my only one without dropper and has been so in years. My input might not be 100% applicable. On my X bike i had to put an ultra short (specialized powr) saddle to keep from getting hung up on my shorts etc. More than getting back on the bike for descents, i like dropping the saddle on techy climbs and fast corners so i can move all around the bike. F@ck having to straddle that barstool.

 

Give it a shot as there's only one way to know just leave the cable in the ST in case you want to reinstall. Worst case, go with a light, shorter travel XC oriented post. There's a ton out now.

 

 

 

Edited August 26, 2018 by ATXZJ

[TAF]

4 hours ago, MrTheCatLady said:

Any of you ever go from a dropper BACK to a standard post?  Walnut Creek is my jam, and I ride twisty sections seated with my dropper about halfway down, and often leave it halfway down until I need to climb something.  I find the pedaling "efficient enough" with the post halfway down.  And although I put the post all the way down for descents (what descents there are at WC, that is), halfway down may also be "out of the way enough".  And I could probably stand on climbs - the practice would do me good, at any rate.

What's driving this is that I have a fairly light bike ('19 Santa Cruz Blur C, S build, 29er) and it bugs me to have the extra weight of the dropper on there.  Yeah, yeah this isn't the road bike forum, but MTBers can be weight weenies too!

I'll probably just take off the dropper this week and see how I like it...I never even rode the stock seatpost on my Blur so if I put it back on and just lower it a couple inches it may be just fine.  Anyway, I just wondered if any of you have ever gone back to a non-dropper - or even replaced a stock dropper with a non-dropper, since many bikes come with them stock these days.

-cls

You don't need a dropper at Walnut. Expand your riding experience to other local trails, and you may find it invaluable.

[MrTheCatLady]

On what local trails would I need a dropper?

-cls

[Barry]

2 minutes ago, TAF said:

You don't need a dropper at Walnut. Expand your riding experience to other local trails, and you may find it invaluable.

"Need" and bicycles rarely go together for me. "What's fun?" is pretty much my only concern. I find dropper posts fun, even at WC.

Regarding the second part regarding other trails...I couldn't agree more. 

 

[CBaron]

When I got my Stache it came with a factory dropper post.  I used it 4x's in a month of regular riding.  I just simply didn't *need* it.  In fact, it sorta messed up the way I like to ride techy stuff.  But I'm (nearly a lone) wierdo like that.  Dropper is for sale now.

-CJB

[JRIDER]

I mostly ride Deception when mountain biking and split my time between my Fuel (dropper) and Procaliber (no dropper).  I usually ride all the trails west of Parmer and use the dropper maybe a handful of times when riding the Fuel.  It took a little time to get used to riding again without a dropper, but I am really appreciating the lighter and simpler Procaliber hardtail compared to the Fuel (Fuel dropper is actually in the shop getting warrantied). 

I still haven't rolled down Spongebob on the Procaliber yet.  I have no problem rolling down Spongebob on my Fuel and used to ride down this feature on my old 26" hardtail.  I'll probably give it a shot on the Procaliber the next time I take it out there.

[JRA]

I spent more time installing and uninstalling my dropper than I spent using it. It was a KS LEV

[TAF]

10 hours ago, MrTheCatLady said:

On what local trails would I need a dropper?

-cls

Pretty handy in the Green Belt, City Park, Thumper (of course), and other area trails on steep hillsides.

[throet]

11 hours ago, MrTheCatLady said:

On what local trails would I need a dropper?

-cls

I've ridden CP, RPR, Brushy, PB, and FCC plenty of times without a dropper, but why would you want to if you don't have to? If your only reason is truly to drop weight from what is already an ultra-light bike, then that is really not a good reason, IMHO.  

Edited August 27, 2018 by throet

[The Tip]

We've had this discussion before, but I'll say it again. A dropper makes riding easier. A dropper allows you to do things you can't without it.

This same thing can be said about gears, 29" tires, disc brakes, suspension, fat tires, carbon, tubeless tires, and every other bike building innovation that has come along. Of course you can ride without any of these things if you chose to. 

A guy will say, "I don't need a dropper to ride (fill in the blank where there are 4' drops etc). But that same rider will balk maybe at the 6' drop. If he had a dropper he might attempt that 6' drop.

Edited August 27, 2018 by The Tip

[mack_turtle]

I got a dropper a few months ago and rode with it on WC and SATN. I made a point of finding everything technical that I could but I have not ridden Brushy or BCGB with it. I found that I didn't need it at all and fussing with it became a distraction that took away from the riding experience. I have enough skill and range of motion on my bike to move my body around the saddle, and even use it in climbs and descents, to put it in one place. I have my saddle at least one cm below "road height" to get it a little out of the way for bike wranglin'. I have ridden some trails around here with drops and jumps and just walk that stuff. even if I had a long-travel FS bike with plus tires and a dropper, I would not be riding like that. it's just not my thing. I'd rather climb the entire HOL than do that stuff even once.

I'm also riding with one gear, a rigid fork, and flat pedals, so simplicity is kind of my MO. I've been riding with my trusty Thomson post in the meantime. I'll keep it around and try it again eventually, but I might end up liquidating it to buy something more useful to me.

Edited August 27, 2018 by mack_turtle

[Albert]

If it'll help me go down ledges I might otherwise shy away from, I'd be all for that. 🙂

[Yosmithy]

I'm looking forward to the edropper

[throet]

7 minutes ago, Yosmithy said:

I'm looking forward to the edropper

Or perhaps the rocker-recliner? Do manuals in an instant without even trying! 

[Yosmithy]

1 minute ago, throet said:

Or perhaps the rocker-recliner? Do manuals in an instant without even trying! 

That was a great idea!!! Hell, I'm doing a manual right now as I type this!

[Anita Handle]

I swap back and forth between long travel bike with dropper and 120mm old Stumpy without dropper and at wc and bcgb I rarely find much I can't do without the dropper that I would do with it. There are a few sections but we're also comparing vastly different geometries here.

I don't drop ledges of more than ~2ft without the dropper, but that could be overcome with more practice on the short travel bike. I'm just spoiled.

The dropper certainly gives me more margin for error and lets me move around more but in a sense also let's me be more lazy with my positioning. Why get into a deep bend at the waist? Just push the button.

Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk

[MrTheCatLady]

Thanks for all the input, folks.  I'm glad to know not everybody is completely sold on having to have a dropper.  And the insight from the folks with multipe bikes - some with and some without - is really interesting.  I'll probably give it a try later this week, and I might leave the cable installed and rattlin' around as suggested JIC.  I will say that I do enjoy my dropper, and have used it a lot, and I have never had much trouble with any of them except the f*cking KS LEVs and their creaky seat mount system.  In fact, the dropper I have on the Blur is the 120mm Brand-X Ascend from Chain Reaction Cycles online, which set me back a whopping $120.  $1 per mm - that's $25.4 per inch, fellas, and who wouldn't pay that? 🙂  

Anyway, like I said, I just have this nagging feeling that I might be able to adapt to riding without it, and I have to find out, because it is distracting.

Although the one thing I can think of that may be a deal-breaker is how easy a dropper makes getting on and off of the bike.  Especially getting back on after stopping on any sort of incline.  Oh, and how comfortable it is to just sit on the bike with the dropper all the way down, and take a break.  First world problems 🙂

-cls

[AustinBike]

13 hours ago, MrTheCatLady said:

On what local trails would I need a dropper?

-cls

Any trail I have ridden with a dropper I have also ridden without a dropper (for years).

Never really use it at WC, typically use it at other places. BCGB is my main trail and there are plenty of times that I could do an entire ride without engaging the dropper, but it gives me more confidence, especially on the SS because it has a hardtail and those drops are less forgiving without a rear shock.

While I have it on my bike I purposely see how long I can go without using it in order to improve my skills.

[FJsnoozer]

24 minutes ago, MrTheCatLady said:

Thanks for all the input, folks.  I'm glad to know not everybody is completely sold on having to have a dropper.  And the insight from the folks with multipe bikes - some with and some without - is really interesting.  I'll probably give it a try later this week, and I might leave the cable installed and rattlin' around as suggested JIC.  I will say that I do enjoy my dropper, and have used it a lot, and I have never had much trouble with any of them except the f*cking KS LEVs and their creaky seat mount system.  In fact, the dropper I have on the Blur is the 120mm Brand-X Ascend from Chain Reaction Cycles online, which set me back a whopping $120.  $1 per mm - that's $25.4 per inch, fellas, and who wouldn't pay that? 🙂  

Anyway, like I said, I just have this nagging feeling that I might be able to adapt to riding without it, and I have to find out, because it is distracting.

Although the one thing I can think of that may be a deal-breaker is how easy a dropper makes getting on and off of the bike.  Especially getting back on after stopping on any sort of incline.  Oh, and how comfortable it is to just sit on the bike with the dropper all the way down, and take a break.  First world problems 🙂

-cls

You can do without. I took mine off  18 months ago and just rode everything without it and in a high XC position. 

On my new  Top Fuel, I went with the KS lev carbon. Its only 120 grams heavier than my rigid post. I will find that weight elsewhere and lose it on parts of the bike where it matters. At this weight difference, I am never tempted to remove it for the race.  You can loose that just by making better choices in which camel back and gear you carry (even in a race).

Where do I use it?

1. Areas with big cascading drops with hidden boulders that could cause you to case the front tire into  a speed bump and send your pelvis into the back of the seat inducing the most awkward of OTBs possible. Been there, done that.  

2.  Anything where you really air something out and are lifting the bike and rear wheel higher.  This could  Just a big J hop,  Jump, or large ledge drop that is high enough to be unrollable. 

Areas:

1. Specific Trails on GB (Its nice on Dumptruck but not required) I would say if you are honest with yourself, If you are riding the entire Greenbelt no Walking, you Definitely want a dropper. 

2. City Park - Sure is nice to have, but not required at all. 

3. Reveille - Super D

4. Brushy - Makes DD and drop features safer and less likely to  cause stupid injuries you regret. 

5. Unmentionable trails - Highly recommended if riding all features

 

 

 

[olddbrider]

I finally broke down and hopped on the dropper bandwagon a while back.  I guess I'm still getting used to it, but I find that when the riding gets technical, I often forget it's there and only realize after I'm done with the section that I should have dropped my saddle.  Maybe that will get better and more automatic with time, but as of right now I'm still at the stage where it's more of a distraction.  BTW, I'm running the e13 TRS+ seatpost.  I really like that it's completely mechanical and pretty simple (as compared to other dropper posts).  I did have to get a replacement because the head of the seatpost kept loosening, but e13 was really fantastic throughout the process.  Sent me a new post before I shipped the old one back to them and covered all the shipping. 

[notyal]

38 minutes ago, AustinBike said:

While I have it on my bike I purposely see how long I can go without using it in order to improve my skills.

This is the argument people always bring up against droppers that I find just plain wrong. Somehow you are more skilled if you don't use a dropper? I call bullshit. 

The first thing they tell you to do in coaching clinic is drop your seat. It puts you in a better position for riding anytime you are not pedalling (not just jumps and drops). Practicing riding with the seatpost full extended is like "improving" your golf swing by practicing on one foot. Practicing in a forced compromised position does not improve skill. It just makes you better at something that doesn't really have a practical application anymore. 

If you really want to improve your riding, get better at using the dropper. If you want to shed 1 lb. from the bike at the expense of push-button access to better weight distribution and rider position, ditch the dropper. Just be real about your motive. 

[throet]

9 minutes ago, notyal said:

This is the argument people always bring up against droppers that I find just plain wrong. Somehow you are more skilled if you don't use a dropper? I call bullshit. 

The first thing they tell you to do in coaching clinic is drop your seat. It puts you in a better position for riding anytime you are not pedalling (not just jumps and drops). Practicing riding with the seatpost full extended is like "improving" your golf swing by practicing on one foot. Practicing in a forced compromised position does not improve skill. It just makes you better at something that doesn't really have a practical application anymore. 

If you really want to improve your riding, get better at using the dropper. If you want to shed 1 lb. from the bike at the expense of push-button access to better weight distribution and rider position, ditch the dropper. Just be real about your motive. 

Couldn't agree more. I can't imagine trying to manual a bike with the seat at an optimal peddling height. Suppose it depends on what riding style you prefer, but I prefer fun and flicky.