You’re ripping through your local MTB trails and you come to a steep descent. Rather than slowing down or worrying if your seat is too high up, you push a lever and seamlessly drop your seat nice and low and attack the descent with confidence.
If this sounds like you, you already get how much a dropper post can improve your mountain biking. If not, read on to find out how a dropper seat post can make your riding faster, safer and more fun.
Dropper posts: the basics
A dropper post, also known as a dropper seat post and commonly referred to as a “dropper” is a type of seat post that allows you to either raise or lower your mountain bike seat while riding, without needing to stop to make the adjustment.
How do dropper posts work?
Most dropper posts are operated by pressing a lever on your bike’s handlebars. When you press it, you can lower your mountain bike seat by using your weight to push it down, and by taking your weight off the seat, the hydraulic mechanism in the dropper post will cause it to rise up.
Reasons to use a dropper post
- No time wasted adjusting seat height
- Improved confidence on descents
- Descend more safely
- Better pedaling efficiency on climbs
- Adds versatility on variable terrain
- Improved efficiency can translate into longer, more fun rides
For mountain bikers there are many great reasons to use a dropper post, so it’s no surprise that their popularity has soared amongst riders in recent years.
First and foremost, the ability to adjust your seat height on the fly while out mountain biking, without needing to stop is a very convenient feature that stops you from wasting time while out on rides.
Different sections of trail are best suited to differing seat heights: on descents, you want to get that seat low and out of the way, and on climbs, a higher seat height makes pedaling easier and more efficient.
Most mountain bikers with regular seat posts would set them up in a more moderate setting, not too high or too low, to allow them to ride climbs and descents decently well, and its pretty rare for riders to actually stop to adjust their seat height if not using a dropper post.
The problem with this, of course, is that you will be riding with a less than optimal seat height a lot of the time.
Being able to quickly drop your seat height while approaching descents is a huge benefit you get from a dropper post. By getting the seat low and out of the way while riding downhill, your confidence will improve because you can more easily get yourself in a low attack position best suited for steep descents.
This will ultimately allow you to get through steep downhill portions of trail faster than with a regular seat post.
Beyond just improved confidence on descents, you’ll be riding more safely too. One of the worst types of mountain bike crashes that can happen to you while going downhill is being thrown over your handlebars (going OTB, over the bars).
What usually causes riders to go OTB on descents? By being too high up, which is often the result of riding with your seat too high. This isn’t a concern if you use a dropper seat post on your mountain bike because you can simply drop it down low when a steep downhill is coming up.
In allowing riders to do this, dropper posts improve rider safety.
Being able to quickly raise your seat up for a grueling climb by pressing a lever is a huge help for riders using dropper seat posts. Having the ability to raise your seat on the fly allows for seated riding on climbs, which helps you to save energy.
For those who mainly ride trails that are flatter, this may be less noticeable, but if you regularly ride trails with variable terrain including both climbs and descents, you will be thankful for the improved pedaling efficiency that will come with raising your seat before a climb.
Certain aspects of our mountain bikes can be adjusted to tailor the bike’s setup to specific types of trails, for example the suspension can be stiffened or made more plush.
A unique aspect of having a dropper seat post is how it allows you the ability to adjust your bike while riding to better suit what’s needed on your current trail. For this reason dropper posts add a whole new level of versatility to any mountain bike.
By making MTBs more versatile and more efficient (especially on climbs), you’re likely to get less tired while out riding. What does this mean? More energy to extend your rides and go even deeper into your trail system. More riding = more fun.
Related: Best Mountain Bike Upgrades
Dropper post downsides
- Extra maintenance
- Adds weight to the bike
One obvious downside to using a dropper seat post is the extra care and maintenance they require. Given there’s an added hydraulic component on the bike, there will be more maintenance required compared to a traditional seat post.
Just like suspension needs to be kept clean and serviced to keep it in good working order, so do dropper posts.
It’s a good idea to clean and lubricate your dropper post after every ride, and as a rule of thumb it should be serviced either by yourself or by your local bike shop every 6 months or so.
A typical dropper post is also a bit heavier than a normal seat post, usually weighing about 350g (or 0.8lbs) more. Because its only a small amount of extra weight, this shouldn’t be a major factor in your decision of whether or not to install a dropper post on your MTB.
Frequently asked questions
A dropper post is a type of seat post that allows the mountain biker to raise and lower the seat while riding and without needing to stop. This is usually accomplished using a hydraulic mechanism which allows riders to lower their seat by pushing the dropper post’s lever and applying their weight to it, or raising it by pushing the lever and removing weight from the seat.
Dropper posts allows mountain bikers to keep their seat at the optimum height whether that be for steep climbs, descents or anything in between.
While you don’t need a dropper post for any type of mountain biking, its a big disadvantage to not have one for many types of riding you might do.
Dropper seat posts are especially useful if you do a lot of riding that involves variable terrain, including climbing up hills and descending back down them. A dropper post will allow you to get the seat nice and high on climbs, improving your pedaling power and efficiency, while also enabling you to lower it out of the way for fast descents and allow you to get your body in the best position possible to attack the downhill sections aggressively.
Dropper seat posts often come standard on higher end mountain bikes, but if you are on more of an entry level MTB, there’s a decent chance your bike doesn’t have one. This is mostly due to the additional cost associated with a dropper post that doesn’t make sense for manufacturers to include on entry level mountain bikes.
That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t consider installing a dropper post on your entry level ride, because they can make any mountain bike more fun to ride and more versatile.
Just about any mountain biker will benefit by upgrading their ride to include a dropper seat post, because it will make any bike more versatile and better suited to whatever trails you throw at it. The more varied terrain you ride, the more you will benefit from having one on your bike.
Conclusion
So there you have it. Dropper seat posts are a relatively simple upgrade to make any mountain bike more versatile, faster, safer and more fun to ride. You’ll benefit from better climbing, better descents, and a smoother and more comfortable all around riding experience.