What's a Dropper Post?

Once you try a dropper post on your mountain bike, you might wonder how you ever lived without it. It’s a replacement for a fixed seat post that allows you to raise or lower the saddle without getting off your bike, so you can always ride in the sweet spot whether you’re going uphill or down. Pro riders in races might change the height of their seat almost as often as they switch gears.

The Basics

What It Is – A dropper post, commonly shorted to dropper, allows you to adjust your saddle height on the fly. You don’t have to even stop moving. It’s activated through a remote on the handlebar or a seat post lever. The remote or lever is connected to the dropper through a mechanical cable, hydraulic hose or even electronically with a Bluetooth connection.

The Seat Post – The post itself is where the magic happens. Like a typical seat post, the length can be adjusted but instead of getting off the bike and adjusting it manually by loosening or tightening a lever on the outside, the length is adjusted inside the seat post. All droppers have a spring (usually an air spring) that pushes the seat back up, and a way to lock the position. To lower the seat post, use your weight to push it down, then lock the position.

The Remote – The remote is installed on the handlebar and used to unlock or lock the post height. Different brands have different designs. Most older designs have a lever on the top left side of the handlebar, with room for a left-hand gear shifter. Modern 1x gearing doesn’t need a left-hand gear shifter, which leaves plenty of room for a remote. You can operate it with your left thumb just like a shift lever.

Cable Routing – Dropper cables follow the same guides as gear and brake cables and go from the seat post to the handlebar. Internal routing is common on modern mountain bikes. The cables stay cleaner and are less likely to get damaged in a crash. External routing is common on more affordable droppers and for older or entry-level mountain bikes. They’re easier to set-up – just attach the cables to the frame and insert the post as normal. And they’re much easier to service regarding the dropper cable.

Benefits of a Dropper Post

Easier, Faster Climbing – The right seat height optimizes your power and efficiency. You can fine-tune the seat height depending on how steep the climb is, so you can always get maximum power.

Hitting Jumps and Drops – A lower seat gives you more room to hit jumps, fly over drops, and clear obstacles. You have more room to absorb impacts as you land.

Better Cornering – You can adjust the height of your center of gravity for better cornering.

Take breaks when you need it – If you’re feeling the burn after standing on the pedals for a long time, just raise the dropper post up and take it easy for a while.

Better for Your Body – If you’ve been climbing with a saddle that’s too low so that you can handle the downhill sections, your knees and back might thank you for getting a dropper post.

More Fun – The better your performance, the more you’ll enjoy your ride.

How to Use a Dropper Seat Post

Climbing – Raise your seat when you’re climbing.

Obstacles, Jumps and Tricks – Drop the seat post all the way down and ride standing on the pedals. This makes it super easy to center your weight over your back wheel, and gives you maximum room to flex your knees and absorb the impact from drops.

Flat or easy trail sections – Give your legs a break from standing on the pedals and raise the seat.

Braking – For hard breaking on the steeps, drop the seat, sit back to put your weight over the back wheel, and brake hard on the rear. That way you don’t ever have put yourself behind the seatpost in an air sit.

Buy a Dropper Post at Airpark Bike Co

Get your very own dropper post at Airpark Bike Co.