Lee Hill
A mountain rider should always prefer to have a bike that has a dropper seat post. It is pretty essential for a rider because these seat posts are reliable and will make the riding safe and comfortable.
A mountain rider has to overcome various obstacles while riding. When you move downhill, you don’t need to sit on your saddle and pedal your bike. That time you need your saddle to lower down so that you can get comfortable ride your bike.
Whenever a rider moves uphill, he requires his saddle at a sufficient height to pedal his bike correctly.
So, the height of the saddle matters a lot for mountain biking.
A dropper post is nothing but a replacement for your bike seat post. You can adjust your saddle without getting off your bike or stopping somewhere on the way. Now a question arrives in our mind: how does a dropper seat post work? This article discusses it in detail.
Working of Dropper Seat Post
If you are newly riding a mountain bike and heard about dropper seat posts, a natural question comes to your mind: how does a dropper seat post work?
A dropper post-working is very similar to your office chair, which has piston and lever arrangement. When you sit on your office chair and puh the lever, the chair will automatically lower your level. Now when you push the lever and try to stand, the height of the office chair will rise.
The dropper post works as an office chair. The rider uses a lever to adjust his seat post. The lever is there on the handle of the bike or the seat post. You can efficiently operate them with your thumb.
The dropper post works by the cable actuation mechanism. The cable connects the dropper post and lever. When a rider pushes the lever, it pushes the cable. As a result, the dropper post can move up or down.
Suppose a rider is sitting and pedaling his bike on off-roads. Then on the downhill, he doesn’t need to sit. So, he wants to lower the height of the saddle. He needs to push the lever at this handlebar. The seat will automatically go down. Now he can stand and do pedaling. He can comfortably ride now.
After some time, he needs his saddle to be in such a position to sit and comfortably paddle his bike. So, he has to push the lever again. The saddle will return to its original position.
Benefits of Dropper Post
The primary purpose of a dropper post is to provide a correct saddle height for climbing and descending a hill.
There are mainly two benefits of a dropper post.
- Descend faster – A dropper seat post allows a mountain bike rider to drop down a mountain quickly. Whenever a rider wants to steep downhill, if he shifts his body behind the saddle, it will be difficult for him to descend. It will even take a longer time. But, when a dropper seat post lowers the saddle, the rider can confidently drop down the hill.
- Descend safely – A mountain rider can safely get down the mountain without any problem.
Cost of a Dropper Seat Post
The cost of a dropper post ranges from $100 to $500. The cheaper dropper post is usually not durable. They don’t have good features as compared to the expensive ones. The expensive dropper seat post will last for many years as they contain materials of good quality. You will find some cool additional features in the costly dropper seat post.
Who Should Buy a Dropper Post?
If you want to ride a mountain bike once in a while, you should not invest money in the dropper seat post.
If you are a dedicated and regular mountain bike rider, you must buy a dropper seat post. It will make your journey comfortable. You can ride your mountain bike confidently. Try to invest money in a good dropper seat post.
Seat Post-Lever Versus Handlebar Remote
People mainly mount the lever for the dropper post at two positions. One is on the handlebar, and the other is on the saddle area.
The lever mounts on the handlebar, also called the handlebar remote, are pretty easy to operate. You can operate it by hand at the time of riding. But, it adds some complexity because you need to connect the dropper post and lever by hose or cable.
A lever on the seat post is a very simple design. A rider always has to go back to adjust his seat, which is very inconvenient.
Internal Versus External Cable Routing
Internally routed dropper posts are pretty good. The cables are inside the frame. So, we cannot see the wires or any cable outside the mountain bike. They are tough to maintain because you have to pull all the cables outside to work on a single wire once you face a wire.
But, the manufacturers need to involve a lot of time in setting up these internally routed dropper posts.
External routed dropper posts don’t look good as internally routed dropper posts. In external routed dropper posts, all the cables are outside the mountain bike. So, the manufactures set these posts within less time.
Wrap Up
If you are a mountain rider and heard about the dropper seat post, you search everywhere and even on the internet about how does a dropper post work? Yes, that’s an obvious question. You are curious to know its working and its cost, advantages, and types.
I hope the article answers your questions. A dropper seat post is quite beneficial for a mountain rider. It’s a unique tool that will make your cycling exciting and fun. It will boost your confidence in riding over hills. So, if you are a dedicated mountain driver, you should invest money in a good dropper seat post.
