![]() ![]() Should dropper travel choice be discipline specific? And BikeYoke says they’ve done the same thing for sponsored riders looking to reduce post travel to their sweet spot. Some companies like 9point8 make it easy to dial in exactly what you want, offering spacers that let riders reduce travel to customize their post to stop at the exact spot they want. And then once you get that down, figuring out how to use the remote to put the saddle where it feels most comfortable, both with infinitely adjustable droppers and those with preset drop points. But some do want less, preferring options where you can comfortably pedal from any position, even fully dropped, and that usually amounts to “around the 100mm travel range”.Īt Bikerumor we’ve certainly seen a learning curve with most dropper posts, where we’ve needed to get a feel for the unique operation of the remote from brand-to-brand. Over at 9point8, Co-founder & Design Engineer Jack Pittens tells us they generally recommend “as much travel as will fit on your bike”, with most riders over time “tweak their riding style to take advantage of the full benefits of the longest post that will fit their bike”. If you ride a saddle that already makes it easy to get your butt back to better distribute weight on super steep trails, then you might need a bit less travel than with a saddle that is harder to get behind. That also brings up the topic of travel depending on saddle shape. Especially in fast steep turns you can benefit from the extra support of your legs on the saddle, stabilizing the bike underneath you.” Like us, Sack keeps his post in the middle of its travel a lot for fast & flowy trails where he can “use the inside of thighs and the saddle to keep the bike under control. Stefan Sack, Founder & Lead Engineer of BikeYoke reminds us that “most people tend to think: Bigger is Better” but then can tend to not use the full drop very often. That’s a 135g (0.29lb) difference from their shortest to longest options in that same model alone. How much weight do you save going short? The KS LEV Integra 30.9 post weighs in at 410g with 80mm travel, and 545g with 175mm travel. So even though XC courses are getting more aggressive, weight conscious racers (like Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå & her purple hardtail there) opt for the shorter travel options. ![]() Of course weight is a factor, like Taylor says. Do you want a really high saddle position for an optimal climbing position? But just need to drop the saddle a bit for sketchy descents, like a loose gravel road? If so, a super short travel 150mm is probably your bag. While rider preference & riding style are the first stop in determining the correct travel, Rick Taylor, Director of Operations at KS Suspension, reminds us that as droppers show up on a wider range of bikes beyond trail riding “weight is a factor for XC and CX racers, so many times travel is shorter for those applications.” How should cyclists determine how much travel is correct for them?Ī lot of this comes down to why you want a dropper post in the first place. We talked with a few dropper industry engineers to get their thoughts on the matter. ![]() Which could make one wonder, “How much dropper seatpost travel do I need?” From road to gravel to ‘cross, XC, AM, enduro, and beyond there’s a wide range of riders and riding styles to look at. Nowadays, there are options ranging from less than 60mm to 200mm of travel or more. So if your bike didn’t already come with a dropper seatpost installed or if you just want to upgrade your current post, there are plenty of questions that need answering, starting with… How much travel do you need? And that means a lot of bikes could get droppers. Droppers are popping up on more & more bikes, with gravel and road versions becoming a real option – they’re not just for mountain bikes anymore. This is the first of a series of four Suspension Tech articles that will look at one of the most neglected suspension elements on the bike – the dropper seatpost. ![]()
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