Author Topic: ‘Powered’ seat post  (Read 2126 times)

in4

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‘Powered’ seat post
« on: March 21, 2022, 09:00:21 am »
I’m not entirely sure what I saw but a guy on a visually high-end MTB hopped back on his bike and the seat stem appeared to rise, possibly when he touched something on his bars. It rose to, I assume a chosen height. He sat down and rode off. Hydrolic ? spring?  Didn’t appear to be a suspension type post.

mickeg

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Re: ‘Powered’ seat post
« Reply #1 on: March 21, 2022, 12:12:06 pm »
I think that is what is called a dropper seatpost.  It is my understanding that mountain bike riders like them. 

And by odd coincidence, just yesterday I read that someone used one on a road bike in a pro race and won the race, that seatpost allowed him to use a lower position for a high speed descent for more aero position.

Not sure what role it would play on an e-bike, but I don't really know why mountain bikers like them either, as I am pretty particular to my exact seat elevation and do not want it to vary.

Andre Jute

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Re: ‘Powered’ seat post
« Reply #2 on: March 21, 2022, 03:16:16 pm »
My understanding of the dropper seat post, from years ago when I looked into it briefly to see if I needed or wanted one, was that it is released from full set extension by a control, say a button on the handlebars operating a cable, in the imminent approach of a possibly hurtful incident*, and drops down into the seat tube, thus making it easier to jump from the bike or at least to fall clear of it.

* Motor racers don't like the word "accident", implying as it does an avoidable error of judgement or reaction, so I presume extreme mountain bikers don't either. The use of "incident" instead implies an error by someone else or, since they could still be in good enough fettle to blame you, best of all an Act of God.

Whenever I've thought about the dropper post again, it was because the long tail of my foul-weather cycling jacket caught  under my Brooks saddle in voluntary dismounts, in which case the dropper release would still be under my thumb. But that hasn't happened often enough to inspire me to source and buy the thing.

energyman

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Re: ‘Powered’ seat post
« Reply #3 on: March 21, 2022, 03:28:52 pm »
Yet another wonderful gadget that will enhance the riding experience.

« Last Edit: March 21, 2022, 06:26:52 pm by energyman »

PH

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Re: ‘Powered’ seat post
« Reply #4 on: March 21, 2022, 11:32:55 pm »
Watch a few MTB racing videos to get an idea of their usefulness, the ability to drop the saddle out of the way gives way more options for body positioning which will radically change the way a bike handles - cornering, braking, drifting. Even before dropper posts became the norm, MTB racers didn't spend much downhill time sitting, the saddle is there for climbing and having a rest on a bit of flat. It's technical stuff, the sport has completely changed from what it was a couple of decades ago, the equipment alongside it, I had a look at the trail centre in Fort William a few years ago thinking I might have a go at one of the easier routes, I quickly changed my mind.
Some might find an alternative use - those with limited mobility may simply find it easier to mount with the saddle dropped down out of the way, nothing technical there ;)

mickeg

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Re: ‘Powered’ seat post
« Reply #5 on: March 22, 2022, 01:29:21 pm »
PH, thanks for explaining that it is a racing component.

Several years ago I did a four day mountain biking trip with nine others from my community.  We rode White Rim trail in Canyonlands in Southern Utah, USA.  That is a 4X4 road that a lot of mountain bike riders will ride with vehicle support.

I do not have a mountain bike, I bought a low budget coil spring 100mm suspension fork for my Nomad Mk II to ride.  The other nine had full suspension mountain bikes, where mine was more of a hard tail with drop bars.

The others in our group that did not own mountain bikes rented bikes for the trip.  Two of the group were pretty serious mountain bikers, the others, not so much.  I never saw anyone mess around with seatpost height, but the racers in our group did not really know how to race, they only pretended they were racers.


Andre Jute

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Re: ‘Powered’ seat post
« Reply #6 on: March 22, 2022, 05:05:37 pm »
 The future has already arrived. A dropper post isn’t just for mountain bike racing. See a road racer, forbidden from sitting on the top tube by the UCI, using a dropper post to gain aero advantage. Sent by a Dutch correspondent. Apologies for not being in the lingua universelle. But the piccies and videos tell the story:
https://nos.nl/artikel/2422142-won-mohoric-primavera-dankzij-verstelbare-zadelpen-hij-was-de-rest-te-slim-af
If you read Dutch, the very link sums up the whole story: “Mohoric won the Primavera thanks to adjustable seat pin. He was too smart for the rest.”
« Last Edit: March 22, 2022, 05:10:30 pm by Andre Jute »