@Justin Koski rides without one..he is Michigan..and faster than me....not that that say smuch but I know he does 24 hour races with a team.
Yeah but he didnt use it?
With modern geometry trail bikes I find I have to be more towards the front where back in the day in my XC bikes I had to be as far rearward as I could on the downhill tech stuff or I would risk crashing most times. Now I feel that if I do that I loose too much front wheel traction and steering control. That said I still use the dropper a lot mainly for ease and comfort.
To each their own. I've ridden with one on other bikes but if I tried to slide that past the bank at this time I'd get my ass handed to me...
We have a saying in motorcycle road cornering...eat the mirror. People think they've got their weight over and are forward leaning into the corner..until you show them a pic and they can see how far they are from eating the mirror...So many people that I ride with think that they are forward and low. Until I shoot a bit of video of them. I experienced the same when starting with my coach.
This photo of Jolanda is a great illustration of positioning on a bike.
The skills coach that I have been working with is all about getting forward. Where I love a dropper, and where it definately makes a time difference for me, is in tight turns on downhills. The bike moves so much more effortlessly under me - like making turns in a slalom course on skis - the bike move side to side - while my COM continues down the fall line.
So many people that I ride with think that they are forward and low. Until I shoot a bit of video of them. I experienced the same when starting with my coach.
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@ScottB , to me it's at least as much about cornering on downhills (think upper/lower body separation) as it is about straight line fore/aft movement.
Where I love a dropper, and where it definately makes a time difference for me, is in tight turns on downhills. The bike moves so much more effortlessly under me - like making turns in a slalom course on skis - the bike move side to side - while my COM continues down the fall line.
This is a good point although I found if I drop my post ALL the way, I loose the sensation of contact with the saddle on the inside of my leg and can't feel what the back of the bike is doing quite as well. Droppers are great for sliding off the back of the saddle and not snagging your shorts on the way back though!@ScottB , to me it's at least as much about cornering on downhills (think upper/lower body separation) as it is about straight line fore/aft movement.
If you lose the contact with the saddle on the inside of the inside leg, the bike is not leaned enough, you need to move your butt to the outside a lot more.This is a good point although I found if I drop my post ALL the way, I loose the sensation of contact with the saddle on the inside of my leg and can't feel what the back of the bike is doing quite as well. Droppers are great for sliding off the back of the saddle and not snagging your shorts on the way back though!
I get that. My point was that if I drop my post completely, the contact with my inside leg is too low for good feel, particularly in consecutive switchbacks. I just drop it part way and this works fine, especially with outside foot/bottom of pedal stroke switching. I also no longer ride the terrain I did as a younger rider with less responsibility and more nerve!If you lose the contact with the saddle on the inside of the inside leg, the bike is not leaned enough, you need to move your butt to the outside a lot more.
I get that. My point was that if I drop my post completely, the contact with my inside leg is too low for good feel, particularly in consecutive switchbacks. I just drop it part way
- wow, I get it. I really like adjusting seat height for all sorts of different trail sections. I use it as much or more than my derailleur.
I get that. My point was that if I drop my post completely, the contact with my inside leg is too low for good feel, particularly in consecutive switchbacks. I just drop it part way and this works fine, especially with outside foot/bottom of pedal stroke switching. I also no longer ride the terrain I did as a younger rider with less responsibility and more nerve!
Droppers are great for sliding off the back of the saddle and not snagging your shorts on the way back though!
I have a Reverb that's four years old or so......things to try to reduce that stiction?
Is your Reverb the 'plunger' style or 'shift paddle' style? I found the plunger style to feel hard to actuate at times when it needed to be bled