Mountain Bike Dropper posts: Common Questions and Problems

My first mountain bike, a Mongoose Alta from Dick Sporting Goods was not equipped with a dropper post. I never even thought about upgrading the Mongoose with a dropper post.

If I only knew what an impact having one would have made on my MTB rides I would have upgraded much sooner.

After getting my new Specialized Fuse Expert I started researching the common problems, questions, and maintenance needed for dropper posts to try and keep it working for a while.

This article covers all of these topics.

Common Mountain Bike Dropper Post Questions

What is a Dropper Post?

On most bikes on the market, especially in the lower price ranges, the bikes come with the standard seat post. This usually comes as a solid steel bar with a little grease for adjustment and to prevent the seat post from seizing inside the frame.

A dropper post is simply a seat post with the capability of dropping down and out of the way, but something so simple makes a major difference out on the trails.

It allows the rider to easily gain proper position behind the seat and above the rear tire when needed on technical sections of the trail.

A dropper post also allows the rider to raise the seat effortlessly back to a normal height prior to an incline section of the trail without having to stop and adjust the seat.

If you are ready and/or interested to see some pricing on tools and/or dropper posts check them out here.

How do Dropper Posts Work?

The concept is brilliant and pretty easy to work. The early designs from back in the 80’s were born from the same premise of the adjustable office chair.

The original designs required riders to take a handoff of the bar in order to lower the seat. Times have changed and so has the technology, Thank God.

Most dropper posts now run a cable from the handlebar near the grip which connects to the bottom of the dropper post. They typically also give you two options for levers, a 1x and 2x

This is accomplished either running along the bottom of the frame or via internal routing on bikes that are equipped to handle it.

There are newer options now that run wirelessly which eliminates issues with cable problems on the mechanized ones but they will impact your wallet.

When the rider approaches a technical section, a jump or drop, they simply push the lever while seated which drops the seat-post. If the rider isn’t seated then the lever won’t drop out of the way like you need it to.

Once the seat is dropped the rider can, and with much ease, position themselves over the rear tire of the bike for better maneuverability. The key her is to ensure you don’t get to far back because if your tail rubs the tire you could be in for a long day.

Once the rider is out of that section they simply elevate off of the seat and hit the trigger again which resets the seat to the original position.

This allows the rider to adjust the positioning of the seat-post for the optimal seat height throughout the ride without having to stop and pull out their multi tool.

What are the benefits of having a dropper post?

The biggest benefit of having a dropper post is the ability to get the seat out of the way on technical sections as well as descents to allow for optimal body positioning.

On traditional seat-posts, riders have long been able to accomplish this task but there can be complications of performing the maneuver. There were a number of times I injured myself either on the motion to get behind the seat as well as coming back to the normal riding position.

I will tell you that this is by far one of the best upgrades you can do for your bike and I don’t think I will own another mountain bike without one. Hell, they now have droppers for gravel and road bikes with added cushioning for a smoother ride while seated.

Once you make a change to running a dropper post, you will be just like me and you won’t want to go back to a standard seat post.

What are the price ranges of dropper posts?

There is a wide price range on droppers. I completed research for my post on ## of dropper posts article. In that article I found dropper post for as little as $94 all the way up to the wireless AXS dropper at a whopping $800.

Check out our article Complete buyers guide to Dropper posts with 25 examples to see the wide range of pricing.

Why do some bikes have dropper posts while others do not?

In order for bike manufactures to have various options covering various price ranges for riders of all types they blend together different component packages. On a lower-end bike, you will be hard-pressed to find one with a dropper.

When researching your next bike, be sure to keep an eye on the components. You may stumble across bikes that are practically identical but one has a dropper and the other one doesn’t.

After taking a closer look, the bike with the dropper may have other lower quality/price components than the one that has doesn’t have the dropper.

If your choice of bike comes down to one with better components without a dropper post or one with a dropper and cheaper components, I would lean towards the better components package and add on a dropper later.

This is an easy add on and the pricing for quality droppers are fairly reasonable. Check out my Complete Buyers Guide to Dropper posts with ## examples.

What maintenance is needed on dropper posts?

The table below shows you what the proper maintenance schedule is for your brand of Dropper post. As you can see they are pretty similar for basic maintenance but differ in routine maintenance.

If you want to get more information, click on the link to navigate to additional documentation.

[table id=2 /]

What are the common problems with dropper posts?

The most common problem with dropper posts is the potential for the dropper post lever to break, but there are other issues which include movement in the lever, the dropper post not engaging, or the dropper post sticking when you try to engage it.

Broken Dropper Post Lever

Breakage of the dropper post lever is the most common problem and is caused by the bike falling (whether you wreck on the trails or drop the bike while not riding).

The lever is one of the weak points of the dropper post system and depending on the manufacturer may feel a bit fragile. The good news is that this does give you the opportunity to upgrade to a different lever.

The key here is to make sure that you get the proper style of lever that fits your needs. Once you find the style you can usually pick a color that either goes with your bike or makes a statement.

Check out your choices for dropper post levers at , or Nashbar.

Dropper Post Lever moves when trying to engage it

I know that I am not the only one out there that has had this happen to him, but I went for my first test ride after installing my new dropper post and I tried to engage the dropper to activate the seat and the lever just moved.

I tightened the bolt for the lever and it worked so out on the trail I went. About half way through the trail it happened again. Frustrated, I finished the ride as if I was on a standard seat post.

The problem was simply that I had placed the clamp on the handlebar backwards. This caused the lever to not align properly. Once I made the switch of the handlebar clamp, the problem went away.

Sticking Dropper Post

The next common problem is the seat won’t engage. This can be caused by several factors.

First, the cable is corroded or stuck in its housing. If you can’t get the cable to move through its housing then the seat won’t react.
Second, if you have too much torque on the seat post bracket then the seat-post won’t be able to drop due to pressure.
Third, if you have too much excess cable length to the post then the pushing of the lever or trigger won’t accomplish anything.

FIRST: If the cable is corroded or stuck in its housing you could first try to remove the cable and replace it with a new cable. They usually run around $5 at your local bike shop.

If you can’t get the cable out of your housing then you will need to replace it as well. The local bike shops in my area sell the housing for around $4 a foot. If it has been a while since replacing your housing, you may as well do it now.

If you have to replace the housing on an internally routed frame, you are going to want to get one of these tools from Amazon or It will take the headache, which can be a big one, out of re-routing the new cable.

I tried a number of tricks including taping the two cables together, using fishing line, and blindly fishing the new housing through but it was a massive pain in the saddle.

SECOND: If you look closely to the seat clamp you will probably see a torque measurement listed. Most people simply tighten the seat clamp to what feels tight enough.

If you happen to over-torque the seat clamp, it can prevent the dropper post from actually functioning properly. Depending on how tight you make it, you could permanently damage the dropper post.

In order to prevent overtightening of the seat post clamp grab a torque wrench from or JensonUSA.

Third. The last item that causes sticking droppers is excess cable. When you run the cable for the dropper post you typically do this with the dropper post out of the seat tube.

Once you feed the cable through the housing and then reset the dropper post into the seat post there is an opportunity for the housing to become unseated.

This can lead to an excess of cable which could become disengaged after some use. A simple way to prevent this from happening is by grabbing the cable near the lever and pull it taught.

In doing this, you can test if you have a solid seating by raising and lowering the dropper post prior to trimming the excess of the cable.