Dropper Post and Seat Bag?

[pcoady]

I've starting riding with drop seatpost and don't ever want to go back. Its really great with weight on your backpack for getting center of gravity low on descents and corners Anyone know a good option for rear gear carry? I don't think the standard revelate style seat bag is going to work.

I'd like something light I can race with (I know, the already added 1/2 pound).

Thanks a lot, pat

[RossC]

For something independent of the seatpost, perhaps something like this?: http://www.freeload.co.nz/store/0/3/Sport-rack

[DoctorRad]

Ah yes, dropper posts... the one-pound solution to the four-ounce problem solved by the Hite-Rite in the late 1980s?

[AZTtripper]

Pat

Not knocking the dropper post in general. I think they are a great idea for all mountain bikes. But for bikepacking I don't see it paying off. Especially if you are racing where grams add up. Seems like you would have to use some kind of rack system like wizard says and that adds weight as well. Might be possible to have a bag custom made there was one on a recent post made for a thudbuster.

Best of Luck
Tim

[pcoady]

Pat

Not knocking the dropper post in general. I think they are a great idea for all mountain bikes. But for bikepacking I don't see it paying off. Especially if you are racing where grams add up. Seems like you would have to use some kind of rack system like wizard says and that adds weight as well. Might be possible to have a bag custom made there was one on a recent post made for a thudbuster.

Best of Luck
Tim

Yeah, you're probably right. Nice to have for 5% of the ride, at least an extra 1.5 pounds for the other 95%.

[Eric]

yeah the Dropper post does not let you mount to the post like usual, which is the main attachment for seat bags. You might find that one of the brands that use more of a rigid plastic mount to the the saddle rails will work since they will be less dependent on attaching to the post itself. But a single, on the rails mounting point will not let you load it up too far off the back.

[dream4est]

I have used one since 2007 in singletrack bikepack races. They rule. 12oz. penalty over Thomson Masterpiece. I can even get a decent sized bag, a FS bike and a 5" dropper post to work together. YMMV. By decent sized bag I do not mean anything bigger than large day bags- not custom stuff. Custom bags would work with a hardtail though. For the FS bike I use a Novara bag from REI, the biggest one, and attach a small stuff sack (like the one sold with a 3.5oz Adventure Medical Bivy) to the back of it.

Does it help with descending? Yes. Does it help with leg fatigue after 3-4 days? Yes. Do I notice the 12oz penalty? No. It is not rotating weight.

Think of it this way too if weight issues are bugging you. A custom seatbag is about 6oz heavier my seat bag/stuff sack combo. You wont get a sleeping bag in my setup, but that is the trade off.

I used mine in AZT and CTR, but would not for TD, as anything with mostly roads would not see a benefit at all (I went Thomson for the Grand Loop after using a dropper post the first time because it made no sense).

edit- I only mount the Novara Seat Bag  to the rails and add a zip tie for security. It works well. The Novara has a nice 2-piece clip-in setup like a binding. I just zip-tie all that together in case of accidental rotation.

http://www.rei.com/product/780453/novara-expanding-wedge-seat-bag

[pcoady]

Hmm - on a 1 hour climb 2 lbs might slow you by 1 minute. But, on a descent like Georgia pass, I bet dropper seat post saves 3-4 minutes. Could be a wash - especially since these races aren't won or lost by minutes. Plus it would be more fun, which probably pays off over the days.

Another option:

http://www.topeak.com/products/Racks/RXBeamRackCarbon

[gregclimbs]

another option...

http://salsacycles.com/components/flip-lock/




score the high/low settings into the post and save the 1/2lb AND get to use whatever seatbag you want....

g

[AZTtripper]

Greg that's a good one funny guy.

But what he is pointing out makes sense.

Personally I would rather put more gear weight on the bike so it's off my back. That requires a bigger seat bag. If you have the clearance to lower the seat with the bag on those couple of seconds to lower it the old fashioned way won't add up that much.

On the 29r hardtail there was no room to lower the seat, on a 26r all mountain bike I can lower the seat some but not that much.

In the end there's a dozen right ways to do things figure out what works for you.

[Area54]

I've been using a Topeak MondoPack XL for a while now, quite impressed. 2L capacity. It's not the league of a Revelate seatbag, but it might suit some situations on duallies with a low seat height and a bit of travel.

http://www.topeak.com/products/Bags/mondopackxl_strap

[NT]

I have a classic (not turbo) 27.2 Gravity Dropper seatpost and have tried a few different variations before finding success with an Epic/Revelate Viscacha bag and a 4" with 1" down dropper post. The Epic bag has two velcro seat post attachments, but I only use one of them. With the bag attached, I can only use the 1" down position, but that's all I need. The 4" post is necessary for clearance for the velcro tab (tried a 3", and it wasn't enough to let me go down to the 1"). I also tried my friend's CDW seat bag- didn't work as well as it's a single seatpost attachment strap and there is a seam on the bag that catches when dropping the seat. Oh, and you need to remove the rubber boot, which I don't think is all that necessary for the occasional trip.

I haven't used this setup a ton, but it seems to work. Sometimes I have to pull the seat up to get it back up, but usually not. I like the dropper post as I like to run the seat as high as possible for my knees when pedaling, but like to have a lower seat for descents because it's so much more enjoyable (and that's the point right?). For a long trip, where I'd get more concerned with weight and I might ride more conservatively, I might consider ditching it, but I'm not sure.

[Slim]

I was going to do the same thing. Thinking of using the Revelate Pica, as it needs less exposed post. If you use an infinite adjust post like the rockShox Reverb you can probably get about 2" of drop.

[offroute]

Cool topic.

I used a Speshi Blacklight post with a Carousel bag with moderate success. I kept the velcro wrap around the post somewhat loose at the bottom to let it slide over the larger portion of the post when dropping. Dropping wasn't the issue, raising it was problematic in that it needed a helping hand.

An easy mod to the bag could render it trouble free, but I don't want to permanently alter my bag just to use a dropper. There are not many bikepacking situations I'll be encountering where a dropper is worth the weight and potential failure. Regular post and QR collar rocks for me.

Mike

[jp3d]

It all depends on your size, and your particular setup. With my 4" travel 17" frame and a CDW seat bag there is not much clearance to drop the seat. Descending with your seat at full height is not really an issue for 99.9% of typical single track. It's nice to have it out of the way, sure, but it's really not necessarily. For riding steep stuff, saddle height really doesn't matter that much: the main thing is getting your weight BACK. Getting your body an inch lower is the last 10% for super duper tech stuff that you probably wouldn't ride while bike-packing anyway. Lower saddle keeps the seat out of your way when you are shifting your weight around during hard cornering, but again for 99% of single track it doesn't matter. I think I only walked three or four short sections of the whole CTR because I didn't want to risk it, although that had more to do with riding a loaded XC bike than seat height. I rode down that part that is marked "Walk down!" perfectly fine with my seat raised