I know this has come up before, but wanted to rehash it a bit. Im thinking about putting a short travel, 27.2 dropper on my Checkpoint. Anyone have pros/cons or recommendations?
The biggest potential con I see is that a dropper post doesn’t have any flex compared to your current seatpost that may be designed with some flex in it. Could mean less comfort on rough gravel.
How tall are you? The taller you are, the more I think a dropper makes sense.
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Agree. Its got isospeed in the frame, so I figured that may keep it comfy. Im 5’11", 77cm seat height (center bb to top of saddle). I was leaning towards a Transfer SL, but dont like that its either up or down. That led me to the Crank Bros.
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I’m running a Pro (Shimano) drooper on my Turner Cyclosys. I love have the ability to drop the saddlebut 70mm isn’t quite enough. I’m used to 125mm on my Mtb’s & would like to go to 100mm on the Turner.
The bike has fairly relaxed geometry & is super stable. For most of what I ride, I really don’t need a dropper but for the singletrack I inevitably end up on, it’s helpful. I have an mtb style lever by the stem on the bar & this is not at all ideal. I have a different lever that is supposed to work in the drops & from the hoods but I was rushing to build the bike for an event & kind of rushed to get the bike rideable. As the year progresses, I’ll begin riding gravel more (right now it’s mtb every ride) & will take the time to set that lever up properly & maybe find a post with s but more drop.
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What are you running for a groupset?
I have Sram AXS on my gravel bike and a Reverb AXS 70mm dropper. It wasnt cheap but it’s awesome! You can tune it to have some dampening, it can be activated by the AXS levers, and it’s wireless so it can be easily installed/removed as needed.
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The new SRAM XPLR post looks great for gravel. Almost gave up on my Giant Revolt to build a new bike that would run one. Giants proprietary D post is a pain sometime.
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PNW Coast Suspension Dropper Post…the best of both worlds.
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I’ve wondered how the dropper posts with dampening feel compared to suspension seatposts like redshift sports or eesilk since the dropper posts dampening moves down straight into the seatpost I assume where the suspension posts go back and down.
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I’d argue that any dropper consists of two sliding parts and a bunch of bushings, therefore there’s gonna be some “accidental” compliance in any dropper post design.
I’ve been running a Fox Transfer SL 27.2 with a 50mm drop on my gravel bike. I love it and miss it dearly when I’m on my road bike with no dropper. The drop bar remote is the biggest thing to get used to, it took me a few rides to dial it in to be as least intrusive as possible. Now, if you’re running 1X and can use the left shifter as a dropper lever, it’s a moot point. That’s the only downside for me running a 2X drive train is that the remote blocks my preferred position in the drops, just a little. It’s not nearly enough to remove the benefits of the dropper.
What I like the dropper for, even for just road rides:
- getting on and off the bike is easier
- nice to have a secondary pedaling position for longer rides. No I don’t pedal long at all in the dropped position, but it’s nice to get in a few pedals like that in my experience.
- obviously descending and cornering become much nicer, and you can get into a nice tuck with your butt still on your saddle.
Get one!
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Probably varies by dropper design and state of maintenance. My Fox Transfer on my MTB has zero give or flex. In contrast, the carbon seatpost on my Diverge flexes visibly when loaded.
The OP has the Checkpoint with the isospeed decoupler. I took a look at my wife’s checkpoint, and I wonder if a dropper with a metal shaft will cause the isospeed to flex less 
I guess it depends what you are prioritizing for - comfort vs confidence descending.
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That may depend a bit on how much actual insertion you end up with. That amount is a result of the post length (driven largely by the drop amount) and the functional saddle height a rider needs.
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From my use of IsoSpeed on a number of bikes (including my Procaliber HT with a dropper) the IsoSpeed can still provide good results while having a dropper installed. A fair bit of the designated flex happens at the mid to lower portion of the seat tube, and is evident in the flatter shaping of some frames at least.
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Yeah , I looked at the seat tube on her checkpoint and was visualizing the 150mm Fox Transfer dropper in there. Probably not the right combination!
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LOL, might be overkill 
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You mean like the Chamois Hagar?
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I actually saw one of those in the flesh, last week in the shop. Couldn’t get a spin on it, but it looks just as odd in person as the pics.
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Thanks so much for all the replies! I’m lusting after the AXS dropper, but want infinite adjustment. My understanding is it’s either up or down- like the Transfer SL. Thoughts?
I like the infinite for lower center of gravity. Being in Florida, I see that as more usable. I’m leaning towards the Crank Bros. Light and seems to be reliable.
With respect to infinite vs discrete settings, what matters to me is the length of drop. If you are looking 100mm or less, infinite is potentially not a huge benefit.
I started my dropper life with a 125mm Specialized Command post that had 3 positions. Top, Cruiser (25mm down), and full drop (125mm). To be honest, it was about the perfect setup in that condition, at least for my riding. I could rip at full, take the Cruiser position for the mixed tech and pedaling, and full drop for the real stuff.
Now I am on infinite droppers in all cases, and they can be more annoying than helpful at times. If you want a particular mix somewhere in the middle, hitting that repeatable is tricky at best if not impossible. I’d rather mid to long posts have 4-5 set heights and be able to hit that same point each and every time I try. Not everyone is annoyed by this like I am, but I mention it because infinite settings is often stated as a key benefit and I don’t agree it is for all users.
If I ran a dropper at 70-100mm for gravel in particular, I’d want 2 or 3 heights is all (like above). Not sure there is much benefit to hitting 90mm vs 95mm vs 100mm and the like.
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I’ve been toying with the idea of selling my crit racing bike to build up a full on adventure gravel rig with mullet AXS setup, gravel suspension fork, and AXS 27.2 dropper old fashioned roadie purists around the world cringe in unison
From what I’ve seen on that dropper, it is indeed infinitely adjustable. The whole feature of adding a bit of cushion when not full extended wouldn’t exist if it was only up or down!
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Do you even have hills there?
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