Quote Originally Posted by TBird View Post
So two questions: How much/how often do you adjust your seatpost on singletrack rides? And does anyone have experience with the auto-adjustable seatposts like the Gravity Dropper or the Crank Bros. Joplin? A couple of friends have them and swear by them. My concern is that they might be finnicky or gimmicky...and they're certainly spendy. Any opinions?
There are a couple of schools of thought on this.
There is the die hard XC race school where you never change it. Some folks swear by this but I think it's silly and unsafe, unless you are a racer.

I change my seat a lot. I learned the value of it at the camps I go to that are coached by mtb world cup champs and coaches.

Fully extended is great for non technical trails with out a lot of terrain change. We mark this height on our seat posts as "climbing height".
For technical rolling terrain, I drop it some but I have to be able to climb somewhat comfortable. But, for extended climbs, saddle up, and for technical descents, saddle down. There's kind of a sweet spot for the middle place. Having good body position is important too - you need to have good body english and dynamics, not using the saddle as a prop for your technical riding or descents.

I think gravity dropper type things are way cool and wish I had one. They don't work real well with Specialized frames is problme #1, and then of course there's the cost. But if you can do it, I say go for it!!

I'm pretty biased, I 've got no qualms about putting my seat down. I think more people would have less trouble with descending and technical riding if they would just put their saddles down, and learn how to get off thier butts to ride!