Someone has to do it, so I will.

It is definitely conventional wisdom to use a telescoping seat post for mtn biking. But here are the cons, and to me the cons out weigh the pros.

They are heavier.

The bushings wear out and the telescoping system doesn't work smoothly anymore. This can happen in one season of use. When it happens the saddle will not return to the full "up" position when climbing putting more stress on your knees an low back. IMHO, that's a huge minis since most of my cross country riding time is spent climbing, not descending.


They are freaking expensive for something that could easily not work the way it was intended after one season of use.

Keep in mind that I am not the typical rider and my opinions are certainly not mainstream. But I have ridden a soft-tail Moots over all kinds of terraine and not bothered to move the saddle a millimeter. In fact, I have out ridden Euro Pros on Roman cobble descents. You can ride well on technical terraine without a gravity dropper seat post.

Just being the devil's advocate.