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I noticed that the upper versions of some recent "SUV" e-bikes (also called touring/trekking, but that denomination is misleading) are now proposed with dropper posts - to give examples: Orbea Kemen, Specialized Tero and Canyon Pathlite:ON SUV. The specs on this segment are typically MTB motors, suspension forks (100mm), wide gravel/light off-road tires (55mm+), mudguards, racks, lights and rather upright position. This segment traditionally focuses on comfort: the trend I noticed was rather to fit "parallelogram" suspension seat-posts (like Cane Creek) on higher versions, and traditional telescopic suspension seatposts for lower versions.

Dropper posts are on the other hand traditionally preferred on off-road bikes, to increase the rider's freedom of movement (and then balancing) on technical trails. But SUV bikes are not supposed to go on this kind of terrain, and the target audience of the SUV segment is usually not interested in technical trails.

What could be the reasons to prefer a dropper post on a comfort-focused e-bike?

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    Guessing - does it make a bike easier to mount and dismount for those with limited mobility ?
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Feb 15, 2023 at 8:45
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    Nice idea@Criggie, but surely a step-through frame is cheaper, more conventional, and more robust for that
    – Chris H
    Commented Feb 15, 2023 at 10:26
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    @ChrisH it was also my original thought, but for some people the transition from standing in a traffic light to sitting on the saddle is an issue (especially 50y+ persons that didn't bike earlier but restart biking because of this kind of bikes is a solution for them). Step-through frames do not address this point, a dropper does.
    – Rеnаud
    Commented Feb 15, 2023 at 10:47
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    @Renaud good point. Step-throughs don't inherently deal with this, but those with a large saddle setback do, as this allows the saddle to be set lower. I some some marketed specifically in that way a few years ago (in Intersport somewhere in France)
    – Chris H
    Commented Feb 15, 2023 at 11:44
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    (almost) every bike is better (more fun) with a dropper post
    – Paul H
    Commented Feb 16, 2023 at 22:53

6 Answers 6

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One major selling point of having a dropper post on a utility bike is that it makes handling waits at traffic lights much nicer. I’ve actually seriously considered putting one on my commuter bike for this exact reason.

One of my friends has one on his bike for this exact purpose and swears by it. Instead of needing to hop out of the saddle or try to awkwardly balance, he just drops the saddle when he stops at a light. Then, when he goes to start again, he resets it as he stands up to start pedaling again. When stopping, he’s stable almost immediately without having to move himself, and when starting it has almost no impact because he would be pedaling out of the saddle for the first few revs anyway.

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    Huh? One of the advantages of clip pedals and non-dropper post is that every traffic light becomes an excuse to show off a track stand...
    – leftaroundabout
    Commented Feb 16, 2023 at 15:14
  • Marking this answer as accepted after some first hand experience (although other answers remain perfectly relevant). Another use case, not mentioned in the answer is when you stopped while remaining in the saddle, if the saddle is high and you already have one feet on the ground, getting out of the saddle is not so obvious. A dropper offers a nice solution.
    – Rеnаud
    Commented Mar 10, 2023 at 16:45
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A lot of SUV cargo ebikes are being shared between multiple users, the dropper with thumb switch makes it easy to adjust the seat height without any tools or knowledge, no worry about tightening a qr to the correct torque for example. Making it a standard part is a lot more cost effective than a later upgrade, too.

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  • Good point. On top of that, making it standard avoids to find proper cable routing, which is a problem if done as upgrade (sometimes hard to know how cables can be routed, especially on ebikes).
    – Rеnаud
    Commented Feb 15, 2023 at 15:15
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Marketing - $50 OEM post means they can justify an extra $100 on the price and increases the bling.

Comfort - A dropper makes waiting at the lights on your seat super nice.

Utility - The bike can be made more stable as an off-road gravel bike during steeper descents.

In the end, why not.

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    A small note: on marketing, you usually need a narrative to support charging extra money. I posted the question because the manufacturers I mentioned are actually not explaining the benefit: I spotted that the "thin tube" of the seapost was too long to be a suspension post, and noticed by reading the spec sheet that it was a dropper and not a suspension post.
    – Rеnаud
    Commented Feb 15, 2023 at 15:18
  • A possible narrative is much like the auto SUV version. You can go gravel riding, you can go off-road, my bike is capable. Most people won’t or will only do it once a year but it appeals to the dreamer.
    – Warren Burton
    Commented Feb 15, 2023 at 18:40
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A SUV E-bike is not so bad on a rough terrain with its wide knobbled tires. The ground clearance is more or less same as MTB, the engine only adds few centimeters if you go over something high enough to keep the crank arms horizontally. Riding into water may not be a great idea but rain is never a problem. It can manage snow and ice with right tires.

I have done some trails on mine over paths full of large stones, trenches and roots, where standing on the pedals is often required. This is more convenient to do when the saddle is lower. I only avoid places where some swift turns are needed, or very downhill, because this bicycle is large and heavy.

The battery is great to bring you fast to the place of interest that may also be notably up. 25 km can be done at 25 km/h no problem without getting tired (the total range of the bicycle is somewhat 80 km if not going up). During this "approach" phase, the saddle can be higher.

I do not adjust my saddle when commuting to work but there is a tarmac section there and a forest road also. This road is more a gravel road, but some others nearby have large roots, so I imagine somebody doing.

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Adding to the list of answers is the new term 'SUV' indicates a marketing bent towards novice and inexperienced and utility riders. While some don;t care about performance and are happy with a low seat, many of these riders struggle with mounting a bike that has a correctly set seat height and benefit from a dropper post. Have a look as you move around town and see how many utility bikes the seat have set too low for the rider.

So while the sole reason for a dropper post for a cycling enthusiast is purely technical off road, for cyclists in general there are numerous valid reasons. Marketing in some brands have identified a market segment, and presented a bike that appeals to that segment. Purported benefits of a dropper post are an easy sell to a luddite, drawbacks can be quickly glossed over. Give they are selling to the market who buy an 'SUV' bike (No accident it is a similar name and stylized bike to SUV motor vehicles), the dropper post is a smart choice.

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    Note that the term SUV is my "interpretation" (I somehow think it "describes" this segment better than "trekking"), in the example I gave, not all SUV version have the dropper, and not all the ones called SUV have a dropper.
    – Rеnаud
    Commented Feb 15, 2023 at 20:22
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I am 6'0" but still have a hard time clearing the seat while mounting my Specialized Levo ebike. I'd love to have a dropper post on the bike like some other Specialized models. Yes I could probably find a clunkier way to get on the bike but I love the ease of one foot on the left pedal, push off and swing the right leg over the seat.

The dismount is also awkward so would also benefit from a dropper post.

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