Adding Internal Dropper Post

If I were you I would just get an external one. I agree with that they can look sloppy, but if you get one that connects at the base as oppose to the seat it looks better. The reason I say this is if for some reason it all goes to hell and you develop a crack or something, your warranty will definitely have been voided, and you would have wasted your frame all for the sake of making it look less sloppy. I would put my creativity towards finding a way to make the cable look clean with the frame.

Personally I have my external going under the down tube then up the seat tube using my water bottle holder for to tie the cable. It looks pretty clean in my opinion.

I've had friends do this back in the day with brand new aluminum bikes. Be aware it might kill the resale value of your bike, but generally thats a pretty strong area of the frame. The linkage parts i dunno about.

Having said all that, i would personally just run the external one if your only motivation is to make your bike look "better".

I would get a Ks Lev if you want something that looks better but is external cable routed. That idea looks sketchy.

mfoga wrote:

I would get a Ks Lev if you want something that looks better but is external cable routed. That idea looks sketchy.

@mfoga, @westeegarden
Interesting. I didn’t realize they made droppers that connected at the base like that. I pretty much see internals, and a few sloppy externals running up to beneath the seat. I like this idea better, but $300 is a bit steep! Are there less expensive variants that you guys know of?

I found a KS Lev for right around $200. Potential crisis averted on the frame drilling haha thanks for all the input guys.

I also came across a thread where someone did the exact same thing with the drilling, just for any curious minds out there

I don't know if you've already bought the KS, but PNW components makes a sub $200 one that connects at the base

westeegarden wrote:

I don't know if you've already bought the KS, but PNW components makes a sub $200 one that connects at the base

Yessirrr, it arrived yesterday and I installed it. It ended up being $190, which wasn’t too bad. I rode around with a buddy yesterday and was surprised at how much I was using it lol

westeegarden wrote:

I don't know if you've already bought the KS, but PNW components makes a sub $200 one that connects at the base

Kelz87 wrote:

Yessirrr, it arrived yesterday and I installed it. It ended up being $190, which wasn’t too bad. I rode around with a buddy yesterday and was surprised at how much I was using it lol

Glad to hear. Tell my friends that. I try to convince them that a dropper will transform their ride, but they won't have it. Until I take them down the rowdiest trails in the area, that is, then they see that the near OTB situations might actually be avoidable via a post that "just goes up and down".

westeegarden wrote:

Glad to hear. Tell my friends that. I try to convince them that a dropper will transform their ride, but they won't have it. Until I take them down the rowdiest trails in the area, that is, then they see that the near OTB situations might actually be avoidable via a post that "just goes up and down".

Why wouldn’t they want a dropper post? Weight, money? I used to never adjust my seat so I didn’t know if I’d get a lot of use out of mine. When the option is on-the-fly at your fingertip tho, it’s really convenient. Probably gonna try some actual trails this weekend and see if I think about it while riding lol

Kelz87 wrote:

Why wouldn’t they want a dropper post? Weight, money? I used to never adjust my seat so I didn’t know if I’d get a lot of use out of mine. When the option is on-the-fly at your fingertip tho, it’s really convenient. Probably gonna try some actual trails this weekend and see if I think about it while riding lol

Being, er, “more experienced” (Old), I had ridden all my life with fixed seat position.
A new bike came with a dropper. “Put it down for jumps/stunts” so I tried it a few times. Hated it - couldn’t feel the seat for “security”. Used the dropper - every time I came to a halt. Never used it for riding.

Always trying to improve - I paid for some coaching.
I was shown that putting the seat down, and assuming a new position on the bike, (One that would be impossible with the seat up) had big advantages.

I now use the dropper at about the same frequency as the gear levers - everytime I stand up, and I stand up a lot!

westeegarden wrote:

Glad to hear. Tell my friends that. I try to convince them that a dropper will transform their ride, but they won't have it. Until I take them down the rowdiest trails in the area, that is, then they see that the near OTB situations might actually be avoidable via a post that "just goes up and down".

Kelz87 wrote:

Why wouldn’t they want a dropper post? Weight, money? I used to never adjust my seat so I didn’t know if I’d get a lot of use out of mine. When the option is on-the-fly at your fingertip tho, it’s really convenient. Probably gonna try some actual trails this weekend and see if I think about it while riding lol

skypig wrote:

Being, er, “more experienced” (Old), I had ridden all my life with fixed seat position.
A new bike came with a dropper. “Put it down for jumps/stunts” so I tried it a few times. Hated it - couldn’t feel the seat for “security”. Used the dropper - every time I came to a halt. Never used it for riding.

Always trying to improve - I paid for some coaching.
I was shown that putting the seat down, and assuming a new position on the bike, (One that would be impossible with the seat up) had big advantages.

I now use the dropper at about the same frequency as the gear levers - everytime I stand up, and I stand up a lot!

Well I didn’t think I’d use mine much since I’ve always ridden a Large frame at 5’9”. My seat has always been pretty low in relation to the bigger frame for that reason. But it does make a difference, even a few inches!

I practiced in the park with a buddy this evening and played with the seat height. Just raising or lowering it an inch or two seemed to change the balance point, especially doing wheelies. Side note-my friend tried to wheelie with the seat up higher and snagged his men when he went too far back lol

Kelz87 wrote:

Yessirrr, it arrived yesterday and I installed it. It ended up being $190, which wasn’t too bad. I rode around with a buddy yesterday and was surprised at how much I was using it lol

westeegarden wrote:

Glad to hear. Tell my friends that. I try to convince them that a dropper will transform their ride, but they won't have it. Until I take them down the rowdiest trails in the area, that is, then they see that the near OTB situations might actually be avoidable via a post that "just goes up and down".

Kelz87 wrote:

Why wouldn’t they want a dropper post? Weight, money? I used to never adjust my seat so I didn’t know if I’d get a lot of use out of mine. When the option is on-the-fly at your fingertip tho, it’s really convenient. Probably gonna try some actual trails this weekend and see if I think about it while riding lol

I think they think it's not worth the $200 or so to get one. We are all in high school, so we don't make a lot of money (especially now), and I guess they'd rather spend their money on something else, as I think some of them aren't quite as into biking as I am. 95% of the money I spend goes to my bike. I also think they find a dropper more of a luxury as oppose to a necessity (how I see it). I'll continue to tell them it was the second best $200 I've spent (buying a very lightly used $500 BMX bike for $170 was the best $200 I've spent).