Results: Pietermaritzburg World Cup Round 1 XCO

 Well womens XCO coverage is being played on SN1 right now... Sure wish they would show the DH instead so I could watch in HD on the big TV.

 SN normally replays the dh but at a later time, for some reason they always played it in the winter when there wasn't a hockey game on, but why not hook the computer up to the tv

 Sn1 did play the dh yesterday. I was halfway thru watching it on my I phone. Turned on the tv and started all over again. It was t live but it was playing around 10 am. Mst

 They can shred for sure. The whips some of them threw off on the first lap was nice to see. It's an honest question. I'm not saying one is better than the other, I just like to know what logic is being used to drive the decision.

 Weight mostly but also possibility of failure. I've personally witnessed multiple friends have to finish their rides with broken dropper posts.

 dropper posts are becoming very reliable, also they're in the position to have a new one each ride so should never really have problems. Gears, tyres, suspension are just as likely to be problematic

 Weight, weight, weight and more controls to concentrate about. When going race-speed and pushing on the limit it's not that easy to use a dropper. The tracks almost only consist of short climbs and decends. To much hazzle I think. Once we have 300g 75mm drop posts we will start to se more racers using them.

 Reliablilty should not be an issue for an XC rider any more than it is for an Enduro rider. I have very rarely seen a dropper post fail. In fact I have never seen it and XC is not that punishing on the bikes in comparison to enduro so it is even less likely. I dont really understand why they are not being used more either. I think they could be a huge advantage. Although I am always hugely impressed when I see someone with their saddle up absolutely ripping a dh section. A good rider will get down it almost as quick as he would with it down and i guess its an extra challenge.

 because XC riders know how to handle a bike without a crutch... and if they can manage just fine without it, why bring in the weight and liability?

 I ride with some people that I would call xc riders. im always amazed how hard and fast they hit the downhills with their seat all the way up, I guess its just what they know.

 agreed, just watch the redbull course preview for yesterday's race... some of the tech section those women were hitting on their hardtails... unreal the speed and flow they can carry.

 xc bikes with their steeper angles almost feel unbalanced with the seat down

 I'm not doubting any of their skill or fitness. The speed Nino was travelling with a flat tire and not binning it was more than impressive.

It was just an honest question - from my experience, with only 0.6lbs difference, would they not be faster overall if they could tackle tech sections and downhills quicker with the seat out the way?

and I'm not sure there is any reason to belittle other riders by calling it a crutch. Just because it happens in some other articles on here.

 It pretty much is all about weight. 0.6lb is not a lot but XC racers always looks to shave every ounce of weight as every gram adds time on climbs. Since the climbs for a given course will take longer than the decents that is where races are typically won or lost. I used to race with a dropper but as soon as I was confident enough on the downhill sections without it I went to a regular lightweight seat post. Eventually you just get used to positioning yourself to avoid the post from being a problem. I still use a dropper on my all mountain bike.

 300 grams is HUGE for an XC bike. These are the same riders who use crappy foam grips to save 30 grams and cut their tire knobs to save weight. Assuming a WC racer weighs ~155lbs and puts out 400 watts, then 300 extra grams results in a ~0.5% decrease in watts/kg, which translates into 27 seconds over an hour and a half race.

 ^ Thats some goods maths there for a pinkbike user!

 I'd always wondered this as well - cheers for the explanation.