Looks much better. I may do this. Protip: when drilling metal, to avoid the tip walking while it tries to bite, you can pre-punch a dent with a hammer and nail or similar to help guide the tip. You can also use a tiny drill bit to start and gradually increase the size, as a smaller bit will be easier to get started where you want it.

LOL that drill for what you are doing is HILAROUS mate. if its not satire its even better lmfao

Did a similar job on my Crave expert, but with 3 holes to go through the down tube as well. Pretty happy with the result even if it took me half day

Tighten the barrel adjuster on the lever, that will tighten the cable and make it pull the dropper with more pressure, meaning it will go up faster

Awesome stuff mate well done will defo be doing this to mine 👍

Nice utilisation of the old cable holders , i think thsts a good idea will give it a ho cheers

How is the frame holding up one year after? How much have you used it after drilling? Thanks! :)

Nice video mate see you are in Ashford I am only in Whitstable myself 😊

Now I've finally got a new bike with a dropper post I'm considering adding a dropper to my old Marin, on the plus side I've already got (two) holes in my frame where my bottle cage mounts fell out of my seat tube. I'll make sure I slant the hole I use though.

Congratulations, you've ROOTED your frame!

Great job will drill my bike soon

About time lol, nice vid bro 👍🏼

Replace the quick release seat post clamp with a non quick release, so nobody can snatch your seat post. Also use some assembly compound on the seat post so that it does not easily turn, and thus having less force on the seat tube clamp. If over tightened it can affect the post from springing up smoothly. About to do this on my Santa Cruz Blur frame, so I've watched ...well, too many clips to be prepared... more mentally really.

You can as long alloy or metal, along seat tube right near bottom, don't do it on carbon

after trying it on a recent bike I wanted a dropper seatpost..thing is manual seatposts seems to be eol (my order was cancelled and refunded) external dropper seem bad quality from reviews and all the new good quality droppers are internal wiring so...I might do this thanks

Hi there ask MTB seat tube 27.2mm for extra water bottle in hardtrail?

Nice one

I'm very much on the fence about doing this on my new Trek, only for the simple fact that it voids the lifetime frame warranty. But on the other hand the likelihood of needing warranty work is very slim. Maybe after some use I will make the decision. I 100% agree that internal routing is the way to go if youre gonna to a dropper.

You didn't need to drill out the bit on the downtube. It could have run like the cable it's now parallel to. Also, might not be a bad idea while it's still taped to spray some clear coat on the new hole to keep the paint surrounding the hole from flicking off.

Im looking into a dropper, thinking of wireless tho

Or avoiding oxidation and staining if it’s an alloy frame and not steel

Should've kept it elevated upside down to clean out swarf from. Inside the seat tube...... Otherwise great job 👍

9:00 That's what she said.

I've got the 20inch version of this bike, size frame is yours please? Also what length dropper did you put in yours please? Thanks 😊

If my frame got rivnut and make dropper (X brand) cannot adjust to the lowest but when actuator lil bit loosen dropper can get more lower. Actuator should very tight or lil bit loose is all right

my local bike shop said that my bike's frame is too small for a dropper. Any suggestion for that?

I drilled a hole and l screwed up, my lawyer will be contacting you... LMAO...😂✌️

replace that quick release seatpost collar with a non quick-release. you wont be needing those anyways.

What size is that dropper? 225mm?

You didn't add the cable barrel mate :( but good vid

How is the frame holding up with actual trail use?

Why did u angle on the drill? Does it actually fare better in terms of structural integrity?

You need to touch up the area of the frame with paint to avoid future rust problems

You still got the Vitus?

great try however it opens you up to be criticized for the lack of knowledge like when you actually drilled the hole and tried to push the cable in without the end on it. it needs to be elongated and bigger asking with a grommet man. if you're gonna do a video do it right man do others don't make the same mistakes. yeah it will work but it's not the proper way it should have been done. am i wrong? let me know. again no personal shade just generally.