Recent inventions to make your life easier.

Each technological branch receive constant improvement and upgrade through people's creativity. Numerous inventions are probed and some get to mass production. Also some inventions were embedded into the bike world over past few years. Some of them I personally use and can't think of not having them.


Dropper seatposts - Why would you want to change the height of your seat during a ride? When you climb uphill you need to have the most efficient power transfer. When your seat is high you can straighten your legs and use all your power for pedalling. When you go downhill you don't need any pedalling power but you have to be able to balance and shift your body weight on the bike which allows for taking on obstacles more safely. Seat high up obstructs your movements. Every rider will benefit from lower positioned seat on any trail more demanding than just going down a curb. A dropper post enables you to adjust the seat on the fly - you just push a button on your handlebar and your seat goes up or down. It takes about 2 seconds to adjust your bike for the needs of a trail, something absolutely unthinkable without a dropper post.

Disc brakes - a very effective braking system which has been there for cars and motorcycles for years so why not bikes? Before disk brakes arrived into bikes there was a Cantilever system of brakes and V-brakes. Both of them required a special wheel. Two pads clamped on the rim and that slowed the bike down. Hydraulic disc brakes offer much more stopping power, are much more effective so you don't have to press the lever with all your strength. Also they are much more mud and dirt resistant. After a day out in mud and rain V-brakes lose all their stopping power, sometimes halfway down the slope. For riding in the mountains effective and reliable braking system is crucial. Brakes which clamped on the rim couldn't provide that.

http://enduro-mtb.com/en/best-dropper-seatpost-can-buy/ 
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/disc-brakes.html