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SOC16: Crank Brothers Highline dropper post updated, shipping soon

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2017 crank brothers highline dropper seatpost updates and internal photos

Introduced at Eurobike last year as a completely new item rather than a tweaked Kronolog, the Crank Brothers Highline dropper post starts shipping end of April. During that time, they made a few changes to improve user friendliness, and we got a complete inside look at how it all comes together…

2017 crank brothers highline dropper seatpost updates and internal photos

The post comes apart into just four pieces, all without tools. Inside the post is a fully sealed hydraulic cartridge (silver) but you can adjust return speed by adjusting either a clocking mechanism on the bottom or keeping a little slack in the cable. Both methods simply limit the amount that the rotary valve is opened, which limits or frees up oil flow for slower or faster rebound.

2017 crank brothers highline dropper seatpost updates and internal photos

Under the top collar is a round bushing, then two Igus bushings that slide in the keyed slots inside the post:

2017 crank brothers highline dropper seatpost updates and internal photos

That prevents saddle rotation. To open it up and clean the post or lube it, you simply twist open the upper collar. Super simple.

2017 crank brothers highline dropper seatpost updates and internal photos

They added a collar (silver ring) to the bottom to secure the cable attachment point to the bottom of the post. The original design simply popped into place and used the o-ring to hold it there. Now, the collar locks it into place.

2017 crank brothers highline dropper seatpost updates and internal photos

The lever uses a ball joint mount, and everything is tightened by the single mounting bolt. Loosen it and you can rotate the ball to position the lever for best ergonomics. It works on the top, bottom, left and right equally well.

2017 crank brothers highline dropper seatpost updates and internal photos

Retail is $350 and it should be available at end of April. What hasn’t changed is the impressive 3-year warranty.

CrankBrothers.com

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Rapha
Rapha
8 years ago

4th times the charm!

pancho
pancho
8 years ago
Reply to  Rapha

hey my joplin worked, for a little while at least

mac
mac
8 years ago

Lol. The lever design is pretty clever though.

michael
michael
8 years ago

That is a big chunk of plastic this dropper post is relying on to operate.
With a three year warranty, I think they will be replacing a lot of broken pieces of plastic.

captain derp
captain derp
8 years ago

that remote looks really nice, any idea if it will be available by itself? i’m probably the only person with a Joplin that somehow hasn’t completely exploded *knocks on wood* and would like to swap out the remote.

i
i
8 years ago

“The post comes apart into just four pieces, all without tools.”

yeah, pretty much everything crank bros ever made comes apart without tools. Wheels, pedals, headsets, even multi tools and pumps simply fall apart. Now it’s a feature.

Lest anyone forget the Kronolog; very likely the worst product in the history of bikes. Crank bros is going to have to drop a zero from the price and add it to the warranty before any sane person would consider being their guina pig.

Mike D
8 years ago
Reply to  i

“Drop a zero from the price and add it to the warranty…” Hahaha, this is perfect 😀

Tyler Durden
Tyler Durden
8 years ago
Reply to  i

This post wins.

Jeff
Jeff
8 years ago

I’ll pass, the bushing system seems lacking. With only one round bushing on the top what stops the post from moving in the opposite direction of the keyed bushings? That would put those bushings in a shear mode which is not a good idea. I must be missing something… Oh and my Joplin lasted for a short while as well!

Anthony
Anthony
8 years ago

(deleted)

Dan
Dan
8 years ago

My Kronolog has been going strong for about 3 years now. Least slop/turning of any dropper I’ve used (KS and Reverb included). I never understood the hate. It seems like hating it was just the cool thing to do online (especially by people who never used one). Sort of like hating Nickelback.

TheKaiser
8 years ago
Reply to  Dan

Does yours have all of the scoring on the aluminum stantion tube from the steel binder arms digging in? That was the biggest flaw in the design from most of the descriptions I saw.

Fat Bastard
Fat Bastard
8 years ago

two words.

Crank

Brothers.

Ray0311
Ray0311
8 years ago
Reply to  Fat Bastard

I know I’ve been through 2 Reverbs since 2013 on my Scott Genius, So going to try the Crank Brothers Post, when Available, The last Reverb I had went dead sitting for a couple weeks during rain season.

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