Crank Brothers is celebrating their 20th Anniversary this year, knowing full well that the Eggbeater pedal is really started it all. The Candy and Mallet built on that. The Kronolog didn’t. The brand has certainly had their ups and downs. But in the past few years, it’s been almost all ups. Their designs have focused more on durability than design. Their functionality had focused more on function than fashion. But the products still look damn good, and they’re only getting better. And they do have new pedals, but first we’ll discuss the new travel options for the Highline dropper seatpost…
The Highline dropper post was a big reboot for them. It had 30 months of R&D, extensive lab testing, and real world testing under athletes on a global scale to ensure they didn’t repeat the Kronolog. Overall, the reaction to the post has been positive, with one caveat: the 125mm drop simply wasn’t enough. So they went bigger. And not just to 150mm. They went up to 160mm, putting it in between the two longest offerings from a few other major brands, but definitely in the longer end of the spectrum.
The new, longer post has been tested under Cedric Gracia and other top pros for many months, all without issue. There’s also a new 100mm travel option, which helps put a dropper on smaller frame sizes for shorter riders…and it’s worth mentioning that the Highline’s saddle clamp head has one of the lowest stack heights of any dropper post, so it can get lower than most any other post out there. The tech specs carry over, including Trelleborg seals, Igus bushings, and a fully replaceable drop in cartridge. Plus their nearly infinitely adjustable lever, which lets you mount it in any position, on either side, and at any angle. Connecting the two parts is a maintenance free Jagwire cable with quick connect at the base of the post.
Highline options now include 100, 125 and 160mm posts. Claimed weights (exclusive of cable housing) are 525g, 560g and 610g, price is $350 for any size.
While the XC and CX focused Eggbeaters are their most well known, their downhill pedals have been seeing podium after podium under the likes of Rachel Atherton, Greg Minaar, Danny Hart, Steve Peat, Laurie Greenland, and other top athletes. So, their latest is the all-new Mallet DH. It was tested at and podiumed three UCI World Cup races last year, and now it’s available to you.
It gets their swappable traction pads, which lets you adjust the platform under your shoes by 1mm or 2mm in height. Other updates are hard coded into the design – like a 57mm Q-factor for wide, stable footing; big chamfered edges to help it maintain forward momentum through rock strikes; and eight adjustable height pins. In addition to the pins, it has a slightly concave body and extruded ribs help keep the foot on the pedal when you’re not clipped in.
Claimed weight is 479g for the Mallet DH 3, which gets premium bearings and double deals for $179. It’ll come in red (above) and black (below).
Not shown, above that is the Mallet DH 11, which swaps in titanium wings and inner chamfer edges to bring the weight down to 445g. It also gets a little extra machining, which lets them double anodize it for a black and gold color scheme.
Retail is $350. All of their pedals, including these, come with a 5-year warranty.
