Crankbrothers Highline Dropper Seatpost
(discontinued)
Where To Buy | |||
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Free shipping on orders over $50 (continental U.S. only).
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply. |
Free shipping on orders over $50 (continental U.S. only).
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply. $184.31
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Free shipping on orders over $50 (continental U.S. only).
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply. |
Free shipping on orders over $50 (continental U.S. only).
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply. $269.99
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With the less-than-stellar Joplin and Kronolog, Crankbrothers had pretty much taken themselves out of the dropper post game, so they knew they had to go back to the drawing board and get their next attempt right. The Highline is a completely new product and a full departure from the design of the previous posts, which is a good first step in the right direction. When it was first released in 2016, only a 125mm version was available, but a 160mm version joined the line-up more recently which means we can now compare it with the droppers tested previously for our big shootout feature. After many months with several versions of the new dropper on the trail, read on to find out how it stacks up.
Strengths | Weaknesses |
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Crankbrothers Highline Highlights
- Material: 7075-T6 aluminum
- Setback: Zero
- Travel options: 100mm, 125mm, 160mm
- Trelleborg sealing
- Igus LL-glide bearings and keys
- Jagwire Elite ultra-slick cable and lex-sl housing
- Self-contained hydraulic cartridge
- Internal routing only
- Quick connect mechanism for ease of cable installation
- Two-bolt quick release head for easy saddle installation
- Pivot remote lever allows optimal ergonomic placement
- Ergonomic spherical adjustment - 360° rotation / 22° tilt
- Single bolt hinge locking system
- Universal mounting system: top/bottom/left/right
- Warranty: 3 years
- Weight: 706 gram (160mm version, including remote, cable, and housing, verified)
- MSRP: $350 USD
Initial Impressions
As you would expect from Crankbrothers, the Highline showed up in a good looking box, and presented a fine appearance when removed from said box. So far nothing unusual – if it’s one thing that Crankbrothers know about, it’s design and packaging. The post is a long and sleek number, while the short and stubby remote intrigued us with a little rotating ball joint design.
The smoothness of the Highline in action is second to none, and the locking action is among the most solid we've tested so far.
Where does that leave the Highline compared to the posts we tested for last year's big dropper Face Off? The overall score will be held back a bit by weight and physical dimensions, but the post gets very close to the class leaders in terms of ergonomics and usability. The smoothness of the Highline in action is second to none, and the locking action is among the most solid we've tested so far. Only the somewhat pedestrian return speed prevents it from a scoring a perfect 10 on this aspect.
Things That Could Be Improved
As we alluded to in the previous section, the Highline’s return speed is on the slower side. It’s not slow to the point of becoming a nuisance, just something to note if you are generally a fan of a more snappy post. Related, the post could also do with a slightly more audible “thunk” to signal topping out, as it stands it can be hard to know if the post is fully extended in the heat of battle.
As for the physical dimensions, the Highline is a very long post. Whether or not that is a problem for your depends on your body’s measurements and your frame (see the Initial Impressions section for the full discussion on this topic).
Long Term Durability
There is no lack of dropper posts that work well and that are easy to use. Where the rubber hits the road for this particular component is when it comes to longevity. Crankbrothers has seemingly taken all the right steps to address this with a design that is both robust and easy to service. In fact, they are so confident in their new post that they back the cartridge with a three-year warranty (bushings and other consumable items are covered for one year). Should anything go wrong during this time, Crankbrothers will send out replacement parts directly to you if you are based in the US, while the rest of the world is typically serviced via the dealer network. We've ridden a couple of samples of the post for many months now without revealing any shortcomings so far - in fact, the post is impressively free of any kind of play. The very first 125mm post we received in 2016 had a faulty cartridge that came from the first production batch, but after replacing that we've seen no further issues with either of the posts tested, with more than 12 months on the trail in total. Crankbrothers recommends greasing the upper seals as well as the actuator mechanism regularly, but we've elected to neglect ours in the name of journalism and so far, so good. Full service including potential replacement of bushings is recommended after 450 hours, which translates to a full year of riding if you go on 3 rides of 3 hours each per week. All the maintenance is easy to do with only basic tools, thanks to the replaceable, sealed cartridge design.
What’s The Bottom Line?
While Crankbrothers has used up more than their fair share of goodwill with their previous droppers, this should not prevent us from giving credit where credit is due. The all-new Highline is smooth in action and easy to use, with a robust design that looks poised to lay any durability concerns to rest once and for all. Since it is a very long post overall, you’ll need to check that it fits your particular frame and body measurements, but if you tick that box you’ll find a lot to like about this post. We certainly did.
For more information, visit www.crankbrothers.com.
About The Reviewer
Johan Hjord - Age: 45 // Years Riding MTB: 13 // Weight: 190-pounds (86kg) // Height: 6'0" (1.84m)
Johan loves bikes, which strangely doesn’t make him any better at riding them. After many years spent practicing falling off cliffs with his snowboard, he took up mountain biking in 2005. Ever since, he’s mostly been riding bikes with too much suspension travel to cover up his many flaws as a rider. His 200-pound body weight coupled with unique skill for poor line choice and clumsy landings make him an expert on durability - if parts survive Johan, they’re pretty much okay for anybody. Johan rides flat pedals with a riding style that he describes as "none" (when in actuality he rips!). Having found most trail features to be not to his liking, Johan uses much of his spare time building his own. Johan’s other accomplishments include surviving this far and helping keep the Vital Media Machine’s stoke dial firmly on 11.
Photos by Johan Hjord
1 member reviews
Minus a few flaws, which I have detailed above, CrankBrothers made a real winner of a post. I’m extremely happy with mine. The aluminum collar is even a perfect match for my raw Canfield Balance frame.
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Post a reply to: Three years now and still going smooth
Specifications
- 47mm minimum stack height
- Internal routing
- Quick-connect mechanism for ease of cable installation
- Two-bolt quick release head for easy saddle installation
- Jagwire elite ultra-slick cable and lex-sl housing
- Self contained hydraulic cartridge
- Igus LL-glide bearing and keys
- Trelleborg seal
Remote Features:
- Pivot remote lever allows optimal ergonomic placement
- Ergonomic spherical adjustment – 360° rotation // 22° tilt
- Single bolt hinge locking system
- Universal mounting system: top / bottom / left / right
3 year warranty
Where To Buy | |||
---|---|---|---|
Free shipping on orders over $50 (continental U.S. only).
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply. |
Free shipping on orders over $50 (continental U.S. only).
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply. $184.31
|
||
Free shipping on orders over $50 (continental U.S. only).
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply. |
Free shipping on orders over $50 (continental U.S. only).
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply. $269.99
|
||
5 comments
Post a reply to: Tested: Crankbrothers Highline Dropper Post