[Closed] CrankBrothers Highline dropper - would you?

No I would not risk it.

CB shouldn't make things with moving parts.

just saying from my experience

According to this review they've sorted their issues - http://www.mbr.co.uk/reviews/seatposts/crank-brothers-highline

No personal experience though

Apologies if this comes across as argumentative but IMO MBR reviews are normally complete tosh - like the MensHealth of the bike world. First page - 29er's are rubbish for everything. Next page - 29ers are the future. Substitute '29er' with pretty much anything you like.

I'd not touch anything Crank Bros - I've had their wheels, pedals and two of their droppers and all have been utter bobbins. I rank them up there with Evil in the 'brands I wouldn't touch' list.

That review put the post through a whole 4 months use!!!!1!

CB have a lot of ground to make up. I wish my gravity Dropper fitted as it has been bombproof. Alternatives are Brand -x ascender, £115, heavy and no longterm results or a Specialized Command Post. Reverb looks too expensive for a stealth one and I am still unconvinced about their reliability.

CB stuff comes in a beautiful cardboard coffin for when you have to send it back under warranty. Only thing worse than CB stuff were some horrendously expensive Canfield Brothers flat pedals that lasted about 2 months of winter use.

CB shouldn't make things with moving parts.

I had a headset from them and the upper cup cracked! Not a moving part!

I've also had Candy pedals (which disgorged its ball bearings after a month or two) and a Joplin dropper post, whose fate really doesn't need to be elaborated upon.

I ordered one from my LBS. I waited, waited and waited. After 8 weeks. I bought a brand X. Brilliant works excellently. Only 8 rides old tho.
For £135 fitted. I am pleased. The weight isn't noticeable to me.

I have 2 of them , one of which has been hammered literally into the ground, still works

peak district mud will eventually eat the anodising and but reliability wise they have been good

spesh post failed within two months and one reverb failed out the box

so any post that runs for 4 months is an obvious PLUS ymmv on the RS and Spesh posts

its replacement leaked from day one eventually it sagged and i sold the third (replacement) one for 80 quid

from what i heard about the original CB post they would disintegrate whilst standing still

Mickmcd-that sounds promising and is keeping with a couple of longerterm reviews(about 4 months). I may be naive but I think CB have improved. The ascender is still tempting. I see there is a post on this page that confirms may bias regarding reverbs.

I'd not touch anything Crank Bros - I've had their wheels, pedals and two of their droppers and all have been utter bobbins. I rank them up there with Evil in the 'brands I wouldn't touch' list.

Shame... You're missing out on Evil! 😉

Anyway...

Was turned off to CB some years ago, had my 4th/5th/6th pair of pedals (I can't remember they all blur into one) fall apart prematurely, and as my knee problems had subsided (the reason I went to CB pedals in the first place) I switched back to Shimano.

However... My friend is the UK brand manager for CB now. Still hasn't tempted me back onto their pedals, or even to try their wheels or a few other parts, BUT... And it's a big BUT... I'm intrigued by the Highline. If it's as good as everyone is saying it is, and they've put the demons to rest from the Joplin and many other products in their range, then I want to give it a try. I've asked to be at the front of the queue for when a 150mm drop comes out, and will update in due course on here no doubt as to how I get on with it when it arrives.

CrankBrothers Highline dropper - would you?

I believe that the the stw approved phrase is "not with a ten-foot rented stunt cock"

one of which has been hammered literally into the ground

My 30 yr old multitool is still my favoured tool for long rides. They should have stuck to them!

Sound about as reliable as a reverb.

However... My friend is the UK brand manager for CB now. Still hasn't tempted me back onto their pedals, or even to try their wheels or a few other parts, BUT... And it's a big BUT... I'm intrigued by the Highline. If it's as good as everyone is saying it is,

The main thing to remember with droppers is a number fail from all brands and those people post about the failures, not many post about a few years of unbroken use.

I understand the hate (whoever came up with the Kronodog should be shot), but I've installed a couple on bikes, and taken one apart to see what's going on inside (not a lot), and they've been fine. If one should fail, it's a 5 minute job to swap the cartridge out which IIRC CB will be selling really cheap should the post be out of warranty. The price is 'good', or at least not laughable like some of the competitors. I'd be tempted if I was looking for a 125mm stealth post.

I've a couple of mates who swear by the new cb dropper.
Personally I still wouldn't touch one.

[i]why? (or are you a "newschool" user of language ?) [/i]

AltWrite.

I'd give it a go, FTR I have had bad experiences with their pedals as well, but that was a long time ago.

I was also a bit of a Avid brake hater, but in fairness the new quides that came with my Capra are miles better than the XTs on my Spectral.

Thanks for all the opinions. Those that have the post , do any of you have issues with the slow return?

No dont bother ! Mine broke after only after a few months and had to be sent back to EXTRA for repair . The main cartridge failed . It wouldnt return to full extension , I got a refund .

Brave or stupid?

Only you can decide really, but given that you're clearly aware of their reputation, plus the cheapness of the product, plus the warranty that they've felt they need to provide, d'you feel like spending your own cash on their stuff?

I would. I've had minimal issues with their stuff though!

BigR, did you get a highline?

I took the plunge. So far all good. The return is a little slow especially compared to my gravity dropper. The Singletrack review was very useful as I had to adjust the bottom to get it to work properly. Otherwise very pleased with it so far......

The speed of light is slow compared to a Gravity Dropper 🙂

How are people getting on with these? I must say I'm tempted to try one.

Thanks

I'd only seen good feedback on them but there was a post in the recent thread on here that didn't sound so promising! I'll see if I can dig it up.

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/crankbrothers-highline-dropper-seatpost-longterm-review.html
Pink bike were happy too

[url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/sonew-dropper-time ]Thread here.[/url]

bedfordrd's post near the bottom..... it's kinda put me off.
Not the issues so much (all parts have them) but the need to pay postage for something that's within warranty if it can't be done locally.

My first ever dropper was a Joplin - it died roughly every 9 months and after the last time it was repaired (which was just before the warranty ran out) I decided it was time to replace it

Current dropper is a KS i900 - it's just over 5 years old now (been used pretty much all the time on 3 different bikes) - has been very reliable overall - had to service it once in that time (it got stuck down after 3 1/2 years without a service)

Based on past experience a CB dropper would be my last choice

I have been using it for 6 months. No issues apart from the slow-ish return which you get used to. Much less wobble than my gravity dropper (not that I notice it when riding).

Any more feedback on these? Just had an email which has Reverb stealth 125mm for €150 (2017) tempted by that to be honest..

I’m on my second first one was faultless so had no hesitation putting one on the Habit but hasn’t had any riding yet, with a 3 yr warranty I’m not worried , also plenty of favourable long term reviews on internet, would certainly have it over a reverb, only other one that I had no issues with was a Thomson, but I prefer the Highline