Named after one of Sedona Arizona’s favorite trails, the new Crankbrothers Highline (spelled Hiline in Sedona) has a shit load of super well thought out features that address many complaints with other dropper seatposts. Droppers are a product that bring about some lively conversation here in Sedona. Local bike rentals by far outnumber bike sales and the terrain demands the use of droppers more than just about anywhere I’ve ever ridden due to the extremely undulating terrain.
Details: Crankbrothers Highline $350 – 125mm drop – 30.9 or 31.6 – 580 grams
The Highline is the easiest internally routed dropper that I’ve installed by far. Why?
- The head of the cable is inserted at the post which makes adjusting cable tension much easier. No plastic cable measurement guides needed (KS LEV) or messy hydraulic bleeding of the
- The rear bolt clamp mounting hardware is split to allow easier saddle installation without completely removing mounting hardware.
3) The remote lever is also hinged so you don’t have to take your grip and brake off to install or take off.
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]
Reliability with dropper posts is where most struggle. With little ride time aboard the Highline, we can’t commit on this yet. A comforting fact is that the post sports a 3 year warranty and the quality of design and materials seem to be at a higher level than competing dropper posts. The Trelleborg hydraulic seal (dust wiper) looks more like a shock dust wiper than the wimpy seals on many of the current dropper posts. Crankbrothers even includes grease to reapply under this dust wiper.
Riding the Highline: Out of the box post action is super smooth with absolutely no vertical or side to side play. Post return is super smooth without being too quick nor with harsh top out. Lever operation is easy on the thumb and feels totally natural since the lever is precisely where I want it under the bar and adjusted to my thumb biomechanics.
The Crankbrothers Highline initially appears much more promising than the popular Rock Shox Reverb and KS Lev droppers which I’ve had numerous failures from. I can without a doubt highly recommend this dropper post due to its great ergonomics, promising reliability with great warranty and incredibly well thought out user friendliness.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]