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New seatpost by Crank Brothers

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,647
1,116
NORCAL is the hizzle
cable position on the non-moving part is key but since its a CB, i bet it already has play in the post
No play out of the box on the sample I was able to fondle a few days ago. Actually it seemed like even less play than a reverb, which to me has a perfectly acceptable amount of wiggle. That said, I agree that the bigger question is durability.
 

'size

Turbo Monkey
May 30, 2007
2,000
338
AZ
i'm still waiting for america to get this and hoping it works and is as durable as claimed.
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
i'm still waiting for america to get this and hoping it works and is as durable as claimed.
This is definitely the best I've seen, aesthetically and functionally. Love the minimalist approach, non-moving cable, minimal handlebar lever. It's really clean. Interested in real world feedback.
 

'size

Turbo Monkey
May 30, 2007
2,000
338
AZ
This is definitely the best I've seen, aesthetically and functionally. Love the minimalist approach, non-moving cable, minimal handlebar lever. It's really clean. Interested in real world feedback.
yep - on paper it's everything i want from a dropper post - non moving cable, set drop points, small lever. blacx claims they are working on a US distributor and plan to have one in the next month or two. they also said they will have them available direct from their webstore sometime this or next week for those in country's without distribution. i've read a few short reviews and they were all positive.

i'm interested in what thomson does as well, but i don't think it will fit what i want as well as the blacx and it's on the heavy side. http://bikethomson.com/droppost/
 
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'size

Turbo Monkey
May 30, 2007
2,000
338
AZ
Nope!

Played with this one for a week in Chile, no slop at all in the post. It's not round...
but the seal is round and the post appears to have small notches. how's that going to work for durability and contamination?

 

scottishmark

Turbo Monkey
May 20, 2002
2,121
22
Somewhere dark, cold & wet....
yep - on paper it's everything i want from a dropper post - non moving cable, set drop points, small lever. blacx claims they are working on a US distributor and plan to have one in the next month or two. they also said they will have them available direct from their webstore sometime this or next week for those in country's without distribution. i've read a few short reviews and they were all positive.
.
doesn't inspire much confidence when their apparent UK distributor hasn't got a single thing about it on their website :think:
 

dhr-racer

Monkey
Jan 24, 2007
410
0
A, A
I saw one of these on a Proto Kona Satori last year. Even though it's not round and there are notches it looked solid enough and had been in use for a bit with no leaking
 

Willy Vanilly

Monkey
Jul 27, 2003
194
0
San Jose
saw the press release about the internals. seems like a sound concept (two opposing angled lock plates that the cable pulls parallel/open). hope they did a good job with the implementation. would be cool to have another mechanical option (I have a reverb and like it but a stationary cable would be nice).
 

al-irl

Turbo Monkey
Dec 9, 2004
1,086
0
A, A
why would you bother when everyone knows CBs rep and the Reverb is so damn good. Unless its gonna be significantly cheaper than a Reverb which is highly unlikely then I cant see the point of it.
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
I think you are at this point...I have been looking into these things forever and the joplin is not on the winning end.

but to be fair this isnt a joplin.
 

scottishmark

Turbo Monkey
May 20, 2002
2,121
22
Somewhere dark, cold & wet....
am i a statistical outlier because i have a joplin post that works fine?
yes, therefore we get to ignore you ;)

why would you bother when everyone knows CBs rep and the Reverb is so damn good. Unless its gonna be significantly cheaper than a Reverb which is highly unlikely then I cant see the point of it.
I'm just not interested in having another full hydro system on the bike, no reason for it in this application imo. It's not like feel is terribly important in this instance
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,558
24,181
media blackout
I'm just not interested in having another full hydro system on the bike, no reason for it in this application imo. It's not like feel is terribly important in this instance
agreed on this aspect. Yes, I'm sure its nice, but for this application does it really provide any substantial/noticeable performance increases? Personally, I think it adds an additional layer of complexity that isn't necessary.
 

Sghost

Turbo Monkey
Jul 13, 2008
1,038
0
NY
agreed on this aspect. Yes, I'm sure its nice, but for this application does it really provide any substantial/noticeable performance increases? Personally, I think it adds an additional layer of complexity that isn't necessary.


 

the law

Monkey
Jun 25, 2002
267
0
where its at
One big downside is still their seat attachment. They really should have used the same attachment as the reverb (or thomson) seatposts.
 

marshalolson

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2006
1,770
519
why would you bother when everyone knows CBs rep and the Reverb is so damn good. Unless its gonna be significantly cheaper than a Reverb which is highly unlikely then I cant see the point of it.
can you tell me with a straight face your reverb has never had an issue?

i warrantied mine 3 times in the first 4 months i had it.


One big downside is still their seat attachment. They really should have used the same attachment as the reverb (or thomson) seatposts.
have you used their seat posts? they work very very well. no problems on my trail bike at all with it.
 

Uncle Cliffy

Turbo Monkey
Jan 28, 2008
4,490
42
Southern Oregon
can you tell me with a straight face your reverb has never had an issue?
I can.

have you used their seat posts? they work very very well. no problems on my trail bike at all with it.
I have. The Joplin clamping system is one of the worst out there. Any one I've ever worked on had customers complain about creaky seats and stripped bolts/clamps.

In all fairness, the Kronolog looks very refined. (For Crack Bros.)
 

marshalolson

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2006
1,770
519
The joplin sucked. It was designed by maverick, and liscensed by crank bros. The head of this post is totally different. It shares the same head design as the crank bro regualr seaposts. Which works without issue.
 

the law

Monkey
Jun 25, 2002
267
0
where its at
yeah, I used to have a crank brothers. The seat would creak and tended not to stay fixed in the same position. I did however, rip the push button with my shorts on a reverb once. So, while good, the reverb is not perfect either.
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,647
1,116
NORCAL is the hizzle
JK, I used to break cables on my joplin pretty regularly, which is just not an issue with the hydro line on the reverb.

I've owned gravity droppers, joplins, and reverbs. Out of those, IMO the reverb is the best so far - certainly the most consistent and wobble-free, and 5" of infinite adjustment suits me. That said, it's not perfect - the lever design isn't super compatible with shimano parts, and the hydro line can get broken pretty easily (less easily since they beefed up the fittings).

This new one looks good but like others have said, CB products have such a poor history of durability it will take quite a solid track record before I put down the coin.
 

frorider

Monkey
Jul 21, 2004
971
20
cali
skeptical poster is skeptical. crank bros has such a great track record for ****ty engineering...but this new post does appear to have some good things going for it.

like many reverb owners, i've had issues w/ my reverb. but putting aside reliability, the reverb works smoovely and well on the trail. the vid i saw on the crap bros post showed that the air damping did give it a nice smooth action that slowed down as it reached extension.

under 500 g, and $300 retail...it will sell just fine.
 

climbingbubba

Monkey
May 24, 2007
354
0
I guess I am the only one who would dislike the giant 2 inch bulge where the cable goes in. I already dislike the smaller bulges on the other adjustable seatposts since you can't get your seat all the way slammed. If I had a standard large 19" or 20" seat tube then it would make it up in the XL seat tube height.

I think the new KS LEV thats coming out looks the most promising. I am 6' and have a bike with a 17.5" seat tube. the 6" drop on the LEV with a fixed cable mounting looks awesome. I have owned 3 KS's and have had zero issues. Probably cheaper as well.
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
I guess I am the only one who would dislike the giant 2 inch bulge where the cable goes in. I already dislike the smaller bulges on the other adjustable seatposts since you can't get your seat all the way slammed. If I had a standard large 19" or 20" seat tube then it would make it up in the XL seat tube height.
If you're riding around with your seat slammed on just about any bike you need to get a smaller frame. Even road bikes now are sized with ~6" of seatpost.
 

Uncle Cliffy

Turbo Monkey
Jan 28, 2008
4,490
42
Southern Oregon
If you're riding around with your seat slammed on just about any bike you need to get a smaller frame. Even road bikes now are sized with ~6" of seatpost.
Really? What if you intend to take said trail bike dirt jumping?

If I get a smaller frame, my knees hit the handlebars. Some larger frames still run too-tall seat tubes... Go read the Distortion thread.