Problems with Crankbrothers Highline Dropper Post

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Problems with Crankbrothers Highline Dropper Post
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flag TheAeroPath
Posted: Jul 3, 2017 at 11:39 Quote
Hey guys!

I just had a Crankbrothers Highline dropper post installed on my 2016 Specialized Camber. The techs did a pretty lazy job and I ended up having some issues with it after my first couple rides on it. I have since then, replaced the cable, and made some adjustments to try to fix the problems, yet some problems are still occurring.

I cannot get the seat post dropper to drop all of the way, for the life of me! It is extremely frustrating as I would like it to drop completely for when I am doing jump/flow trails. I'd say the lowest it goes is 100mm, but it is a 125mm dropper. I figure this may be as I have the post in on the lowest notch on the post (notch #15), and it may be putting pressure on the spiral driver and not allowing it to depress fully.

I am also having some issues with the seat to stay in position while fully extended. It seems to have a delay from when I release the remote, causing the seat to not fully extend when I sit down on it for climbs, etc. This may be due to the fact that the shop cut the cable housing far too long and it may be causing resistance on the cable or something like that.

Another issue I have been having, is when I drop the seat post I must do so quickly by hand, otherwise the seat creeps back up. I cannot just sit on the seat and release the remote, cause when I stand up it raises about 40 - 50mm. This is extremely annoying, especially during downhill section when I want it as low as it can go.

Could all of this be due to too much cable tension? When I installed the new cable, I cut it so that there was about 1mm play in the remote with the barrel fully tightened. But when I loosen the cable tension, it give too much play, and seemingly gives the post even more problems.

I think it may just be a defective dropper post, but I wanted to confirm with you guys before doing anything too drastic. Since I've had the dropper it has NEVER been able to drop the full 125mm, which i dont think is too much to ask from $400+ 125mm dropper post.

Thank you guys for any help!!
flag cmcrawfo
Posted: Jul 3, 2017 at 12:33 Quote
The seat clamp bolt should only be torqued to 7nm. If you have over torqued it, it could cause issues with the seat post performance. Re-torque to correct spec, and see if the post drops down further.

Loosen the barrel adjuster, that should help with the post creep.


But seriously... If you paid someone to install this, don't even touch the damn thing. Just wheel it right back to the front of the line. Let the people you paid sort it out.
flag brunzun
Posted: Aug 22, 2017 at 21:22 Quote
My post is approximately 2months old. I have also been having issues with post staying at spot I set it to. Drifting down and then drifting up when unweighted. Self installed and had the same cable slop issue that made me think the cable was an old rusted cable and wasn't travelling smoothly. I repositioned the grey adjuster at bottom of post towards closed and that seemed to close the internal valving and let the lever control it better. But that only lasted a couple weeks now back to creeping up and down. Tore into it on trail and could not find a position for the grey adjuster that worked. Returning post unless I can sort it out with little effort. Because new should work outta the box.
flag NCtrailRIDER
Posted: Aug 24, 2017 at 14:09 Quote
Im having problems with my Highline Dropper going up all the way. It is 4 months old and ill probably bring it in to my local shop to get checked out. I can't get it to extend all the way up to 125mm so it only goes up to about 60mm. (basically my 125mm dropper is now a 60mm dropper)
if anyone knows how to fix this problem let me know.
flag eicca
Posted: Aug 25, 2017 at 22:22 Quote
My post would act up at just 5nm torque on the bolt. Loosen the bolt as the first test. If you have further problems, use that excellent warranty.
flag christop1977
Posted: Aug 27, 2017 at 7:43 Quote
I'm having the same issue not raising all the way up. My post is 125mm I'm get 60mm out it. Any ideas?????
flag DumbBot
O+
Posted: Sep 24, 2017 at 12:15 Quote
Brauck wrote:
My post is approximately 2months old. I have also been having issues with post staying at spot I set it to. Drifting down and then drifting up when unweighted. Self installed and had the same cable slop issue that made me think the cable was an old rusted cable and wasn't travelling smoothly. I repositioned the grey adjuster at bottom of post towards closed and that seemed to close the internal valving and let the lever control it better. But that only lasted a couple weeks now back to creeping up and down. Tore into it on trail and could not find a position for the grey adjuster that worked. Returning post unless I can sort it out with little effort. Because new should work outta the box.

I'd just like to report much the same issue as this, i've been had the post since the end of April, installed it myself without much of a problem and its been working fine, im not a heavy user and have maintained the post per instructions.

Although you always had to 'unweight' the saddle a touch to get it to sit into its travel, this never bothered me...now this seems to have gotten far worse, its seems almost random whether the post will stick or creep and no amount of cable adjustment will fix the issue. I''ve read other folks with this issue as well now there's been a few out in the wild, and its seems this is going to be a warranty job.

I took a chance on these guys with this product, and I won't be doing so again.
flag Chadimac22
O+
Posted: Sep 24, 2017 at 23:08 Quote
Bummer to read all of this after buying a Highline. Mine goes up all the way but when I drop it, the seatpost immediately creeps up about 25 or 30mm after releasing the lever. Barrel adjuster is all the way in, so much so there's a bit of slack in the cable. Looks like I'll be calling Crank Bros today.

FWIW- install was done with brand new cable and housing.
flag Gosfgiants
Posted: Oct 21, 2017 at 1:36 Quote
Second ride on the dropper...first ride (10.7 km) crept up a little and down alot. After much adjusting...second ride (24.9 km) crept very little. Found that if I sat hard after dropping creep diminished quite a bit. Same as up, creeping down.
After the ride and a good washing...problems again. No idea why. Adjustwd only barrel nut. Will ride again next wknd.
Really lile the dropper, but it is my first.
Peace
flag DumbBot
O+
Posted: Oct 27, 2017 at 0:53 Quote
I should update this, after much emails I've finally got a working dropper again after the Andy@Extra the UK distributor replaced the cartridge after sending the post in.

This was despite the post being purchased from bike-discount.de and therefore warranty lay with them. I'll never buy from them again, no communication, completely ignored. Lessons learned from me, purchasing from overseas might save a few bucks initially but warranty could be a nightmare.

So thanks to Evan @ Crankbrothers and Andy@Extra UK I did get this resolved.... eventually, but ultimately the post failed after 5months which is not great, failure rate is supposedly low, we shall see.
flag Jondon88
Posted: Oct 28, 2017 at 6:01 Quote
DumbBot wrote:
I should update this, after much emails I've finally got a working dropper again after the Andy@Extra the UK distributor replaced the cartridge after sending the post in.

This was despite the post being purchased from bike-discount.de and therefore warranty lay with them. I'll never buy from them again, no communication, completely ignored. Lessons learned from me, purchasing from overseas might save a few bucks initially but warranty could be a nightmare.

So thanks to Evan @ Crankbrothers and Andy@Extra UK I did get this resolved.... eventually, but ultimately the post failed after 5months which is not great, failure rate is supposedly low, we shall see.

Hi DumBot, I'm in the UK and also bought my crankbrothers highline from bike discount de. I love the post but having the exact same issues as you and others. I've emailed bike discount de and they've responded rather quickly. However I'm reluctant to send it off and wait when i can change the catridge as it's so simple to do. I'm sure you've already given details above buy could you give me the exact details for Andy @extra so I could do the same? I take it the change in catridge has put the post back to original working state?

Cheers
flag DumbBot
O+
Posted: Nov 5, 2017 at 11:53 Quote
Sorry I didn't see this earlier, you should email

evan@crankbrothers.com

as it was him that ultimately got the UK distributor to help me, as they made it clear the warranty lay with bike discount.de and I think they did it only as a gesture of goodwill.

I should point out it still took over a month(and many, many emails) to sort out and I did have to send the whole post away (to the UK). Perhaps you may have more luck with the Germans than I did.

The new cartridge does seem to have sorted things for now, but I'm not exactly thrilled to hear of another CB Highline failing in such a similar fashion. How long will this last?
flag brunzun
Posted: Nov 12, 2017 at 7:21 Quote
I actually returned my seatpost that I mentioned earlier in these posts. Installed new post and it has worked flawlessly for 4months. Here’s to hoping it’s just a production glitch.
flag Chadimac22
O+
Posted: Nov 27, 2017 at 12:19 Quote
I was finally able to get my highline seatpost as well as my buddy's highline seatpost working properly. Below is what I did; hopefully it helps you too.

First, I think the problem stems from the return spring inside the cartridge is too soft. Therefore, any imperfection in the cable, cable housing, cable end ferrules, or the cable routing will not allow the cartridge to snap back into place and lock the post into position. When that happens, the seatpost creeps. So it's imperative that the cable is 100% flawless, free of any bends, kinks, or debris and the entire assembly is as friction free as possible. Once I achieved this, the problems were solved. A couple quick things to try...

1. Ensure that the blue spiral cartridge is properly lubed with the crank bros grease. If not, use the supplied pillow pack and lube the outside of the blue spiral cartridge. If you don't have that specific grease, you must use a low friction, ultra slippery type grease (call crank bros for spec).

2. Install using a brand new cable that is free of kinks, bends, debris, or anything else. DO NOT BEND, ACCIDENTALLY OR NOT, THE CABLE AT ANY TIME. ANY BEND IN THE CABLE WILL CAUSE YOUR SEATPOST TO CREEP BECAUSE THE SPRING IN THE CARTRIDGE IS NOT STIFF ENOUGH TO OVERCOME THE ADDED FRICTION CAUSED BY THE BEND.

3. Ensure that the vertical ridge on the outside of the cartridge is aligned to the 'lock' position on the bottom seatpost and the collar is firmly tightened.

4. Install a new cable housing. Dont' even think about using your old one. Once the cable housing is installed, take a small, round punch or even better, a round jeweler's file, and gently open up each end of the cable housing so that the cable slides smooth and free. If there's any friction or resistance when inserting the cable, repeat this step.

5. If you have a round jeweler's file, apply step 4 to your cable end ferrules. The devil is in the details so make sure the cable slides freely and smoothly through the end ferrules. Smooth the opening out with a jeweler's file or get different ones if necessary.

6. When sliding the seatpost into the frame, ensure that the cable end is firmly inside the base of the seatpost. Then as a unit, gradually push the seatpost down into the frame while gently pulling the slack through the port at the front of the bike (assuming an internally routed frame). Once you start this process, DO NOT LET THE CABLE END BE PULLED OUT OF THE BASE OF THE SEATPOST. If this happens, do not try to force it all back together. Instead, pull the whole thing out, re-seat the cable, and repeat this step. Conversely, DO NOT SHOVE THE SEATPOST INTO THE FRAME AT A RATE GREATER THAN WHAT YOU ARE PULLING THE CABLE THROUGH. If you do this, you will kink the housing and the cable. At that point, you are better off putting in a new cable and you MIGHT be able to salvage the housing.

7. Once you've made it through step 6, the last step is pretty normal... install the cable into the lever, tighten to 1nm and funciton check the seatpost. If you didn't screw anything up, then congratulations; your seatpost will work.

**Again, this seatpost is incredibly suceptible to any sort of friction or binding. If there is any imperfection in the cable, housing, or anything in between, the spring in the seatpost will not be strong enough to overcome the added friction and the seatpost will creep. Don't underestimate just how important a perfect cable and cable housing are. The Crank Bros video on YouTube focuses on cable tension as the main cause of creep. Yea, that's part of it, but the above is far more likely the cause (at least it was for me). Get the install perfect, and you're good to go.

I was ready to throw in the towel and call it quits as I underestimated just how finnicky this design is. Thankfully I was able to troubleshoot two Highline's with success but seriously... it shouldn't be this hard.
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