Crankbrothers Appears to Have a New Carbon Highline 11 Dropper Post

Nov 26, 2021
by Ed Spratt  
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It looks like Crankbrothers will be expanding its dropper post range as we have spotted a carbon fiber offering on Valentino Rossi's brands new eMTB.

Previously Crank Brother's dropper post range featured the cheaper Highline 3 and the higher-end Highline 7, but now it looks like it will be adding a premium Highline 11 post. Looking at the spec sheet on the VR46 eMTB, the dropper post is listed as a Crankbrothers Highline 11 that it says is a "new premium dropper post, made of carbon and titanium." In Crankbrother's other product ranges, the 11 name normally means fancier materials like carbon or titanium and lower weights.

It looks like the post will use the same design as the other Highline post with some added gold accents. The biggest change comes with the stanchion that looks to be carbon fiber. The VR46 spec sheet claims the post weighs 490 grams for 170mm of drop and a diameter of 31.6mm. Comparing this to a Highline 7 post in the same height and diameter, this is a 114 grams drop from the 7's weight of 604 grams.

For a comparison to some other lightweight full size droppers, the BikeYoke Divine is a claimed 550g and the Vecnum Nivo is 473g, but it's still unclear what the Highline 11's weight includes.

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While the new dropper post looks very similar to the Highline 7, it apparently uses titanium bolts and a carbon fiber stanchion.

We reached out to Crankbrothers for more information and they declined to comment.

PS. no review tomorrow, we don't think this is one we have in the pipeline but Kaz and the USA tech team are off for Thanksgiving so don't quote us on that.

Author Info:
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Member since Mar 16, 2017
3,021 articles

133 Comments
  • 92 2
 Carbon seatpost on a 50lb bike lol why
  • 18 0
 To save 30g obvs
  • 6 11
flag TheOriginalTwoTone (Nov 26, 2021 at 17:28) (Below Threshold)
 who rides a 50lb bike?
  • 8 1
 @TheOriginalTwoTone: the post is about an ebike with a carbon dropper post.
  • 5 1
 Bc it's 50lb silly
  • 10 0
 Because 51lb would look way worse
  • 5 1
 @jrocksdh: 46 lbs ; )
  • 3 8
flag sngltrkmnd (Nov 27, 2021 at 9:55) (Below Threshold)
 You are aware that premium products get premium spec, right?
  • 55 4
 guys.....chill......carbon seat posts have existed for decades. making it adjustable won't make it inherently less safe. lmao
  • 18 36
flag radrider (Nov 26, 2021 at 12:05) (Below Threshold)
 Just can't erase the fear of riding what is some fabric in glue.
  • 24 11
 @radrider: go look at how weak PURE aluminium is (very) and then remember that your bike frame, handlebars etc are 98-99% that, with a few other metal elements making up the last couple of percentage points.
  • 8 6
 @AyJayDoubleyou: yes, but that is before hardening processes
  • 27 42
flag radrider (Nov 26, 2021 at 15:10) (Below Threshold)
 @AyJayDoubleyou: How about go look at how strong air craft grade aluminum is and chalk it up to lack of time in school for why you don't understand why a small change in chemical structure can lead to huge changes in mechanical properties.
  • 49 5
 @radrider: I'm pretty sure that's the exact point hes making. Maybe if you weren't so dumb you'd realize they use carbon fiber on planes so your aircraft grade aluminum argument is irrelevant and your fear of carbon fiber is just ignorance.
  • 6 0
 @erbsforlife1: Ignorance is bliss though...
  • 7 10
 @AyJayDoubleyou: There are no pure metals used in any engineering construction - they are all alloys. It what gives them their desired properties. Metallurgy 101.
  • 12 1
 @neimbc: Thats literally what he is saying.
  • 1 0
 @erbsforlife1: its not like i could afford anything more than cheap amazon carbon spacers, better leave this argument
  • 2 1
 @erbsforlife1: Opps - my mistake - I meant to radrider.
  • 1 0
 @mior: Not an argument at all. I was just stating my non school educated facts.
  • 5 3
 @radrider: Not sure why you got down voted but you are absolutely right. Small changes in metallurgy yield significant results.
  • 4 2
 @bedell99: You obviously can't read either. That's what the @ayjaydoubleyou stated. So thats why @radrider is getting down voted is because he thinks he's smart because he went to school yet lacks basic understanding of the English language.
  • 2 0
 @radrider: maybe you should avoid aircraft as well?
  • 37 8
 What's the problem? Crack Brothers always put out good stuff.
  • 14 3
 Certainly seems to be true in most recent years.
  • 19 8
 The 5th time is a charm right? Joplin, Kronolog...I've lost track of how much crap they've put out to their unsuspecting customers.
  • 15 4
 @tcmtnbikr: they have literally one or two of the same employees they did from that era. The entire company has turned over.

It's unfortunate people still judge them on products that were designed and marketed by staff that haven't been around for 5 years or more. Hard to knock that reputation, but it is worth recognizing their latest generation of products are quite good. Or at least the stuff I have used is. And perhaps considering that is because the company turned a corner at a point in time....they are almost a different company...and are actually doing good things now
  • 7 5
 @privateer-wheels: trust is earned. It’ll be a few years before I’ll try a CB product again.

It’s only the last couple of years I’ve been impressed SRAM Codes (and trust they won’t catastrophically fail on the trail).
  • 5 1
 @wyorider: I've had nothing but obviously positive experiences with Crank Brothers gear over the past 4+ years, but I totally get your hesitancy. They need to offer a compelling enough product to write over their past, and I think their Highline seatposts have proven to be nothing but reliable over the past 5+ years.
  • 5 3
 They've been back on it for more than a minute..droppers; pedals; wheels..killing it
  • 3 2
 Haha.. funny to see all the very sincere and serious replies to an obvious joke post by @noapathy. Well played, sir.
  • 6 2
 @mi-bike: I don't think the 'joke' went unnoticed or over anyone's head. No offense meant, but it just wasn't funny. Might have gotten a chuckle from more people a few years back when it was a little more relevant. But, CB has some space between themselves and their old product failures - time, new staff, and a couple of generations of solid product releases will do that.

If someone has only ridden their newer stuff, I can see how this 'joke' may be lost on them. If you look at the last 5 years give or take, the OPs statement is pretty factually accurate.
  • 3 4
 I was only halfway joking. They've obviously improved from their multiple failures of old, but this product with carbon in that location is just asking for trouble. It amounts to having a carbon tube sliding in and out of another with all kinds of grit at the dust seal to scratch it over and over to failure. Since it's black, how do we know it's just the coating that's scratched or the underlying structure? And that's just one long term potential failure model.

What I really wanna know is where exactly does one clamp a carbon bike in a workstand if the seatpost is also carbon? Say it with me...crack! Bunch of new employees, eh? Sure sounds like it to me.
  • 1 1
 @tcmtnbikr: So true, but thanks to Crankbrothers, I've given my money to KindShock and since that everything is 100% alright.
  • 1 0
 @privateer-wheels: do they tho?
  • 6 2
 @privateer-wheels: Poll Suggestion: “Top Five Most Tired Pinkbike Tropes”. Dragging Crank Brothers has to make the cut, I am sure.
  • 8 1
 @sngltrkmnd: Pretty sure it is #6:
1)many bikes look like Sessions
2) welds being sloppy and/or less nice than the average commenter could do in his/her garage
3) cheap bikes/gear being made overseas; locally made bikes/gear being too expensive
4) people not riding “real” trails (anymore/because of the internet/ because of IMBA); people who say they ride “real” trails actually being on the wrong bike for said trails
5) pros/journalists not knowing how to set up suspension/touch points correctly and therefore being all wrong in their choices/conclusions
6) crank brothers makes crap that breaks but their packaging is pretty sweet
  • 1 1
 @sngltrkmnd: If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it's still a duck. Sure, they make some good stuff and I hope I'm wrong for their and the riders' sakes, but this looks like a failure waiting to happen.
  • 2 0
 @privateer-wheels: idk, i bought a highline3 a year ago and it showed first signs of problems immediately after installation.. it had a sticky point midway travel, as if tightened too much, but i only tightened it about 3nm, althought the manual recommended 7nm.. it was also flexy AF, so much that dust wiper would ovalize and could not keep out the rain or mud.. now after a year and only a handful muddy rides it is completely broken and will go into trash.. total garbage
  • 4 0
 I'm glad you posted this. Made for a good discussion.

I've fallen victim to more than one sub-par product from the early 2000s, but I must say, in every failing case, Crankbros were there to right their wrongs with warranty and exceptional customer service. I was hesitant to give them a shot on their $2K carbon wheelset offering, but the lifetime warranty and my past experience with their phenomenal warranty claims department was enough to push me over the ledge. I don't regret the decision. The wheels are as solid as they come. Had I a need, I wouldn't hesitate scooping up one of these posts either.
  • 5 0
 @dmwbnd: The wheels are absolutely fantastic. Hard for me to comment on the posts, but I have built many of their rims and they are really really good.
  • 1 0
 @privateer-wheels: Rims are much less complex from a design standpoint, but AFAIK they're all right. I like their m19 multitool, mini air pump and flat pedals, too...proven designs that work great and even look good. This isn't any of those.
  • 2 0
 @noapathy: I think it's easy to say this now, but Crank Brothers released their tuned rims/wheel system nearly 4 years ago now, and back then rim design and durability WAS, and remains, a significant point.
  • 1 1
 @ronufoh: Everyone's missing the point, some seemingly intentionally. Rims, fine. Pedals, fine. Tools, fine. Whatever. This article - not about any of that stuff right now.

I'm not interested talking about anything but the product in THIS article. Not the weather. Not what you ate for breakfast. This dropper. That's it. Just this one thing.

Make fun of it, like it, explain why it's good, bad, whatever. We can agree or not and that's all good. Everyone can have an opinion and share ideas, maybe learn (or not).

I stated my opinion and a couple reasons why I felt the way I did. If someone can share why those aren't concerns, I'm all ears. Seriously. If I'm wrong, I'd like to know it and learn something. Smile
  • 1 1
 @noapathy: tools rust after a month. Not fine.
  • 1 0
 @GZMS: So what are you saying about the dropper? Poor materials choice, perhaps?
  • 2 0
 @noapathy: i commented about the dropper just a few comments up.. garbage. Maybe this carbon version will be an exception, but why risk it?
  • 1 0
 @GZMS: Sorry, missed that. Agreed.
  • 2 0
 @noapathy: I don't think you can look at any one new product in an isolated vacuum, as much as you may want to. We trust that the product has been engineered, manufactured, and tested sufficiently before coming to market. There is a certain level of faith that we as consumers have to hold in a brand that they have done their homework before we commit to a new product. That faith has to be built on the company's track record, and for the most part I don't think there's much disagreement that the Crank Brothers of recent have held up their end of the bargain. Remember when many thought that carbon is not the best material for rims, cranks, handlebars--and you may still not think that it is--yet here we are....
  • 2 0
 @ronufoh: Not completely isolated, of course. But don't you think we should at least question something or ask for explanations/reassurances when a company goes in a direction that doesn't seem to make sense?

As for the materials, each has strengths and weaknesses. Carbon has been shown at least reasonably suitable for some things, but much less so for others. With the items you mentioned, the carbon is only occasionally exposed to any kind of abrasion-type wear. If I look at the dust seals on my dropper, there's often grit/mud built up there even if it's cleaned after every ride that could wear through and create weaknesses faster than on traditional metal stanchions as I mentioned above. If they've found a way around this, great. I'd love to hear about it.

And then there's the crush strength issue that I also mentioned. When a mechanic goes to put it in a stand, what happens? It needs to be able to withstand those repeated forces for the lifetime of the product. I want to know that it has gone through testing for that as well

When carbon frames/rims/etc were new, I remember more than one company showing their products being tested to demonstrate to all of us that the stuff was at least up to the task. Now they're asking us to trust carbon to perform well at something new yet again...so I guess we'll see where we go from here.
  • 2 1
 @VtVolk: What, no mention of Orange bikes sounding like filing cabinets being slammed shut while bombing down the trail??? Lefty forks pulling to one side? eBikes = motorcycles? Hahahaha
  • 17 4
 RnD guy: "using carbon on the stantions is stupid, it will wear quickly"
Sales guy: "make it carbon anyway"
  • 25 5
 RnD guy #2: "actually carbon won't wear any faster, they use it in brake rotors and it performs better in longevity than cast iron"
CEO: "Rnd guy #1 you are fired"
  • 16 0
 @radrider: for some reason I have more confidence in the wear resistance of carbon embedded in ceramic than carbon embedded in glue. Good thing I'm not RnD guy #2 I guess.
  • 6 3
 @radrider: totally different application, totally different carbon material.

But if you want to do some high speed car testing with thermoset carbon rotors, I wanna see the fireball when your car careens out of control because brake rotors CAN’T BE MADE OUT PF THERMOSET CARBON
  • 5 2
 Carbon has been shown in many studies that it reduces the wear rate of its base resin by around 100 and up to as much as several thousand percent. Ceramic is used in brake calipers as the base resin for its mechanical stability under extreme heat. The shear strength and wear resistance is from the carbon. The reason for no carbon stanchions has been difficulty in machining. And not much interest.
  • 1 1
 So, should I use an organic bike clamp or a ceramic one & which will stop me faster in the wet?
  • 1 0
 @radrider: so material is added as it wears?
  • 2 0
 @boozed: Good point. Should say it improves the wear rate by a factor of around 2 up to 100+.
  • 13 0
 Oddly enough my highline post is the longest lasting post I've run.
  • 5 0
 Same here. I have had a 150 travel and now a 170 travel Highline. I do wish the return speed was a skosh faster but otherwise i have no complaints. The adjustability of the lever is primo, too.
  • 15 8
 This is going to be a roadie thing, I'm sure of it. Slap an S-works Logo on it, and the dentists will be frothing at the wallet to get their hands on this thing. Also since they banned the supertuck, riders have to descend Pantani style, which is much less safe. see you later MTBers, I am off to shave everything smooth as a dolphin, bow to stern.
  • 1 2
 I’d be down for a dropper on the drop bar bike, still wouldn’t want one as durability compromised as this will be.
  • 8 6
 Why would you put a dropper on a road bike or an S-Works logo on a Crankbrothers product.? You're so scared of something you don't understand and so hard up to make a dentist comment about something you can't afford that you aren't even making sense. There's not even a price here.
  • 5 0
 You mean Groadie
  • 1 0
 Maui season soon!
  • 6 0
 It’s already listed at universal cycles:

Carbon quill and alloy mast

Zero setback carbon head with titanium bolts; , two-bolt fore/aft/tilt adjustment etc etc

www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=108835
  • 1 10
flag Twenty6ers4life FL (Nov 26, 2021 at 20:06) (Below Threshold)
 That’s not the same post. The new one has a carbon stantion.
  • 9 1
 carbon/titanium dropper on a tank weight class eMTB
seems legit
  • 3 0
 The KS Lev Ci is a carbon post that has been around a long time. I think it's 499g for 175mm. Only issue is you have to be very accurate with your Nm on the seatpost clamp or you can compress the lower.. 5Nm or more and it gets stuck, 4.5Nm or less and it starts to slide down while riding.
  • 1 0
 That sounds like a better big "only thing"...
  • 4 0
 I believe that only has a carbon outer shell, while the stanchion on this puppy is carbon too.
  • 2 1
 @MaplePanda: It's not "too". The mast on this one is aluminum, stanchion is carbon. KS is the other way around (aluminum stanchion, carbon mast).

@locaroka 493g for a 31.6. I have two of them Smile

@plyawn Never had issues with the seatpost clamp personally and I've had this post on 3 bikes. Sometimes I use a torque wrench, sometimes I don't, but they work in all cases.

They're good posts but the seat clamp still sucks. It's been redesigned several times, and is far better than past iterations, but they really need to ditch the sandwich design and integrate the lower part with the stanchion. Too much creaking.
  • 1 0
 @bigtuna00: My seat post might slip because I'm 230 and ride like an out of control truck, It definitely sticks when it's too tight. Might be the frame I have or the way it tightens around the post. Some frames have two slots some have one. Who knows. I still like it and have no problem using at torque wrench. This is my second one, it seems to be better than the first.
  • 1 0
 @bigtuna00: I wonder why the outer shell/mast isn't carbon on this one. Seems like it would be the easier part to make.
  • 4 2
 Anyone who has seen what carbon bars do to you when they fail, will consider this and run away with balls or ovaries intacTed. This very stupid ideas to save weight. Trusting carbon has consequences.
  • 2 0
 If they made a 220mm drop I would consider riding over to Crank Brothers in the Canyon and picking one up. Tall guys need big drop and no one is making a 220. The TAM is huge. ha
  • 1 0
 I'd try just about any product for a 220 drop. I'm happy with my OneUp 210, but I still have about 3" of post sticking out of my frame wasting space.
  • 4 1
 I’ll kick it off, If this seat post was a video game it would be Splinter Cell!
  • 7 3
 Seems like a carbon stanchion would wear very quickly.
  • 11 4
 Would it?

There are carbon fibre brake rotors that function alright, and presumably there is a lot more friction and clamping force on a rotor. So why would a seatpost wear so quickly, when it's actuating on smooth bushings and rubber seals?
  • 6 6
 @privateer-wheels: Because it is made by Cranks Brothers!?

All joking aside, I agree that it can be better than aluminum if done right.
  • 5 3
 @bogey: Crank Brothers have been making pretty great product for the last number of years. The last 4-5 years at least, things have been really solid.
  • 10 2
 @privateer-wheels:

There's two things that would make me worry about this. Generally you want a very very hard, very very smooth surface (like anodised aluminium like bike bits or chromed/surface hardened steel like hydraulic cylinders) when you have an exposed shaft/rubber seal/bush arrangement. The first reason is that hard contaminants won't be able to embed/stick to the soft surface and drag through the rubber seal. The second is that the contact stress on the shaft from the bush won't deform the surface of the shaft, and it will remain low-friction.

I'm not going to judge this product, it could be engineered well and have tested fine. Maybe they've done some tricksy stuff. But my initial feelings are that it's a big concern. Carbon is so, so, such much softer than anodised aluminium that it's not even measured on the same hardness scales. You literally use entirely different tests to determine them - it's like measuring the scratch resistance of glass with one test, and then trying to determine the scratch resistance of a car tire using the same test.
  • 2 3
 @AgrAde: I get where you are coming from. And it's not the carbon that's the issue I imagine, it's the resin and finish? Definitely a less hard material than anodized aluminum as you note. But I guess when will wait and see. This is interesting regardless. Waiting to see what kind of trick stuff they might be employing!
  • 1 0
 @privateer-wheels: Yeah the resin is the soft bit.
  • 1 0
 @privateer-wheels: uh, what? Carbon rotors?
  • 4 2
 @privateer-wheels: not same material.

But hey, lemme see the crash video if you want to high speed test some thermoset carbon rotors.
  • 1 1
 @adamszymkowicz: carbon....or kevlar...graphene....carbon ceramic...whatever they are. They are out there and people have been calling them carbon rotors. I've seen a couple sets now. Saw Dangerholm with something similar on his Pubes bikes just today I think.

I don't know a lot about them admittedly, other than they exist. And perhaps are more commonly in automotive. Google carbon ceramic rotors and see.
  • 3 2
 @wyorider: no thanks! I'll pass on that one.

I realize that a carbon, or carbon-ceramic rotor is far and away different than say, a carbon frame or rim.
  • 4 2
 @privateer-wheels: it’s different material. Both have carbon in them, that’s about it.

Pretty sure carbon ceramic stanchions would weigh and cost more than anodized aluminum.
  • 1 2
 @wyorider: yes, I gathered that as well. I'm all speculation right now.

We will wait and see. Crank Bro's does have some proper good composite engineers, so I guess we will see what tricks they have pulled off here.
  • 3 1
 Well I suppose you'll know about it very quickly if it cracks. Good safety feature that.
  • 19 0
 People are still worried about carbon parts in 2021?
  • 2 2
 @radrider: You still hear about carbon bars/cranks failing time to time don't you? Now imagine that on a part which also suffers from abrasion and you can see why that could be an issue.
  • 1 0
 The worry isn't necessarily the straight cylindrical part. I wonder how they connected the part that clamps the saddle. Robotbike/Atherton works with double shear lap joints to connect a carbon tube to a metal piece. If you don't connect both inner and outer diameter, you risk delamination. If they used filament winding, maybe the kept a permanent piece of mandrel near the end to serve as inner part of the clamp and then slide the outer part on after curing. If they only glued the metal part to the outside with nothing inside, I'd be worried too.
  • 3 0
 Man, if I had endless disposable income this would be on my bike.
  • 1 0
 If you'd have that kind of income you'd get a tandem and install two of those. All for yourself.
  • 1 0
 I love carbon but wouldn't there be more friction between carbon, bushings and seals ??? I guess they’ve tested it.
  • 2 8
flag s100 (Nov 26, 2021 at 12:59) (Below Threshold)
 They didnt ‘tested it’. They designed and engineered it.
  • 1 0
 @Jvisscher:

Touché, well hopefully they calculated the (static & kinetic) frictional forces exerted between the materials... I just may do that myself for curiosity!
  • 1 0
 Cool and spooky, all at the same time..Cant imagine the drop being much more than 125mm though?
  • 2 1
 crank brothers dropper post.... bwawwaaahahhahahaha i hope it s as good as the joplin...
  • 3 2
 I dont get the irrational fear of carbon failures. I have never had an issue,
  • 1 0
 Looks like a nice dropper. Bet it works well on any bike that’s not a YT.
  • 2 0
 Love the black products on the black background. Marketing genius.
  • 2 1
 Nobody:
Crank Bros: We have a carbon stanchion dropper! What could go wrong?
  • 1 0
 Declined to comment? Declined!??!!
  • 1 0
 is it really a surprise? it was only a matter of time
  • 1 0
 What is that seat in the last pic? Looks very short.
  • 3 2
 Will it last more than a week?
  • 2 2
 Daaaaamn. CB fanbois are out and they don’t like hearing about durability issues.
  • 2 2
 Crank brothers producing a lot of good stuff, droppers are not part of that
  • 4 1
 Really? Highlines on two bikes going strong for almost 5 years. Cheap and great levers, too. No comment on their first droppers (I never owned one) but I think we can talk shit about a lot of products from 2008
  • 2 1
 I had a Highline for years with zero problems.
  • 2 1
 Fill review in 2 hours
  • 3 0
 I wish.
  • 1 0
 Lots of money money
  • 2 3
 I've you want to risk tearing a very large hole in your scrotum then crack on. I for one will still with metal.
  • 7 1
 Still living in the 90's?
  • 3 5
 @radrider: No! who would want to risk their manhood, womenhood, or whateverhood by risking riding a bloody Carbon seat post. Seriously??????
  • 3 0
 I've seen a very bad injury from a metal seatpost fail.
  • 1 7
flag MattP76 (Nov 26, 2021 at 12:44) (Below Threshold)
 @baulz: There's always one!! Crack on with the plastic seat post. And good luck to your crack!
  • 1 1
 @MattP76: I mean you have the mentality of someone in the 90's who still thinks carbon is weak and statters into sharp pieces.
  • 4 1
 @MattP76: not sure about you, but I run a huge plastic and foam cover on top of my seat post, for safety and comfort!
  • 2 5
 @radrider: It's does. Do you not watch F1 in 2021? Only have to touch each other and bits a carbon shatter off!!
  • 1 0
 @MattP76: That's the only reason I ride slower than those people. Not saying I run carbon bits but I'm sure metal parts would damage too.
  • 2 2
 Seems like stiction and wear would be an issue.
  • 1 0
 Hold the front page!
  • 1 1
 this looks very cheap
  • 1 4
 Why anyone would buy anything other than a BikeYoke is completely confusing to me.
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