[DIRTJUNKIE]

Frosting on the cake.......

For lack of production of the famed GoreDuke I opted for the Crank Brothers Joplin adjustable seat post with remote. I have been eye balling the Maverick Speedball adjustable seat post for some time due to its IMO better craftsmanship than the Gravity Dropper. To my surprise Maverick has been taken over by Spot and they no longer make the Maverick adjustable seat post. But I found out that Crank Brothers bought the rights to the Maverick Speedball and worked on it for some time to make it even better. So I bought the Crank Brothers Joplin with remote and I am quite impressed so far. Nice looking design and the all-aluminum, air-sprung/oil-damped Joplin boasts three inches of hydraulic travel and is infinitely adjustable within that range. Oh and as someone else said about the Gravity Dropper being right or left mount specific with the remote. The Joplin has a joy stick that can be mounted on either side of the bars. And the frosting on the cake for me was, by coincidence some parts of it are anodized red to match my bike. I know they also offer a light blue or grey color. BTW Is there anybody else out there that has one and has any opinions on them? Check it out here
http://newflavors.bicycling.com/2008/02/crank-brothers.html

 

[turnerbikes]

coming soon

Rumor in the trenches is that a 27.2 is due this fall. I have not seen one, but I will be standing in line with my credit card when they hit. I REALLY like the idea of infinite adjustments. I rarely put my seat down, but I would like to put it down 15-20mm on the flat rocky trails and of course more down for more steep. I rode around Laguna on Sunday and put the seat down on the steep drops about 75mm, what a difference.

DT

 

[DIRTJUNKIE]

Rumor in the trenches is that a 27.2 is due this fall. I have not seen one, but I will be standing in line with my credit card when they hit. I REALLY like the idea of infinite adjustments. I rarely put my seat down, but I would like to put it down 15-20mm on the flat rocky trails and of course more down for more steep. I rode around Laguna on Sunday and put the seat down on the steep drops about 75mm, what a difference.

DT

DT, it is sweet, I haven't gotten any real time on it due to my shattered wrist. But I have rode around the streets and messed around with it. I must say it is very smooth and easy to get in the exact height that you want at a flick of a thumb. Apparently I was in luck with them making my size 31.6 first. My fear is once Aqua gets wind of this all hell is going to break loose.

 

[xjbebop]

Rumor in the trenches is that a 27.2 is due this fall. I have not seen one, but I will be standing in line with my credit card when they hit. I REALLY like the idea of infinite adjustments. I rarely put my seat down, but I would like to put it down 15-20mm on the flat rocky trails and of course more down for more steep. I rode around Laguna on Sunday and put the seat down on the steep drops about 75mm, what a difference.

DT

+1

I wouldn't need a full drop...just a bit.

I rode Laguna Sunday too! BLT around 4pm... on the SS.... :thumbsup:

 

[xjbebop]

My fear is once Aqua gets wind of this all hell is going to break loose.

He won't get one...he'd just break it, like everything else...

 

[DIRTJUNKIE]

He won't get one...he'd just break it, like everything else...

Actually he won't due to it [adjustable seat post] being the original "Crutch like device".
hence Festoon inc./GoreDuke inc.

 

[El Chingon]

Best money I've ever spent on my bike. I own a 4 inch GD, and 5,2,0 AMP. I love the 5 inch drop for the type of terrain I ride. I also use the 2 inch position quite a bit more than I thought I would. The Joplin looks like a nice product, but all I've heard is complaining about blown seals. Hopfully Crank Bros gets all the kinks worked out,.

 

[DIRTJUNKIE]

Best money I've ever spent on my bike. I own a 4 inch GD, and 5,2,0 AMP. I love the 5 inch drop for the type of terrain I ride. I also use the 2 inch position quite a bit more than I thought I would. The Joplin looks like a nice product, but all I've heard is complaining about blown seals. Hopfully Bros gets all the kinks worked out,.

Are you positive it was the CB Joplin and not the Maverick Speedball that this problem came up. I didn't think the Joplin has been out long enough for such a problem to surface. At least I hope you're mistaken.

 

[El Chingon]

Yeah sorry. It was the Maverick Speedball that was having issues.

 

[TLL]

Does the Crank Brothers version leak?

I need 4" of drop, so the Joplin (what a stoopid name) is a no go. I want an AMP, really, but I hear horror stories about CS. Sigh.

 

[cactuscorn]

cs is good, very good. prob is some need to use it a bit too often. seems theres a bug or 2 yet to be worked out to make it perfect. i still dig mine and have no plans to drop it.

 

[Playdeep]

I wouldnt bank on CB stuff not breaking. I have broken 5 of their items. Allen broke their pedals clean at the spindle, that doesnt mean the Joplin is crap. Makes me less wanting to try it though. I heard someone else was making it for them but I could be wrong.

 

[Jerk_Chicken]

Rumor in the trenches is that a 27.2 is due this fall. I have not seen one, but I will be standing in line with my credit card when they hit. I REALLY like the idea of infinite adjustments. I rarely put my seat down, but I would like to put it down 15-20mm on the flat rocky trails and of course more down for more steep. I rode around Laguna on Sunday and put the seat down on the steep drops about 75mm, what a difference.

DT

Now I'm a convert

 

[JMH]

The Joplin is rad, I like the under-seat lever so I don't have to festoon with retarded widgets.

Chuky and I both have about 3 months on ours. Hers is fine but I sent mine back once already for some TLC. No leaking but it was getting awfully stiction-y and the basic troubleshooting didn't help. CB doesn't feel comfortable giving full overhaul info for the internals, apparently there is enough to screw up that they think it does more harm than good. Bummer. I don't like owning a component that I can't work on myself, but CB were helpful and speedy with the overhaul and It's back on the bike and working great. They pointed to over-clamping the seat collar as a possible culprit.

Other than that, I prefer it to the other crutch systems I have tested. Looks way better, too.

JMH

 

[ebxtreme]

Not to pi$$ on the Joplin's parade, but I think it depends what type of terrain you ride. Personally, the 3" drop isn't enough for the "xc" trails our crew rides (and builds). Went on a ride with my wife last night. She recently got a Joplin and, yes, it's very nice to be able to drop and raise the saddle where necessary on typical rolly xc rides. The ability to adjust it to any height is pretty slick as well.

When we got to the top of a couple of fun trails (read: uber steep) and she undid her quick release and dropped the entire post down a bit. I asked "why not just drop the saddle down with the Joplin?" Her reply was that she did that as well, but it still didn't give her enough clearance for the trails we were riding that night.

My wife knows plenty about bike setup and has serious tech skillz, so I didn't question this move.....so just something to consider for folks looking at the adjustable seatposts. It certainly made me think that a 4 (or 5) inch drop would be necessary for our trails...if I were to get one.

Cheers,
EB

 

[DIRTJUNKIE]

Yeah sorry. It was the Maverick Speedball that was having issues.

Well that's what I was hoping for as you can see in the link I provided. Crank Brothers bought the rights to the technology and went through something like 21 revisions before finally settling on final production. And I would think that this issue would have been at the forefront of thing's to fix. So hopefully they got all the bugs worked out and released a superior product over what Maverick was offering. As far as the 3" drop which may not be enough for some? I would think a 4" and 5" version wouldn't be out of the question that they may be working on as we speak.

 

[Jayem]

Are you positive it was the CB Joplin and not the Maverick Speedball that this problem came up. I didn't think the Joplin has been out long enough for such a problem to surface. At least I hope you're mistaken.

What has Crank Brothers made that hasn't had a problem?

Multi-tool=rust bucket and doesn't push chain pin fully out
Pedals=snap at spindle and cages, body falls off spindle, etc
Cranks=snap in half down welding seam

 

[Jerk_Chicken]

What has Crank Brothers made that hasn't had a problem?

Multi-tool=rust bucket and doesn't push chain pin fully out
Pedals=snap at spindle and cages, body falls off spindle, etc
Cranks=snap in half down welding seam

Excellent customer service, though.

The multitool I had exhibited the same thing. Rust all over and undersized tools that would round too easily. I will never buy one of their products again.

 

[JMH]

I asked "why not just drop the saddle down with the Joplin?" Her reply was that she did that as well, but it still didn't give her enough clearance for the trails we were riding that night.

I am still required to do this occasionally. But it's nice to stop and adjust twice during a ride instead of thirty times.

Even when it's at a lower "gnar" height the height adjust is still very useful since even gnar requires the occasional pedal.

JMH

 

[006_007]

Whattabout the black mamba?

http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/rase-components-llc-launches-the-black-mamba-rapid-adjust-seatpost/