[Tested] Chromag Seat QR

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It’s not every day that we post a review of something as simple as a quick release seatpost collar, but just like anything else on the market there are an array of options out there and we try to shine light on some of the more interesting products whenever possible.  We typically don’t use a quick release post on our day to day trail bikes but recently we found ourselves aboard 2 different bikes with 125mm dropper posts.  Out 6 foot tall, lanky tester needs just a bit more travel than that so he’s been using Chromag’s Seat QR regularly for the last few months.

Details

• Brass bushing interface that contacts the entire cam surface
• Long rounded-surface lever
• 6mm bolt
• CNC polished and hard anodized
• available in 30mm, 32mm, 35mm and 36.5mm(Trek)
• Weight: 50g
• $46

Intallation/In Use

As expected, mounting the clamp was easy.  We simply unthreaded everything, gave the internal seatpost cable some slack by turning the handlebar and after yanking the post out far enough we managed to slide the cable through the slot.  Easy.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the Chromag quick release isn’t its extra long lever, or the high quality machining, but the brass bushing.  Brass is a fairly low friction metal, and it plays nice with aluminum, thus allowing you to get a nice tight clamp without beating your hand up.

A subtle detail that might typically go unnoticed is the custom bolt.  Because of the way the brass bushing is designed, the lever itself doesn’t spin when you want to tighten things up.  The 6mm bolt is knurled on the end so you can adjust the tension really easily with your fingers.

Overall

All in all, we’re comfortable saying that this is the best quick release we’ve used on a seat collar.  The action of the lever has been smooth and flawless even after tons of use in really cruddy conditions. It is a bit pricey but it’s a piece of equipment that is really well thought out to handle constant usage with aplomb.   Prior to using the Chromag Seat QR, we were devout fans of the Salsa Flip Lock.  Compared to the Salsa, you don’t need an allen key to adjust the tension and the brass bushing makes it far easier to clamp the lever itself.  In summary, this is the first seatpost collar where function and thoughtful engineering was the priority, but neither of them soured the clean aesthetics.  It’s a great piece of kit with no compromises.

See more details from Chromag here.