Cane Creek DBair CS - First Look
Double Barrel With a Twist
We were astonished by the performance of Cane Creek's DBair shock when we tested it earlier this year on Banshee's new 160mm travel Rune, with it proving to offer a level of control and stability that puts it head and shoulders above the competition in the battle for air-sprung supremacy. The single caveat that we had boiled down to the lack of any type of pedal assist feature - some sort of lever that would firm up the shock's stroke for those long, smooth climbs - an adjustment that is offered by all of Cane Creek's adversaries, and one that makes a lot of sense when the shock is fitted to a six inch travel bike. Cane Creek's Josh Coaplen, who is VP of Engineering at the Fletcher, N.C., company, hinted a few months back that his team was indeed working on something along those lines, and we were offered exclusive early access to prototype versions of the shock a few weeks later. Fast forward a month and we have now put some serious miles in with the new DBair CS shock under us, with it bolted to both a 150mm
travel Scott Genius 720 and a 140mm travel Knolly Endorphin, and it is clear that the small black lever attached to the shock does far more than simply firm up its compression stroke. While the current train of thought is that simply limiting the shock's ability to compress is key to an efficient ride, Cane Creek wanted to come up with a solution that allowed the bike's suspension to still function, and it appears that they have done exactly that.We were astonished by the performance of Cane Creek's DBair shock when we tested it earlier this year on Banshee's new 160mm travel Rune, with it proving to offer a level of control and stability that puts it head and shoulders above the competition in the battle for air-sprung supremacy. The single caveat that we had boiled down to the lack of any type of pedal assist feature - some sort of lever that would firm up the shock's stroke for those long, smooth climbs - an adjustment that is offered by all of Cane Creek's adversaries, and one that makes a lot of sense when the shock is fitted to a six inch travel bike. Cane Creek's Josh Coaplen, who is VP of Engineering at the Fletcher, N.C., company, hinted a few months back that his team was indeed working on something along those lines, and we were offered exclusive early access to prototype versions of the shock a few weeks later. Fast forward a month and we have now put some serious miles in with the new DBair CS shock under us, with it bolted to both a 150mm
DBair CS Details
• Intended use: trail/all-mountain/enduro
• Aimed at 130 - 170mm travel bikes
• Adjustments: spring rate, high speed compression, low speed compression, high speed rebound, low speed rebound, Climb Switch on/off
• Air can sizes: standard (all lengths) Extra Volume (200, 215, 222, 240mm)
• Sizes available: 7.5 x 2.0'' - 10.5 x 3.5'' (eight in total)
• Weight: 509 grams (claimed, varies by size)
• Availability: August 1st, 2013
• MSRP: $695 USD
Climb Switch, Not Lockout
The CS in the shock's name stands for 'Climb Switch', and it not only changes the shock's compression stroke but also the rebound phase, which is a completely new approach to how a climbing aid functions. But why? "Until Cane Creek developed CS, pedalling specific settings on shocks have only dealt with half of the climbing dynamics (low speed compression), which is an inherent compromise,'' Coaplen explained. "Without properly addressing the rebound dynamics during climbing, the rider's body is forced to react to the minimally damped rebound forces that are common during technical climbing. Since a rider is subject to both compression and extension forces, and must physically respond to both when climbing, it is advantageous to stabilize the suspension during both phases of the shock’s travel. The CS feature is able to address both compression and rebound motions with a single switch.”
Having spent the last month riding the shock on our home trails, we can report that it offers the same outstanding performance of the current DBair. That doesn't come as a surprise, though, given that the shock's damping circuits are actually the exact same as found on the standard non-CS version. That means that the new shock will offer the same capabilities, but with the new CS function added into the mix in order to create a potent climbing machine. The obvious question is what sort of impact the CS lever has on the shock's uphill performance. At this point all we can say is that its behavior is like nothing we have ridden before, but you'll be able to read the comprehensive review within the next few days here on Pinkbike.
www.canecreek.com
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Member since Oct 18, 2005
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Good job CC!
I don't see a problem with this. Like in any other product, you pay a premium for what is best!!
What is Rockshox? Is that the new taffy everyone is talking about?
Not that I give a damn about Rockshox, I don't think I can care less about something else in life, well there is Audi
Reading between the line a bit, but since the reviewers have a few months under their belt on the Knolly Endorphin, can we get a review of it?
I love your stuff Cane Creek, keep it coming!
I have a 2013 S-Works Enduro fitted with the DB Air, and the adjusters for the LSC/LSR are rubbish. VERY hard to feel resistance as they approach the fully-out position, and the consequence of winding them too far out are stripped threads! I have read the CC Lounge (and other) forums, and it would appear I'm not the only one to share this view.
Read your manual as you should be able to tell by clicks or turns (there is a measure from start to finish) how far out/in you are but do you really have them wound all the way out? really? so you have no LSC comp or rebound compression? your ride quality must be shit.
The DB Air manual is clear that setting all adjusters to neutral settings is important when setting sag. To find the neutral settings, you need to wind all adjusters out first for reference.You COULD count back the number of clicks from fully in for LSC/LSR, except that there may be more/less than 25 clicks available due to manufacturing variances (for example, my DB Air has 27 clicks of LSC).
The DB Air manual also says that you should stop turning LS adjusters as soon as resistance is felt. Unfortunately the resistance felt when the LSC adjuster is wound fully out is no different from that of one of the adjustment "clicks" on my shock, making this design approach confusing.
I still maintain that the design of the LSC/LSR adjusters is rubbish. I feel that this flaw is exacerbated by this shock being clearly designed/marketed to be tinkered with; I would often re-check settings when dialing in my shock. Cane Creek has in the past introduced remedies for design issues such as introducing a high flow can for the DB Air. Perhaps it is wishful thinking that they would support their "old" tech, instead abandoning it under the guise of "progression".
"The DB Air manual also says that you should stop turning LS adjusters as soon as resistance is felt. Unfortunately the resistance felt when the LSC adjuster is wound fully out is no different from that of one of the adjustment "clicks" on my shock, making this design approach confusing"
fair enough and that sounds pretty shit tbh - i can only comment on mine, i have had 2 of them on different bikes, so they have been different versions and both performed the same even though one was the old version (pre 2012) - mine have been pretty clear when nearing the end and i only know this due to setup changes and using the "count back function" so cannot really sympathise with you i am happy to say - although by the looks of the above you can add the new adjuster which should stop you stripping your threads?
"Thanks for the response. One more question. I have heard that there will be improvements made to the 2014 model of the DB-Air. Is this true? If so, what are the improvements? Would i be better off waiting for the 2014 model?
Thanks,"
1.) Lock-Out systems work well on perfectly smooth surfaces but produce a serious penalty during off-road climbing (technical or nontechnical) as they take away the traction and control advantages of suspension motion.
2.) Threshold-level low speed compression allows suspension motion, but only after a certain threshold force level is reached. This means the rider is subjected to increased fatigue (since that force is transferred to the rider) and highly variable suspension dynamics as the threshold force level is exceeded.
3.) Simple increases in low speed compression (and threshold-level low-speed compression) leave the rebound character of the shock unmodified. CS modifies both the low speed compression and low speed rebound of the shock, adding an extra degree of chassis control to the climbing performance of the bike.
@ thedeathstar You are still able to adjust LSC and LSR as you would with any DB shock. The Climb Switch activates a second set of low speed adjusters that are pre-set to deliver firmer low speed damping better suited to climbing. The pre-set adjustment of the CS is not affected or changed by the positioning of the other low speed adjusters.
Devinci Dixon Carbon w/ Fox fork & RockShox rear air (borrowed)
Intense Carbine w/ Fox fork & DB Air (Demo Tour)
Trek Slash w/ Fox fork and Fox rear air (Demo Tour)
All 3 bikes were speced so similarly, but it was pure coincidence to me. It may sound cliche, but the DB Air was insanely different than the other two shocks despite multiple tweaks mid-ride to the other two.
I was thoroughly impressed. That I got free Highland Brewing and BBQ ribs afterwards made it just insanely good!!!
short answer: yes
@Sshredder We certainly like to think the "hype" is justified and backed up by the quality of the product.
So here are the questions:
Will this new CCDBASC fit into the mojo HD frame?
If I am currently turning off my proposal completely, would it make sense to get the regular model without the climb switch?