Cane Creek DBair CS Review

Cane Creek's highly rated Double Barrel shock receives a new climbing assist feature, the Climb Switch, that increases the shock's level of low-speed compression and rebound damping in tandem. The CS feature has been in the works for about two years, with it being the result of much testing with radical prototype shocks, dubbed 'Frankenshocks', that allowed the Cane Creek team to make independent external adjustments to both LSC and LSR specifically for climbing, as well as having the ability to turn them on and off instantly. This convinced the



What is the Climb Switch?

What the CS lever isn't, and what Cane Creek really wants to stress, is that the small aluminum lever does not act as a lockout by any stretch of the imagination, but actually tames BOTH low-speed compression and low-speed rebound when flipped on. This is in contrast to most of Cane Creek's competitors who offer a long-stroke shock with some type of pedal-assist feature, usually a lever that either adds more low-speed compression damping or functions as a true on/off lockout. The DBair CS and DBcoil CS take a different approach to the problem of trying to create an efficient pedalling bike for climbing or less aggressive terrain: ''We wanted a climbing mode for the DB shocks that allowed full suspension bikes to shine uphill - to highlight the benefits of climbing a suspension bike (traction and comfort) while 'damping' the negatives (perceived or actual inefficiency, excessive chassis motion),'' explains Coaplen.


In order to not take away from the traction and comfort that a full-suspension bike can provide on a technical or rough climb, the new CS-equipped shocks offer quite a subtle firming up of the compression stroke when the function is activated. In fact, depending on the tune it might take a few good pushes to really notice the difference between open and closed settings. The interesting bit comes as the shock rebounds, though, with it clearly being slower and more controlled than when the CS lever is flipped to its open position. The obvious question is why the shock's rebound would need to be damped at all, especially given that the common train of thought is that efficiency comes through keeping the shock from being compressed unnecessarily by pedalling forces or the rider's body moving as he or she turns the cranks. ''When climbing, there is plenty of time to think about all the forces and motions at all the contact points between you and the bike. As these forces and motions vary, your body feels them,'' Coaplen says. ''This is true both in compression and rebound of the shock. By tweaking the LSC and LSR you are essentially changing the forces and motions felt by your body, minimizing the extent to which they change. If you don't alter the LSR, you only mitigate a potion of these forces/motions.''

While all that might sound a bit complicated, Coaplen described to us a simple exercise that highlights the difference between only damping the compression stroke and damping both the compression and rebound. Hold your arm out in front of you and push it to the side with your other hand in three different ways: 1) push very fast and let off fast, 2) push very slowly and let off fast, 3) push very slowly and let off very slowly. Which is the least bothersome?

There are two positions for the CS switch - on or off - and the level of LSC and LSR that it adds is preset by Cane Creek after working with the bike manufacturer to figure out what best suits the bike's suspension design and intentions. That means that the added damping might be more apparent on certain bikes, but Cane Creek also told us that one of their service centers can either increase or decrease the CS switch's effect if the owner is looking for a different feel from their shock. While the large majority of riders will no doubt prefer the shock-mounted CS lever over a remote on the handlebar, Cane Creek does plan to offer a remote system at some point down the road. No word on what it might look like, but it is likely safe to assume that it will be a relatively small lever that can be mounted either above or below the bar.


How does the Climb Switch work?

Cane Creek's Double Barrel lineup has a reputation for being complicated, but with great setup guides and hints on their website, as well as adjustments that feature straight forward names that accurately describe their functions, we'd have to disagree. Having said, explaining exactly how the Climb Switch functions might be a lot to take in at first read. Instead of rehashing Cane Creek's own words, we'll let them do it justice:




Why have the shock's dials been changed?

The anodized gold adjustment dials that have become synonymous with Cane Creek's Double Barrel lineup look quite different to what the new CS-equipped DBair and DBcoil shocks employ, with two smaller, stainless steel hex screws now sitting above the two very different looking gold coloured dials. Those two smaller stainless steel adjusters control the low-speed compression and low-speed rebound, and their new position at the top of the shock's piggyback is required due to them needing to be turned on and off by the CS lever that sits just below them. Both the gold high-speed compression and high-speed rebound dials are in the same location as before because they are not controlled by the CS lever and are active in both CS-on and CS-off modes. Many Double Barrel owners have requested tool-free dials over the years, and while the new shock's adjusters cannot be turned with fingers, they now require a common 3mm hex key instead of the funky box end wrench of previous years.


Performance

One thing became instantly clear to us during our first ride on the DBair CS - it is every bit a Double Barrel when the CS lever is set to its open position. The majority of our seat time has come with the shock fitted to a 150mm travel Scott Genius 720, a bike that we had trouble coming to terms with during our testing of it earlier this year. Much of our troubles boiled down to the DT Swiss Nude2 shock that came as stock equipment from Scott, with it feeling harsh overall and short on tuneability. Bolting the DBair CS to the bike was a revelation, with it transforming the bike's suspension into a package that allowed us to push harder. None of this came as a big surprise to us given our very positive impressions of the standard DBair's performance when we tested it on Banshee's Rune earlier this year. It also needs to be mentioned that the setup procedure is no different than that required of the non-CS Double Barrels, only that the CS lever be switched to the open position when setting the bike's sag.


What did come as an immediate surprise, though, was just how effective the CS lever was when flipped to its 'on' position, especially because the difference between the on and off settings can feel very subtle when giving the bike's suspension a quick push at the trailhead. In fact, we have to admit to wondering if there was some sort of setup issue when we first activated the CS function in the parking lot before hitting the trail - it is that subdued. Getting the bike on some loose, technical climbs proved otherwise, with it behaving very differently from what we were expecting.

The best way to describe how the CS function performs is to say that it results in a very quiet bike when climbing, and we are not referring to any sort of noise but rather the way that the shock is able to eat up a stepped section of roots and rocks very much like it would when set to CS-off mode while also keeping the suspension from plunging into its travel from pedalling forces or body motion. The feeling of it absorbing the terrain is where the magic of the tamed low-speed rebound comes into play, with the shock not only being able to soak up the initial impact, but also remaining controlled in its extension when it reaches the other side. Contrast this to a much firmer lockout that not only causes the tire to deflect off of the root or rock, often feeling like the rear wheel is catching on an obstacle slightly before rolling over it, while also rebounding quickly if it has managed to compress at all.

Hard out of the saddle efforts, the kind of sloppy exertions that come when the gas tank is on empty but some horsepower is required to crest that last steep pitch, are exactly where the shock's Climb Switch function makes the most sense. The added traction is a huge benefit because your tired body is likely not operating to its full potential, but the restrained compression stroke keeps the bike from flailing wildly through its travel. The was true of both the Scott Genius and the 140mm travel Knolly Endorphin that we used as our test sled for the final few rides of shock testing. The bottom line is that traction was far better than if the suspension was locked out or even firmed up to a middle compression setting, and both bikes pedalled excellently with the CS lever switched to its 'on' position. And because the shock is still relatively active with the CS flipped on, we didn't feel the need to constantly reach down to turn it off on rolling terrain with short downhill sections sprinkled in between the climbs. We did notice that the firmer low-speed rebound managed to take some of the bike's playfulness away during those moments, though, meaning that we weren't big fans of turning the Climb Switch on when riding tame terrain - it took too much pop away from the bike's abilities.


Issues

Given that the only complaint in our initial review of the standard DBair shock was the lack of a some type of pedal-assist feature, it doesn't surprise us that we don't have much to grumble about now that Cane Creek has addressed this. We were both very surprised and impressed by how activating the shock's CS function was able to tame suspension action without robbing traction, although it needs to be said that it is far from being the firm lockout that the rider who goes KOM hunting up gravel road climbs will be looking for. This isn't the shock for those types, and you may want to look at a more traditional lockout-equipped shock if that sounds like you.

While the shock's climbing performance is impressive, not to mention its proven downhill prowess, we can see that Cane Creek might have an uphill battle on their hands when it comes to convincing riders that, depending on the type of climbing that you do, a traditional lockout might not make as much sense as their CS feature. After all, firm suspension is fast, right? As it turns out, not always. According to Coaplen, testing with different bike manufacturers during the shock's development has shown that many go from looking for a full lockout setting to something more inline with how the CS performs. ''They think they need super firm because that is what they are used to needing, but they no longer need that with the entire low speed damping being properly addressed,'' he told us. ''So, once we start tuning the climbing settings, the desire for super firm shifts to the desire for a stable chassis when climbing while not sacrificing traction.'' Having now put some solid miles on the DBair CS, we aren't surprised to hear that sort of feedback.


Pinkbike's take:

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