Cane Creek Announces the DB Kitsuma Shock
PRESS RELEASE: Cane Creek - Fletcher, NC USA
 | The whole idea behind the DB Kitsuma shock was to take a complex and high-tech piece of componentry and make it very intuitive and easy to use for the rider. From our time meeting and riding with riders and dealers at events across the country it became clear that most riders’ suspension settings are not optimal – in many cases the suspension may be hindering riders. One of the reasons is that dialing in suspension is largely a trial and error process on the trail which is hampered by access and the need for tools. Thus, we set out to make it easy for riders to get the most out of their shock by making adjustments easier and less intimidating. |
DB Kitsuma — Pro-tune at Your Fingertips
Cane Creek is proud to announce the DB Kitsuma, a highly adjustable rear shock built for maximum performance in a design that is incredibly intuitive and easy to use. Grounded in the DNA of the original Double Barrel line of shocks, DB Kitsuma improves on its predecessors in almost every way. It caters to all varieties of riding styles, body types, and bicycle frame designs without the need for any internal valving adjustments, changes or compromises.
Tool-Free Adjustment
The way the rider interfaces with the shock has also been completely reimagined. No need to crane your neck under your bike while fumbling with tiny allen wrenches to make adjustments. DB Kitsuma sports completely tool-free adjusters that are ergonomically designed to be easily accessible and adjustable trail-side – giving riders the power of a pro-tune at their fingertips.
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See & Feel What Your Settings Are.
Gone are the days of counting clicks backward and forward to know where you are and make adjustments. The entire range of DB Kitsuma’s low-speed compression and rebound circuits are controlled within a single rotation, while the high-speed circuits are controlled within two rotations, allowing the rider to easily reference where they are within their adjustments at a glance. The rider has full control and a true sense for how their bike will perform in a variety of real-world scenarios thanks to DB Kitsuma’s large multi-indexed adjusters.
Additionally, labels on the adjusters have been simplified to “soft” and “firm” for compression and “slow” and “fast” for rebound to better illustrate how the adjustment affects ride feel and to give riders confidence to make trail-side adjustments.
Finally, DB Kitsuma simplifies the tuning process by increasing the range of adjustment while reducing the number of external positions in each circuit - making each position more meaningful and discernable on the trail. All these improvements add up to a high-performance tuning experience that is incredibly intuitive and accessible right on the trail
DB Kitsuma also boasts a wider range of damping adjustment on the compression circuit and increased range of rebound control over any other major shock on the market today. The rebound range has also been shifted downward for more rebound damping to accommodate the higher spring rates needed for more modern bikes. These changes combine to allow the DB Kitsuma to provide peak performance on a wider range of bikes.
3-2-1-Climb
Simple yet effective – DB Kitsuma is equipped with a three-position climb switch that moves the shock between three distinct modes, drastically affecting the shock’s feel and character. The new three position climb switch retains Double Barrel’s “Descend” mode and it’s patented “CS” mode which provides a stable, yet responsive platform engineered to maximize traction and pedal efficiency while climbing over technical terrain and singletrack. DB Kitsuma adds a new “Firm” mode, that excels at pedaling over long stretches of pavement or gravel roads on your way to the trail.
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No Detail Overlooked
In addition to improvements in accessibility and tuning range, DB Kitsuma has seen a series of significant improvements over previous Double Barrel shocks. These include an improved oil piston that’s been ported and polished to increase responsiveness, a new monoblock design oil seal head for improved alignment and durability, progressive bottom-out bumper for a more gradual bottom out and longer shaft bushings, larger shaft quad rings and uncut back-up rings on the air pistons to improve performance and reliability.
DB Kitsuma's (left) revised air spring packs even more on-trail sensitivity into a new compact design
A new progressive bottom-out bumper (left) provides additional support during heavy impacts
Ported & Polished oil piston, new "Monoblock" oil seal head + air piston design, longer shaft bushings, larger shaft quad rings and uncut back-up rings all work together to increase responsiveness, durability and reliability
A Better Shock for More Bikes
Redesigned with the geometry of modern bikes in mind, DB Kitsuma’s new valve body and tapered air-can cuts 16mm of length off the external reservoir and reduces the air can’s outer diameter at the end-eye. All-in-all, this adds up to a new low-profile design which allows DB Kitsuma to fit more bikes free of frame-clearance issues.
DB Kitsuma's shorter external reservoir provides more clearance at full bottom out
Rider Designed • Rider Developed • Rider Built
Like all Cane Creek Suspension, DB Kitsuma is designed, developed and hand-built by riders in Western North Carolina. Informed by the endless climbs and technical descents of the Pisgah National Forest the DB Kitsuma was born from the experience of the hardcore riders who call Cane Creek home. This shock was developed completely in-house by Cane Creek’s engineering team and rigorously tested on some of North America’s most legendary trails.
| At Cane Creek, we will only develop a product if we believe it truly adds something to cycling. With DB Kitsuma, we know we’ve done that. From the fact that you no longer need to fumble with tools to tune your shock, to the increased damping and rebound range allowing for more bikes and more types of riders, to the various small improvements that add up to significant gains in performance – it all comes together to make what we think is a big step forward in mountain bike suspension. |
What’s in a Name?
The name DB Kitsuma honors both the heritage of the original Double Barrel (DB) shock and the legendary Kitsuma trail that lies just a short drive northeast of Cane Creek’s Headquarters. With a grueling climb that combines a mix of road and technical singletrack followed by a grin-inducing two mile ridgeline decent, the Kitsuma trail highlights some of the best riding that Western North Carolina has to offer and showcases the versatility and performance of the new DB Kitsuma shock.
The name DB Kitsuma honors both the heritage of the original Double Barrel (DB) shock and the legendary Kitsuma trail that lies just a short drive northeast of Cane Creek’s Headquarters. With a grueling climb that combines a mix of road and technical singletrack followed by a grin-inducing two mile ridgeline decent, the Kitsuma trail highlights some of the best riding that Western North Carolina has to offer and showcases the versatility and performance of the new DB Kitsuma shock.
TECH SPECS
Weight - Air (210mm): 585g
- Coil (210mm w/o spring): 417g
Adjuster Positions
- Low Speed Compression: 11 Positions | Single rotation
- Low Speed Rebound: 11 Positions | Single rotation
- High Speed Compression: 14 Positions | Two rotations
- High Speed Rebound: 14 Positions | Two rotations
Max Air Pressure
- 300psi
Shaft Diameter
- Air and Coil: 9.5mm
Damper Oil
- Motorex 4wt
Climb Switch
- Three Position: Descend | Climb | Firm
Eye to Eye Sizes
- Eyelet: 210mm, 230mm, 250mm
- Trunnion: 185mm, 205mm, 225mm
Availability
The DB Kitsuma is available in both coil and air in metric lengths ranging from 185mm to 250mm with a retail price of $699.99 for air and $669.99 for coil (without a spring). A pro-tune at your fingertips is available immediately through Cane Creek retailers, distributors or factory-direct in North America through www.canecreek.com
MENTIONS: @CaneCreekCyclingComponents
Cane Creek Cycling Components - DB Rear Shocks
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If I didn't have the adjustments, I'd be trying to balance things using the "wrong" adjustment: like adding PSI to combat brake dive, and then having to remove spacers to use most of the travel, and then having to speed up rebound to keep the fork high to prevent harsh bottom outs, and now I've sacrificed traction. Worst of all worlds.
For some reason, people hate that.
what the f*ck is wrong with you, do you think you live in a kindergarten?
R/whoooosh
Joke
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The top of your head.
Smashing the "Add to Cart" button as hard as possible on this... Way to go Cane Creek!
But I still get CC bottom brackets and headsets.
switched to a DVO topaz specifically because it can be fully serviced at home, i'm done sending stuff away for a couple weeks at a time.
Probably won't be buying any suspension after that experience--definitely won't be a new product tester, sorry CC
A really big improvement here though is the increased rebound range and better deep-stroke control. That is the one thing I was really hoping for and am most glad to see.
I think people forget sometimes to just call the manufacturer, consult them on what the upgrade is going on and get reliable feedback on what will work best for their bike & style...and USE that info.
The bike suspension's bane of existence used to be all the crazy suspension designs and the shock companies trying to make something that would work on the vast majority of bikes. But more often than not, most any shock was a patch between a frame design concept & a legitamitely sound integration with a reliable shock. I fell like Weagle and Iron Horse were among the first to legitamitely mate a shock and frame to each other to improve reliablity
for instance, if we cycle an old CC inline on a dyno for 1 months axially non stop, I bet it won't snap in half as seen happening on many clevis's frames.
Because of the several month period where they were saying that my issue was probably not the shock and that it was unique I tore down my entire bike thinking it was a linkage issue or the bearings or something. I replaced all the bearings and lubricated everything, I replaced a bunch of other components none of it helped. More than the money, I spent so much time trying to troubleshoot something that couldn't be troubleshooted.
It just didn't feel good realizing that I was basically a product tester for this new product. Like how did they not do enough testing to discover this issue before putting the shock on the market?
CC Team "We added more dials!"
Customer "it's still too complicated."
CC "Look, no tools!!!"
I haven't thought this through all the way yet, but I feel like an ultra compact, coin sized electronic device on your rear shock to help you keep track of settings can grow into a useful (but optional) tool without going full blown shockwiz.
I've adjusted my fork so many times using the shockwhiz and almost every time, I prefer how I had it prior to what the app was telling me (which is usually my liking to running about 5-8 less PSI than recommended.
When I do add the PSI, the fork feels a little harsher off the top and doesnt sit into it's travel enough for my liking.
Electronics can only get you so far. I guess though SuperBruni relies on the data and he can ride fast I've been told.
I realize you could probably already do with with the current cane creek app + a note app, but this seems cleaner.
Because of this, and like others said above, you'd be better off making a note of your settings every time you make a change. I used the CC app but kept having problems with software updates. I use a phone spreadsheet app to log every change I make to my suspension along with what I think and what the tune works well for -jumps, tech, traction etc. It's free and you already have it with you when you ride.
It takes an extra minute but you'll quickly get a picture of what works and what doesn't for you. Also, you won't go in circles re-trying tunes you've don't like.
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nope, no good riding in Mills River... keep driving down the road to Brevard.
actually kitsune is fox in japanese
Otherwise I like the look of this, having had a positive experience with a DBair previously. I take it home servicing is still a big no though?
Me: (severs finger with hex key trying to adjust Fox X2 shock)... awww man! Tell me more!
Ok.. so it looks like the intuitive and easy to tune aspect is solely related to the tool-free dials with lines on them. LOL.
Looks like a great shock, but that's kind of silly as the main marketing point.
Yeah, I see that but a couple of things
When I'm tuning on the trail I don't go all the way in and count clicks out... I add or subtract a click or 2 from the suspect adjuster and keep riding, judge if it's better or worse.. repeat cycle until I'm happy with the performance. Then I will count clicks/record settings back in the garage so I can revert back to a known good setup if needed. Seems the same would be true with the Kitsuma.
Having to do this with a tool does a couple of things for me. First, it makes me think twice about making adjustments and what/how I want to adjust because it's a process to get the tool out, etc. Second, once dialed my settings are secure and aren't going to get accidentally changed by bumping/crashing.
Having a visual on the setting I guess is cool, but I don't see the practical application. Does it really matter if your LSR is at 4:00 on the dial if it if working well?
Now what would have been cool to make this highly adjustable shock less intimidating is a software app that can take inputs (bike model, leverage ratio, rider weight, front sag, riding style, etc) and calculate a custom tune for you like Vorsprung Tractive Tune does with their software... then walks you through fine tuning kind of like the old CCDB app does.
That would have really set this new platform apart.
Tool-free dials, different bumper shape, a fire road lockout mode, and some outer clearances rearrangements to fit more bikes. Am I correct in understanding it’s still relying on the woefully overrated poppet valve design for damping simply so people can twist away all they want?
If so, hard pass on this, the core of the design is suboptimal in that those poppets necessitate the need to play with the dials more so as not to feel over/underdamped in different types of terrain. It’s frustrating that they tout not needing internal adjustment as an advantage, when really being able to tune shim stacks to a given riders bike/weight/riding style is so so much more effective to improving a bike’s suspension performance. I get why from a production/marketing standpoint, but it sucks for the consumer.
IDK... how does 10 sounds?
You need to make different rate poppet springs to actually change the high speed damping rate, it's not off the shelf shims like on a monotube shock. They're often a custom size/rate and to my knowledge cane Creek doesn't sell any. Fox addressed this issue with VVC.
For these reasons monotubes are much better for custom tunes
Also if a knob has two rotations of adjustment what's to tell you if your setting is in the first or second rotation? I think they have overstated the intuitiveness of that adjustment. I'll give them credit for the single rotation adjustment though.
All said though, this is definitely a sweet looking shock.
Wasn't that true of all the previous DB shocks (excepting the Quint or whatever made for OEM only)?
Would you want less adjustments in your car's seat? Bolt it down in a place that fits some average tester, and be done. Sure, it'll work if you match the tester, but for everyone else, removing the "complexity" means the position will be quite less than ideal.
I do love my CCDB coil, would have a RS Coil over it if I could find one 2nd hand though.
When is someone going to bring telemetry and electronics valves into these that uses your GPS to know where you are on track and the weather to set your shock up as you ride... come on... dream big
Something that can be removed to be old school mechanical.
I also wish my RS fork had more adjustments like my CCDB does as both my Lyrik and Boxxer are half a click too slow or fast on the rebound.
Also.... the tools to adjust at the races etc is great, as you know its much harder for someone to fiddle with your settings before a race run.
lets goo
I only asked for one without a climb switch. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It would be lighter, less expensive, less prone to error or
Breaking. I know it’s all Enduro this and Down-Country that. It the FR/DHers need love too.
Shock with no pr 1 variable - are simple to operate;
That does not meat that cc are good or bad, however it does not look easy or intuitive
I’m just curious - how ofter people re-tune their shock? And why?
That said, with more adjustments, it can be useful to make small tweaks for full-day situational changes. Example: going to the bike park? Add a couple clicks of HSC and HSR in both ends to handle big hits, and since you'll only be going downhill, a little more LSC in the fork to help handle brake dive, and/or a little less LSC or more LSR in back can keep your weight back and also keep the fork high.
But, again, it's not something that people are usually adjusting on the fly.
It's a brand new product, why would they put extra effort into supporting dimensions that just aren't used anymore on new bikes? if you need an imperial shock, there are plenty of options, including from CC, but the market for them is steadily shrinking, and obviously they didn't see enough of an ROI on designing an imperial sized version, since making a shock fit the old imperial sizes means there will likely be less bushing overlap, meaning a whole extra set of engineering problems.
Were you also complaining about frames not being available in imperial so you could use your old shock?
I was personally hoping for Navy/Royal Blue Springs...
Although i agree with you, i've never felt the need for a climb switch for the bikes i've had (aurum hsp, session, older aurum)
On my Bird AM9 I have zero need for a climb switch, even with a coil shock. On my former Stumpjumper Evo I had to use the switch nearly every climb