http://youtu.be/pYNb2AZrykk
Oh no, can it be true? Has Cane Creek Cycling Components really diverted its energies towards producing cans of DB Bitter?
Hah! As if! Cane Creek’s latest offering to the world of bike components – the DBinline – is actually a Double Barrel in-line rear shock.
Those folks at Cane Creek, in the small Southern town of Fletcher, in North Carolina, have been churning out all sorts of innovative bike bling since the late eighties. They started out with brakes and brake levers, then moved across to headsets and seatposts, before sidling across to rear suspension with their Double Barrel shock range.
The DBinline, Cane Creek’s latest Double Barrel, is a lighter, slimmer unit than its brothers and sisters, and it’s the first of its kind to be designed specifically for shorter-travel bikes, so it’s quite a step forward in shock technology. Unlike the rest of the family, the DBinline has four separate tunings (Four-Way Independent Adjustment) that allow you to modify each phase of damping independently, plus the ‘smooth as butter’ climbing switch (the CS). Those folks in the South take their butter pretty seriously, so the comparison’s not made lightly!
The DBinline features a Twin-Tube Design, which allows oil to move through the shock valves continuously, which reduces fade. With that Four-Way Independent Adjustment, the valves can be tuned separately, giving an unprecedented level of control over the shock’s suspension action.
Intended for bikes with less travel (120–150mm), the DBinline’s uber-flexible damping settings offer huge potential to extend a bike’s performance on a diverse selection of terrains.
DBinlines that are sold on a specific frame will be tuned at Cane Creek to a general setting for that bike, but factory settings are not really what this puppy is about. All these options could lead the unwary astray after a few tweaks and tuning efforts, however – a common trap for young players, I’m sure. But the team at Cane Creek is onto that too. They have a Tuning Field Guide on their website, so you can in tap your bike’s make, model and year to find out or return your tune to Cane Creek’s recommended starting point for your bike. And, for those wanting to experiment further, Cane Creek has also created a DBinline forum (‘The Lounge’), where you can read what other folk are doing and chip in with the settings you’re using for your steed and terrain.
Wanna get tweaking? The DBinline will be available from 16 June 2014, and will set you back around US$495. More info on Cane Creek’s DBinline here.
Story Nic Learmonth
Photos by Derek DiLuzio and Nic Learmonth
