Six weeks ago we were invited out to North Carolina, USA, to visit components manufacturer Cane Creek at their base near Asheville to get an exclusive first ride on their latest shock, the DBInline.
Photos: Derek DiLuzio
DBInline: It’s a slimmed-down version of Cane Creek’s popular DB Air CS with all the tech packed in to a small, lightweight unit. Aimed at 120-150mm travel bikes, this isn’t a shock that’s supposed to be able to cope with out-and-out downhill runs, but it closes a gap in the market that the company couldn’t previously cater for (and fits in frame designs that wouldn’t have previously allowed for a DB Air).
Now well established in the world of performance dampers, Cane Creek continue to expand their line with the new DBInline, an inline shock (i.e. no piggyback reservoir) aimed at catering for ‘aggressive’ 120-150mm travel bikes. Dirt’s Ed Haythornthwaite got wind of this development long before it became common knowledge in the industry – he has an uncanny ability for extracting information unwillingly from bike companies – and so it was that I found myself hopping on a plane for an exclusive first ride organised through Ed’s blackmail procedure.
We had the privilege of a week-long stay in nearby Asheville, aka Beer City, and a chance to put the shock through its paces on rides out into the Pisgah Forest with the Cane Creek staff. Here head of R+D Josh Coaplen tends to an amateur’s shock.
The story of my time on the shock, the company and the riding around the stupendously stunning Pisgah Forest you will be able to read all about in the next issue of Dirt, out on May 28. Now let’s take a quick look around the shock.
Details
WEIGHT: 295 grams (165 x 38mm no hardware)
DAMPING: Twin-tube independent compression & rebound in two high-speed and four low-speed damping circuits
ADJUSTMENTS: Four-way independent adjustment:
High-speed compression
Low-speed compression
High-speed rebound
Low-speed rebound
Climb Switch On/Off
FINISH: Anodized and laser-etched
LENGTHS:
165 x 38mm (6.5” x 1.5”) BAD0430
184 x 44mm (7.25” x 1.73”) BAD0932
190 x 50mm (7.48” x 1.96”) BAD0431
200 x 50mm (7.87” x 1.96”) BAD0432
200 x 57mm (7.87” x 2.24”) BAD0433
216 x 63mm (8.5” x 2.48”) BAD0944
CAN SIZES: Standard (all lengths)
MOUNTING INTERFACE: High performance low friction bushing 1/2” universal axle
MANUFACTURING: Handbuilt in North Carolina, USA
AVAILABLE: June 16
PRICE: £360 incl. mounting hardware
The shock looks a little bizarre from the outside but when stripped down it becomes clear just how much tech is in there. The oil flow membrane is a first in Cane Creek shocks and has allowed the development team to slim the shock down hugely (from a standard DB Air CS) while still allowing for oil displacement.
There’s a lot going on inside the DBInline, nearly 100 parts make up the shock in fact. Two years of development and 70+ prototypes have brought it to final production.
Develop a smaller profile and lighter weight, twin-tube shock to expand the Double Barrel suspension family. This shock improves the performance of shorter travel bikes by offering the same features – performance, reliability, and unparalleled adjustability for which Double Barrel shocks are known.
– Cane Creek
View Cane Creek’s full profile of the new shock here.
