Cane Creek DB Kitsuma has tool-free adjusters designed to be easily adjustable trail-side – giving riders the “power of a pro-tune at their fingertips”.

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Cane Creek DB Kitsuma need to know

• Air (210mm) – 585g
• Coil (210mm w/o spring) – 417g
• Low Speed – 11 Positions / Single rotation
• High Speed – 14 Positions / Two rotations
• 9.5mm Shaft Diameter
• Motorex 4wt damper oil
• Three Position – Descend, Climb, Firm
• Eyelet – 210, 230, 250
• Trunnion – 185, 205, 225
• SRP £624.99 for air, £599.99 for coil (w/o spring)

Cane Creek press release

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. 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.  

No need to crane your neck under your bike while fumbling with tiny allen wrenches to make adjustments.

“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,” said Jeff Laforge, Cane Creek Design Engineer.  “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.”

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 effects 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.

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 also adds a new “Firm” mode. By utilizing a design that closes off the common bleed port, this third position excels at pedaling over long stretches of pavement or gravel roads on your way to the trail.

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.

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.

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.