Australian startup Pademelon reanimates the steering damper idea with a brand new, extra refined CS.1 hydraulic damper providing extra user-adjustability to fine-tune path stability. This new steering damper takes decades-old Hopey tech and modernizes with distinctive position-sensitive damping that solely stabilizes steering once you want it, permits navigation of steep turns with out resistance, and allows you to fine-tune simply how a lot damping pressure is most popular in your particular person type of using…
Pademelon CS.1 sensible, adjustable hydraulic steering damper
The brand new Pademelon CS.1 steering damper guarantees to stabilize your handlebar, so wheel impacts and shifts in stability or rider enter don’t know your steering off observe.
“Imperfections are in all places on the path – in line alternative, throughout pedaling, or within the grip of fatigue.“
The overall steering damper idea is easy – by filtering out irregular or sudden steering inputs, the machine helps hold your bar straight, and your bike headed in the appropriate path. However on the identical time, direct and intentional steering inputs are nonetheless attainable to vary path once you need it.
Whether or not that can assist you keep your line using downhill over tough terrain, or to maintain your entrance wheel from drifting off observe on steep climbs.
Curiously, we’ve seen a latest increase in discussions on steering dampers with the arrival of the Syntace/Canyon/Liteville Okay.I.S. system. KIS isn’t actually a damper, however presents a distinct resolution for assisted straightening of your bar. Most lately, Canyon determined that each new Spectral path bike would come with the stabilizer, and appears to place KIS on extra bikes within the close to future.
Hopey historical past
Those that find out about Tim Hopey and his hydraulic steering damper will keep in mind that it had its fervent followers for 2 and a half a long time – from DH racers to tandem riders to triathletes, ultra-endurance racers, and particularly these with in any other case limiting bodily disabilities. However having not seen any actual replace in a decade since their DH-specific damper, and actually having the identical core design for greater than 24 years, Hopey formally closed its doorways in the beginning of this 12 months. At the moment Hopey directed bicycle steering damper followers to Pademelon, who was nonetheless solely engaged on their new damper.
Based by longtime bike trade veteran Jeremiah Boobar – who we’ve recognized from his suspension improvement roles at Cannondale & SRAM/RockShox for greater than 20 years – Pademelon has been a long-running ardour mission, now lastly made actual. Boobar knew he may enhance on the Hopey design, and now has lastly launched his reimagined steering damper.
So, what’s new?
This new Pademelon CS.1 primarily provides two updates to the long-running hydraulic damper design.
Place-Delicate Damping
First, the CS (Fixed Stability) 1 damper newly options position-sensitive damping. That signifies that in delivers the identical degree of stabilizing influence damping within the center 70° of steering (35° to the left, plus 35° to the appropriate), whereas having no damping impact from 35° to 90° in both path.
That ensures that undesirable steering influences are filtered out if you are making an attempt to experience straight forward, or barely turning. However when turning the bars a steeper angle to navigate tight turns at gradual speeds, there isn’t any damping resistance to struggle towards. Then, the damping resistance doesn’t reengage till you get again to middle, so it’s easy and straightforward to return out of these tighter turns and get again on observe.
Person-Adjustable Damping Help
The opposite huge replace is extra exact fine-tuning management over how a lot resistance the damper imparts in your steering. With a couple of rotations of the easy knob on prime, the rider can modify from nearly no damping to a excessive degree, far past what most riders will need.
How does it work?
The Pademelon damper works by changing your higher headset cup with a hard and fast decrease plate, pressed into your body. Then, the damper physique itself slips into your steerer tube, changing the starnut. An arm extends from the damper physique, out round your stem, and connects to a put up extending up from the bottom plate. (There’s a resolution for conventional press-in headset cups, for zero stack (ZS) headsets, and even built-in (IS) headsets that simply drop the higher bearing straight into your body.)
That connects the damper to the fork steerer from the within, and to your body below the headset. As you rotate the bar away from the centerline of the body, the machine’s arm twists the interior mechanism of the damper cartridge. And the CS.1 resists that enter, whether or not it’s coming from the rider by way of the bar, or irregularities on the entrance tire by way of the fork.
Pademelon doesn’t elaborate on the mechanics or hydraulics that go on inside its damper physique to make it work. However suffice it to say, it’s the managed motion of oil contained in the sealed hydraulic cartridge by way of damping circuits, not so dissimilar to what occurred inside your fork or shock. Pademelon does say that it doesn’t require advanced servicing. So it’s seemingly well-sealed and can provide a few years/seasons of steering damping smoothness.
Pademelon CS.1 steering damper – Pricing, choices & availability
The Pademelon CS.1 steering damper doesn’t come low cost, but it surely does promise a smoother experience, improved traction, and decreased fatigue.
The damper unit itself sells for $541 / 492€ in both an everyday single crown or a particular twin crown model. Plus it’ll price you one other $108 / 98€ for the mounting package that matches below your higher headset bearing – in numerous variations to suit just about all headset varieties and sizes. All Pademelon steering dampers can be found now, assembled by hand in Tasmania, and shipped globally.
