Feb 19th 2025 • by Stash Cycles
Demo the Cane Creek Tigon Rear Shock at Stash Cycles
Cane Creek’s Tigon is one of the most unique suspension products on the market. It’s designed to merge the best attributes of both coil and air shocks, in a very tuneable package. It’s also more robust and durable than typical coil shocks, so it can be used on frames that would usually put to great of sideloading forces on coil shocks.
All of those attributes make the Tigon a compelling upgrade for a lot of bikes. But it can be hard to understand the difference the Tigon makes without trying it for yourself. That’s why we have a full size and spring range of the Tigon on hand for demo. Get in touch, and we’ll work with you to get you out on a Tigon, and get it set up and tuned specifically for your bike and riding style.
And, if you’re still trying to decide if the Tigon makes sense for you, here’s a breakdown of what it does, how it works, and where it makes the most sense.
Air + Coil = Tigon
At its core, the Tigon is meant to combine the best attributes of a coil shock with the best attributes of an air shock, while eliminating the downsides of both. So how does it work? Coil shocks are typically more sensitive and linear than air shocks. They are softer off the top, and do a better job of soaking up small bumps and creating traction. However, air shocks ramp up more later in their travel and are more progressive which means that they’re less likely to bottom out harshly, and they’re more easy to tune. You can just use a shock pump, instead of having to swap out springs.
The Tigon takes that sensitive coil shock top end, and combines it with an adjustable air chamber. This chamber can be set between 0 and 30PSI, and makes it easy to tune the end stroke ramp up of the Tigon. Having issues with harsh bottom outs? Add more air. Not really using the final few millimeters of your travel? Take some out, without having to swap out springs.
And then of course the Tigon uses Cane Creek’s Twin Tube damper, with easily-adjustable high and low speed compression, a climb switch, and low speed rebound.
Why would I want my coil shock to ramp up like the Tigon?
That all sounds cool, but why does it matter? Well, many bikes, especially shorter travel trail bikes, are built with fairly linear suspension leverage ratios. When you combine a linear suspension design with a linear coil shock, you get a bike that moves through its travel too easily, and bottoms out hard and often. The Tigon solves this with the air ramp tube. It gives you that buttery traction off the top, without that painful smack at the bottom.
Some other coil shocks use a hydraulic bottom-out circuit to try to reduce harsh bottom outs. However, those circuits only kick in over the last few millimeters of the shock’s travel. In contrast, the Tigon provides a longer, smoother ramp through the travel.
Why is the Tigon more durable than typical coil shocks?
The other big advantage of the Tigon is its durability. Typical coil shocks have a very small inner shaft, that’s doing a lot of structural work to keep the shock aligned. When you combine that small shaft with a shock extending yoke, like those found on a lot of trail bikes, and throw in some side loading from shralping corners or landing sideways, you’ve got a recipe for snapped shafts and broken shocks.
That’s why some brands who use a shock extender yoke explicitly discourage riders from running a traditional coil shock. The Tigon, in contrast, has a big beefy air cylinder instead of a skinny coil shaft. Cane Creek very intentionally designed the Tigon to handle those side loads. This opens up a whole category of bikes that were previously a recipe for disaster when paired with a coil shock.
What sort of bikes are best matched to a Tigon?
That all sounds great, but what sort of bikes, and riders will most benefit from trying out a Tigon? Well, any bike that has these elements: bikes with linear suspension designs, bikes with shock-extending yokes, and bikes with both.
There are many trail bikes on the market that combine both a linear suspension design and a shock yoke. The most common examples are Specialized’s Stumpjumper Evo and Stumpjumper 15, along with their Levo e-bikes. All of these bikes have aggressive geometry that makes them well-suited to a coil shock. But all of them are fairly linear and use an extending yoke. The Cane Creek Tigon is the best coil option for these bikes. It allows you to tune the bottom-out force, as well as upgrade to coil without worrying about snapping your shaft.
Other bikes that fit the bill are Cannondale’s Habit and Habit LT (both fairly linear with a shock yoke) Revel’s Rascal (linear, with a yoke), and all of the previous generation Transition bikes. The older “curvy” framed Sentinel, Patrol, Scout, and Smuggler, all have fairly linear suspension designs that don’t play nicely with coil shocks. If you’re riding one of those bikes, one of the best suspension upgrades you can do is a Tigon.
Demo a Cane Creek Tigon at Stash Cycles
If any of that sounds interesting to you, we’d love to get you set up with a Tigon to demo. We have a full range of sizes and springs, and we’ll get you all set up to try it out on your bike. Just get in touch and we’ll get you set up!
If you're already sold on the Tigon, we have a full lineup of shocks available for purchase on our website. Check 'em out here.
