Nick’s Trip to Maydena | Face-to-Face with a… Pademelon?
Rewind the clock approximately 12 years. Call Me Maybe was playing on the radio, “Just Waiting for a Mate” had just entered the Australian cultural consciousness, three of the original Wiggles retired, and Nick bought a pair of the hottest handlebars on the market, the Truvativ Boobar.
Until recently, he had assumed the product name had something to do with the fact that it was a handlebar, but you know what they say about assumptions. It turns out (pun game strong) that the name was a nod to its creator, Jeremiah Boobar, but it’s not just handlebars with the Boobar touch. With 16 years at RockShox, eight years as the guiding force behind the suspension, and many other things at Cannondale, Boobar’s reach extends well beyond just the Boobar.
Fast-forward to 2024, and he is up to his old tricks again, this time developing the Pademelon Steering Damper out of his home R&D lab in Maydena, Tasmania. Between the biblical rainstorms and howling wind that come with the Tasmanian winter, we spent the day in Maydena with Jeremiah to talk all things steering dampers, the development and launch of the Pademelon CS.1, and even squeezed in a quick ride with the unit.
Related:
- Canyon Spectral CF 8 KIS Review | Is this the future of mountain bike steering?
- Interview: Turning Bumps into Heat, with Jeremiah Boobar
- Maydena Bike Park Destination
BlackBox to Project Pademelon
From humble beginnings doing weekend work at the local bike shop, Boobar has had a career that will leave even the most experienced bike industry vets green with envy. Starting as a race technician for RockShox in 1998, Boobar would help launch the BlackBox program in the following years.
“For grade 12 — senior year — I had to do a big report. The guy who had hired me for my first bike shop job got a job at RockShox. So, I did my senior report on bicycle suspension and flew out to visit him at RockShox HQ. I was doing my research, and then they just put me to work, assembling the team forks for the year — RockShox Mag 21s,” Boobar explained.
BlackBox is a RockShox race development program that tests new technology, chassis, travel ranges, and dampers. Maybe you’ve heard of Steve Peat, Greg Minnaar, Danny Hart, or Sam Hill? They were all BlackBox guinea pigs and many others over the years.
Boobar then moved into a product management role with SRAM, alongside the BlackBox program, looking after long-travel products, including the Totem fork, Vivid air shock and Reverb seat post. From the Charger damper to metric shock sizing and playing a significant role in developing the direct mount DH stem, we’re willing to bet the bike hanging in your garage has Boobar’s fingerprints somewhere.
The most obvious, of course, is the Truvativ Boobar. This was one of the most popular handlebars for many years following its release in the late 2000s, and you guessed it, Boobar was the man behind the design.
And Cannondale came with just the test he was looking for—redeveloping the iconic Lefty fork. First, he came on board as the brand’s suspension product manager. Eventually, he would oversee everything Cannondale made except for frames, leading a team of engineers and product designers to produce everything from suspension and pumps to handlebars and wheels.
A Continental Shift | The Journey from Connecticut to Maydena
So what brings an American with roots deep in the mountain bike industry, halfway across the world, to live in the Tasmanian wilderness?
It was not surprising that, on a family holiday in late 2021, the fantastic riding at Maydena Bike Park caught his attention, planting the seed for things to come.
Six months later, Boobar was in discussions with GT about a product development role that would require him to move his family to Southern California when the penny dropped.
“(My wife, from Australia) Rachelle and I were driving to Vermont to see family and discussing moving to Southern California for a couple of years for the GT role. We considered the move temporary as we didn’t feel Southern California was for us,” he says.
“We tried to look at what we wanted beyond that, and the small community and world-class trails of Maydena was the perfect place. That epiphany was a crazy moment for us, but it was clear as day. I wish everyone could have that kind of experience at some point,” Boobar explained.
Pademelon | A Cute Furry Animal or Steering Damper?
After testing the original Hopey Steering Damper in the early 2000s, Boobar was convinced of the idea of a steering damper, seeing great potential. Hopey officially closed its doors on December 31, 2023.
Years earlier, he presented an idea for his take on such a damper to RockShox, but it did not see the same utility in such a product. The project was deemed too risky, and his former employer focused attention elsewhere.
The Boobars picking up their lives and moving halfway across the world turned out to be the genesis of the Pademelon. It provided an opportunity to reset and bring this idea to life.
There’s nothing about being in Tasmania that is convenient, but we’re not living here for the convenience — other than the convenience of riding.
So Boobar got to work creating the CS.1 damper. The original Hopey damper was both position-sensitive and tunable, and we’ve made further adjustments to improve its range and compatibility.
While Maydena provided the ideal testing ground and a rotating cast of world-class riders to provide feedback, being so far away from the rest of the world has its challenges. Especially when hunting for local manufacturing partners.
He explored several avenues to try to manufacture in Australia. Unfortunately, the costs and lead times did not lend themselves to the type of expertise and smaller-scale production he needed.
“Let’s be honest, being in Tasmania makes it exponentially harder. There’s nothing about being in Tasmania that is convenient, but we’re not living here for the convenience — other than the convenience of riding,” Boobar explains.
“Manufacturing in Australia would obviously be more expensive. However, what struck me was the lead time. There aren’t many one-stop shops that can handle the advanced machining, anodising, and laser marking we need,” he continues. “This would have added significant time and complexity to the process. We’d likely be at least six months away from production if we chose to go with an Australian manufacturer, and unfortunately, the cost would have been even higher,” Boobar says.
Understanding Steering Dampers | What They Do and Why They’re Important
Steering dampers aren’t common on mountain bikes but are extremely common in other forms of two-wheeled racing.
At a basic level, they help control and stabilise the bike’s front end, particularly during rough and high-speed riding. They work by insulating the movement of the handlebars from inputs from the trail, which helps prevent unwanted oscillations or “wobble”. On paper, the result is greater stability, improved handling and reduced fatigue on long, demanding trails.
Steering dampers have never gained significant traction in the mountain bike industry. Beyond Hopey, other manufacturers have floated the concept, like Cane Creek with its ‘Viscoset’ headset, which was first seen in 2016. FSA teased a self-centring headset at the Taiwan Bike Show, but these have yet to materialise outside the convention centre.
Taking a slightly different approach, we saw Jo Klieber of Syntace and Liteville combine forces with Canyon for the K.I.S., which is now on every Spectral. We will come to that in a moment.
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So why are these resurfacing now?
“I think the convergence of several factors, such as the refinement, stiffness, and speed of modern bikes, makes this more relevant than ever. In the past, bikes had many issues and generally didn’t perform anywhere near as well (as they do now),” Boobar explained.
The Pademelon CS.1 is the only Rotary Damper (full technical name would be ‘Hydraulic Rotary Vane Damper’) we know of that is designed to reduce rider inputs in rough terrain.
“The damper is absorbing that energy from the deflection (of the front wheel). So, it means that your bars are literally moving less. You don’t have to use as much hand or arm force to keep the bike in line, and then the bike is tracking better and calmer,” Boobar explains.
Boobar uses a real-world analogy to help explain this: imagine yourself standing up to your neck in water.
“Rotate your shoulders, and there is not a lot of resistance. (Then, if you) put both arms out in front of you and rotate your shoulders, you create resistance on each side of your hand,” he explains.
Pademelon CS.1 | Specs, Development, and How Does it Work?
Key Details
- Damper | $799 AUD
- Mount kit | $139 to $159 AUD
- Damper Weight | 130g
- Mount Weight | 71g
- Headset Compatability | ZS/EC or IS
- Steerer Compatability | 1 ⅛” Tapered or Straight Steerer tubes
- Fork Compatability | Single Crown or Dual Crown
Delving into the details, the CS.1 damps steering 37.5° from the centre in either direction. Beyond that, the damping force returns to zero, allowing sharp turning angles in technical terrain or switchbacks. Returning to the centre also has zero damping, aiming to deliver a natural feel without resistance.
The dial at the top turns 3.25 times and is akin to the knobs on your fork or shock to adjust the level of damping from off to very firm. The dial has no notching or indexing, and it is infinitely adjustable.
Boobar has done a boatload of in-field data acquisition and dyno testing in collaboration with fellow Maydena resident Nigel Reeve, a former race mechanic for Devinci Global Racing, Santa Cruz Syndicate, Kenda Morewood, and Playbiker/Lapierre who now runs NSR Racing.
This enabled Pademelon to validate the damping force provided by CS.1 between different settings and allowed Boobar to understand the unit’s performance characteristics.
The CS.1 damps steering 37.5° from the centre in either direction. Beyond that, the damping force returns to zero, allowing sharp turning angles in technical terrain or switchbacks. Returning to the centre also has zero damping, aiming to deliver a natural feel without resistance.
“We’re looking at how much the wheel is deflecting in a given section (of trail) and running that a series of times with varying damper settings to validate the reduction in steering deflections. We were in the neighbourhood of 16-20% less deflection,” Boobar explains.
As with most juicy new tech within the industry, the top athletes get first access.
Keen eyes would have noticed a CS.1 unit fitted to the front of 2024 EDR World Cup Overall winner Richie Rude’s bike throughout the season, along with Jack Moir, Remi Gauvin, Luke and Remy Meir-Smith, to name just a few.
“Jack Moir had seen it, and he and I had chatted about it a few times. Funnily enough, when he was in town, he was staying in the house directly behind me. So we were chatting over the fence, and he wanted to try one.” Boobar says.
Damping and Stabilising | How is this Different from Canyon’s K.I.S. System?
Canyon introduced the K.I.S. system in 2021, which uses spring tension to add resistance and return the handlebars to the centre. During its development, Boobar frequently faced questions about how his steering damper compared to Canyon’s system.
“They are trying to solve a different problem than what a steering damper solves — that return to centre and reducing wheel flop. I think one of the fundamental differences is our damper allows you to keep your bars where you want, as opposed to trying to return the bars to the centre,” Boobar says.
Curious to define the difference in ride characteristics, Boobar was able to get his hands on a K.I.S. and rig it up to his own bike. When we visited his workshop in Maydena, he was in the process of gathering telemetry data to better understand the differences between the systems.
“(Some) good friends at Canyon were nice enough to send some parts over to me to try out. I am really excited to be able to do some back-to-back testing because people are asking a lot about it,” says Boobar. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Canyon guys. I think they’re great innovators!”
Test Time | Mick and Nick Ride the Pademelon CS.1
Fitted to Mick’s Ibis HD6 and Nick’s Santa Cruz Nomad and Tallboy, we were able to satisfy our curiosity about such a curious thing.
It’s impressive; we’ve never experienced a product that so profoundly changes a bike’s handling.
While descending, the standout characteristic is the bike’s remarkable composure. The bike felt noticeably calmer and more controlled when navigating choppy or rutted trails or tackling chunky rock gardens. The CS.1 reduced deflection from trail chatter, allowing us to focus on the trail and our technique instead of the bike’s movements. With the CS.1, we found ourselves tackling unfamiliar trails with significantly more confidence and aggression, rather than approaching them with caution or hesitation.
“Corner entries is where a lot of the riders have noticed a big difference. Anything where you are looking ahead into a section of trail, and you’re maybe not necessarily picking up exactly what’s in front of you. It just takes away that trail chatter, so you don’t have to focus on it or think about it,” Tyler van Gils, explained.
The front end felt glued to the ground without the wheel deflections from general trail chatter. With the wheel more stable and providing ample traction, Nick was able to increase the low-speed compression damping in the fork by two or three clicks. Traction was no longer reliant on the fork’s suppleness alone.
By the end of a long day on the bike, Nick noticed significantly less upper-body fatigue than usual. This made it easier to stay composed during heavy impacts and maintain control on off-camber lines.
Although the benefits of the CS.1 are easily experienced on gravity bikes, there seem also to be benefits on climbs. We hadn’t realised how much effort and focus we put into keeping the front end pointing where we wanted, until we tested the CS.1. Turning the damper on and off mid-climb highlighted this time and time again. The most notable benefit was when heading up steep, unforgiving fire roads. With the damper set at three turns, it would hold the bike pointed directly up the hill, and you could simply winch your way up without fighting the bars to keep them straight.
Swapping it from Nick’s long-travel Santa Cruz Nomad and the Santa Cruz Tallboy, we found the damper also significantly improved stability on the shorter-travel bike, making steep, technical terrain less stressful. On smooth flow or jump trails, the damper’s impact was less noticeable; riders who frequent these trails may find the CS.1’s benefits less pronounced.
“There’s a few guys in the bike park that say it really helps in corners, but for me, it’s fatigue. I’m not as fit as I used to be. As you start to get more tired and deeper in your laps, it helps to hold yourself up and avoiding collapsing through the rough and high speed sections,” says Boobar.
Testing at Barrington Bike Park and Ourimbah MTB Park, Mick felt newfound calm on sections where he would typically be gripping the bars for dear life. With the damper set quite firm, the notoriously wild off-camber trails were a lot less stressful, echoing Nick’s sentiment. It helped a lot when aiming to stay on the desired line despite the jarring impacts from random roots and rocks that knock the front wheel in all sorts of unwanted directions.
We could ride with less hand tension at top speed, over braking bumps and corrugations, significantly reducing fatigue. After breaking both his wrists in his 20s (don’t ask), fatigue and grip strength remain a concern; yay for the Pademelon, we say!
Pademelon Pandemonium Incoming
The Pademelon is bound to polarise opinions, and it’s certainly not for everyone. Boobar mentioned that since Richie Rude first showcased the damper, they’ve been inundated with inquiries—clearly, there’s interest out there.
Boobar is no stranger to changing things in the mountain bike industry. Based on our experience, we’ve never encountered a product that so dramatically transforms a bike’s handling.
What’s next? We’ll continue testing the CS.1 and return with more insights on where this product makes the most sense, what bikes, who will benefit most from using it, and how it performs over the long term.
So, keep your bars turned to Flow for more.
One Last Thing | Seriously, Where Did the Name Come From?
Ha, glad you asked! Pademelons are small marsupials native to Tasmania and some coastal regions of Queensland, New South Wales, and south-central New Guinea; they have short, thick tails and are known for creating tunnels through dense vegetation. As the smallest members of the macropod family, which includes kangaroos and wallabies, they have some unique traits. The pademelons living on Sisters Island, off Tasmania’s north coast, are particularly known for their unusual behaviour—climbing boxthorn shrubs. Did you know that?
However, these cute little animals are irrelevant to a steering damper, but the moniker has certainly stuck.
“I fell in love with the name because it’s so ridiculous. I was debating using it because it’s not that serious a name and not that technical. I like it too much, and it’s got a little sense of humour, which kind of fits,” Boobar explained.
Find out more: Pademelon
Photos: Flow Mountain Bike, Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool
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