Hi, Running a cane creek on my alpine, pretty good enjoyed a few years out of it seems great, my mate has a fox dhx rc4 and felt so much more plush, anyone tried this shock on a alpine 160 on a 16 inch frame? my cane creek spring is 400×2.50 what spring would i be going for if i was to go for a dhx? anyone who has one of these shocks i may be willing to trade for one of these fox dhx if i can find the correct size i need thanks.

Sounds like you should be looking to service the CCDB as it is a much better shock than any DHX.
The spring weight required doesn’t change when you change shock

They’re both good shocks, depending on setup, the spring rates will vary a little between shocks due to damping systems but you won’t necessarily need to change the rate it just depends where you fall in the spring calculations and then different calculators give different results.

See all those knobs and knockers on the CCDB? That’s where you need to start.

Work out where the DHX felt better (hi speed bumps etc.) and get twiddling those knobs.

Might take a couple of hours riding the same bit of trail and making small adjustments, but it will be worth it.

Not an exact comparison but I’ve just gone from a DHX4 to a CCDB on my 224 and tbh the CC is a better shock- the DHX’s damping feels a bit more crude , getting a setting that’s controlled enough for bigger hits leaves it feeling a bit choked for smaller ones… So I reckon if it’s working right and set up well the CCDB should feel better. (set up on the CC is a bit more complex though, more knobs to twiddle)

i think im guna send you my shock loCo, and hopefully it will feel alot better then, think ill sack the Ti spring idea off if all its going to do is make it lighter, im used to the weight of the bike anyway 🙂

Ah, it was you a spoke to a minute ago Chris! 😀

Northwind – i emailed cane creek them self’s and they sent me a standard setup for my CC and i set it up to what they said and since then ive not touched it in years its been fine 🙂

If you’re thinking about changing the shock I wouldn’t call that fine!

i think im being too picky as always lol, ful service should sort it 🙂

I’ve not tried a DHX RC4 but I liked my CCDB up to a point. They have a huge range of adjustment but they always feel like a CCDB (I fiddled plenty but generaly came back to nearly the same settings as everything else caused compromises). I loved the feeling of plushness at high speed but it’s low speed and techy riding characteristics lead to pedal strikes; add the general lack of “pop/playfulness” and I looked elsewhere for its replacement rather than trying to get someone to custom tune it.

I’m sure they suit a certain type of rider and conditions but just because they have all the adjustments under the sun doesn’t mean they can be set up to feel like different shocks… and other shocks can feel better.

I’m currently loving its replacement… the often derided Fox DHX Air… tuned by Avalanche Downhill Racing 😉 .

chris_mbuk – Member
Northwind – i emailed cane creek them self’s and they sent me a standard setup for my CC and i set it up to what they said and since then ive not touched it in years its been fine

Standard setup for the shock or for an Alpine? With a CCDB you really have to be happy to go out and spend time setting it up for you (not just a standard bike setup) as every rider is different and things like different spring rates also need taken into account. Maybe it has too many bells n whistles for you of you don’t enjoy that sort of thing?

Maybe it was the bike and not just the Fox shock that felt better?

I wouldn’t rely on Cane Creeks settings for the alpine being the best for you.
I got CCDB for my five from TFTUNED and they set up for my weight/bike/ riding style etc. I also got the settings for the Five from Malcolm at CC.
The recommended settings differed by a fair bit and the settings I’ve settled on are much closer to TFtuned’s.

**fair point by DBW if your mates bike wasn’t an Alpine

I reckon by definition, if you put in the hours and get a CCDB set up perfect for one trail (and it will feel perfect), it probably isn’t going to feel quite so smart on another, very different trail. You can either re-dial it for every trail, or put up with an ok all-round setting that sometimes feels amazing, other times not. If you’re not a tweaker, a Fox might well feel just as good overall. I switched from a CCDB to an RP23 on my Patriot, and never looked back.

Wi – that’s true. When you have a CCDB it’s easy to think that there is one magic combination that is spot on for every type of trail/feature you ride. Which of course is impossible. However, I do believe that you can get a single ‘optimum’ setting for your bike (rather than the trail) which is better than any single ‘optimum’ setting obtainable on other shocks.

You’re probably right, mojo. Personally, I eventually ran out of patience with the CCDB and quickly got an RP23 to feel more consistent on more trails, easily justifying the switch. Plus I dumped 1.5 pounds off the bike. I guess the CCDB just wasn’t for me.