I can’t actually find a topic on this so thought I’d ask. I’m considering a Bird Aeris, but has anyone ran both an air cs AND an inline and have any thoughts on how they differ? Inline is 200g lighter and £50 cheaper on the build, but is the air CS really better? It’ll be general rough use.

TF had some reservations about the Inline for heavier riders, so that might be a factor. And there’s some indications that it’s not quite as reliable as the piggyback versions.

I’ve got an inline and it’s got a really annoying knocking after only two weeks. Don’t know if the piggy back is any better.
Worryingly there is a whole box of inlines in my local shop which all have problems and have been replaced under warranty.
The shock does feel good though, so if the piggy back feels as good but is reliable then for me it’d be a no-brainer for peace of mind for £50.

I’ve been using an inline for the best part of a year.

Mine did go faulty in a not-completely-obvious way and was fixed under warranty by TF when I sent it for service.

It’s an amazing performing shock and I’d think it would suit the Aeris well, but it depends if you want to take the gamble on reliability. There do seem to be many many reports of problems.

If it was my money I’d probably get the Air CS tbh. Unless you’re a weight weenie?

Got the inline on my five and it feels awesome. The climb switch is a lot firmer than on the piggy back model. I know a few riders with them on there bikes, no issues yet. My mates nicolai was off rd for abit who has a ccdb cs on it, he loved the ride of my five with the inline on when I let him use it for a ride. He’s about 14 stone ish, canecreek said just let him set the sag for his weight and will be sorted

I can’t tell you about back-to-back testing but I highly rate my CCDB air CS. I use the CS a lot. And in my mind the piggy back is all extra surface area and volume to deal with heat and oil flow so surely must have some performance advantages. The piggy back on my shock is notably dry on muddy downhills showing the heat it is dealing with.

Sounds like most of you agree with what my gut instinct was, piggyback as a more capable shock. I wouldn’t want any compromise on function. Should be able to get a test on a mate’s aeris this week which should help make the decision. Thanks

TBF the Inline is really capable. It’s right up there with the DB coil on my big bike.

It’s just the reliability worry really.

Now I’ve had a mate suggesting there have been reviews about the CCDB Air on the Aeris that don’t shine such a positive light, that the shock doesn’t work so well with the frame and the monarch plus might be a better call, esp as it’s £100 cheaper and lighter.

I would probably make the same choice. Several friends have them on 4-bar bikes and all seem very pleased.

Hrm, seeing a good side on view makes it look a bit like a barn door!

Guessing that’s an XL

I’m sure what issues they had with the ccdb inline will be pretty much sorted soon. They seem to be fitted as standard on quite a few top end bikes nowadays

I would say the inline isn’t suited to a high leverage bike as the rebound range isn’t as great as other shocks I’ve had. The performance is brilliant though. have use it at inners without any issue. the CS switch on the inline is tuned more agressively than the air CS.

glasgowdan – Member

Hrm, seeing a good side on view makes it look a bit like a barn door!
That’s because:
a) It hasn’t got a piggyback filling the gap 😉
b) It’s a large or XL size
c) The saddle’s in the sky

Here’s a photo with those problems removed
[url=https://flic.kr/p/sgwZBs]Aeris-1[/url] by tryingtimes, on Flickr

I’d be on a large with a saddle in the sky much of the time though 🙂 I’ll hang on and check out my mates this week

Do you need the climb switch?

If not, how about one of these.

Hi

The Aeris runs a 63mm stroke shock, and has 140 / 150mm travel modes.

This makes the leverage ratio 2.22 or 2.38, both of which I consider to be low. Aeris does not need much damping from the rear shock due to the low leverage ratio.

In regard to the CCDB (reliablity aside for a moment), this shock (either variant) needs setting up carefully. If set up badly, the CCDB will perform worse than a RS monarch or X-Fusion O2. Too much damping combined with the low leverage ratio will kill the activity of the suspension, leaving it feeling “dead”.

If set up well then the CCDB is an excellent performer that can be tuned to suit most riders. This is important to consider when reading reviews, as the reviewer may not have taken the time (a day on the trails fiddling with dials) to set up the shock before conducting the review. The monarch and O2 shocks on the other hand work much better “out of the box”.

In terms of the difference between the inline and piggyback versions of the CCDB, jemima was correct above – the extra surface area and oil volume keep the temperature (and thus damping) more stable over long runs.

I hope this helps!

Dan (Aeris designer)

Thanks for the info Dan; do you feel, for joe bloggs who doesn’t know much more than “my bike felt smooth and tracked everything” or “my bike bounced around loads there and felt horrible” that a Monarch/monarch plus is a better choice?

Dan, the DB inline/AIR CS are pretty easy to set up and refine.

Save your money and get a Monarch plus. Amazing shock, that feels somewhat coil like and works well at everything.

Nothing wrong with the DB air, but I don’t see it being worth the extra over the Monarch plus.

I used the base tune from Bird for my CCDB Air CS. I keep thinking about tweaking it a little (and Dan or Ben told me it’s quite close to some of the Santa Cruz tunes and there’s lots of info about making changes to those). I’m pretty much a set it and leave it rider, but it was interesting working out what all the different settings do. I’m sure I’ll try changing them over time. And then probably change them back 😉

It’s a great shock. Hard to say is it ‘better’ than a Monarch Plus. I prefer the suspension action both climbing and descending over the only bike I’ve had that’s has a MP. But that was a NP Mega AM so it’s not exactly a good comparison.

i got an inline on my bottlerocket. performs awesomely. about 6 weeks use so far…..

6 months of mixed use for my inline on a spitfire for me. No faults touchwood with the shock just gutted a broken collar bone is going to stop me really pushing it in the Alps a week on Sunday.

Does anyone know if there been a specific fault identified which maybe a tft service would sort before it’s an issue? Might get it done whilst I’m off the saddle.