So I’ve had a bit of time to test out my CCDB and thought I would give a mini review, might be useful for anyone considering one for their trail bike.

Bike: Orange 5, 190x50mm, 500lb steel spring
Rider: Fat 14 stone bloke

Pros: Believe the hype – this thing has transformed my bike into a descending beast (and surprisingly it’s also better on climbs). I can now pedal hard while standing up and sitting down and never pedal strike. Downhill is a dream, it’s like the shock is anticipating the trail; it copes with anything I can throw at it. I’m noticeably faster on my favourite sections of trail than with my old shock (rp23).

It took a little time to set up and get just right, here are the settings I have dialled in, and they are great (for me, ymmv)

Dialled everything full anticlockwise, then clockwise

HSR – 2.5 turns in from all out
LSR – 12 clicks from all out
HSC – 2.0 turns in from all out
LSC – 15 clicks in from all out

This makes the bike responsive to slow inputs but nice and soft on faster bigger hits, so I can pedal efficiently but don’t feel like I’m riding a bucking bronco on the rough stuff.

Cons: Expensive, heavy – I do notice the difference in weight, it must weigh at least an extra 500 grams over my rp23 – this could be remedied a bit with a Ti spring but that’s another 150 notes….

To sum up, if you have been sitting on the fence and toying with the idea of one of these shocks, think no more, and just do it.

did you get recommended settings from malcolm@canecreek and if so how does yours compare? Got one on my alpine and have been increasing the LSC to get rid of that trap door feeling on slow rolling stuff.

My settings are pretty much Malcolm’s “max” settings but with a bit extra HSR dialled in. How do you find your CCDB?

I’m still fiddling with mine. I like it and it feels better than any other shock I have used when going fast and hard, but there is a sort of lifeless feel to it when popping off rocks and generaly playing about… like it needs more “input” to get the oil flowing properly?

FTFY.

randomjeremy… where did you get it from and did they tune it to your bike before sending it out..??.. as the shocks vary in price across the www.

For anyone else who’s wondering, CCDB = “Cane Creek Double Barrel”.

Something to do with bouncy bikes 😉

When I see posts about upgrading from an air shock to a CCDB I often wonder if the cheaper alternatives have been considered eg a DHX or even a vanilla. While the difference between air and coil is clear, I wonder how many riders could “really” tell the difference between a DHX (or whatever) and CCDB when fitted to the same bike?

they dont “tune it to your bike” any more than you do yourself, the point of the CCDB is it has so much adjustment range it can be set to perfectly match any bike and rider. malcolm@canecreek.com has a database of recommended settings from their test riders which he will email out, and it is a good starting point. I’m currently using higher end of recommended like randomjeremy, especially trying to get rid of the blowing thru the travel on slowish rolling stuff that my single pivot seems to suffer by increasing the LSC.

I cant really compare it as I went from a VPP bike with air shock to a single pivot with CCDB.

If youre looking at US web prices include 20%VAT and about 4% import tax, there was a thread a while ago with a cheap UK supplier

forum search shows from freeborn for £405 which isnt much more than used prices

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/buying-a-ccdb-is-it-worth-the-extra-90-to-buy-from-tftuned

the answer to is it worth an extra 95 quid from TFT is no, its not.

I run either a CCDB or a TFT tuned and Pushed Float R. The Float was hopeless when I first fitted it but now it’s tuned it is a great shock. I used to have a coil DHX4 which I ran almost all the time rather than the poorly performing Float. I fiddled plenty with the Float and DHX before sending the Float to TFT, it took two goes to get the Float how I wanted it and rather then do the same with the DHX I decided to try the CCDB so I can have a right good fiddle myself.

Mostly I run the tuned Float now which I think is amazing and out-performs the non tuned DHX4 Coil… seriously… it is that good!

The CCDB is better again. I’m still setting it up and trying different things but there are times with the CCDB when it feels absolutely amazing like it’s giving you speed on the pedal strokes on climbs, or when riding the back wheel (manualling) at speed through rough stuff it’s like it’s supporting the whole bike holding it up with a big plush hand.
As I mentioned before there are also times when it feels a little dead like it needs a thump to get the oil flowing and work it’s magic… as a general rule the harder I’m working it the better it feels. When going from a flat path to a little rock off the trail to get a little “pop jump” the CCDB feels lethargic and won’t play… it’s like its saying “what the F*&^ is that???”… a similar rock on a rough path at speed the CCDB will lap up and give me all the pop I want in a super controlled way.

But… back out the adjusters too far or get silly with them and bike is nigh on unrideable… shows you just how good most shocks are… very very amusing.

If you want fit and forget great performance get a tuned shock. If you want to take it to another level and are happy to fiddle and consider playing with your suspension part of the fun then the CCDB is a great toy.

Munqe-chick – cheers thats what I was thinking.

@neilforrow – got mine from FreeFlow, it was ~£450 delivered which I think was reasonable

@xiphon – lol 🙂 too right

Got one on my Patriot and I’m coming to the conclusion that it’s a great shock much of the time, but its super sensitivity means that every so often it inevitably feels a bit crap because it’s not dialled for the trail. I should have known this anyway, really. I reckon a good Fox would feel 8/10 all the time, where a CCDB feels 9/10 most of the time but only 6/10 on certain trails. Unless you can be bothered setting up for a particular trail, I’d argue you’re unlikely to get the best from this shock. I know others who’ve reached the same (expensive) conclusion.