Concerned about recent chat amongst friends that RS rear shocks aren’t as reliable as they used to be. I’m going to buy a Last Coal and although I was very happy with the first monarch plus I had, I felt so/so with the previous one, the current monarch on my transition scout has been replaced under warranty. Will the extra 200g and cost of the CCDB be worth it for reliability as well as the performance? I think a CCDB inline will be out of its depth on a 160 hard hitting bike.

Can’t answer your question, but have you considered the fox float x2?

And I agree on the db inline btw!

I had a Monarch Plus RC3 on my old HD and my friend had a CCDBA on his HD – his was sooo much nicer! Heavier, yes but it soaked up everything in a much more composed manner..

The Inline, is actually a very capable shock, just not really fair to compare it to a piggyback..

Just put a CCDB inline on the Rocket and I’ve got to say it’s very good so far, though riding has been limited due to work etc.

piggy back only woth it if you are doing long DH’s There is more oil in an inline than there is in a DPS float or monarch RT3. never had an issue with my old inline at fort bill or inners

Yep about half a pound heavier.
And a mate mentioned the fox but I’d prefer to go with shocks that come as standard on the complete builds.
Interesting about the inline. It would be used mainly on long descents, essentially dh tracks.

Monarch is a good shock, though I had to warranty mine. CCDBA and X2 are in a completely different league. If you’re riding downhill tracks I’m sure you’ll appreciate the upgrade. I’ve heard from quite a few respected sources that the CCDB inline isn’t up to that sort of punishment, particularly if you’re heavier, but I’ve never used one.

I’m 11 stone without riding kit but don’t take my time getting down a trail. So not sure where that puts me with an inline – might be alright.

I have an Inline on my Banshee Prime – it has 135mm travel but is a bike definitely designed for hard riding. The shock has been flawless in the 12 months I’ve been running it, and in that time has been down numerous DH tracks (including Fort William) and ridden at plenty of uplift days. I’ve also done 5 or 6 enduros in that time.

I also have a DBAir which I stick on for alpine trips. But for me personally, the Inline is more than enough shock for the UK riding I do.

Whether that changes when the travel is upped, god knows.

I think it depends on the bike.

Having run a DB Air on a Nomad, it never really worked very well, the standard Monarch Plus was the better shock.

That said, I’d rather the Float X2 anyway, it’s a better, more refined DB Air.

Not quite what you’re after, but the CC inline on my Trek remedy is miles better than the Monarch Debonair RT I had before, and the DRCV Fox / penske racing float I had before that

I’m interested in this and the comments on the piggy back shocks RE DH track duties. Appreciate that over long hard duty such as a long DH the pigg back shocks will work better and harder for longer, but how do they feel relative to a more normal trail bike inline shock? I’m happy to be overshocked if the shock feels much nicer than my current Pushed Fox CTD – which is much improved since being Pushed, but still blows through its travel way too easily. I do do modest DH stuff on my bike with several uplift days a year, but obviously nothing long and hard enough specifically warrant a piggy back shock.

Well we all used to ride in the Alps and uplifts with inline shocks back when the DHX Air was the only mass market piggyback shock (and was crap IME).

I think the CCDB Inline is a great shock when working, but it does seem more vulnerable to going pop than most other shocks in the world – so I’d swerve it more on that basis.

Personally, on my bike, the CCDB inline and air basically feel the same. That’s the beauty of the shocks with the additional adjustability that the CC and higher spec Fox shocks have – you’re able to change the characteristics to make it feel however you want.

As I understand it the main point of a piggyback increases the amount of oil in the unit for the ability of the unit to cope with heat. Not wanting to sound too much like a CC fanboi – but I think the inline has internals that more closely resemble a DBAir, than a Fox CTD inline shock resembles a Float X2. I don’t know if Fox do an equivalent inline shock these days.

The new fox EVOL inline shock is very good. I’m much more a CC fan having both a CCDB CS and and inline. Before the EVOL, I’ve always swapped out fox shocks for CC. However, I’ve been really impressed with the EVOL, paired up with Fox 36s, it works very well and is really plush. OH has the X2, which he says is really awesome.

Theres been a lot of talk about the CC inline here, because people use them (me included). The CC inline still has a higher oil volume than other inline shocks. But on a 160mm bike I’d go for the normal air version with piggy back, provided you are using it for dh days and long descents. I haven’t used mine on any crazy long descents yet, although it felt as good at the bottom of BPW runs as it did on the top (as I’d expect from any shock!). Can’t comment on the reliability!

Well it looks like the monarch plus has been well and truly ruled out. and the reliability of the inline puts me off despite the fact I think it could work well enough for me.

You have a 2 year warranty so any probs with an inline and you can send it straight to tftuned and get.it back in a few days.

Cotic wouldn’t have included it on the rocket if it wasn’t a damn good shock.