Cane Creek Double Barrel - User reviews, thoughts and settings

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Cane Creek Double Barrel - User reviews, thoughts and settings
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flag neally
Posted: May 26, 2011 at 7:06 Quote
Basically, just did a quick serach and was surprised to see a lack of any threads with real-world comments and feedback on this shock, considering it gets such positive press and trade reviews.

I'm only 2 weeks into owning the shock on my bike, and I'm just wondering:

- How people are finding them generally (other than...''they're great'') ?
- What processes people have gone through for adjustments and fine tuning the settings?
- Do people tune the adjustments depending on the track and weather conditions or simply find a setting and leave it? If so, what typical adjustment changes are made.
- How do you like to run the 4 settings - individual preferences and how they translate to your riding and how the bike feels.

Basically this kind of stuff.

Plus any user thoughts and experience on living with the shock - servicing, any problems or issues, reliability etc.

I know asking shock set-up questions and getting comments are difficult because everybody has such different preferences but I figured if this is the ultimate user-friendly set-up shock available then it should be a suitable candidate for discussion?
cheers

ps I run mine on a TR450
flag thereisnospoon
Posted: May 27, 2011 at 7:54 Quote
surprised that you haven't had any feedback yet.

the CCDB I'm running on my Glory DH is far and away the best performing shock I've owned. better mid-stroke and small-bump than a RC4, far better all-around than the numerous DHX4/5/Air shocks I've had, etc. zero stiction, fantastic mid-stroke control, huge tuning range that should work with any frame design, and it looks good haha.

getting them set up is a PITA. I carry a pen and paper with me when riding, so that I can write down the changes I've made, and the differences I saw while riding. I found that it made it easier to get it dialed in, since it only takes a couple of clicks or 1/4 turns to go too far.

one big tip that I have when tuning - make small adjustments, record them on paper and test, don't make big changes because it's too easy make things worse.

I found that, once I had it dialed in, I really didn't have to change it for other hills. I added a 1/4 or 1/2 turn of HSC for Whistler to keep from bottoming, that was it.

I've had zero problems with reliability. 100+ hours on the shock last season, and it was still flawless (no leaks, still ZERO stiction, perfect).

I love the performance of my Double Barrel, but my direct dealings with Cane Creek have been nothing short of terrible.
6-9 week waits for DUs, reducers and springs that were supposedly "in stock and on their shelf", 7 week turnaround on shock service this past January/February (where they were supposedly making it up to me for past problems LOL, still cost me 2x what I pay for Fox shock service), multiple ignored emails, no return calls, etc.
rather poor, IMO, considering the high price for a CCDB. not only that, parts and service are 2-3x the price that I paid for my Fox, Marz, 5th Element shocks, which had turnaround times of 1-2 weeks, if not less. even in the middle of the season.

I chalked it up to CC being small in comparison to Fox, Marzocchi etc, but Elka seems to be able to provide turnaround times just as fast as the big companies.

the CCDB is a fantastic performer, no question. takes time to dial in, but well worth the effort.
maybe I've just been horribly unlucky with service. either way, I won't be selling my spare DHX shock, just in case LOL
flag neally
Posted: May 30, 2011 at 2:19 Quote
Hi mate

Cheers for the post. Yeah I'm a bit surprised more people don't want to discuss the finer detail of this shock (maybe everyone else is just super happy and confident with how they have it set up!).

In terms of reliability etc, I bought the shock from TF Tuned here in the UK so they will be my contact point for any issues, servicing etc. Maybe this will be a good thing as I know TF are now official UK Cane Creek DB distributor and service centre so should be pretty reliable for this and will save dealing with Cane Creek directly.

So I've only had 2 weeks with the shock. Initially I could feel in a car park test and doing some fairly low stress runs that it just felt...different. Very controlled in the way it dampens. Although incredibly smooth and 'uninhibited' which i think is the best way to describe it.

TF tuned sent it to me pre-set to what I described to them that I wanted over the phone. I think it's fairly close but I have since quicked up the HSR a fraction. I had a full day at Fort William on Friday so was able to get a better feel for the settings. They have sent the HSC in a highly damped setting (3 turns, circa 85% damping on?) and I think in time I might reduce this for most local trails although it's not a bad setting for Fort William!!!

So I'm still fettling with it but first impressions are all good!
flag JokerMachine
Posted: May 30, 2011 at 3:31 Quote
thereisnospoon wrote:
Elka seems to be able to provide turnaround times just as fast as the big companies.

Just chiming in to let you know that Elka isn't a small company by any stretch of the imagination. Yes, their MTB lineup is pretty small, but the majority of their products are for motorcycles and ATV's.
flag thereisnospoon
Posted: May 30, 2011 at 8:18 Quote
JokerMachine wrote:
Just chiming in to let you know that Elka isn't a small company by any stretch of the imagination. Yes, their MTB lineup is pretty small, but the majority of their products are for motorcycles and ATV's.

true, but their presence in MTBing is tiny compared to Fox, Marz, RS etc, and even smaller than Cane Creek. hence why I said what I did.

if a company like Elka, with a tiny market share on the MTB side and whose focus obviously lies elsewhere, can still look after their MTB customers as well as a company like Fox, you can only be impressed with them. at the same time, it makes me even more disappointed with Cane Creek considering the price premium we pay.

oh well, until Fox comes out with a shock that matches the CCDB in terms of performance, I'll have to suck it up and deal with it somehow LOL
flag JokerMachine
Posted: May 30, 2011 at 9:03 Quote
thereisnospoon wrote:
if a company like Elka, with a tiny market share on the MTB side and whose focus obviously lies elsewhere, can still look after their MTB customers as well as a company like Fox, you can only be impressed with them.

I dunno, I thought it would be the other way around. The smaller the customer base, the more attention they can pay to each customer. Hence the better customer service, their service department for MTB stuff isn't swamped with people and that makes the job of the people working there that much easier.

Just my thoughts on the matter Book
flag thereisnospoon
Posted: May 30, 2011 at 11:09 Quote
the size of the customer base shouldn't necessarily equal better service. the amount and quality of resources towards the service side of whatever product a company makes is more important IMO. with Elka, they seem to be willing to supply enough resources, even in their minor (and fairly new) MTB side of things, to do the job well.
for a company that new to the MTB game, that's what surprised me.

bear in mind, with the disappointing service I've gotten from Cane Creek, who also have a fairly small MTB suspension customer base, it probably doesn't take much to impress me these days LOL
flag Dannyxix
Posted: Jun 17, 2014 at 9:02 Quote
thereisnospoon wrote:
surprised that you haven't had any feedback yet.

the CCDB I'm running on my Glory DH is far and away the best performing shock I've owned. better mid-stroke and small-bump than a RC4, far better all-around than the numerous DHX4/5/Air shocks I've had, etc. zero stiction, fantastic mid-stroke control, huge tuning range that should work with any frame design, and it looks good haha.

getting them set up is a PITA. I carry a pen and paper with me when riding, so that I can write down the changes I've made, and the differences I saw while riding. I found that it made it easier to get it dialed in, since it only takes a couple of clicks or 1/4 turns to go too far.

one big tip that I have when tuning - make small adjustments, record them on paper and test, don't make big changes because it's too easy make things worse.

I found that, once I had it dialed in, I really didn't have to change it for other hills. I added a 1/4 or 1/2 turn of HSC for Whistler to keep from bottoming, that was it.

I've had zero problems with reliability. 100+ hours on the shock last season, and it was still flawless (no leaks, still ZERO stiction, perfect).

I love the performance of my Double Barrel, but my direct dealings with Cane Creek have been nothing short of terrible.
6-9 week waits for DUs, reducers and springs that were supposedly "in stock and on their shelf", 7 week turnaround on shock service this past January/February (where they were supposedly making it up to me for past problems LOL, still cost me 2x what I pay for Fox shock service), multiple ignored emails, no return calls, etc.
rather poor, IMO, considering the high price for a CCDB. not only that, parts and service are 2-3x the price that I paid for my Fox, Marz, 5th Element shocks, which had turnaround times of 1-2 weeks, if not less. even in the middle of the season.

I chalked it up to CC being small in comparison to Fox, Marzocchi etc, but Elka seems to be able to provide turnaround times just as fast as the big companies.

the CCDB is a fantastic performer, no question. takes time to dial in, but well worth the effort.
maybe I've just been horribly unlucky with service. either way, I won't be selling my spare DHX shock, just in case LOL


What year glory are you running CCDB on buddy as think might b getting a 2011ccdb for my 2011 glory 01 any thoughts or ideas?? Cheers
flag thereisnospoon
Posted: Jun 17, 2014 at 13:09 Quote
I was running a 2010 CCDB on my old 2008 Glory DH. can't really comment on the newer Glorys, but Cane Creek has a base tune in their database for the 2011 Glory to get you dialed in pretty close if you decide to buy one.

I've had zero maintenance/durability issues in the ~4 years I've ridden CCDBs on my DH bikes (DBcoil on the Glory DH, DBcoil last season/DBair this season on my Aurum). I'm still not a fan of their customer service (took over a month to get mounting hardware and an XV air can for my DB air, in the off season), but they make excellent rear shocks. being that you're across the pond, you may have local suppliers to speed things up.

customer service aside, I have nothing but good things to say about my experiences riding CCDBs.
flag manachim
Posted: Jun 18, 2014 at 8:59 Quote
thereisnospoon wrote:
I was running a 2010 CCDB on my old 2008 Glory DH. can't really comment on the newer Glorys, but Cane Creek has a base tune in their database for the 2011 Glory to get you dialed in pretty close if you decide to buy one.

I've had zero maintenance/durability issues in the ~4 years I've ridden CCDBs on my DH bikes (DBcoil on the Glory DH, DBcoil last season/DBair this season on my Aurum). I'm still not a fan of their customer service (took over a month to get mounting hardware and an XV air can for my DB air, in the off season), but they make excellent rear shocks. being that you're across the pond, you may have local suppliers to speed things up.

customer service aside, I have nothing but good things to say about my experiences riding CCDBs.

so you are changing from coil to air. Why you're doing it?? Is the air better or you just want a lighter shock. I am asking because I am still confusing whether want to take the coil or air version. Currently I am using 2014 dhx rc4. Its grat shock thou. But still I want to give a try for ccdb.
flag thereisnospoon
Posted: Jun 18, 2014 at 9:30 Quote
running a CCDB air because it's almost a pound lighter, and I can dial in my spring rate to exactly what I like. I've gained 40lbs of muscle in the last year and a half, and have lost the desire to wait 2 months for a new spring from Cane Creek if I gain any more weight and become undersprung. I've ran an air-sprung Dorado for the last 2 seasons, with no issues, and it sold me on air suspension being viable for DH.
I'm keeping one of my DB coils as a spare, in case my Air is too progressive for the suspension on the Aurum (or the shock has issues mid-season), but I've swapped to a larger XV air canister to make the shock more linear.

not all bikes will work with the progressive DB air shock. Malcolm thought the Aurum would be fine with the XV can, but very few people have even tried so one can't be 100% sure. depends on the bike
flag manachim
Posted: Jun 18, 2014 at 13:10 Quote
So on your bike. Which one do you prefer, without considering the anything else. Just the feel. Which one do you prefer?
Coil or air??
Fyi, I had tried ccdb air on my previous bike.
I put it on my previous bottle rocket. Back at the time, I am switching to ccdb air from elka.

I must admit that elka wins the small bump and initial stroke feel.
ccdb wins for the mid support and it has more control for the last stroke.

I never tried the ccdb coil before, that's why I am asking you.

Now I am trying to put in my entourage.
flag thereisnospoon
Posted: Jun 18, 2014 at 18:45 Quote
haven't had any ride time on the DBair, was waiting the past 3 weeks for a new freehub for my rear i9 (just arrived in the mail today). I'm hoping to ride it this weekend when COP opens.
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