Cane Creek Double Barrel Rear Shock

read about someone who went crazy with the tuning; came from a fox background where he just clicked the shock a bazillion times to notice any change in rebound, and had to send it back to CaneCreek to be reset

Sounds like the suspension on my dirtbike. A few clicks on the low speed and rebound and the bike feels completely different. Whereas on mountain bike suspension, you get 20 clicks of adjustment in which the last 2-3 you can feel any difference in your settings.

I havent had my coffee yet so this is going to be all over the map :)

okay so i started out with a fox van rc on my banshee…i blew that thing up proper :) I got the avy chubie (with ti coil…the steel made it feel sloppy) and after some fine tuning..and i do mean fine since craig@avy set that thing up almost perfect, i was rockin. The best part of the avy, besides the actual shock and all its benefits…zero maintenance. Once a year it goes back to craig for overhaul and the rest of the year you forget about it. I liked that.

I decided to get rid of the banshee…

the next bike was the intense 6.6. It came with the dhx air, which was a great shock for one lap down seymour. Currently I have my 4th dhx air at home, still in the orig box, which will be used for a spare for when the canecreek goes in for a rebuild.

i put the avy on the intense for kicks and LOVED the feel of it. It felt at home on the intense, but it was setup for the banshee so when the banshee was sold to a friend, the avy went with it. The dhx air fiasco was re-installed on my 6.6.

I had a long roadtrip ahead of me - kamloops, whistler, etc…i needed a reliable shock. Cane Creek, just like Avy, custom tunes your shock for you to fit your riding style, weight, and bike. Canecreek was working closely with Intense and they had an intimate understanding of how the 6.6 works, so the double barrel was a sure thing.

I got lucky and they had a "blank" shock that was the right i2i for my bike..they tuned it up and overnighted it to me.

mmmmm db+6.6

With the shock came a book. The book covered the inner-workings of the shock and a very helpful tuning/setup section. The biggest advice anyone can walk away with is "1/4 turn tune your shock". Your shock comes almost spot-on tuned for trail riding. You are going to have to adjust it for hucking or bike park riding, but for every day riding it is pretty damn close to correct.

You can fine tune yourself into a nightmare. I read about someone who went crazy with the tuning; came from a fox background where he just clicked the shock a bazillion times to notice any change in rebound, and had to send it back to CaneCreek to be reset :)

To adjust your shock you need to carry some tools; finger adjustments are not going to happen. That is a downside, and quite possibly the ONLY downside. I found the highspeed and lowspeed adjustments just what the doctor ordered since the avy does not offer that by default (without the added cost upgrade).

Malcolm@canecreek has been an amazing help and resource for my shock. If anyone decides to look into this shock, he is the man to deal with.

Here is a nice added bonus to the double barrel.

The first season you beat on the shock, and your season ends, you need to get the service groove on. Happens with all parts…the guys at CC give you a complimentary tune/rebuild. This is only for original owners (not ebay buyers and 2nd handers…).

For those who are Ti fans…Canecreek was going to offer a Ti upgrade but RCS was not able to supply them with the number of coils they wanted. You can still upgrade to a Ti, but you have to do it yourself. Just make sure the ID is 1.43 and you are set.

Overall..I found the shock to be a dream. Hands down the best feeling shock I have ridden yet. That, married with my 66 rc2x provides the ultimate suspension setup for my bike. I do not regret for one second putting it on my bike. When I get my Socom, I plan to toss a canecreek on that bike too.

Hope that helps.

Can you set the sag on the shock. And if so what is a good starting point. Did you use your avalache for free ridin.

set the sag? you can set the sag on any shock. a good starting point is whatever it comes as. sit on the bike, measure out how much it compresses, figure out the percentage and compare that to the suggested sag in the docs you get with the shock. for me, i have the sag at 25% and that seems to be perfect for almost all riding.

i used the avy for fr/dh…hell i even used it for 4ish mile climbs and twisty buff singletrack descents…

Only 20%? VPP bikes tend to do better with more sag than most other bikes, unless the 6.6 is doing something different.

Thanks for all the info, the shock sounds like it stacks up to all the ype i was giving it. I'm glad that someone else has the shock and esspecialy with experience on an Avy as well. It looks like I'll go ahead and get one.

intense recommends 25-30% on the 6.6

Sorry guys, u guys are going to shame me, but I come from a motocross background and when u guys say 20 -30 %,that does'nt compute, what is a general measurement in Millimeters. On most dirt bikes the norm is 100 mm of sag.

Take your specificed travel. Take your recommended sag. If it is 25%, you should have 75% of travel left when sitting in your normal riding gear/position. For 4 inches of travel, that would be 3 inches. For any other amount of travel, do the maths yourself.

Only 20%? VPP bikes tend to do better with more sag than most other bikes, unless the 6.6 is doing something different.

20? no no…25%.

I had the 6.6 setup at 30% but it feels better at 25 for me.

and at 25% sag, for the 6.6, you are looking at 38.1mm. To get 100mm of sag, you would have to setup your sag to 50% of the travel available on my bike :)

Take your specificed travel. Take your recommended sag. If it is 25%, you should have 75% of travel left when sitting in your normal riding gear/position. For 4 inches of travel, that would be 3 inches. For any other amount of travel, do the maths yourself.

Thanks

20? no no…25%.

I had the 6.6 setup at 30% but it feels better at 25 for me.

and at 25% sag, for the 6.6, you are looking at 38.1mm. To get 100mm of sag, you would have to setup your sag to 50% of the travel available on my bike :)

The V10 I had performed better with lots of sag, something in the neighbourhood of 40%. The VPP design works the best with lots of sag, but it has something to do with the type of shock on there too. I guess 25% is good for your bike.

..what do i know :) i just set it up so it feels best and performs to what I think is best…

you guys snowed in yet in the loops?

No snow yet, but its close.

The one other question I have is, how are the heim joints fordurability. I think they use heim joints instead of DU bushings.