[ErvSpanks]

It looks as if my Man 3-way is done for, leaking mess. Gonna bring it in and my shop says that IH should take care of it, hopefully, only got 100 miles on it.

Was wondering if anyone has an opinion on a replacement that complements the dw-link. Kinda lookin' a bit at the CaneCreek cloud-9, but I wouldn't mind mulling over other ideas.

Thanks!

 

[_hamilton]

I think it will work with most shocks...

as long as you can adjust rebound. I have the Manitou QL (no SPV). Works fine.

 

[broncbuster]

It looks as if my Man 3-way is done for, leaking mess. Gonna bring it in and my shop says that IH should take care of it, hopefully, only got 100 miles on it.

Was wondering if anyone has an opinion on a replacement that complements the dw-link. Kinda lookin' a bit at the CaneCreek cloud-9, but I wouldn't mind mulling over other ideas.

Thanks!

Can't say if the cloud nine is a good choice for your hollowpoint but I had one on my last MB and was pleased with the performance, durability (over two years) and the fact that it very rarely needed to be aired up. I purchased the rebuild kit when I bought it but never needed it and from what I hear it is easy to rebuild yourself. Shipping was fairly fast and customer service was A+ for any questions I had.....I am also considering the cloud nine for my MKIII expert. I was told push fox rp3 used in the open position or push fox ava was good choice for the MKIII by others here at this forum.

 

[Speedub.Nate]

I had excellent results with the Cane Creek AD-12 I ran on my '03 Hollowpoint for two years. I recommend it over the Cloud Nine.

The Cloud Nine gives you a psuedo lockout you'll never use with the dw-link.

The AD-12 gives you the three-position main chamber volume adjustment which allows you to tailor your spring curve. This is a very useful tuning option missing from the Cloud Nine.

 

[broncbuster]

I had excellent results with the Cane Creek AD-12 I ran on my '03 Hollowpoint for two years. I recommend it over the Cloud Nine.

The Cloud Nine gives you a psuedo lockout you'll never use with the dw-link.

The AD-12 gives you the three-position main chamber volume adjustment which allows you to tailor your spring curve. This is a very useful tuning option missing from the Cloud Nine.

The lockout on the cloud nine does the following:

A newly designed Rapid Compression Adjuster (RCA) enables the user to take the compression damping to its firmest position with the push of a button. Pressing the button will have the same effect as turning the compression adjuster all the way in, yielding a more progressive shock. Pressing it again will return the compression setting to its previous position.

I am wondering if that would help increase speed in the XC on the fly / I don't think adjusting your compression to the max setting would change you preset 25-30% sag DW recommends. Just a thought!

 

[Speedub.Nate]

Consider the effect:

Max out the compression, suspension slows way down. The dw-link definitely doesn't need this type of a crutch (neither CC's RCA nor a real lockout), agreed? And changes to compression settings won't influence sag.

So now you're hammering on the flats, you've pretty much eliminated any sort of small bump sensitivity by activating the psuedo-lockout, and if you hit a series of roots or some other protrusion, you suddenly find your back end flying off if it, rather than absorbing it.

So I'm leaning towards this being a bad thing for the flat-running XC situation you're describing. You just made your bike a softtail, in the riding conditions it should shine in.

Keep in mind that even a bike with average to mediocre suspension, featuring a shock with a lockout, the rider is apt to use the lockout on slower climbs, when the bike isn't going to go fling itself skyward when it hits some terrain -- but the rider is going to unlock it and let the mediocre suspension do its thing when hammering the fast stuff.

I'd suggest your disappointment is with your tire and/or wheel setup. Check tire pressures. Look for some rubber with low rolling resistance or lighter weights.

 

[broncbuster]

You just made your bike a softtail, in the riding conditions it should shine in.

Did you mean to say hardtail?

 

[g-funk]

Yeah, Bronc, I really think that you're barking up the wrong tree with the shock issue. I ride my hardtail every so often and do experience quickness and snappidappiness that I don't get with the MK but my hard tail weighs like 23 pounds with an ultra light set of wheels. and the MK weighs, I don't know, 40 pounds? it is a slower accelerating bike. but on a 40 mile ride guess which bike I ride? that's right my CR250!!! oh wait my MK3.
How much do you weigh? have you checked the preload on your bearings in your rear hub and your bb. I rode a month or so ago with my bb bearings too tight and it really sucked my energy.


Oh yeah back to the program. spanks try to warranty that manitou 3way. I beat the crap out of mine on my 04HP and thought it held up great

 

[Speedub.Nate]

Did you mean to say hardtail?

No, soft tail, like barely no travel (think Salsa Dos Niner or Airborne Paka Wallup).

The Cane Creek RCA can never truly lock out the Cloud Nine, since the shock uses a compressible damping medium (air). It's always going to have some movement, even if you completely blocked the compression damping circuit.

 

[broncbuster]

How much do you weigh? have you checked the preload on your bearings in your rear hub and your bb. I rode a month or so ago with my bb bearings too tight and it really sucked my energy.

175lbs g-fink... In a previous post I questioned the possibility of the bottom bracket bearings being the source / got no response other than maybe I'm a fat ass and the bike and I need to lose some weight. Don't think the bikes weight is the problem yet and I know mine isn't. You may be right about bb or rear hub bearings. Rear wheels spins for what seems like a normal amount of time by hand though. I was questioning the BB bearings from the beginning feels like the drag does originate there but never having rode an IH or bike with these type bearings was relying in more knowledgeable riders like yourself. How do I check both to see and make those adjustments?

Update:
There is no pre-load adjustment for the bb bearings but the good and bad news is... turns out I have a bad bb bearing so this should solve my lack of speed problem when fixed. LBS also checked out the rear hub bearings.

Sorry ErvSpanks didn't mean to highjack your topic.

 

[broncbuster]

No, soft tail, like barely no travel (think Salsa Dos Niner or Airborne Paka Wallup).

The Cane Creek RCA can never truly lock out the Cloud Nine, since the shock uses a compressible damping medium (air). It's always going to have some movement, even if you completely blocked the compression damping circuit.

Probably wishful thinking on my part about it being the shock. It would have solved two problems the other being the slop in the fifth element heim joints. Still waiting for parts from IH and Progressive almost two weeks now. Slop is not that big of a deal yet but it is annoying and I don't want to possibly damage the mounting hardware by letting it go on too long.

 

[harky]

It looks as if my Man 3-way is done for, leaking mess. Gonna bring it in and my shop says that IH should take care of it, hopefully, only got 100 miles on it.

Was wondering if anyone has an opinion on a replacement that complements the dw-link. Kinda lookin' a bit at the CaneCreek cloud-9, but I wouldn't mind mulling over other ideas.

Thanks!

ES...I wouldn't give up on the 3-Way...unless the R&R cost is high.
I've been running (pounding) the 3W on my 04HP for years and I like how it behaves.
I set it up with minimal SPV pressure and the recommened sag.
The bike (an 03 HP) was originally fitted with a Fox AVA which was nice...but when the broken frame was replaced with an 04, it came with teh 3-way. I was bummed at first, cuz I thought the AVA was tops, but I got to like the 3way. I've had it apart once in 3 years to clean and lube the air seal (it was leaking a little air) and it's still going strong as my daily ride.

 

[KevinB]

It looks as if my Man 3-way is done for, leaking mess. Gonna bring it in and my shop says that IH should take care of it, hopefully, only got 100 miles on it.

Was wondering if anyone has an opinion on a replacement that complements the dw-link. Kinda lookin' a bit at the CaneCreek cloud-9, but I wouldn't mind mulling over other ideas.

I've been running a Cloud Nine on my '04 Hollowpoint for quite a while now. In addition to the Manitou Swinger 3-way that came with the bike, I've also tried a Fox RP3 (stock) and later on, a PUSHed RP3.

The ride is noticeably different with each of the shocks and there are tradeoffs with running one shock versus another, but overall, I like the Cloud Nine the best. It gives me the plushest ride of the lot. There's somewhat more suspension movement while pedaling when I use the Cloud Nine versus the other shocks, but that'd due to the fact that the Swinger 3-way and the Fox RP3 are both platform shocks. (If I have the sag dialed just right, nearly all of the pedal-induced bob goes away when pedaling hard.)

Just prior to purchasing the Cloud Nine (nearly a year ago now), I considered getting an AD-12 because it's less expensive and has the volume plate adjustment that Nate mentions. However, Mr. P had tried this shock and was unable to mount it without modifying (via a dremel IIRC) the shuttle which attaches the shock to the swingarm. I figured that such a modification might void the warranty, so I decided against it. I'm happy with this decision because I cracked the frame on my '04 Hollowpoint earlier this year and had to use the warranty. It took a while, but Iron Horse was able to get me a replacement '04 frame.

To conclude, I highly recommend the Cloud Nine for use with an '04 Hollowpoint. The AD-12 is also a viable option if you don't mind modifying the shuttle.

 

[KevinB]

The Cane Creek RCA can never truly lock out the Cloud Nine, since the shock uses a compressible damping medium (air). It's always going to have some movement, even if you completely blocked the compression damping circuit.

Exactly right. I've played around with the RCA on my Cloud Nine and it feels weird. Hit a small bump with the "lockout" engaged and the shock still compresses. Worse still it feels like it's rebounding without any damping at all. IMO, this adjustment is not worth having.

 

[Speedub.Nate]

Exactly right. I've played around with the RCA on my Cloud Nine and it feels weird. Hit a small bump with the "lockout" engaged and the shock still compresses. Worse still it feels like it's rebounding without any damping at all. IMO, this adjustment is not worth having.

An astute observation! With RCA engaged, all of the compression is taking place in the main chamber (no air is flowing through the damping circuit into the compression chamber). This is akin to sitting on a big rubber ball (what do they call those inflatable bouncing kids toys?). The compression ramp-up is harsh and steep, and if you manage to get any compression, the uncontrolled rebound is a b#&105;tch!

Good catch on the '04 model -- I forgot that it has the shuttle block that gets in the way of the AD-12 operation. If I recall correctly, material needs to be removed from just the shuttle block, not the frame itself, to get the AD-12 body to clear.

 

[Mr.P]

Just prior to purchasing the Cloud Nine (nearly a year ago now), I considered getting an AD-12 because it's less expensive and has the volume plate adjustment that Nate mentions. However, Mr. P had tried this shock and was unable to mount it without modifying (via a dremel IIRC) the shuttle which attaches the shock to the swingarm....

Just a heads up on the C9 and AD 12 volume plate differences. The C9 volume is about what the AD 12 volume is when set to minimum. And minimum is what you should run in the 4.5 travel position as the linkage ratio is 3:1 and you do any drops.

Shuttle mod for the AD12 is only necessary in the 4.5 position.

Fun, plush shocks as they are great for high speed bumps and chatter.

Mr. P

 

[broncbuster]

Just a heads up on the C9 and AD 12 volume plate differences. The C9 volume is about what the AD 12 volume is when set to minimum. And minimum is what you should run in the 4.5 travel position as the linkage ratio is 3:1 and you do any drops.

Shuttle mod for the AD12 is only necessary in the 4.5 position.

Fun, plush shocks as they are great for high speed bumps and chatter.

Mr. P

Mr.P
Would you saying the cloud nine is a good choice?

 

[Mr.P]

Mr.P
Would you saying the cloud nine is a good choice?

It would seem so, but Kevin B would know best as he is running one.

P

 

[KevinB]

See http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=133665 for more information about running a Cane Creek Cloud Nine on an '04 Hollowpoint. In that thread, I posted a picture of the shock on the bike and provide detailed information about setup.

 

[bigdamo]

Kevin B how does your cloud nine compare to swinger 3 way when climbing both fire roads and technical rocky roots single track.Is there any weight difference between these shocks.I would hate to loose the beautiful climbing characteristics of the hollowpoint with the swinger 3 way?Yes i have noticed while descending standing up over rocky terrain that the swinger 3 way is a little harsh over small hi speed hits especially now that i have a Marz all mountain on the front.The cloud nine sounds like the perfect match for my forks.Where do you get the Cane Creek cloud nine from?It sounds easy to do a service on too as opposed to the swinger 3 way which i have to send away to change the oil which is due again i might just try a cloud nine:thumbsup: