Cane Creek Double Barrel Shock

Back when I was a “sled neck” I remember reading a piece on stage tuning a snowmobile and when they spoke about the shocks they said this: “Fox shocks are the best value for your money. But if you want the best, buy Öhlins.”

So when I got my hands on the Double Barrel from Cane Creek that features Öhlins' Twin Tube technology I knew that I was going to be in for a treat. And boy was I. This shock is by far the best that I have ever ridden. For those that don’t want to read any further and just want my final thoughts… Order one up, you won’t regret it.

Each and every Double Barrel are hand built in the USA and feature 4-way independent adjustments of high / low speed compression and rebound giving you the ability to set it up to match any type of riding style or condition. Most people jump on a bike and pump it up and down a couple of times to determine the feel of a shock or fork, but the Double Barrel is dampened differently than all other shocks and it can only be accurately tested in real conditions bombing down a hill.

Double Barrel Schematic diagram.

Double Barrel adjustment screws.

All the adjustments are made in 5 different ways. The first is by setting up the sag or preload on the bike via the spring (Cane Creek suggest running 20% sag, which is 5-10% more than other brands). The next set of adjustments can be made via low speed valves (flat head screw driver inside the hex nut) effecting how the shock reacts to small bumps or pedaling input and the pressure-sensitive high-speed valves that take care of the drops, jumps etc (10mm hex nut).

Double Barrel adjustment screws.

Basically the Twin Tube design of the shock allows the oil to circulate continuously through the valves making it completely adjustable and straightforward with either a hex nut or a screwdriver. The interesting part is that you can feel the heat generated in the shock by the oil being pressed through the tube bodies! After a run down A-Line I put my hand on the outside of the Twin Tube and I could feel the heat through my gloves.

One thing that I noticed about how just a little change in the settings would effect how the shock performed. Initially I left the shock at stock settings so that I could do a base line test down Dirt Merchant. I then increased the high speed rebound by one click and the shock had become livelier. Basically when I hit a lip on a jump it felt like the shock had a bit more “pop” than other shocks. One click had made a major difference in how it felt and performed and was now more in line with what I preferred.

The range of adjustablity on the Double Barrel is Immense. It gives you the opportunity to fine tune the shock to exactly how you would like it to perform or to current race conditions, all with a hex key or a slot screw driver that will fit in your pocket. In fact i did all my adjustments on hill after each run to

The season is starting to wrap up here in Whistler and I have had just over 20 park days on the Double Barrel shock and it has performed excellently on every occasion. From tight technical trails to the Crab Apple hits it has been able to take everything that I have thrown at it.

Opinion: If you are looking at getting a new coil shock for your bike and want the best, the Double Barrel should be your first and final choice.

Cane Creek Double Barrel
Sizes: Various eye to eye lengths and strokes.
Colours: Black
Plus: Durable, adjustable for any conditions.
Minus: Price.
MSRP: $850 (w/ti spring), $650 (w/steel spring)
Website: http://www.canecreek.com/double_barrel.html

Rating: 5/5