Cane Creek AD5 would not fit my Oz/EVO

[Scott]

The Cane Creek AD5 would not fit my Oz or any other EVO type frame without grinding a bit from the underside of the shock and/or from the mounting plate on the swingarm.  It looked to be an acceptable amount esp. when I looked at what's been drilled out of the mounting plate to clear the valves on Fox Float shocks with no ill effect-but I couldn't bring myself to do it!

[Simon]

Scott,interested to know why you went for a Cane Creak AD5 when there are other units out there that are a straight forward fit   is there something about this unit that appeals to you that we should know about,shame it didn't fit,would liked to known how it performed on a Oz/evo style frame.Simon    

[Scott]

Hi Simon,
I bought it on eBay along with a new NR2.  It was the right length or close enough at 7.875.  They have a good reputation and at $56 total I just winged it knowing it would be easy to cover costs by reselling the shock which I did.  I'm having to move up a class for next seasons XC racing  and am desperate to lighten/lockout the rear of the Oz as I'll need all the help I can get!!  That leads to this question-did you ever size up Nigels SID for your Carbon?? I see he has the lockout too.

A friend has a blown AD5 which, if he'll part with it, I'll dismatle and determine what material will remain after grinding to fit the Oz.  Also the AD5's are very lightweight @ 215 grams or so for the 7.875!

[Scott]

One more question Simon, did you say that the Fox Float would fit the Oz without needing to grind the base mount as the shock could be mounted standard fashion with the valve to the top?

Thanks,
Scott

[Simon]

Hi Scott,for that price I can see why you went for the AD5,unfortunatly I didn't try Nigel's sid as a fit to my carbon frame but I'd think some frame mods would be required,also bare in mind the sid's i to i was (I think) 200mm so the head angle was slackened off a bit on the evo,Nigel likes it though,Fox as far as I know don't list a unit thats a straight fit to the carbon frame,but that doesn't mean someone hasn't done it,I'm afraid the only units I've tried on the carbon are the NR2, NR4, Risse terminator,Risse Astro 5,out of these I can only recommend the Astro 5 as your after light weight (250g approx) and lockout (the Astro has near lockout via the rebound circuit) bit difficult to apply whilst riding though,will cost a bit too unless you can find a s/hand unit,sorry I can't be of more help,maybe you should put up a new post for others to recommend a suitable unit  good luck with your hunt and your forthcoming xc series,Simon [smiley=nod.gif]

[Scott]

Thanks Simon, it's looking to be an Astro out back for me, maybe there's a way to retro fit a cabling system to my old XC Pro thumbshifter for an easier lockout?  Saved the thumbies for just such use.  Any ideas here as you are the "master retro" man of the board!  I've seen the Astro and recall the lever to add dampning of one type-it must be compression if they can offer near lockout settings?

[Simon]

Thanks Simon, it's looking to be an Astro out back for me, maybe there's a way to retro fit a cabling system to my old XC Pro thumbshifter for an easier lockout?  Saved the thumbies for just such use.  Any ideas here as you are the "master retro" man of the board!  I've seen the Astro and recall the lever to add dampning of one type-it must be compression if they can offer near lockout settings?

I'd like to think I could do this but to be honest I personally wouldn't bother,but if I did I'd start by finding a suitable cable that has a solid inner wire as the lever on the shock would have to be pushed as well as pulled,the lever is quite hard to move so you may need to lengthen the lever arm to give better leverage,you'ld then have to check that the thumb shifter would be able to pull enough cable to operate the lever on the shock through its operating range,just some thoughts to start you off,however how about lengthening the shocks lever (a solid rod with a small tube on the end with a grub screw to lock onto the lever) curve the rod inboard then you have something easy to grab enabling you set to lockout whilst riding just another option,as for the damping circuit on the astro,as I understand it its on the rebound circuit,it allows it compress but fails to return(all be it very slowly)the compression is custom valved to the purchaser,you can also adjust through changing oil weights,Simon [smiley=nod.gif]

[Scott]

Thanks Simon, the solid cable could be similar to our old automobile manuel choke cables.  If I end up with an Astro I'd likely take the simple approach you suggest and modify the semi "on the fly lockout" so to be more easily moved while pedaling.