[Closed] Talk to me of climb switches (especially cane creek)

I think once you have tried to squash the shock, which it will resist, you don't then want it to ping back.  So it slows down both compression and rebound.  That makes sense to me.

Don't use my climb switch on my inline much as I mostly climb seated so don't generate much bob anyway. I only use it on the odd occasion I'm out of the saddle. I hadn't read up on the damping of the shock before so not aware of the rebound damping, but the climb switch mode is much better on my Inline than my previous Fox CDT shock. Definitely less movement and bobbing on the aggressive out of the saddle climbs. Hadn't thought much about why, as the shock is better than my previous Fox shock full stop. I guess the rebound damping just helps with controlling bob as bob works in both compression and rebound. You get the energy back anyway, it can't go anywhere, you just get it back at a different rate than with open rebound.

I guess the answer is the Cane Creek shock as the additional rebound damping because it can as you can adjust both compression and rebound for both high speed and low speed whereas with my previous Fox shock you couldn't, it just didn't have the adjustability.

Where would that 'lost' energy be 'giving back' to exactly?

I had a cane Creek double barrel air with the climb switch and replaced it with a fox dps.

The cane Creek still had sensation of movement with the switch on.

If I only rode off road rough stuff it would be perfect, but there are always flat smooth bits and road transitions in my rides.

Off road climbing the cane Creek was brilliant with the climb switch on.

I've had the climb switch on the Air Inline and DB Air - I do think it works better for technical climbs than the Fox or RS pedaling platforms.

So, better for technical climbs but not as good for smooth (fire road/road) ?

not as good for smooth (fire road/road) ?

No appreciable difference on smoother climbs, to me anyway.

Fox DPS is the way forward.

First shock Iv come across (and Iv tried many) with what I would call a proper lockout for climbing

Biggest improvement to my bike since ever - now feels almost like a hardtail even out of the saddle

Still has a middle setting for tech climbs if your into that - personally I like to leave it locked out on all but the gnarliest of climbs as I like the feedback and direct power transfer of my hardtail.

Thanks. Climbing, like everything else, is very much personal preference, of course. I understand how suspension should help with climbing, but in practice on all the climbs that I ride regularly (even the rougher ones) a hardtail is always faster. So, the closest I can get to fully locked the better I guess.

Actually I had a Fox DPS on a secondhand bike I bought and it was by far the firmest pedal switch I've used.

But the downside was that the "open" position had firmer compression than most shocks in "pedal" mode. Hell of a fast bike uphill though.

I thought there might be something up with the shock TBH, since it was used when I got it.

Had my first ride on a new DB air on Saturday. I kept with the base tune that TF had set up and it was very impressive. I've never really got a rear shock properly set up and most of the time only ended up using half of the travel.

This one sits nicely in the travel and just soaks up grip! The climb switch is a bit different that what I've had before. Just seemed to firm up slightly, but still track the ground. Also, it doesn't click into place (quite a smooth action).

Found that a bit strange at first.

Climb mode on old Fox shocks was very firm - pretty much a lockout with a blow off.  On a  CTD I owned I found it didn't do much and when I had it PUSHed i had it turned back into a platform lockout.   For tarmac climbing and smooth fireroad that works well but best left off on anything bumpy as you get more grip with the suspension working.

On the X2 the climb switch adds a load of compression damping.  It does something useful (unlike the CTD) and works over wider range of terrain but still best left off for a rocky climb.

Not sure about slowing rebound.  Chris Porter's recommended settings had a lot of low speed rebound which I found didn't work for climbing for me.  The bike would sit down in the travel after a couple of lumps so I ended up running it a lot quicker.

I rarely use the climb switch on the DBair on my Spitfire because it climbs so well left open*, but when I put it on it feels calmer and more glued to the ground. Lots of grip. It hardly bobs anyway but bob less with it on. Doesn't feel like a lockout at all.

*And because when I do use it, I forget to switch it off on the first descent and wonder why the back end isn't tracking so well - the slower compression and rebound is good when going up but not so good back down!

Just to show how personal these things are, I do use the climb switch on my spitfire quite a lot and find it works great. I think that comes from riding a hardtail and road bike a lot...... the  movement on a full suss becomes very apparent and in my mind annoying.

It does a great job of going up boring fire road climbs and with climbswitch on still lets it be a better climber on really technical ups than the hardtail.  Over the last few months before a service it really stopped operating effectively, but now restored.

*And because when I do use it, I forget to switch it off on the first descent and wonder why the back end isn’t tracking so well – the slower compression and rebound is good when going up but not so good back down!

and that's my problem with climb switches and lockouts in general.  On holiday on a  guided ride where everyone hangs around at the top of the climb and the guide reminds everyone to turn off their lockouts it's OK.  The rest of the time I reckon there's probably a 75% chance of me riding the next descent thinking the bike doesn't feel right.

Have to admit, I had a CCDB Air CS and I totally forgot that the climb switch works differently to competitors- never noticed in use, it just seems to add up to much the same "pedals a bit better".

“Just to show how personal these things are, I do use the climb switch on my spitfire quite a lot and find it works great. I think that comes from riding a hardtail and road bike a lot”

Actually the Spitfire is my first full-sus, and I still ride my hardtail about half the time. Are you running a 32t chain ring too? Or maybe riding bigger climbs where you are?

Yes 32 on the front. Ride the Malvern’s mainly with trips to fod wales and alps when I can. It’s the less technical less steep climbs where I want it more locked out. Notice less when you’re grunting/concentrating up a steep or technical climb.

I have the DBair-CS on mine. And if I recall correctly I’m running slightly more LSC but slightly less HSC than the base tune.

Currently swapping from 1x10 to 1x12, ao from a 36 to 50 biggest rear sprocket - that’ll have less anti-squat because it’ll raise the chain line so I may end up using the climb switch more - we shall see! My legs are excited about being able to gently spin rather than grind and stomp up the climbs.

I have the opt remote with my coil IL. I don’t just use it for climbing. Applying some lsc for level ground (single track) is handy too.

Lockouts on older Fox Float  shocks were constantly failing for me. I don’t really use lockouts but the seemed switch on by themselves on downhills which lead to shock issues later. The failed lockout shims that returned from TFTuned were shaped like soup plates..

PUSH tuning removed the lockout levers which greatly improved the reliability. I never got around to PUSH my last Float shock which had same issue with lockout.

I've got a db air with the climb switch and I use it all the time, as soon as I've finished a dh run it gets switched on. Works really well on technical climbs but if you were using it for sprinting up fireroads it still has a bit too much movement for my liking. It's on a Banshee Rune though so sprinting uphill fast isn't what the bike is for so it's not really an issue.

My favourite lockout was the propedal on the Fox Rp2 DRCV on my old Trek, it would still soak up the bumps but had virtually no movement even when pedalling hard uphill.

Thanks folks. I'm still havering over the new FlareMax, but if I did go that way I think this thread has saved me a few quid. The CC is clearly a great shock for you proper mountain bikers, but I'm a mincer who likes a really firm lockout, so the simple 4-position option on the x-fusion would probably suit me better and I could always drop a DPS in there later.