Cane Creek AD5 Innards

Call up Cane Creek customer service & ask. They have one of the best
C.S. depts. around. Other companies should model there’s after them.
John

I'm afraid I can't answer your question, but I have a couple for you-

I just bought an AD-5 because I need a shock for a bike that I am
going to build. I assume you are replacing the seals in the shock,
which may mean you have used it on your bike a lot. How do you like
its performance? Has it been reliable? Do you use a boot over it?
Finally, the one I bought has the aluminum bushings at one end (as I
see in your photo). It seems like the bolt that fits through that
hole is awfully small considering the kind of stress it will be
subjected to. Is that actually how the fork attaches to your bike
frame? Does the other end of the shock have plastic bushings with a
1/2" dia. hole?

Thanks,

TD

Dude, I totally love this shock. It performs great and has been very
reliable. It's probably a few hours past the recommended TBO and
it's just now starting to leak a little air. I noticed when taking it
apart that the collar appeared to have backed itself off 1/2 turn which
*may* have been the cause of the leak. Hard to know for sure but keep
one eye on the collar.

I don't use a boot and I ride a Litespeed Unicoi in the PNW so it
usually gets quite the mud bath. I put it away wet, knock the dried mud
from the shaft and hit it with some WD40. A boot would probably help
but the shock is so well machined and pretty I hate to cover it up. I
also suspect that because it's on a Unicoi that there are lateral
forces acting on it that wouldn't be there on a traditional 4-bar
suspension bike. Which *may* also be a factor in its leak. Yes, the top
end of the shock attaches to a mounting bracket with just a small bolt
through the aluminum bushing. The bottom end acts as a plug that sits
in a clamping cup mounted at the top of the seat stays. Works great.

Like the previous poster said Cane Creek has one of the best C.S.
departments around. I can attest to that fact. Cane Creek responds to
my emails and provides parts for its user serviceable products.
<rant>In stark contrast Rock Shox never did respond to my emails, does
not provide a seal kit for their (piece of junk) SID XC and in fact
have stopped manufacturing a Unicoi specific SID leaving owners and
Litespeed hanging.</rant>

Thank God for Cane Creek.
I'm sure they'll answer my questions come Monday.

Brian

Quoted message said:

Thank God for Cane Creek.
I'm sure they'll answer my questions come Monday.

I recently bought a Spinergy wheel and found in the reviews and usenet
postings that there is UNIVERSAL hatred of spinergy's customer
support. That's too bad. I am hoping to get a couple spare spokes
out of them (SPOX wheel). I have emailed them about it, so we'll see
if I get any response.

It seems that bigha- who sell what looks like a nice recumbent bike
and laser pointers (interesting combination) is in some trouble now
over that idiot in NJ pointing one at an airplane. No doubt he'll sue
them over it (duh, no one told me I shouldn't point it at airplanes!
I'm a moron and I need to be told. I also need to be told not to put
my hand in my blender and turn it on, and not to turn my lawn mower
over while it's running, and not to put cups of hot coffee between my
legs when I drive a car). In the meantime they will get free
publicity, but maybe that's not good in this case...

I was pleased to see the service manual for the AD-5 on the web, and
seal kits, too. Now if Cannondale would only learn a bit about
customer support (from cane creek) for their headshoks, I'd be one
happy camper.

Managing public perception seems to be so easy, yet so many companies
screw it up badly...

TD

OK, situation update. I emailed Cane Creek during the weekend. Come
Monday early morning there was already waiting a response. Malcolm at
Cane Creek explained my shock and has mailed out the correct
replacement part. This company rocks!