- This topic has 49 replies, 32 voices, and was last updated 13 years ago by Garry_Lager.
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Cannondale Lefty – What is it good for?
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AndrewBFFree Member
Always one for innovation and novel products I've looked at the Lefty for some time but still don't get it.
What is it all about?
Sell it to me, wise people of STW…
LiftmanFull Memberyou can change tyres/fix punctures without taking the wheel off
mtbtomoFree MemberDoesn't it use needle bearings rather than bushings in 'normal' forks?
retro83Free Memberbearings instead of bushings, so lower friction than regular forks
AndrewBFFree MemberQuick responses, thanks.
On the changing the tyre / fix punctures… I can get my front wheel off and on in seconds. Plus the idea of messing with a wheel still attached to the bike doesn't appeal. It's enough fun when I just have the wheel to deal with. 🙂
Bearings instead of bushings – if this is such a good thing why don't regular forks have the same (apologies if some do, I've not read that much into the technicalities of fork mechanics)
Splash-manFree MemberDoesn't it use needle bearings rather than bushings in 'normal' forks?
However, the selling point on this is that you will need to sell your gran when they go wrong…
ElfinsafetyFree MemberS'actually stiffer than a number of 'conventional' design forks. Roller bearings instead of bushes. Upside down design means less sprung mass or something. Gubbins in one leg simplifies things somewhat.
Overall I think it's more about being 'different'. And why not? Always good to see something new. Looks mad. Good bit of innovation though. I like mine. Always wanted one from the first time I saw them.
thisisnotaspoonFree MemberAlways been lighter than most conventional designs and usualy stiffer. Needle bearings make things very low friction so small bumps just dissapear.
I had a headshock which whilst not very clever in the damping department (at 80mm is not realy needed arguably) which was stiffer and lighter than the new SID's yet was on cannondales then bottom of the range XC bike from 7 years back!
They even came as standard on cannondales dirt jump bikes for a few years so despite being odd to look at, they are certainly strong enough!
cynic-alFree MemberTorsional stuffness has been touted as the main benefit.
I'm not aware they were light. Always seemed to me they were crying out to be made in Lon travel versions, at a reasonable price.
ChrisEFree MemberPerhaps not that dear. My mate just got his Fox forks serviced and the damage was £265!! new stanchions etc. My lefty is always about £100 for a service. I love it (Carbon ELO, Standard DLR and a spare Carbon ELO)
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ElfinsafetyFree Membera spare Carbon ELO
A spare carbon Lefty? Spare?
Oh look mine needs replacing can I have your spare one please you don't need it oh go on please?
Garry_LagerFull MemberStiffness is the main thing I'd say – ridden various leftys for ten years now and it's the main thing I notice compared to a conventional shortish travel fork. They're also very durable if you keep up basic services – I think the fundamental design has stayed very consistent, thumbprint can sort out a lefty from ten years back no problem.
Only drawback to performance is the bearing migration – been an issue for years and it doesn't seem to be going away (although it's easy to address). There's obvious compatibility issues but you can get high performance lefty wheels if you need them, and personally I like CDale bikes so I don't have to deal with any conversion issues.
They're ridiculously expensive to source new, but they go for good prices second hand. You could pick up a carbon one now on ebay for a few hundred and that would be the front end of your XC bike sorted for the next 5 years or more, as long as you were prepared to service it once in a while.
ratherbeintobagoFull MemberPeople will have you believe the service schedule is onerous – bearing reset /25h, greasing of stanchion /50h, oil change /100h. Except Fox recommend oil changes every 30h IIRC.
Sourcing wheels is a bit of a pain, but DT have just launched a 240s Lefty hub. It would be nice if Hope would, too.
Andy
ChrisEFree MemberOnly spare as I saw it in Ebay and got it v.cheap. It's nice to have a spare to send away when the other needs service (once a year for me).
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lovewookieFull MemberServicing is not much of a problem. Full whack service will set you back about £150 ish, but you will end up with a fork that will not need any attention for a couple of years!
new ones make bearing migration problems easily remidied, although I’ve not had problems with my old forks, and yes, the new ones are very very light. The 140mm carbon one is something like 3 lb.
all in all, great forks, maybe not buttery smooth, maybe need an ajustible air negative spring, but theres always room for improvement. 😉
ChunkyMTBFree MemberI have a Carbon Max 130 on my HT. 2.9lbs of coil plushness. Mine is the RLC with Fox internals.
petefromearthFull Memberlighter and stiffer… does not compute…? i can’t see how they would be either
i can see that the needle bearings would provide lower friction than bushings, but is this a necessicity because the sliding parts have to deal with the moment caused by the offset load? i can imagine that a bushing might just bind up. do all the lefties have these bearings?
you’re obviously all happy with yours. i confess i don’t know much about them – i’m a leftie sceptic willing to be converted!
blandFull MemberSell it to me, wise people of STW…
I have a Carbon 140mm Max if you want to buy it?
ElfinsafetyFree Memberlighter and stiffer… does not compute…? i can’t see how they would be either
Well they just are! 😀
My Lefty is lighter and stiffer than my Reba, for the same travel.
All Leftys have needle roller bearings, yes.
avdave2Full MemberI reckon they’d be pretty good in a fight. OK a set of bombers might do more damage if you get in a good strike but I reckon the lefty would be a much more precise weapon and allow for thrusting strikes as well.
thepublicanFree MemberThey make great table legs; I am sure Mud Dock made a table with them…
petefromearthFull Memberi just read this
http://www.compositesworld.com/articles/in-search-of-a-better-ridethe article is a little one-sided 🙂 but i understand the concept.
presumably Cannondale have a patent on the needle bearings since that seems to be where all the action is
is a lefty stiffer than a conventional bolt-thru fork of similar weight/travel?
AndrewBFFree MemberThanks for that post @peterfromearth
Ah well, I won’t have long to wait. Impulse got the better of me and I bid on an F800 Lefty on eBay over the weekend and only went and bloody well won the auction.
Next task is to convert the F800 to SS 🙂
I’ll keep the P7 Rohloff as a commuter bike for winter…
ElfinsafetyFree Memberis a lefty stiffer than a conventional bolt-thru fork of similar weight/travel?
Is there any bolt-through fork anywhere near the weight of a Lefty though?
Nice one Andrew. I imagine the F800 will be a CAAD5, and weigh around 3-3.5lbs. Nice lightweight frame. The fork probably about the same.
ajantomFull MemberOn a similar note it’s always worth looking out for USE SUBs second-hand. A good example + wheel will set you back £200ish.
I bought one recently of the classifieds here – loving it 🙂
very stiff, light weight, easy to service (all comes apart with 5 & 6mm allen keys), Anti-dive design (so it’s active under braking), and looks really cool!
USE Sub being serviced by silly-boy, on Flickr
Global Ti with SUB Forks by silly-boy, on FlickrElfinsafetyFree MemberAnti-dive design (so it’s active under braking)
I don’t understand that. My Lefty still works as I brake. Isn’t that ‘active under braking’?
Ax3M4nFree MemberI’m no expert, but my tuppence worth of opinion comes from the bike mags -WMTB, MBUK etc… none of whom seem to rate these Leftie’s with anything positive.
I am likewise bemused when I see more than the occasional ride with one of these.
Being a purely practical guy… if standard forks out-perform a Lefty in all practical criteria… then the only reasons I can see why people have them is:-
– They came with the bike.
– They look “Rad”
– ???? (answers on a postcard)ElfinsafetyFree Membernone of whom seem to rate these Leftie’s with anything positive.
Probably because Cannondale don’t give them freebies/bribes like other companies. I’ve never taken much notice of what is written in mags, in fact I don’t even bother reading them these days. MBUK? The only thing of any worth in that entire mag is Mint Sauce. The rest is shit.
My own experience of actually using a Lefty is that it’s a bloody good fork, and is lighter than my Reba, which is also a bloody good fork. The Lefty, imo, is better though.
retro83Free MemberAx3M4n – Member
I’m no expert, but my tuppence worth of opinion comes from the bike mags -WMTB, MBUK etc… none of whom seem to rate these Leftie’s with anything positive.
I am likewise bemused when I see more than the occasional ride with one of these.
Being a purely practical guy… if standard forks out-perform a Lefty in all practical criteria… then the only reasons I can see why people have them is:-
In what way does a lefty not work as well as a regular fork?
I don’t understand how that can be the case given you can get them with Fox RLC internals, the bearings are (at least in theory) better than bushings and they are stiffer & lighter than normal forks.
See also:
http://www.singletrackworld.com/2009/07/happy-10th-birthday-lefty/Singletrack seemed suitably impressed.
I tried to get one under the lefty-for-all program, but they are just too expensive
Ax3M4nFree MemberNotice my disclaimer
…my tuppence worth of opinion comes from the bike mags
Never ridden one, wouldn’t have the foggiest what to look for even if I did.
I was hoping someone could supply “The” Reason you would have one over a standard two-legger. I am genuinely interested.
pjbartonFree MemberPros
very stiff, in all directions
less sticktion’ – although all forks seen good in that regard
light weight!…
140mm – 2.83lbs
120mm – 2.75lbs
110mm – 2.56lbs
looks coolCons
Very expensive – especially bought alone
looks weird (i like 😉but crap it is not
walleaterFull MemberI like the way that when the seals fail, oil comes through the bottom of the rubber thing and dumps itself all over the disc rotor. I also totally loved the way a Cannondale rep tried to show off the advantages of the Lefty, and the best he could do was show that due to the roller bearings, if you push down with just one hand on the handlebaaaa, the fork continues to work. Ooooh, that’ll be useful in a real world scenario then!
pjbartonFree Memberooh, another con…
don’t wash it upside down! – mine seems good in water when the right way up, but i knackered it washing the bike that way – Leisure lakes sorted for me.
warpcowFree MemberI was hoping someone could supply “The” Reason you would have one over a standard two-legger. I am genuinely interested.
Apply that to any choice between 2 similar components; RS Rev. vs. Fox Float for instance. Why would someone pay more for the Fox? Because they want it (and have the money), and some detail of its function appeals to them over the perfectly adequate RS.
Leftys are just another suspension fork, that someone will choose to buy. The only reason (other than price and marmite-iness) you never see them is that they weren’t very practical for anything other than a C’dale frame until recently.
retro83Free MemberAx3M4n – Member
Notice my disclaimer
…my tuppence worth of opinion comes from the bike mags
Never ridden one, wouldn’t have the foggiest what to look for even if I did.
I was hoping someone could supply “The” Reason you would have one over a standard two-legger. I am genuinely interested.
Same here, I was wondering what their criticism was?
I also totally loved the way a Cannondale rep tried to show off the advantages of the Lefty, and the best he could do was show that due to the roller bearings, if you push down with just one hand on the handlebaaaa, the fork continues to work. Ooooh, that’ll be useful in a real world scenario then!
Presumably to show the fork wouldn’t bind under braking/cornering?
ahwilesFree Memberajantom – Member
On a similar note it’s always worth looking out for USE SUBs … Anti-dive design (so it’s active under braking)
exactly wrong.
they’re anti-dive, that’s because they stiffen when you use the front brake.
that’s because the lower-link rotates during compression/extension, this is the bit that the calliper is bolted to, so when you use the front brake, wheel rotation tends to extend the fork. they’re the exact opposite of ‘active under braking’
that was kind of the point…
sorry.
normal telescopic forks are ‘active during braking’ because they rely on linear motion; wheel rotation can’t cause them to extend or compress when the brake is applied.
turboferretFull MemberI bought a carbon ELO very cheap off here as I’ve fancied one for years just to be different. Light and stiff, but does like to drip oil on the floor 😕
It is certainly a talking point here in India where they aren’t exactly common!
Cheers, Rich
nicko74Full MemberI’m with Elfinsafety that I’ve wanted one since the first time I saw one.
The thing is, fork tech has moved on in the last 5 years or so – with Maxle, forks are stiffer than they used to be, and I’m not certain that Leftys have kept up with damping and rebound tech.Although someone did mention a Fox RLC cartridge in theirs, so I may be talking out my ‘arris. If they were a similar price to other forks I would have one in a jiffy.
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