[Closed] Cannondale Lefty - What is it good for?

you can change tyres/fix punctures without taking the wheel off

Doesn't it use needle bearings rather than bushings in 'normal' forks?

bearings instead of bushings, so lower friction than regular forks

Quick 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)

Doesn'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...

S'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.

Always 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!

Torsional 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.

Perhaps 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)

C

a spare Carbon ELO

A [i]spare[/i] [u]carbon[/u] Lefty? [i]Spare[/i]?

Oh look mine needs replacing can I have your spare one please you don't need it oh go on please?

Stiffness 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.

People 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

Only 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).

C

Servicing 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. 😉

I have a Carbon Max 130 on my HT. 2.9lbs of coil plushness. Mine is the RLC with Fox internals.

Just like war - absolutely nothing.

lighter 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!

Sell it to me, wise people of STW...

I have a Carbon 140mm Max if you want to buy it?

lighter 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.

I 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.

They make great table legs; I am sure Mud Dock made a table with them...

i just read this
http://www.compositesworld.com/articles/in-search-of-a-better-ride

the 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 [i]bolt-thru[/i] fork of similar weight/travel?

Thanks 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...

is 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.

On 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!

[url= http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4093/4898737473_c33a9a74a2.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4093/4898737473_c33a9a74a2.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/toretz/4898737473/ ]USE Sub being serviced[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/toretz/ ]silly-boy[/url], on Flickr

[url= http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4906729561_4a86f45d26.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4906729561_4a86f45d26.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/toretz/4906729561/ ]Global Ti with SUB Forks[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/toretz/ ]silly-boy[/url], on Flickr

Anti-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'?

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:-

- They came with the bike.
- They look "Rad"
- ???? (answers on a postcard)

none of whom seem to rate these Leftie's with anything positive.

Probably because Cannondale don't give them freebies/bribes like other companies. [url= http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/really-1 ]I've never taken much notice of what is written in mags, in fact I don't even bother reading them these days.[/url] 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.

Ax3M4n - 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

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.

Pros
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 cool

Cons
Very expensive - especially bought alone
looks weird (i like 😉

but crap it is not

I 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!

ooh, 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.

I 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.

Ax3M4n - 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?

ajantom - 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.

I 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

I'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.

Bland, could be interested...

Email me?

Don't think I've ever seen a Use SUB fork for sale though..

I've got one on my 29er & I rather like it. It's extremely light, appears to have zero stiction & goes boing boing when it's meant to. The travel feels far more sensitive than other forks I've owned (Revs, air Pikes, 32 Floats, 36 Talas, DUC32), and it's very stiff indeed. It was a bit of a faff to source one and work out the effective stack height & what it would do to the figures of the bike, but I did my homework & I could't be happier. Bought it from Project 321 in the 'States. Warranty is valid in the UK. Oh, and the PBR lockout with blowoff is excellent. Clearly it's not the cheap nor the simple option, and the extra of both might not be worth it to many.

Pedalhead. How doe sit work. Well you know what I mean. is there enough spacce for the extra wheel size. I think I could convince my non cycling brother to sell me the Lefty off his old Jekyll and might be tempted if it woould be 29er friendly.
I must admit I always thought that they were a bit big for normal steering tubes.
Would be good to be wrong.

Well for a start you mustn't put a Lefty from a 26" bike onto a 29er as there won't be enough clearance & your lower clamp will hit the tyre when the fork compresses.

You need to do two things. First is get an adapter to allow you to run the Lefty on a non-Canondale frame. Best option here is from Project 321. Second, you need to get some spacers, from either Project 321 or Mendon Cyclesmith (both in USA), oh and Dr Canondale (EU) probably does them too. Installing the spacers is very simple and reduces the travel of the Lefty by 30mm (three spacers...you may get away with two, depends on the tyre, but three is best to be safe). You may also want to add a spacer into the air chamber to tweak the progression of the travel now that it's got 30mm less.

This applies to the newer Lefties...I don't have any experience with older ones & the method might be different. Bear in mind that the space between the two Lefty clamps is a given, so you will need to factor in how that will affect your stem height, or perhaps even factor in an XL clamp to allow for a tall head tube for example.

As you can see, bit of a faff, but I sussed it after a bit of research & calculations. Happy to help you avoid the legwork if you want more details.

Oh, and of course you can buy a brand new 29er Lefty as well, though options are limited.

ahwiles - Member

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'

My understanding was that when applying the front brake on a normal fork the fork tends to compress/dive - so it uses up travel while you are braking (still active, but losing travel due to the diving)

However the SUB has the lower link that as you brake stops the the forks diving, BUT they continue to be active whilst you brake - they just don't dive. The stiffening of the suspension action, whilst it must be there, isn't noticeable under normal riding conditions. In fact these are the plushest forks I've ridden.