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Can anyone tell me the pro's and con's of these(this?) . I've always wanted one, I think they are stunning to look at, but are they just a quirk? Do they ride any better? Are they a PITA to service, take wheels on and off, etc? Looking for opinions before I go and buy one(some?). Cheers.
I love mine but they are high maintenance, and here in Aus they have to be sent off for servicing as shops can't buy in the specialist tools (or at least couldn't at one point, I assume still can't). The new single crown ones have more reliablility issues, we did the pioneer last year, it was wet and muddy. The mechanics said by the end most of the new lefties had died, mates lasted till part way though the last day before locking out.
They are things of beauty though and when working well are incredible. You just have to keep them serviced.
It's hard to say if a Lefty is better but definitely different, for that I like them. Been a while since I've had or ridden one but they always used to be way stiffer than equivalent normal forks, very little twist or bend. I believe that's been toned down just a touch for comfort on the latest models. As they run on needle bearings rather than sliding on bushings these can be felt moving as it goes through the travel. This may feel odd to some, I didn't mind. One benefit here is the suspension can keep absorbing bumps rather than binding under hard cornering or braking. This is something that mostly goes unnoticed by the masses aboard their normal forks, but it is happening, even with modern high end ones. It just might take a ride on a Lefty to realise that.
Don't know about servicing. Back in the day there used to be a main dealer that did it a couple of miles away which was handy. Getting the wheel off is fairly straightforward, although doesn't need doing as often since a tyre swap can be done on the bike.
A good concept but never properly developed. They are very stiff which you can feel in the ride and normal forks feel noodly by comparison. Also noticeable is lack of binding under braking, suspension much more active under braking on choppy ground - more control and confidence I found. Cons are dampers and spring combo never really felt particularly precise. Could never get the feeling the suspension was ‘buttery’ and always felt harsh to me. Also lack of bearing friction meant brake dive more prevalent. Easy to accommodate in riding technique and body positioning so not a problem as such, but noticeable. And maintenance difficulties. Bearing reset not an issue, you can do that yourself in 5 minutes, but any servicing or spares requirements and you’ll struggle to find anywhere that can do them and will have to send away.
Overall I liked it but was a short travel lefty on an xc hard tail so overall probably better than telescopic, but as travel increases I suspect the spring / damper limitations become more dominant over stiffness and lack of stanction friction and binding.
We love our traditional forks despite their many faults and flaws which we’ve come to accept and get used to, and even love. Until we become a bit more open minded the it will always be hard for another suspension design to break through and become developed and matured enough to convince people to make the switch to something different.
But as far as the lefty is concerned give it a go. I’d have another and fancy a c’dale slate with lefty.
I had a lefty 2.0 on a Scalpel Si for 3 years or so.
When it worked it was great but.....
They’re heavy, really heavy!
The bearings migrate after a few hours of use which in my case reduced travel from 100mm to 60mm. To reset the bearings you have to remove all the air, bottom the fork out really hard and Re-inflate. Not practical given you’ll be doing it all the time and after every ride. Lots of people say just run the pressure low enough to bottom out when riding but that’s a massive compromise unless you like running 50% sag.
They need very regular servicing. Services are expensive.
Internal parts fail often.
Eventually some internal seals fail which renders it a rigid fork when it’s hot outside. Crazy. Expensive fix.
You’ll struggle to find off the shelf front wheels and can’t chuck a normal hub’d wheel on in an emergency.
I sold mine and replaced it with some cheap RockShox SIDS which were 400g lighter and perform just as well.
Everyone will ask what happened to the other side. Did it fall off.
I’d never buy one again!
Loved them on my Trigger and Jekyll. Long service intervals and I thought a good weight compared with stiff conventional fork.
I got my Jekyll down to 12kg
I have a F29 with the Lefty XLR on it. The second Lefty bike I've owned. As has been said, great when it works, a massive pain when it doesn't. Which in fairness with mine isn't that often.
It is very stiff and you really feel that when riding the bike. However, it's not the most plush feeling suspension fork I've ridden and that's even after an expensive service.
It's also had to have a recall as well, which Cannondale made me pay for as it was beyond a cutoff date to get it fixed for free. For that reason alone I'll never buy another Cannondale bike. Even if I was going to get another one of their bikes, I would make sure it didn't have a Lefty on it. The pro's do not outweigh the con's and I expect they'll stop making them eventually.
I have an lefty which is now going onto my new Ibis frame. Had from new and ridden more on this bike with the lefty than any other. I have done nothing to it. I have thought about doing the oil flush change at some point though.
Good points
I love the fact it smooths out the ripple surfaces as stiction is so minimal .
Dont seem to run out of travel, even with the huge 90mm on offer.
Its not twangy like a similar light small travel xc fork would be
Awesome tracking
Its a talking point on the trail.
Fixing tyres without removing the wheel or changing a tyre
For me, its been reliable , but like all the forks on my bikes, I do religiously put stantion lube on every ride and have no issues with stantion wear .
Bad points
Seems to paint chip easy from stones
Cable are awkward for rubbing the clamps by the head tube
Worry about what to do if it does go wrong.
Take a front wheel out you can sit the bike on the fork legs, it falls over 🙂
If I could afford and they were as reliable as the one I have I would fit them to all my bikes. As for servicing costs, they seem cheaper ( albeit one leg) that Fox forks on TF Tuned's website.
Its something I was quite unsure about but I think its a fab fork.
I had one (actually still have one in the loft).
It was great… apart from the bearing reset and the having to go away to be serviced. And the having to use a special stem.
I’d have another, I think, apart from cost considerations; I thought the new ones didn’t need resetting and used normal stems?
I have bought a conversion kit to fit the lefty to my new Ibis and its an 1 1/8 steerer, so you can use any stem................ except the angle of the leg means you either use a lot of spacers or a 90mm stem or a shed loads on rise on your bars.
Glad to hear so many positive thoughts on the Lefty, Ive wanted one for years. The lack of flex appeals to me as well ad its aesthetics and quirkiness, as apart from a pair of fox forks I had on an Orange Crush years ago, I've never had a pair of forks which felt particularly solid under me at speed, and I ride like a minge.
Is there any problem getting spare hubs for them, I imagine only Cannondale would supply them? Whereabouts are folks getting their service info from? Thanks for the replies.
Hubs aren't tricky . DT Swiss make them for starters. Project 123 in the US are sending me a converter kit to fit the lefty to normal frames and they do hubs and stuff and seem keen for help, which some places here are a little 'lacking' . Qwerty are a UK parts supplier.
I saw the service list on TF Tuned.
I've had a few leftys but not for a long while - agree with what's been said, they offer some genuine performance advantages around that 90mm travel zone. Did find they were quite durable if you kept on top of regular service, which meant sending it off - no experience of the modern ones. You could do it yourself but a strip / rebuild would be a bit of a project, although some folk would enjoy that.
It was also cool to ride something genuinely innovative, which is pretty hard to come by on bikes let's face it. Not I've-added-2-degrees-to-the-seattube-angle innovative, but real creativity in design and manufacture of a major mountain bike component.
Ultimately for me I didn't like the lefty aesthetics on normal bikes - thought they looked great on XC missiles like the scalpel, which was the first one I had. Really polarised race bikes always look a bit different, in any discipline, and the lefty just accentuated the look. But I had one on a rush and it looked bobbins despite being a great bike.
Whereabouts are folks getting their service info from?
Leisure Lakes Derby Nottingham did mine, but I suppose any ‘Dale dealer would know. The chap who ran DJs in Rammy had done the (apparently) required training when he worked in LL Bury but didn’t keep the tools in.
except the angle of the leg means you either use a lot of spacers or a 90mm stem or a shed loads on rise on your bars.
I thought they’d addressed that with the newer ones (Lefty Max etc); was certainly true of the one I have (2010ish).
Mine is a 2013 fork , so not that youthful 🙂
No- don't do it. I have a Lefty Hybrid 1.0 90mm, when it's working well it's performance is only average. Maintainence issues are the main gripe, mine went back 6 times during it's warranty period to keep it working, and had the equivalent of it's retail value in spare parts replaced during that warranty period - for a fork that retails for £1200 that's just stupid.
Whats the score?... is that scoring of the lower legs is a big issue (might be better on hybrid 2 or Ocho). The lower bushing design scores the leg relatively quickly, mine have done it noticeably after about 1000 miles or 4 months usage - if you leave it be then the inverted design means the service oil will then run down the lower leg towards your disc brake. A new lower leg plus full service out of warranty is more than £400. I'm on my 4th. I won't be bothering to get a 5th.
I have no problems with the architecture design, and on paper there are benefits. Stiffness is overrated in most things... in reality the design is actually too stiff on the double crown lefty, if combined with a carbon rim and carbon bar, matched with the poor damping, it means riding rough terrain is akin to smashing ones palms with a lump hammer for fun. The new Ocho was designed to be less stiff...more like a normal fork then.
There are also disadvantages that come as a by-product to the single sided design that aren't immediately obvious - without a crown the lower headset bearing is fully exposed to the elements, with no other seal other then the bearing seal they wear rapidly in wet weather...which is similar to wet weather's effect on the hub bearings as they are not well sealed due to the stub axle design.
The new Ocho is supposed to be a lot better. The old Lefty's without a bushing, the ones with a rubber cover were much more durable. I'd avoid the Lefty Hybrid 1& 2 from bitter experience.
My very old Lefty was a great when it was working well but it was a 2005 model. Numerous rebuilds required to keep it sweet, usually annually. My local suspension place knew me by name up until the bike was stolen a couple of years back. I would like to know how the latest forks ride as it will be quite different to what I'm used to.
I have the 2020 Scalpel Ltd Si with the OCHO, just sublime! Super lightweight, plush beyond it's travel and has the ability to find grip where other forks would put you in the dirt. I can't recommend the latest OCHO enough, I got it serviced after 12 months of serious abuse direct with CSG, prices are inline with other service agents.
Try one you will not be disappointed.
Here’s my two cents
I’ve got two Dales with leftys and I should probably state up front I’ve wanted one since my first mtb a 2007 Prophet.
I’ve also got numerous mtbs with regular forks, Fox float and RockShox Pikes, as a comparison.
The lefty first off looks as trick as anything you’ll ever see on a mtb. No mtb front end looks as good.
I can’t say whether it’s the fork, or how my Cannondale Jekyll just is, but the feel from the front is just different and I’m very used to the Jekyll, but switch from that to my Scott Genius, or Cotic bFe and they feel completely different to the Dale - slightly comfier and easier. The lefty is definitely stiffer and I quite like that and it does a fantastic job - I can’t say if it’s worth the premium it it’s damn expensive.
I’d say that the lefty on my Jekyll Team is sublime, it’s long travel & carbon and I wouldn’t part with it for anything.
But - there was always going to be a but, it’s expensive to run compared to normal forks, and it’s probably not everyone’s cup of tea.