Really interesting video from Seth about the Lefty fork (of course). I didn't know anything about them, worth a watch.
Another bloody politics thread?
I thought it was going to be about Ned Flanders
Of course, not the only one legged fork out there. USE Sub I believe predates the lefty. Great looking forks. Glad we have such things around.
I thought it was going to be about Ned Flanders
I'm going to open a shop for people with right hand sided forks
Really interesting video from Seth about the Lefty fork (of course). I didn’t know anything about them, worth a watch
That might be the first Berm Peak video I enjoyed! Thanks for posting, it was genuinely interesting 👍
I've never ridden a bike with a lefty fork let alone owned one, but ai love them! I always forget to look out for them. Will watch the video.
Great looking forks.
I had a Lefty on and an early 2000-something Cannondale Jekyll, fork even back then felt nice.
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Arghhh 🙄
I never liked the older style double crown type. Just from the point of view of aesthetics while riding.
The newer ocho ones though…
Those USE forks were terrible.
Worst performing fork I ever had.
The damper was only connected to the fork at one end.🤣
Just relied on friction to hold it all together.
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Definitely weird but every time I see the lefty fatbike I get a bit warm and breathless 🙂
I love the one on my older scalpel when its working well (which is after servicing), but it has more frequent service intervals. The new ones were definately problematic. We did the Pioneer in 2019 in crap weather and every bike with a new lefty had issues by the end,
Definitely weird but every time I see the lefty fatbike I get a bit warm and breathless
Didn't even know they made one until I saw a guy riding one this summer. Had to do a double take, I thought I was imagining it.
Never ridden a lefty but always liked them. They do strike me as creating a new problem to then solve it
I've always liked the look of them.
I've got one of the early hybrid ones c2013.
All I shall say is "servicing".
A neat solution in search of a problem.
USE Sub I believe predates the lefty.
Lefty came out in ‘99, SUB in ‘02
Would love to have a go on one, maybe less keen to own, see all the servicing horror stories.
Go big or go home.
Righty tighty.
absolutely love mine, perfect for the majority of my riding
Everything about that English challenges my mind.
Amazing fork - ridden a few and found them to be buttery smooth & incredible stiff (even the early ones). Would love one, there's been a few times I could afford to one but I can't justify the dedicated wheel and servicing which has always put me off. Although I did have the headshok version for a while on the commuter bike which was equally brilliant.
I rode some of the old ones which had needle bearings instead of bushings and they were so unbelievably smooth! Felt like there was zero stiction - vibration just disappeared.
A better piccy of mine 🤣
So why are they lefties and not righties?
Genuine question !
multi21
I rode some of the old ones which had needle bearings instead of bushings and they were so unbelievably smooth! Felt like there was zero stiction – vibration just disappeared.
Always wondered what a needle bearing "regular" fork would be like - I guess patents and the service hassle has stopped it happening.
Always wondered what a needle bearing “regular” fork would be like – I guess patents and the service hassle has stopped it happening.
It is not only about patents, neglected Headshocks can get rusty on the bearings and/or races and fixing requires parts available only from Cannondale. Not sure about Lefty, their bearings might be more easily lubricated.
Always wanted a Lefty, they just look so cool, this year I got one.
Such a shame that Cannondale only brought the Fat Caad over here for a year - I saw one in Evans in a sale, almost bought it just because it looked awesome. Don't need a fat bike, but I've regretted not buying it ever since.
They were lefty as that is where disc brake technology sat, always on the left fork. Cantilever brakes didn’t work on a single leg.
So why are they lefties and not righties?
Genuine question !
disc brakes go on the left. I reckon even Cannondale drew the line at creating their own disc brake standard just to get their weird fork to work.
But why? WHY?
So why are they lefties and not righties?
Look at the pictures and the penny should drop before too long.
Another here hankering after a Fat CAAD.
The only bike on my current WANT list is a Topstone Lefty. Way out of my budget though.
to be fair that road bike from Kayak23 shows it is possible, but just had a look at the GF's bike, shimano at least are significantly wider on the outside - which becomes the inside on a righty.
FunkyDunc
Free Member
So why are they lefties and not righties?
Edit - forgot to press send on this and others beat me to it.
My guess would be that the brake disc/calliper is conventionally on the left of the bike and to switch to the RHS would just have been awkward. You've got to pick a side and that seems as good a reason as any.
ayjaydoubleyou
I reckon even Cannondale drew the line at creating their own disc brake standard just to get their weird fork to work.
Wouldn't have put anything passed them - this was the bonkers Cannondale of old wasn't it? Not the Pon sub brand it is now.
@dyna-ti Ha, my weird old Global Ti softail + USE SUB.
Loved that bike, the fork was ok, when it worked!
They could have done a righty with the caliper in front of the leg, just for the hell of it
Lefties weird? Just ask yourself why do cars have the same system to fix wheels on😄. Have 2 and another 2 Headshok ones . Easy to fix with the correct tools and the Headshok o rings are on eBay. Other halfs F700 (everything replaced apart from frame and fork ) has been everywhere,bought in 2001 for the Great Divide.Always thought a normal fork looked like the front of a wheelbarrow 😂.
They could have done a righty with the caliper in front of the leg, just for the hell of it
Cy at Cotic did this for "technical" reasons.
I (still) have the 2nd bike picture in @eddiebaby 's post. Bought after the great Cannondale overstock about 10 years ago when Pauls Cycles were knocking them out at (I think) below 50% RRP. Doubt we'll see those times again any time soon! Getting on a bit now but rides great, admittedly I've not ridden a more modern-geo bike to compare it to though. Had the Lefty serviced recently including internals replaced for the new design which was a bit ouch 😂
Was out for a walk in the woods the other day when some dude on a Lefty fat-bike come storming past us, looked like the coolest bike ever! Immediately went on the Internet when I got back, unfortunately it's quite old now & they don't sell them new anymore, didn't seem to be any 2nd hand either. Anyone getting rid of one? 🤣
They could have done a righty with the caliper in front of the leg, just for the hell of it
caliper bolts are then in tension, rather than compression of the caliper into the mount.
Or for the nerds, tension + shear both in the bolt, rather than compression in mount + shear in bolt.
Probably still wouldn't fail but I can see a whole load more creaks and noises coming from that arrangement
Didn't stop Cotic 🙂
Never mind creaks, I had to get rid of mine, could never get used to the look of it.
I have an old one; sitting forlornly in my basement, as the main screw on the bottom of the leg (top open up the air chamber) is held in place with a tiny grub screw which has rounded off so needs drilling out. But in use, it was great. Stiffer than conventional type forks, and plusher. Downsides are of course the proprietary front hub (and remembering to remove the brake calliper before removing the front wheel), the needle bearing strips need resetting quite often (travel reduces if they move from their normal position), and it requires some expensive proprietary tools to service. In contrast, Rockshox for example are relatively much simpler and easier to service.
So to summarise; better in operation than a conventional fork, stiffer, and lighter. But much more difficult to service.
