Hi, I'm wondering if anyone knows whether its possible to swap out a Cannondale Lefty for a rigid set of forks? I've got an F800 hardtail and I want to use rigid forks while I'm a bike messenger. Do I need to get a special conversion kit or a new headset? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Rigid fork instead of a Cannondale Lefty?
- Thread starter tanc
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Thanks for the link. Can you offer any guidance about what kind of fork I'd need to get? I don't know much about headsets and sizes, forks also seem to have different length steertubes, do I need to find a specific length?. Will it affect the geometry of the bike a lot?
Thanks for taking the time to post.
Thanks for taking the time to post.
Steer tubes can be cut to fit, just make sure it's at least as long as your current crown to top-cap measurement. Longer would be better so you can play with you bar height if needed.
If you get a rigid fork that is suspension corrected, it shouldn't affect geometry too much. I used to have an uncorrected fork on a hardtail commuter and actually really liked the quick handling.
If you get a rigid fork that is suspension corrected, it shouldn't affect geometry too much. I used to have an uncorrected fork on a hardtail commuter and actually really liked the quick handling.
Try to find a replacement fork with a similar axle to crown measurement.
I would be surprised if a C-dale hardtail came with a 140mm Lefty fork. Try to find out the axle to crown (A-C) for your fork. I would assume it's a regular Lefty with ~100-110mm travel.
C-Dale / Wheels mfg. used to offer a headset reducer / spacer set for using a regular fork, rigid or suspension, on C-Dale frames. Don't know if it's still around, but it will allow you to use a regular headset and offset the stack height to allow use of the 'standard' fork.
And note: All C-Dale mtb headtubes are the same length for all size frames.
C-Dale / Wheels mfg. used to offer a headset reducer / spacer set for using a regular fork, rigid or suspension, on C-Dale frames. Don't know if it's still around, but it will allow you to use a regular headset and offset the stack height to allow use of the 'standard' fork.
And note: All C-Dale mtb headtubes are the same length for all size frames.
Crown height for the 2002 100mm is 470mm. p20
That said, depending on the headset you choose and it's stack height, you should be able to run any rigid fork you want. You might want to look at 29" forks if you wish to keep the front end up as high as it is... My Niner rigid fork has an A-C of 490mm, but there are plenty that grace the fronts of bikes using 460-470mm.
You can still run a 26" wheels in them since you're using disc brakes. Or switch it up and run a 29" wheel and make the thing a 96er. Bunch of options for you.
edit: Here are a couple cheap options I found quickly...
JensonUSA
# 26" fork weighs 2.45 lbs (1,111 grams) and has axle-to-crown measurement of 457mm (replaces Marzocchi MX Comp 85, Fox F80, etc)
# 29" fork weighs 2.55 lbs (1,156 grams) and has axle-to-crown measurement of 475mm (replaces Rockshox Reba 29'er or similar)
Just depends on how much you want to raise or lower your front end and which headset you choose. I like the Cane Creek Wumpus mentioned earlier. Zero stack appeals to me. 457mm won't drop the front that much as the Lefty fork is usually sagged a bit when you're riding.
Thanks so much for your posts guys, its beginning to make sense now. I've contacted Canecreek and they've recommended the Double XC Short. So all up I need the headset, the fork (thanks for the recommendations) and a new front wheel (because of the lefty hub).
you could just buy a new hub and take it up to you lbs with the wheel and they could re-lace it on there