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2013 lefty biz

woodsguy

gets infinity MPG
Mar 18, 2007
1,083
1
Sutton, MA
They really do work well. I think over time the cost of ownership is to much though....
Really? Cause I've been hammering my Lefty Max since 2005 (only bike but only light dh) and only had to rebuild it 3 times (around $100 each time). No failures of any kind, just routine stuff. I've heard of much more frequent maintenance with other forks.

They are a superior design to the "traditional" fork. People just don't like they way they look.

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sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
The Lefty was really revitalized in the 29er boom.

For one thing, initially it was just a stock 26 inch fork that was shimmed down from 110mm to 80mm, which made it easy for Cannondale to refit it. The archless design is a natural for larger wheels.

I've rebuilt one, it wasn't much harder to do than any other fork. The high end Lefty weighs as much as a SID and look at the picture I have been saving for years, Cedric casing a backflip. No wheel deflection at all.

Really, ask the haters these two simple questions to find out how baseless their claims are: "Ever ride a Lefty?" and "Ever rebuild one?"
 

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Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,030
5,918
borcester rhymes
I had a MAX 140 and didn't like it, but it was FFD and the bearings needed to be reset badly, as it topped out hard. Wish I had known that at the time, but it was on a prophet which was just such a horrible idea it's not funny. Bad shock, too long eTT, too long stem, turned me into a dummy.

I'm looking at a rush with a lefty to convert to 650b. Supposedly you can do so without mods to the fork or frame, and it gives you BB clearance to boot.

I dig the new leftys, I think the internalized rollers are a great idea, but I'm anxious to see how bad the stiction is with the new bushing and seal, as that was essentially headshok's claim to faim (no bushings, no friction). I really dig the bearing auto-locator though. Rockshox **** scares me though, I don't want that in my high end fork. I expect a major recall within a year after release.
 

jdcamb

Tool Time!
Feb 17, 2002
19,799
8,383
Nowhere Man!
Really? Cause I've been hammering my Lefty Max since 2005 (only bike but only light dh) and only had to rebuild it 3 times (around $100 each time). No failures of any kind, just routine stuff. I've heard of much more frequent maintenance with other forks.

They are a superior design to the "traditional" fork. People just don't like they way they look.

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Did you have to pay someone to do the work? Or did you buy the tools to do it yourself?

My Fox Talas has been serviced by me 3 times with tools that I already had for about $15. It works pretty well
 

woodsguy

gets infinity MPG
Mar 18, 2007
1,083
1
Sutton, MA
I had a MAX 140 and didn't like it, but it was FFD and the bearings needed to be reset badly, as it topped out hard. Wish I had known that at the time, but it was on a prophet which was just such a horrible idea it's not funny. Bad shock, too long eTT, too long stem, turned me into a dummy.
Wow, I must be a much better rider than I thought cause I think my Prophet is a perfect "do it all" bike. I guess its all me! :D
 

woodsguy

gets infinity MPG
Mar 18, 2007
1,083
1
Sutton, MA
Did you have to pay someone to do the work? Or did you buy the tools to do it yourself?

My Fox Talas has been serviced by me 3 times with tools that I already had for about $15. It works pretty well
I probably could do it myself. I've reset the bearings a couple of times (it uses a bb tool to remove the cap), but I would rather an expert do it. The first two rebuilds were done by a shop (Landrys and Providence bike) but the last rebuild was shipped back to Cannondale and they did a much better job. That rebuild was over two years ago and its just now showing signs of needing another rebuild. I think this time I will send it off to Mendon Cycles to have a Fox PBR put in.
 

jdcamb

Tool Time!
Feb 17, 2002
19,799
8,383
Nowhere Man!
I probably could do it myself. I've reset the bearings a couple of times (it uses a bb tool to remove the cap), but I would rather an expert do it. The first two rebuilds were done by a shop (Landrys and Providence bike) but the last rebuild was shipped back to Cannondale and they did a much better job. That rebuild was over two years ago and its just now showing signs of needing another rebuild. I think this time I will send it off to Mendon Cycles to have a Fox PBR put in.
Craig at Mendon is certainly the lefty guy... I used to work there....
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
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Wow, I must be a much better rider than I thought cause I think my Prophet is a perfect "do it all" bike. I guess its all me! :D
Not that the prophet is a bad idea, MY prophet was a bad idea. It was a large and those bikes were ENORMOUS. Add to that the 120mm stem and radium shock...and yeah, it wasn't very good.
 

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,860
4,154
Copenhagen, Denmark
So you are saying the bike was fine but you do not know how to buy a bike that fits you ;)

Sandwich remember we are always here to help you or at least make sarcastic comments.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,030
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borcester rhymes
So you are saying the bike was fine but you do not know how to buy a bike that fits you ;)

Sandwich remember we are always here to help you or at least make sarcastic comments.
you're too kind.

If it makes you feel any better, I'm back on a L with a 24.4" top tube...though this time I can actually run a shorter stem.
 

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
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Did you have to pay someone to do the work? Or did you buy the tools to do it yourself?

My Fox Talas has been serviced by me 3 times with tools that I already had for about $15. It works pretty well
You need two special tool.

One is the castle tool. It is like a bb removal tool.

The other is a large black implement which pushes out the steering column. I don't know what it is called, but it looks like a personal servicing device.

However, most non-Cannondale shops do not have them. Most shops, even Cannondale ones, send the forks back for service.
 

JRogers

talks too much
Mar 19, 2002
3,785
1
Claremont, CA
New Lefty looks pretty neat. I used to run a Lefty Max 140 on my Prophet...I liked the performance enough, but working on it was not as fun. Bearings had to be re-seated somewhat frequently and my fork eventually developed a top out and knocking noises that I could not seem to fix. Rebound adjustment stopped working too. The basic rebuild was more difficult than just about anything else I've worked on. I got rid of it and bought a TALAS and have been happy with that. The Prophet is still going strong; I still have the bike and it has been pretty great.