[Mguts1]

I've been looking at a Cannondale with a Lefty that is outfitted with SRAM X7 drivetrain components. I'm also looking at a Fisher that has SRAM X9 components.

Is there a big difference between the X9 and X7? I've heard really good things about Lefty's and would like to get a bike that has one. I'm thinking I would probably noticed the difference between the forks more than I would the other stuff, but I wanted to ask on here.

 

[jonKranked]

X9 is more or less the non-carbon equivalent of the x.0 (at least the rear derailler). x.9 will be a little lighter than the x.7, and may shift marginally better. x.7 is less expensive.

I would have no hesitations about a lefty. They are light and stiff! The guys I knew that had them loved them. According to c'dales marketing info, lefty's are actually stiffer than conventional forks, as the legs are square and run on needle bearings. Whereas traditional forks are tubular legs and run on bushings.

edit: since it seems like you are buying a complete, don't let the parts spec be your deciding factor. Ride both bikes and see which one is more comfortable and fits you better. Keep in mind that the frame will long outlive your drivetrain.

 

[sanjuro]

You also have to consider what fork you are going to get in place of the Lefty.

I assume you are looking at the midrange bikes. I think there is a huge difference between a Lefty and a Rockshox Recon.

The Recon is heavier, not as well damped, and lots of plastic inside the fork.

The Lefty is the stiffest fork in its weight class, and extremely well made. The only problem is only Cannondale dealers (and the good ones at that) will be able to service it.

The difference between X.7 and X.9 is not great, especially when you slam your rear derailleur into a rock.

 

[Mguts1]

X9 is more or less the non-carbon equivalent of the x.0 (at least the rear derailler). x.9 will be a little lighter than the x.7, and may shift marginally better. x.7 is less expensive.

I would have no hesitations about a lefty. They are light and stiff! The guys I knew that had them loved them. According to c'dales marketing info, lefty's are actually stiffer than conventional forks, as the legs are square and run on needle bearings. Whereas traditional forks are tubular legs and run on bushings.

edit: since it seems like you are buying a complete, don't let the parts spec be your deciding factor. Ride both bikes and see which one is more comfortable and fits you better. Keep in mind that the frame will long outlive your drivetrain.

I am going with a complete bike. Thank you for that advice. When I think about it, if one bike feels a lot better over the other, I really don't care what kind of components are on it. I had a feeling the X9 had only a marginal improvement over the 7. Thanks for confirming.

You also have to consider what fork you are going to get in place of the Lefty.

I assume you are looking at the midrange bikes. I think there is a huge difference between a Lefty and a Rockshox Recon.

The Recon is heavier, not as well damped, and lots of plastic inside the fork.

The Lefty is the stiffest fork in its weight class, and extremely well made. The only problem is only Cannondale dealers (and the good ones at that) will be able to service it.

The difference between X.7 and X.9 is not great, especially when you slam your rear derailleur into a rock.

The fork on the Fisher is a Fox F80. I don't know that much about Fox's forks, so I dont really know if they compare or not. Good point about the X7 and X9!

 

[johnbryanpeters]

If you do your own wrenching, you can expect to be able to maintain the Fox yourself, not so the lefty.

 

[shift96]

As having a Lefty for 2 years I can honestly say that I felt it was no better than any other high end fork. The only advantage I saw was it was lighter. As far as that fork being "Stiffer" than any other fork in it's class? All I can say is people can talk themselves into believing anything. sure it was stiff but it's no stiffer than a Fox 36 etc. Also, some seem to think that bearing migration is not a big deal on the Lefty, I would say they are correct BUT...after working 50 to 60 hrs a week with little to no free time, who wants to go into the garage Saturday morning and find out they have to jerk around and reset the bearings while their riding buddies are already on the way to the trails? I don't. It only takes a couple minutes but it's an annoyance. Now I understand all forks need maintenance but the migration thing is annoying. Many times I have been in the middle of a ride and all of a sudden some travel was lost and it's topping out bad. Total PITA
Bottom line? IMO, the Lefty is a good fork but no better than a Fox or a Rockshock of equal value. I would also agree that it's a better option than what is going to come on that bike if you opted not to go with the Lefty

 

[sanjuro]

If you do your own wrenching, you can expect to be able to maintain the Fox yourself, not so the lefty.

I don't know if that is true for the home mechanic. While I was a professional mechanic, I rebuilt a Lefty Max first time with instructions I downloaded from Cannondale.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showpost.php?p=1518675&postcount=10

I guess you're right JBP. I looked over my instruction set, and boy it is complicated.

 

[sanjuro]

As having a Lefty for 2 years I can honestly say that I felt it was no better than any other high end fork. The only advantage I saw was it was lighter. As far as that fork being "Stiffer" than any other fork in it's class? All I can say is people can talk themselves into believing anything. sure it was stiff but it's no stiffer than a Fox 36 etc. Also, some seem to think that bearing migration is not a big deal on the Lefty, I would say they are correct BUT...after working 50 to 60 hrs a week with little to no free time, who wants to go into the garage Saturday morning and find out they have to jerk around and reset the bearings while their riding buddies are already on the way to the trails? I don't. It only takes a couple minutes but it's an annoyance. Now I understand all forks need maintenance but the migration thing is annoying. Many times I have been in the middle of a ride and all of a sudden some travel was lost and it's topping out bad. Total PITA
Bottom line? IMO, the Lefty is a good fork but no better than a Fox or a Rockshock of equal value. I would also agree that it's a better option than what is going to come on that bike if you opted not to go with the Lefty

You see, the Fox comes on 2k+ bikes, and a Revelation or a Reba is much better than a Recon.

 

[Al-F]

Not knowing enough about Leftys I can't say good or bad about them. I run Fox forks whenever I can, not sponsored by them or anything, just a preference. Not too high a maintenance requirement, keep them aired up and maybe serviced with oil once a year for the most part.

I'm not sure what your suspension travel requirements are but F80 is 80mm pretty short for my taste, I prefer a 5in travel trail bike, but if your trails arent too technical with obstacles, drops, etc, yet require a lot a fairly steep climbing then 80mm is good...I'm running a Fox RL 120 (120mm) that came on my 2008 Garyfisher Hi-Fi Deluxe. My preferred fork usually is a Fox Talas 32mm stantion tubes (adjustable from 100mm-120mm-140mm)

I will say that the people I know who use Leftys love them. If both bikes are built with similar purposes in mind, you should be happy either way.

Oh as for smashing X7 or X9 components against a rock goes, you'll appreciate the cost of replacing X7 by comparison. Consider how much bike carnage your usual trails and travels have produced in the past before you factor this in.

Overall the best advice so far was to compare the two completes if you can test them both.

I'm not sure if this point of view is helpful to you or not but I hope it is. Let us know what you end up with.

 

[oldfart]

Another problem with a Lefty is, if you decide that you don't like it, you need more stuff to change the fork to a conventional type, like new hub, headset adaptors and stem.

 

[Snowflake]

I've never ridden a lefty, and this admittedly isn't going to add much to this thread, but....

The Cannondale Simon is freaking insane.

http://www.cannondale.com/simon/index.html

 

[slimshady]

My two cents, collected by riding both Leftys and Fishers:

Keep in mind Fisher has custom forks on most of the bikes. The crown offset is bigger than the one in conventional forks, so if you ever want to replace the fork in the future, you'll have to search for another Genesis 2 compatible fork. Putting a "regular" fork in a G2 frame will make it harder to maneuver at low speed.

On the other hand, Leftys are harder to set up/fine tune, you'll have to take the bike upside down to pressurize the fork, they are way more sensitive to mud (don't ever let the rubber boot break if you don't want to dig a pile of mud from inside the fork), and appart from what Cannondale's marketing guys say, the bike DOES steer different when going to the left. I guess it's a matter of gyroscopic effect...