[manhattanprjkt83]

Man, i thought this site was full of knowledgable advice from people with first hand experience? Half the sh*t im reading in this thread is regurgitated trash. How many of you have ridden the new leftys to base an opinion on? "i'd take the fox over the lefty, much more reliable!!!" Give me a break. You've got a tried and tested design, its stiffer than any SC on the market, its lighter than most as well, and uses internals/technology from a suspension company 1/2 of you ride. What more do you want? The "propietary" talk is crap, i'll throw shimano into the equation and then we can start arguing the point.

First of all, this sit IS full of knowledgable people advice. And second of all it is hurting cannondale sales, bottom line. There are a lot of people who dont like it for one reason or another. The fox 36 is a serious fork, and perfect for that bike. I personally would ride it years ahead of that lefty. And yes i have put time in on both. Props to cannondale for swallowing their pride and going with "conventional" forks.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

To tell you the truth, I actually like SRAM better then Shimano now. I have an X-9 on my Prophet and it has been awesome. I think I might upgrade to an X-0 at some point.

 

[peter6061]

Yeah, no knocking of the lefty coming from me. I think the fork is awesome and have different models on multiple bikes. I'm running the carbon lefty max on my prophet and a lefty dlr ti on my SS frame. These forks rule! I've got racks on my car that don't require the removal of the front wheel, so no issue there. I even asked the Cannondale people why they didn't make a 1-1/8" version to sell aftermarket and they said it was because of the price. It is an expensive fork, but it rides great. C'mon, it's an inverted, dual crown design with no bushings to wear out, the axle is beefier than any 20mm out there,...and it's fixed!

I was told the only 1-1/8" versions were custom made and will not likely be produced for consumers.

 

[sanjuro]

First of all, this sit IS full of knowledgable people advice. And second of all it is hurting cannondale sales, bottom line. There are a lot of people who dont like it for one reason or another. The fox 36 is a serious fork, and perfect for that bike. I personally would ride it years ahead of that lefty. And yes i have put time in on both. Props to cannondale for swallowing their pride and going with "conventional" forks.

Now hold on a second. The proprietary Headshok and the Lefty technology is a huge winner for Cannondale on the mid-priced bikes. For example, starting with a F400 for $750, you get a Headshok, a very high quality, stiff, light, and air adjustable fork with a true lockout. In comparison, many competitors' bikes in that price range are spec'ed with Axel's, Judy's, and MX Comp's which have none of these features.

The same is true for the Lefty on the Prophet 600 and 800's, although these bikes use FF and TPC damping opposed to the higher end SPV+ cartridges. The quality is the same for the entire Lefty line and there is a very easy upgrade path to SPV for $300.

On the highest end 4X bikes, is a Fox 36 a better selling point? Probably. It is the "Newest" thing, and people want new stuff. I much rather have a Lefty than a Pike, which is spec'ed on the Mx2, but luckily, it is easy to sell a two legged fork.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

On the highest end 4X bikes, is a Fox 36 a better selling point? Probably. It is the "Newest" thing, and people want new stuff.

They would not spec the fork because it was "new" and abandon their own product unless they thought it would:

A: Perform Better
B: Sell Better

Besides the quality of the 36's travel is amazing, much better than the lefty IMO.

 

[Jm_]

And even airline company's rely on single sided designs for landing gear because it is light and stiff.

This is a misconception. The main landing gear are always opposed by an opposite gear, meaning that if there's a lefty on one side, there's a "righty" on the other. If the nose gear was a "lefty" you'd have a point, but the fact of the matter is that aircraft engineers do not really make asymetrical landing gear.

The 2nd point is the most important; you can't land an aircraft side-loaded. This means that your aircraft must be perfectly aligned with the runway, you can't come in "sideways" and expect your landing gear to put up with it. The landing gear is NOT forgiving to side-loads (tortion) and they have a nasty habit of snapping off when you land side loaded.

 

[pbr]

its funny that most people that dont like the lefty's havent ridden them. they are the stiffest fork in their class, and damn light at that. the carbon fork that comes on the 4x this year is 4 lbs for a coil. i mean come on how light and stiff does it need to be. i have ridden fox vanillas and marz qr20. the lefty is stiffer and just as plush. also as strong. i have beaten the living crap out of mine and it still runs fine, no damage at all. how many broken/bent leftys have you seen?

I personally am not a fan of the leftys. I have ridden one, and while I could not fault it's performance(it performed well), I still would never pay for one. I prefer to run components that are standardized, as I change out components on my bikes regularly.

While showing a customer a Cannondale with a lefty, many will not consider purchasing the bike because of the looks of the fork alone. This is normal for a lot of people, and it is not my job to convince people to believe something I personally do not believe. Perhaps that makes me a poor salesman, but I sell what I personally believe in. I would sell a lot more if I spouted more sh*t like many in sales, but I won't do that. If Cannondale gave customers an alternative fork option, I would see that as a positive thing. For those that stand by their one legged forks, they can offer a lefty option. Yes it will make it things more difficult for the product manager, but that is his job.

 

[sanjuro]

When selling something, you don't necessarily need to use it to sell it. I don't use a Lefty, because I like travel adjustment for climbing positioning (I use a Talas). But when ask I am frank about what I use and why, but I try to focus only on the qualities of the Lefty.

If you were to sell Cannnondale, you should say that you rode them and they feel great. Period. There is no need to mention that you cannot resell a Lefty or you think that it looks weird.

And occasionally it can come back to haunt you, like when there was a picture in MBA where a Manitou dude was rocking a Marzocchi. I wonder if he kept his job or not....

 

[rpk1988]

Very true. But about the standardization thing. I must agree, Cannondale does like to experiment. I mean I ran all CODA parts on my old Jekyll which haunted me in every way possible. Other companies do this too. Take Maverick forks for example. They make nice forks, but in order to have one, you have to have their 24mm axle hub. Another step from Standardization.

Another selling point I use for Cannondale and their Lefty's is that you are getting a great deal. A Headshok or a Lefty aftermarket can run you a pretty penny. I add in my sale that if you were to buy this fork alone, it would cost you an arm and a leg. Now look at all you are getting for this price. It works. Trust me, if you havent ridden a lefty, just try it.

 

[caputo1989]

10 reasons Cannondale sucks:


1. I hate lefty forks because they all klunk after about 6 months.
2. I have riden lefty forks.
3. The TT langth is too short for my liking
4. they all use single pivots except for the scalpel
5. Cannondale was assoicated with the "headshock"
6. They cost a testical and a leg
7. crapy welds.
8. designed in cad so there is a limited frame design
9. they ony make decent road bikes
10. they all have crapy cable routing designs.

 

[Superdeft]

in response to the above: I don't agree, it seems he only real shortcoming there is #10. I'm not impressed by the stock routing either, but anyone can easily change that to their suiting in ten minutes.

In any case, I can't wait until these are ready. If anyone has info on that I'd like to find out.

 

[pbr]

When selling something, you don't necessarily need to use it to sell it. I don't use a Lefty, because I like travel adjustment for climbing positioning (I use a Talas). But when ask I am frank about what I use and why, but I try to focus only on the qualities of the Lefty.

If you were to sell Cannnondale, you should say that you rode them and they feel great. Period. There is no need to mention that you cannot resell a Lefty or you think that it looks weird.

And occasionally it can come back to haunt you, like when there was a picture in MBA where a Manitou dude was rocking a Marzocchi. I wonder if he kept his job or not....

I agree, and that is exactly what I say to people. I was happy when I took a hard XC(with a lefty) ride and the fork performed well. & That is exactly the kind of thing I would tell a customer. My point though, is that I sell what the customer wants, and if someone doesn't want to buy a Cannondale because "that fork is weird," I am not about to convince them otherwise. I have tried, but some people are not open to the lefty at all. (Even with Cannondale's marketing team working so hard to get people to try them) Instead, it would be nice to say, "well, here is the same bike with a Fox Fork." I could point out the features between the two and then let them decide. I'm just not into the hard sell. Being able to give the customer the option on the lefty would be nice.


As far as the Manitou dude rocking a Marzocchi, that is a good question. One of my buddies worked for Rock Shox and he tried products from different manufacturers regularly. However, I could see that being embarrassing professionally(if it appeared in print.)

 

[MikeD]

Man, I might need to move to a single bike soon...always thought a Prophet might be it. Was kind of trying to find a 2005 4x frame, actually.

Those new ones look pretty good. But sue me... I like the Lefty. Although I'm leery of SPV from personal bad experiences, I'd even give it a try and warranty it with TPC+ when (if?) it blows up. Then again, the 36 is a mega-cool fork, too.

 

[trialsmasta]

10 reasons Cannondale sucks:


1. I hate lefty forks because they all klunk after about 6 months.
2. I have riden lefty forks.
3. The TT langth is too short for my liking
4. they all use single pivots except for the scalpel
5. Cannondale was assoicated with the "headshock"
6. They cost a testical and a leg
7. crapy welds.
8. designed in cad so there is a limited frame design
9. they ony make decent road bikes
10. they all have crapy cable routing designs.

Designed in cad so there is limited frame design?????? What on earth are you talking about?

 

[A.P]

never been a fan of the Prophet because it's a single pivot. and it's soo long.

Um, long where?

The mediums have a 22'' actual toptube and all of the models have short 16.5'' stays.

 

[JRogers]

Chill guys....this thread is 8 months old....

 

[Jm_]

Um, long where?

The mediums have a 22'' actual toptube and all of the models have short 16.5'' stays.

Well then, it's too short.

 

[sanjuro]

10 reasons Cannondale sucks:

1. I hate lefty forks because they all klunk after about 6 months.
2. I have riden lefty forks.
3. The TT langth is too short for my liking
4. they all use single pivots except for the scalpel
5. Cannondale was assoicated with the "headshock"
6. They cost a testical and a leg
7. crapy welds.
8. designed in cad so there is a limited frame design
9. they ony make decent road bikes
10. they all have crapy cable routing designs.

1. Never happened to the most recent batch of Leftys.
2. So have I.
3. Hmm. The Judge, Gemini and Prophet all have about a 23.5 TT for a medium.
4. True.
5. Would think so, since they invented it.
6. Just a testicle, you get to keep the leg.
7. WRONG WRONG WRONG. They got the best welds in the production business. The best looking and the most penetrated.
8. How does Computer Aided Design limit your frame design?
9. WRONG WRONG WRONG. Compared to what, a Trek Madone? Try a test between alu bikes, and I think the C/Dale will shine.
10. The Jekylls had the worst cable routing for a FS bike, under the BB. The new bikes route thru the swing arm.

 

[singlepivot]

love my lefty

 

[mattmatt86]

love my lefty

Damn dude, this thread's a year old. You had to dig it out of a grave and throw your two cents in there though, didn't ya?

 

[nmn25]

He needed a really epic 3rd post

 

[DTLogic]

I have the same bike that is in the first pic, and let me tell you, it is UGLY I call it my PACIFIC (it looks like the cheap chrome bikes you but at walmart).. as far as the LEFTY SPVgoes, I had a Lefty on my first Prophet, then switched to a Pike.... bought the Prophet MX withe the FOX 36. The Lefty is just as sweet as the rest of these forks. It is just as stiff and handled the trails exceptionally well. I pulled the Lefty off my first Prophet because I was doing more jumping and drops. After talking to the CDALE rep he said the reason they used the PIKE and FOX on their MXs, is not because the fork could not handle the abuse but the front hubs were the weak point. Trust me the Leftys rock...look at the reviews in the magazines

 

[Sandwich]

I really like the lefty that I have now...

But it's not a DH fork. It's not a freeride fork either. It's a long travel trail fork. Like the Maverick, like the Marz AM, etc. If you're doing huxxjibbizing, buy a different fork.

I have the uber low end max FF and it's not a bad damper. I'd like to switch to TPC or SPV if I get the option, just because I'm a snob.