CANNONDALE LEFTY

[malvandy]

Has any one got one, I know there are many variants. Looking for reviews on the aluminium framed ones. At the moment very good offers on said model at Evans Cycles

[Brucey]

some of my chums have used leftys for many years with few troubles. However they have taken very good care of them, with regular and meticulous servicing.

The parts in the lefty and even the stem and headset are specific to cannondale; from third party sources the best you manage is adaptors to allow a conventional fork to be fitted to cannondale frame if the lefty is scrapped. Cannondale supply parts for recent models and this would be OK but in some cases Cannondale have failed to supply these specific parts for their older models; for example owners of models containing headshocks have in some cases been left high and dry with front suspension that isn't particularly good or reliable and can't be rebuilt.

In fairness the affected models are about ten years old but even so it must be incredibly annoying. IMHO Cannondale are eroding their brand values by failing to support older models properly.

My advice is that if you are thinking of buying one, take very good care of the cannondale specific parts, and if you are in it for the long haul, perhaps consider buying in a couple of rebuild kits for the suspension whilst they are still available.

cheers

[malvandy]

Thanks Brucey, The one I am looking at(looked at it so much have actually ordered it now) has no suspension. Bang on about specialist parts/spares. Front wheel is obvious non interchangeable because of the spindle size. I look after my gear so hopefully should last me for a good while
The initial reason for getting one was a need for a hybrid bike with a low ish cross tube. Not worried about the quirkiness , it just came within the price range & just happened to be a Cannondale

[Airsporter1st]

I think humans and nature in general like(s) symmetry.

In my case, much as I like the look of the Cannondales, I just cannot get over the assymetric look of the lefty. Probably just me, I know, but it put me off buying a bike which otherwise ticked all the boxes.

[pjclinch]

I think humans and nature in general like(s) symmetry.

In my case, much as I like the look of the Cannondales, I just cannot get over the assymetric look of the lefty. Probably just me, I know, but it put me off buying a bike which otherwise ticked all the boxes.

So you ride a bike with chains on both sides? Probably not... It's not assymetric that's the issue, it's that the Lefty is different to almost everything else and people tend to be innately conservative.

[Gattonero]

They are great forks, but you can't use v-brake with them!

[malvandy]

Wellit arrived but POST DELETED doubled up for some reason

[malvandy]

Well it arrived but I can't use it. Not going to slate the vendors for mistreatment caused by the hauliers & post. What I feel I should comment on is that the bike needed more just basic assembly straight out of the box that was stated by the vendor.
The package came with the so called owners hand book for Cannondales covered most things but nothing about the Lefty . The bit I wanted to know more about was the single fork , assembly was easy but what about the all important torque settings. I found out in the end through google but that is not the way it should be done. Ok it's all assembled , gears need adjusting & not just the odd tweak , they were well out. Then the brakes , rubbish, needs adjusting, first time ever I have had hydraulic disc brakes. Not in possession of bleed kit, bike not roadworthy so it stays where it is until I can get the brakes sorted.
Further to my disappointment, when assembling I turned the bike over to have a good look around & there staring me in the face was the sign I didn't expect to find " made in Taiwan". I though it was made in the USA. Ok so this happens a lot with all sorts of stuff we buy now days. If I had known I don't think I would have been that eager to part with my dosh.
When I get sorted out will give a road test report

[Brucey]

if you want a 'made in the USA' cannondale, you need to buy a used one. The brand was sold several years ago, and the USA factory was closed.

The amount/type of assembly required is not uncommon. A lot of people take their mail order bikes to the LBS to have them put together properly, which makes them cost about as much as if they had bought them from there in the first place, but without the goodwill, obviously.

cheers

[malvandy]

Well that's another thing I didn't know about.
Shimano bleed kit on the way.
Who deals with Cannondale accessories. I know it's going to be expensive even if it's all made in Taiwan these days.