# A lefty can't do THAT!



## Brodiegrrl (Jan 12, 2004)

I had the opportunity to test out a Rize3 with the Lefty!

I was impressed with the stiffness and precision of the tine!

Review will be coming soon, thought I'd post some pics!


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## scorpionwoman (Jul 7, 2006)

I tried the Lefty as soon as it came out and was impressed. I've never purchased a bike with one, but did race on a couple. While I've heard lots of folks dis them, I must admit that the only reason I never had one is because of what they were attached to.  Only now you can use a kit and put them on anything!

BTW, what all do you carry with you when you ride??   Just kidding. Thanks for the pics. I'm enjoying the recent posts with pics of chicks riding some technical stuff. :thumbsup:


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## TLL (Apr 28, 2008)

Nice trail.

The lefty gets no love--must be a looks thing. Sadly, this is undeserved as it is a great fork, and excels in stiffness and small bump sensitivity. Light too.


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## CraterMaker (Feb 10, 2004)

Nice pictures! I had a chance to take the Rize 3 for a quick spin a couple of days ago and I was very impressed with the ride. Looking forward to reading your review.


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## Razorfish (May 9, 2008)

Interesting. There's at least two things this single sided has to do that a traditional fork doesn't. Twisting and torsional forces. What size/type axle is in that?


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## Brodiegrrl (Jan 12, 2004)

Razorfish said:


> Interesting. There's at least two things this single sided has to do that a traditional fork doesn't. Twisting and torsional forces. What size/type axle is in that?


???

a single sided for has to do what with twisting and torsional forces?

The torsional forces should be less ON THE BIKE with the single leg since there is only one 'side' of the fork that is twisting.

Sure one 'fork' has to take all the impact forces and compensate for them. This fork was designed to take these forces.

If you can imagine only one leg being impacted the effect on the bike should be less.

Make sense?

I did find it easier to keep the front tire straight on sketchy loose trails.

The axle is tapered, 18mm to 16mm if I recall correctly. I'm currently gathering that information.


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## wadester (Sep 28, 2005)

scorpionwoman said:


> I tried the Lefty as soon as it came out and was impressed. I've never purchased a bike with one, but did race on a couple. While I've heard lots of folks dis them, I must admit that the only reason I never had one is because of what they were attached to.  Only now you can use a kit and put them on anything!


Love the Lefty - other CDale, not so much. Here's my fave combo: Lefty 29er Niner


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

Of course a lefty can do that, it's got square stanchions, but the same thing that makes a headshock or lefty so rigid also limits it in terms of total travel and design capability. These forks use needle-bearings just like the old headshock forks. Only one stanchion (strut) is necessary with this much rigidity, but there are other negatives to the system in terms of friction, lubrication, seals, and such. It also requires a dual-crown setup to have any kind of fore-aft rigidity. They are good forks for their intended purpose, but I wouldn't go hucking one too much/agressively. 

It doesn't get much more rigid than square stanchions.


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## Dan Gerous (Feb 18, 2004)

I can't ride anything else than Lefties now, everytime I try a regular bushing fork, it feels like it was made of Jell-O... or it weighs a ton... or both. They are stiffer in every sense: fore aft, twist, torsion... The front hub interface is also light and very stiff and you don't even have to take the wheel off to change a tire.

Lubrication and seals are no worse than anything else if you ask me. The only negatives I can see is if you are way short, the top of the Lefty can prevent using super short and super low stems. You also have to reset the bearings once in a while, a 20 second procedure that's well worth it. The bearings and bearing races will outlast bushings other forks rely on.

As for the feel and smoothness of them, it really depends what model Lefty you try. There are air sprung, coil sprungs, DLR, SPV, TPC, Fox RLC, Fox Terralogic, PBR (based on Rock Shox internals)... they each can feel very different.


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## Razorfish (May 9, 2008)

Brodiegrrl said:


> ???
> 
> a single sided for has to do what with twisting and torsional forces?
> 
> ...


I'm not saying this is good or bad design. I just saying there's many more parameters to take into consideration and vastly more forces at work on a single sided shock.

Two things:
- The lower leg of the single shock needs to be restricted in twisting or rotation. On a traditional fork this is irrelevant.

- The torsional load is the bending load on axle supported by only one side. It not only needs to resist shearing forces but also substantial bending forces. I can only assume the tapered axle you noted is for this exact reason. A traditional fork only needs to resist shearing force.


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## AlanB (Jan 12, 2004)

*Doubting Thomas here...*

I'll consider a Lefty, but only after it gets market penetration on the North Shore greater than 0.00001%.:devil:


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## Brodiegrrl (Jan 12, 2004)

Digger rode a Cannondale with a Lefty, Greg who does the work on Pipeline had a Lefty on his profit, he likes it better then the Totem he replaced it with. 

I was surprised! For most of the riding people do it would work fine!


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## mbgore (May 13, 2006)

razor.
Good points. The lefty, if cut in half, world look something like this (Cross section looking down) : +


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## Mr. D (Jun 1, 2008)

I am thinking of renting a lefty sometime and trying it out. It would be about $60 for a 4-5 hr rental, so I am not sure if I want to throw down the cash.

laters-Kelly


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## Brodiegrrl (Jan 12, 2004)

I thought it was hexagonal? 

I can't get the manual to load so finding the technical details has been tough.


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## AlanB (Jan 12, 2004)

Brodiegrrl said:


> Digger rode a Cannondale with a Lefty, Greg who does the work on Pipeline had a Lefty on his profit, he likes it better then the Totem he replaced it with.
> 
> I was surprised! For most of the riding people do it would work fine!


 I notice that you used the past tense for both riders. Is there a lack of parts or service in Vancouver that moves people away from Lefties?

Whenever I see one, I ask the rider how long they've been riding the Shore and the typical answer is "Just recently". It'll take seeing them on a more regular basis before I'm willing to commit my own cash to one.

Hey! I rode my rigid for more than a decade before I was convinced that this suspension thing was more than a passing fad!


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

Brodiegrrl said:


> I thought it was hexagonal?
> 
> I can't get the manual to load so finding the technical details has been tough.


Kind of, but I believe the bearings run on a "square" surface. In any case, "square" is simpler to describe.


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## Monte (Dec 20, 2003)

Brodiegrrl said:


> I thought it was hexagonal?
> 
> I can't get the manual to load so finding the technical details has been tough.


The lower has 4 rows of needle bearings, so it's sort of square. Each set of bearings is about 1/2" wide and has 22 bearings covering about 2 1/2" of length. Glad to hear you liked the fork. I'm liking mine still. Have one I'm thinking about tossing on the Stinky.

Monte


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## Monte (Dec 20, 2003)

_Razorfish opined:
I'm not saying this is good or bad design. I just saying there's many more parameters to take into consideration and vastly more forces at work on a single sided shock.
_ 
_ Two things:
- The lower leg of the single shock needs to be restricted in twisting or rotation. On a traditional fork this is irrelevant.

_The lower has 4 flat sets of needle bearings arranged in a square pattern, 22 needle bearings each set, 1/2" wide x about 2 1/2" long. Twisting is irrelevant.

_ - The torsional load is the bending load on axle supported by only one side. It not only needs to resist shearing forces but also substantial bending forces. I can only assume the tapered axle you noted is for this exact reason. A traditional fork only needs to resist shearing force._

The axle/lower leg is built stiff enough to not bend in this direction either. Substantial bending forces??? The moment arm (center of the axle) is only about 2". Think about it.

Monte


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## onbelaydave (May 10, 2006)

*A 3yr Lefty user here*

I test rode several FS 5-6" travel bikes before settling on the Lefty Max, SPV. :thumbsup:

I still get funny looks every time somebody sees it as they ride towards me.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Brodiegrrl said:


> I thought it was hexagonal?
> 
> I can't get the manual to load so finding the technical details has been tough.


My understanding is that the first gen lefties were hexagonal, but they had problems with the stanchion rounding out under heavy riding conditions. A fair number of them did this, which forced a redesign to the current, more squared design.

I've never ridden a lefty b/c I don't like C'dales. Clearly it works or the design wouldn't have lasted so long. It does some things better than traditional forks, but not everything.


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## Brodiegrrl (Jan 12, 2004)

Any pics? Tech docs? Can you email them to me? Do you know the diameter of the axle in the wheel? 

If you put a Lefty on the Stinky you HAVE to come up and ride in the the Bike Park! 

Great input guys! Way better then on the cannondale forum!


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## Monte (Dec 20, 2003)

Brodiegrrl said:


> Any pics? Tech docs? Can you email them to me? Do you know the diameter of the axle in the wheel?
> 
> If you put a Lefty on the Stinky you HAVE to come up and ride in the the Bike Park!
> 
> Great input guys! Way better then on the cannondale forum!


I can email you some stuff, not sure how techy it gets. I do want to hit the bike park again, before Sept. :thumbsup:

Not sure what's up with the C'dale peeps, 210 hits and 0 replies???

Monte


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## Razorfish (May 9, 2008)

Monte said:


> _Razorfish opined:
> I'm not saying this is good or bad design. I just saying there's many more parameters to take into consideration and vastly more forces at work on a single sided shock.
> _
> _ Two things:
> ...


Why do people keep telling me to think about it? I had 4 years in college "thinking about it" when I got my BS in mechanical engineering so I'm pretty sure I have a very good idea without needing to "think about it" any further. Not that I meant anything by that. hehehe

Anyway, I just think it's an interesting design from a technical standpoint and what kind of problems the engineers needed to solve to get it to work as well as it does. And yes, there are absolutely SUBSTANTIAL asymmetrical forces present that are irrelevant in a traditional fork.

If anybody comes across designs or pictures that show what's under the boot or inside I'd love to see it. Thanks.


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## Dan Gerous (Feb 18, 2004)

Monte said:


> Not sure what's up with the C'dale peeps, 210 hits and 0 replies???


Sorry, I was busy! :crazy: I put a direct link for the manual, should work with the direct address.


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## Brodiegrrl (Jan 12, 2004)

keeps stopping during loading...


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## 1440Brad (Apr 26, 2006)

Lovin' the Lefty.







Buttery smooth, and tracks perfectly.


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## CheapTrek (Dec 7, 2005)

not for everyone, but they work.


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## General Hickey (Jan 6, 2008)

I'm sure it's a great fork, but riding around on half of what I'm used to isn't another mental challange I need to overcome.


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## Brodiegrrl (Jan 12, 2004)

Yes it is a mental challenge...

Seems this lefty isn't intended for North Shore use. WHOOPS!

_Intended Use
Lefty PBR 130mm is intended for
Condition 4 (All Mountain) riding. Condition
4 symbol shown next figure.
For riding on
rough trails
with medium
obstacles
Not Intended
The Lefty PBR 130 are not intended for use
in extreme forms of jumping/riding such as
hardcore mountain, Freeriding, Downhill,
North Shore, Dirt Jumping, Hucking etc. _


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## hugh088 (Feb 1, 2004)

"Buttery smooth, and tracks perfectly."
Tracks perfectly. Not quite. Try riding no hands on the pavement. Ok that's covered. Who the heck cares.
Don't worry about the engineering just ride one.
I'm a big guy, 6'3" 235 and nothing I have tried points as well as the lefty. That twisting feeling you get on technical trails with other forks just doesn't happen with the lefty. Grab the front wheel on your bike and try and twist the fork, now try it on the lefy. Big difference.
I would be hard pressed now to go with any other fork.


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## Brodiegrrl (Jan 12, 2004)

Razorfish said:


> If anybody comes across designs or pictures that show what's under the boot or inside I'd love to see it. Thanks.


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## jkkfam89 (Jan 2, 2007)

1440Brad said:


> Lovin' the Lefty.
> View attachment 370156
> 
> Buttery smooth, and tracks perfectly.


What is closer the three bikes or houses in the back? JK


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## The_rydster (Sep 27, 2006)

Does the lefty not mean that your wheel tries and turns right all the time?


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## The_rydster (Sep 27, 2006)

Does the lefty not mean that your wheel tries and turns right all the time?


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## sandmangts (Feb 16, 2004)

The lefty is the one thing Cannondale got right. Almost all the other stuff like Coda parts (especially the hydro brakes) were junk. I have had 2 bikes with lefty's. The standard lefty is designed for XC but I am 210 lbs and do take drops and jumps on occasion and it took it for 3 years. The lefty MAX is tougher and has 140 mm of travel and I found that it tracks better and has better big hit performance than most 140mm forks. Its small bump performance is not as good as some and leftys don't like water crossings. I learned the hard way anything deeper than 6 inches will get into the fork and wash the lube away. Rusty needle bearings are bad.

One of the best things is the simplicity. It is easy to change the spring and relube. Standard forks are still to much for me to fix.


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## Razorfish (May 9, 2008)

Brodiegrrl said:


>


That's awesome. Thanks. The tapered axle seems typical for this application but the stanchion design is brilliant. Commonly aircraft landing gear are unsupported singles but nothing like this.

The only two negatives I can think of are: 1. Unnecessarily complex. 2. Non- circular seals pron to leaking.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

Razorfish said:


> That's awesome. Thanks. The tapered axle seems typical for this application but the stanchion design is brilliant. Commonly aircraft landing gear are unsupported singles but nothing like this.
> 
> The only two negatives I can think of are: 1. Unnecessarily complex. 2. Non- circular seals pron to leaking.


Yes, but the aircraft strut is self-lubricating, and you don't have to worry about the components inside due to this. The lefty is not quite the same, and I'd guess in an aircraft application it would not be a good idea due to the time between overhauls or inspections and maint requirements with repacking the bearnigs. It's a good idea for mountain bikes to some extent (especially in the appilcation), but I wouldn't want one on my planes. Trailing-link landing gear is also much softer than any straight strut.


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## Brodiegrrl (Jan 12, 2004)

Razorfish said:


> That's awesome. Thanks. The tapered axle seems typical for this application but the stanchion design is brilliant. Commonly aircraft landing gear are unsupported singles but nothing like this.
> 
> The only two negatives I can think of are: 1. Unnecessarily complex. 2. Non- circular seals pron to leaking.


what advantage does the tapered axle give?


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## mtbzone (Jun 29, 2005)

*I was impresed when I caught Cedric Gracia doing this....*

This was his second attempt at this set during practice....he landed on the front wheel, too....they ended up shortening this jump before the 4x race.

Photo: Mike Albright










Here's the link to more photos and videos from Sea Otter 2002


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## ISN (Feb 19, 2007)

AlanB said:


> I'll consider a Lefty, but only after it gets market penetration on the North Shore greater than 0.00001%.:devil:




well put.


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## strangeland2 (Apr 8, 2006)

I bought a prophet back in april and at first I was going to sell it cause I was having such a bad experience with it. Ended up having some issues and brought it in for the 30 day tune up and its been great since. Now Im thinking of keeping it. Despite the issues i was having the lefty was never the problem. I do hope to upgrade to something with more squish in a year or two but so far the lefty and prophet is much better suited to the riding Im doing than my old sugar was.

Anyone who thinks it looks weird riding with half a fork missing or its tracking bad stop looking at it and your problems will be solved. Youre not supposed to be looking at your front tire anyway. This would explain your tracking issues.


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## Razorfish (May 9, 2008)

Jayem said:


> Yes, but the aircraft strut is self-lubricating, and you don't have to worry about the components inside due to this. The lefty is not quite the same, and I'd guess in an aircraft application it would not be a good idea due to the time between overhauls or inspections and maint requirements with repacking the bearnigs. It's a good idea for mountain bikes to some extent (especially in the appilcation), but I wouldn't want one on my planes. Trailing-link landing gear is also much softer than any straight strut.


I like to call them, self leaking.



Brodiegrrl said:


> what advantage does the tapered axle give?


Most of the bending torque is exerted where the axle attaches to the fork leg so that's why it needs to be larger at that end. The only reason to taper would be to save weight. However by taper there's an increase in complexity and manufacturing at the savings of very little weight. Tapering is only beneficial if counting every single gram is very important.

Non-tapered axles work fine too. For example, some Honda motorcycles have single sided swing arms. On some of the older models the axle is straight, but on some newer they are hollow and tapered on the inside.


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## Brodiegrrl (Jan 12, 2004)

Razorfish said:


> Non-tapered axles work fine too. For example, some Honda motorcycles have single sided swing arms. On some of the older models the axle is straight, but on some newer they are hollow and tapered on the inside.


cool thanks!


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## General Hickey (Jan 6, 2008)

Hahahaha, it looks like he's re-entering the atmosphere.


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## Monte (Dec 20, 2003)

Razorfish said:


> The only reason to taper would be to save weight. However by taper there's an increase in complexity and manufacturing at the savings of very little weight. Tapering is only beneficial if counting every single gram is very important.


The axle is tapered because (at least as far as I can tell) the hub has 2 bearings. The ID of one (inside, closest to the "strut") is larger than the ID of the outside so you can slide the wheel on over the axle up to the bearing surfaces where the bearings eventually sit. The bolt in the end of the axle threads into the end of the axle and draws the hub/bearings onto the axle. There is some weight savings there too, probably as a bonus.


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## Brodiegrrl (Jan 12, 2004)

hugh088 said:


> "Buttery smooth, and tracks perfectly."
> Tracks perfectly. Not quite. Try riding no hands on the pavement. Ok that's covered. Who


no issues riding no handed here!


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## Monte (Dec 20, 2003)

Razorfish said:


> That's awesome. Thanks. The tapered axle seems typical for this application but the stanchion design is brilliant. Commonly aircraft landing gear are unsupported singles but nothing like this.
> 
> The only two negatives I can think of are: 1. Unnecessarily complex. 2. Non- circular seals pron to leaking.


There are no non-circular seals. The bearings are greased, not in an oil bath, so there are no seals between the upper and lower sections. The boot covers the bearing "races" and exposed lower section keeping them clean. The damper system is in the lower section, all circular seals there.

Monte


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## PedalDamnIt (Jun 27, 2008)

Being an old fart, I find this thread amazing...I can't believe all this technical jargon is about a bicycle! I remember when all a bike was a frame, two wheels, two pedals, handle bars and a seat, of course the seat was optional!


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## strangeland2 (Apr 8, 2006)

PedalDamnIt said:


> Being an old fart, I find this thread amazing...I can't believe all this technical jargon is about a bicycle! I remember when all a bike was a frame, two wheels, two pedals, handle bars and a seat, of course the seat was optional!


I hope the seat post was part of the option.... sure would have been an uncomfortable ride if only the seat was optional.


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## EGF168 (Aug 13, 2007)

This review is taking its time, fortunately I've just got Justin's review from WMB, he's got creepy eyes but I think it's one of the first reviews I agree with him on but he's not riding a Lefty so I'll be interested to read yours.:thumbsup:


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## Razorfish (May 9, 2008)

Monte said:


> There are no non-circular seals. The bearings are greased, not in an oil bath, so there are no seals between the upper and lower sections. The boot covers the bearing "races" and exposed lower section keeping them clean. The damper system is in the lower section, all circular seals there.
> 
> Monte


Thanks for the info. I'm totally diggin just the technical part of this fork. I keep looking at the pictures and almost over the psychological blocks. I might be interested in getting on myself.


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## Monte (Dec 20, 2003)

Razorfish said:


> Thanks for the info. I'm totally diggin just the technical part of this fork. I keep looking at the pictures and almost over the psychological blocks. I might be interested in getting on myself.


Someone posted the bearing arrangement as +, but it's not that, it's a square with radiused corners. The bearing races are on the flats of course.

Monte


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## Brodiegrrl (Jan 12, 2004)

EGF168 said:


> This review is taking its time, fortunately I've just got Justin's review from WMB, he's got creepy eyes but I think it's one of the first reviews I agree with him on but he's not riding a Lefty so I'll be interested to read yours.:thumbsup:


I've submitted it... It should be up soon!


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## CraterMaker (Feb 10, 2004)

I haven't been able to find the review, did it get posted yet? Thanks!


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## EGF168 (Aug 13, 2007)

CraterMaker said:


> I haven't been able to find the review, did it get posted yet? Thanks!


+ 1 where did you post it?


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## Brodiegrrl (Jan 12, 2004)

Finally,

My review of the Cannondale Rize is posted on the Muddbunnies.com site!

Check it out! 

Raised to Climb- Cannondale Rize 3 2008 Review

Written by Sharon Bader Sunday, 31 August 2008 19:43

Attention: open in a new window. PrintE-mail

The Cannondale Rize 3 is billed as the do it all All Mountain bike for "Condition 4 All mountain riding including Medium Technical features". The Rize 3 comes with Cannondale's Lefty PBR fork. Once you get used to the Lefty TINE on the front, can't really call it a fork now can we, it comes across as plush, responsive and light. Being on the North Shore, "medium technical features" may not have the same definition as in other parts of the continent. The bike exhibited handling characteristics which inspired a new level of confidence from the rider. It's limitations were only revealed in the most steep technical terrain. Steeper technical terrain was manageable with a 2.35 tire, flat pedals and the seat as low as possible.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

I took the Rize 3 for a test ride. I liked it. I liked it a lot.


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## rzozaya1969 (Nov 28, 2004)

Brodiegrrl said:


> ???
> 
> a single sided for has to do what with twisting and torsional forces?
> 
> ...


I don't think that the Lefty is stiff because it's only affected on one leg, I'm no engineer, but I don't buy that. What I do think is that whoever designed it thought a lot about stiffness and designed for that. I think that rather than using a round stanchion, they use a square one with needle bearings (I think).

Anyway, I like how the fork rides, but I'm not a big fan of it, either.


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## Monte (Dec 20, 2003)

rzozaya1969 said:


> I don't think that the Lefty is stiff because it's only affected on one leg, I'm no engineer, but I don't buy that. What I do think is that whoever designed it thought a lot about stiffness and designed for that. I think that rather than using a round stanchion, they use a square one with needle bearings (I think).
> 
> Anyway, I like how the fork rides, but I'm not a big fan of it, either.


You're right, it's not stiff because it's only one side, it's stiff because it's got such a big diameter. The square lower stanchion and needle bearings (yes) keep it from twisting.


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## oldnoob (Apr 7, 2008)

Monte said:


> You're right, it's not stiff because it's only one side


if you are talking about being susceptible to twisting forces i don't this is true. its stiffer than a standard fork in that respect. undo the quick release on a standard fork, grab both of the lower legs and twist. that doesn't happen on a lefty. they were out of righty's at the bike shop, so i had to get a lefty, but I noticed immediately that it was more nimble, lighter, and easier to finesse in technical stuff like rock gardens in my opinion.


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## ForestHorse (Jun 7, 2008)

I give up - I think I am the only person on the planet that does not like my Lefty. Could it because it is a year 2000 fork? The fork was rebuilt in the factory (wherever that is) last year. There is just no comparison between my Left and my Fox 36. Or is it because I am just slow? Or am I just bitter from being so hosed by the old tra$hy CODA components that I have residual bitterness carryover to the venerable Lefty?


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## oldnoob (Apr 7, 2008)

oops, my apologies to 'monte' for not reading his reply more closely!


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## rzozaya1969 (Nov 28, 2004)

ForestHorse said:


> I give up - I think I am the only person on the planet that does not like my Lefty. Could it because it is a year 2000 fork? The fork was rebuilt in the factory (wherever that is) last year. There is just no comparison between my Left and my Fox 36. Or is it because I am just slow? Or am I just bitter from being so hosed by the old tra$hy CODA components that I have residual bitterness carryover to the venerable Lefty?


Nahhh

I think that the Lefty is a hate it or love it thing. While I think that the Lefty is a good fork (or strut, or whatever), I don't think it's the do all of mtb. Also, the Lefty and 36 does have different travel, I think that the Lefty goes up to 140mm, while the 36 is 160.


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## Pablo Mac (May 9, 2007)

I have ridden my Lefty for a year and a half, and love it more than the day I go it. Can you see it in the pic?


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## steadite (Jan 13, 2007)

Monte said:


> You're right, it's not stiff because it's only one side, it's stiff because it's got such a big diameter. The square lower stanchion and needle bearings (yes) keep it from twisting.


I think the stiffness comes from the massive axle integrated with the fork leg and the fact that the hub is bolted to the axle rather than attached with a spindly quick release.


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## red-haze.com (Jan 16, 2004)

*My lust runneth over!*



wadester said:


> Love the Lefty - other CDale, not so much. Here's my fave combo: Lefty 29er Niner


Had a lefty for a couple of years, loved it. I'm also one of the few to bend one...while going up hill. it still worked till I replaced it a year later with a max. My experience is that the lefty is just like riding a rigid fork (what I usually ride) but with perfect squish. Now, I see the 9er and the lefty...and I think I know what I want to build up for my next? squish bike. A Jet 9er and and the lefty Max. OOOOOOOOHHHHHHH soooo sweet.

thanks for the pic, you have inspired me!

bike ON
bob


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## office (Aug 8, 2007)

Lets hope Cannondale didn't create another DLR2. I own one and it has been a maintenance nightmare. Cannondale pretty much refused to admit that the valve core was machined incorrectly on the fork (do a search on finding a shock pump that works) and the damn thing blows through seals and leaks like a goddamn maniac. At $20 a pop for new front brake pads, I am getting kind of pissed.

The worst problem was the lockout lever migration that my fork developed...the lever would lock the fork out creating VERY dangerous situations, especially when I was riding on technical terrain. Had it sent to Cannondale for a very expensive factory rebuild (even under warranty) and they didn't even fix the problem! They did change the valve core though...an issue that should have been RECALLED! As a customer who paid a considerable amount of money I am very disapointed at a product I have only used for less than a year.

Stick with Fox. They don't seem to screw up as much.


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## latinbalar (Jul 25, 2010)

I have personally rebuilt my lefty for so i know whats going on. The rigidity of the shock comes from the needle bearings on the telescope. On the Max140 the needle bearing housing is in open air in the upper tube of the shock. They are about 4 inches long and when assembled the bearings are sandwiched between the outer tube and the inner tube eliminating any left to right play. To protect the bearings there is a collar that holds the inner races in and then a boot to cover the races on the lower tube (so if the boot is cracked replace immediately).

Now the races do come out of alignment from time to time and the only way to know is a decrease in the overall travel of the fork. But again easily done. 

Being a spring shock there is a pre-load adjustment that is easily done by removing the upper cap using a BB-tool and then pulling up the spring and adjusting the two treaded lock rings.

There is one O-ring that will give you problems which separates the oil dampener and the spring. If your Lefty is original then more than likely you have an o-ring and not a square one. but this can be replaces with out having to completely dissemble of the shock.

The tapered axle looks like there was alot of thought put into it. I like the sealed bearings and there is a tab at the end that looks like some engineer figured that needed to be there. And again there is no play on the axle.

Having that said i love my prophet the lefty is precise and reliable. it turns quick and there is no play in the shock. i think more shock makers need to follow suit and make a squared off inner tube with needle bearings to start eliminating fork wobble.


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