Lefty fork.

Lefty forks,

I am pretty sure these are an engineering blind alley but they look really cool.

I wonder if anyone has ever fitted them to anything else or are they only for specific frames?

I only ask 'cos I reckon an S-Bike in satin black with a Lefty fork would look the nuts!

Pretty sure when I was looking for one you can buy steerer adapters so they'll fit normal 1 1/8th headtubes... Check the bay...

Cheers.

Or keep an eye out for a USE SUB, they appear for sale on ebay (and this forum!) occasionally.

Even cooler than a Lefty and UK made

Got one in the cellar...attached to a Cannondale something or another....looks very well used.

The modern lefty's seem to get very good reviews and the people I know using them are all very impressed (carbon 29er 2010 model, and Flash Hi-Mod)
11/8 steerer adaptors are available.
Would be my choice.... if I was into suspension... mostly beacuse the Lock-out is hard as a rock

Best fork I've ridden is the lefty. I've gone through a few; Manitou, Girvin (chubby and vector), modern Marzocchi bombers... but the Lefty is the best; especially incredible considering what it looks like; I rode it down the Fort William world cup downhill course and it's as sharp as a razor; totally direct with none of the 'slack' you'd expect, even during massive drop-offs combined with harsh turns, it's point-and-shoot.

And as mentioned above its' lockout is rock solid, so it's excellent for road & climbing too, and it picks out the subtle hits really nicely - ie. the first inch or so of travel is really nicely balanced for ironing out the little ruts on x-country or even road.

Couldn't recommend it higher. 10/10. A*. Etc etc.

Think it's 1 1/4" steerer as standard for cannondale, but as mentioned, you can look into adapters.

Problem with the USE SUB fork is that it is way too heavy, I reckon 500grs heavier than a good carbon Lefty. I'd stick with Lefty, you've got a wider choice of hubs too.

IIRC TF Tuned have the servicing contract for the UK Lefty's and can supply shims/adapters/steerers to fit them to non Cannondale frames - may be worth a chat with them?

Edit >> See here: http://www.tftunedshox.com/service/cannondale.aspx

Stick Legs":1qrkp05i said:

Lefty forks,

I am pretty sure these are an engineering blind alley but they look really cool.

I wonder if anyone has ever fitted them to anything else or are they only for specific frames?

Click to expand...

I asked about what is the pioint of these and it is not as blind as you may think but not taken up by more manufactueers as more expensive to produce.

they can be mnade lighter due to having one leg, and stiffer as the larger diameter single tube would be stiffer than two smaller diameter tubes plus less air resistance.

linear bearing does not bind.

single sided hub bad? nah, cars have had this since day 1.

only draw back is that removing the front wheel for transportation is a bit of a pain.

best fork ive ever used.
any fork capable of saving my heavy ass on emergency drop offs is worthy indeeed.

super stiff on lock out, tracks superbly, plenty of adjustment on the rebound versions, light weight. tube changes are possible with the wheel in place.

They utilise 4 banks of 22x needle bearings, meaning the internal profile is actually square, not round like a normal fork.
This means twisting and side torsional forces simply dont affect the fork.

search youtube for lefty demonstrations (non-politcal!) and you'll see a guy literally hanging off one without it twisting.

1.5" as standard, but 1.1/8th steerers available from project321.

I couldnt recommend them more highly. I reckon Cannondale must have fairly watertight patents on them as im sure there would be more alternatives available should they be able to get away with it.