“We actually own a patent on cartridge style dampers,” said Hanna. Previously, riders needed another person to manually take the measurement. Setting sag is easier too, as Cannondale now place an O-ring on the lower leg so that sag can be set visually, as with any other fork. Essentially, it’s completely encased throughout its riding life.” “In traditional forks, gravity is taking the oil away from you at all times, and with our system it keeps the oil in place. “Our system takes advantage of the inverted design and fills the cavity to create a lubricating oil bath,” said Hanna. Note the increasing stance between the lower bushing and upper needle bearings as travel progressesĬannondale also take advantage of the Lefty’s inverted design and new lower seal to incorporate an oil bath, which lubricates both the bushing and needle bearings as the fork moves through its travel. Hanna showing the increasing stance between the lower bushing and upper needle bearings as the fork moves through its travel: hanna showing the increasing stance between the lower bushing and upper needle bearings as the fork moves through its travel Matt Pacocha Cannondale say it’s this feature that allowed them to bring Lefty to the longer-travel Over Mountain category. Unlike traditional forks, where the bushing spacing is a constant, in the Lefty the distance between the lower bushing and upper needle bearings increases as the fork moves through its travel. Just above the seal you find what Cannondale are calling a ‘slide bearing’, which is what we commonly refer to as a bushing.īecause the bushing sits in a fixed position on the outer leg and the needle bearings roll into the fork with the inner leg, Cannondale can make a legitimate claim that their fork gets stiffer as the fork gets deeper into its travel. This means they can incorporate a wiper seal at the bottom of the upper structure. The new sealed Hybrid Bearing Technology allows Cannondale to get rid of their lower shock boot, which has been a trademark of the Lefty design since its introduction.īecause it’s impossible to seal a square structure, Cannondale have made the new Lefty’s Teflon-impregnated, hard-anodized lower leg round. “We can load those bearings with any force from the riding conditions you see – fore/aft, torsional… No matter what you do the bearings always roll smoothly,” said Hanna. “It’s a square peg in a square hole and that just fights all torsional forces to give us that point-and-shoot handling we’ve always had.”Ĭannondale use needle bearings for the main source of the lefty’s stiffness, but incorporate a lower bushing to the new model: cannondale use needle bearings for the main source of the lefty’s stiffness, but incorporate a lower bushing to the new model Matt PacochaĬannondale still use needle bearings for the main source of the Lefty’s stiffnessĪ final key feature for the new Lefty is the use of the needle bearings instead of bushings. “The other key ingredient, which you don’t see from the outside and is something we’ve had from the beginning – the hallmark of all things Headshok, is the square-in-square design,” said Hanna. “With Lefty we use a double clamp, and we get a nice stiff structure.
“The larger top tube allows us to distribute the forces more evenly in the zone where it’s concentrated,” said Hanna. A four-piece needle bearing system is the fork’s main anchor for stiffness, strength and smoothness. But the key to the fork’s stiffness lies at the top of this stanchion, where Cannondale taper the tube from round to square. The lower leg (sliding stanchion) on the new Lefty is just 32mm. Lefty product manager Drew Hanna with the latest edition of the fork Cannondale lefty product manager, drew hanna, with the latest edition: cannondale lefty product manager, drew hanna, with the latest edition Matt Pacocha
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