Mattlikesbikes Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 About a 18mo ago I made a mistake. I wanted a 100mm Lefty, and I talked to Tim Carr about rebuilding my existing Lefty PBR 1.0. Ultimately I decided against rebuilding my existing Lefty 1.0 and I picked up a second lefty. A booted Max 26. I ran it for a couple weeks to make sure it worked, all was good. But then my mistake, I sent it to Mendon Cyclesmith, the primo Lefty shop. He replaced all the bearings, did a service, and made the internal changes so it worked as a 110mm 29'r fork. I sent it to Mendon as he was the mechanic on my original Lefty and the builder on my lefty SS, so I figured it was in good hands. Fork came back and on the first ride I found that after 10-15 min of trail riding it started to get shorter, ultimately blowing all its travel and getting stuck at the bottom of travel. Lift the wheel and pull ever so slightly and it extended right back and was good for about 5 -10 min. But it never got all good. Sent it to Mendon again, on his dime, and he could not find a problem. cleaned it, reserviced it, some new seals, etc, and sent it back. Still doing the exact same thing. I quit following up and the fork just hangs in the garage now. Well, I want to get it working. All the lefty forums have different ideas, but it sounds to me most like a negative air spring issue. I know I could call Tim and bring it to him to look at, but I am reluctant to spend another $200 on this paperweight. First I want to poke at it myself. Anyone here do their own lefty work, or have the tools to open one up property? I know Mendon cleaned it, but there is lots of thought that a tiny dab of grease in the wrong spot of a valve would certainly cause negative air issues. I just want to open it up and look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericbike6 Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 I would reach out to Chuck Soliz(can be found on facebook), he's been a super lefty fan for years. Used to work at REI, now out doing his own thing. He maybe able to give you some guidance. I have his number if your interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattlikesbikes Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 1 hour ago, Ericbike6 said: I would reach out to Chuck Soliz(can be found on facebook), he's been a super lefty fan for years. Used to work at REI, now out doing his own thing. He maybe able to give you some guidance. I have his number if your interested. Sent him a note on FB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRider3141 Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 On the topic of Leftys. They've always intrigued me and I understand the draw despite it's apparent draw backs. Has there ever been a generation of Leftys that are reliable and easy to service? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattlikesbikes Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 3 minutes ago, RedRider3141 said: On the topic of Leftys. They've always intrigued me and I understand the draw despite it's apparent draw backs. Has there ever been a generation of Leftys that are reliable and easy to service? SO, this is a rabbit hole. But I'll tell you what I know. As I understand it (BROAD GENERALIZATION COMING): there are two main Lefty types - Booted and no boot. Booted are the old ones and no boot (Hybrid, 1.0, 2.0 or something) are the newer ones. At some point Cannondale tightened their grip on the aftermarket repair business and parts and tools for the newer stuff (bootless) got harder and harder to get for the non-dealers. Booted are pretty simple, parts are somewhat interchangable, and as long as you don't bend them, they can be repaired many many many times. The bootless ones are harder to repair and now must be taken to a Cannondale dealer, who likely will have to send it off anyway. I had a newer bootless and at the suggestion of Mendon and the MTBR forum, I tracked down an older booted version. The logic being user serviceable, travel adjustment and tuning by spacers and washers not replacement of whole guy inserts, etc. I am really impressed with how well the fork works. I am running it as an XC fork, and for that it really excels. The Hybrid 1.0 bootless (90mm with lockout) on my race SS is fantastic. In theory the old booted lefty (110mm, with lockout) should be nearly as good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntonioGG Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 Does it stay compressed the whole time or does it slowly come back up? Any chance it could be packing down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 The new Lefty Ocho is a badass. The one just prior that I had on my Scapel SI was amazing. No issues, and never any flex. I love the Lefty fork, and have owned 3 different generations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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