This guy seriosuly doesn't know what he's talking about regarding the lock out. He is saying how the rockshox etc when they are locked out still compress a little bit. Well Mr, this was designed that way! It's called blow off. If you have it locked out and hit a rock for example, the suspension will compress and take the load off the inside components and the jarring of the rider. You shouldn't be riding down a trail locked out anyway; especially when you don't have the blow off feature.
@p3x197 I never ride downhill locked out and don't On level trails, I pretty much never lock out the fork. I ride locked out on paved and dirt road climbs only. I even unlock for paved and dirt road downhills. But - I hate shocks that don't lock out 100% while standing and climbing up roads. It drives me nuts. I don't need any blow off especially on road climbs. Sorry.
How old are these bikes? I Was planning on buying a 2012 cannondal Flash 3 but now I got a little bit scared of buying it in case I will get unsatisfied. Thanks for posting so I/we could see the problems!
@petsoon93 2008 and earlier, but shocks bought in 2010 failed in 2011. i'd stay away from headshocks at all cost. i got a specialized epic expert which is no where near as light being full suspension and all but has front and rear brain shocks which work great so far. i had a taurine frame seperate at the rear axle - cannondale replaced it with a flash frame - very very light. i built it up as a rigid bike for dirt roads though.
@bradtube1 So you mean that it shouldn't be any problems with a 2012 since they've fixed the problem? Hope I did understand you right :) Specialixed makes great bikes but cannondale flash 3 look great!
@petsoon93 I wouldn't buy anything with a headshock - Cannondale definitely has not fixed that problem. One brand new one in 2010 quit working in 2011 so ... doubt they've done anything to fix them since they haven't done anything to fix them in the last 5-6 years.
@petsoon93 I have a trail SL 1 with a standard Headshock Fatty, I use the bike nearly every day for road and off road, So far I've had no problems, and the lock out is fully working. This is my second hardtail from cannondale and it fits like a glove, I can highly recomend getting one.
@theagk19781 The look of the C. Flash 3 2012 really speaks to me, since I love white and green in combination! Love the look the bike gets by the fatty fork too! But i really have to consider buying this, since I'm thinking of buying a Scott spark 70...
Thank you for your good respons and may be a good idea to contact cannondale themselves, to get another (probably more of a partial) view.
@borri68 I don't anymore... I sold a couple bikes, converted a couple to 100% rigid by putting Niner 29er carbon fiber forks on them. Just one bike left with a headshok, which is the bike I gave to my father-in-law awhile ago... don't really want to sell it on him. Now I have a Specialized Epic with front and rear brain shocks - so far - no problems.
@zzkokko You should see what I did! Took a carbon fiber Flash (26" wheels) and put a Niner (29") carbon fiber fork on it. I should make a video. It's awesome. 20lbs. Ideal for dirt road riding. I'll try to make a video in a few days. Measure a rigid 29er fork compared to your headshock fork and get a cane creek headset reducer from 1.5" to 1 1/8" and you'll be good. Or - if you could, leave the headshock outside all winter and it might rust in place.
As a Cannondale RIZE CARBON & Cannondale Bad Boy owner. I also have problems about lockout. About 7or 8 months ago, my cannondale rize carbon fork lock also failed. Because it is 2009 model, I repaired it by myself, but i wonder if it can last one or two years? and my cannondale bad boy also have lock problem. I really like lefty and fatty shock, but cannondale must pay more attention on it to keep it working!
If your friends who do not get their forks serviced run into a problem later down the road, the company would not have to warranty anything since they did not follow the specified service plan for their forks. If you never change your cars oil because your car is driving fine and nobody originally told you you have to change it regularly, do you think that car company will warranty your engine when it seizes?
@3Rbmxer I can agree with you there, but... my much older headshocks with lockout would work for years without service. eventually, they'd get cruddy - the slides would - and i'd have to get them serviced to bring back the nice smooth feel, but actual failures were very rare, in fact, I can't remember if I actually ever had a failure.... unlike the versions with rebound adjustment - which fail like clockwork.
If you want a fork that you can lockout on smooth terrain and have the stiffest fork possible, then ride a cannondale. If you have a high end lefty you will not ever need to lock out your fork on the trail. they have rebound, damping and compression settings for a reason.
Headshock and leftys are not designed to be ridden locked out and to take hits at the same time, this is how they fail. if you want to run a fork locked out on the trail then you need to ride a different brand fork. The reason other brands do not fully lock out is so that they dont fail while being locked out, they are designed to allow the fork to blow through the lockout if needed, thus saving the internals.
@3Rbmxer I primarily lock out my shock when climbing on dirt or paved roads where I want to stand up. I always unlock the shock on downhills and in the woods. One of my most recent failures, I was riding down a dirt road with the shock unlocked and it turned into a pogo stick - no rebound dampening. If you can't use lockout, why'd they put it on there?
Cannondale headshox and lefty forks are some the smoothest and stiffest shocks out in the market, period. ALL suspension needs to be serviced at regular intervals, if you were to read in ANY of there manuals, they would tell you this. If you are running your shocks locked out and that is when they are failing, then it is your fault.
I agree! This shocks maintenance is ridiculous. I hope they fix this design immediately. And all your friends are wierd for not locking their shocks out on a regular basis. I will never buy a Cannondale again just because of this problem. Great video, but now my blood is boiling!
i strongly agree! Cannondales are not what they used to be.. i owned lots of cannondales in the mid 90's and they were flawless, beautifully crafted machines.
I fell out of love with them after 2001, the quality isn't the same, the ethos has gone, and have regrettably fallen victim to the mass-production game... whatever happened to 'Quality not Quantity'????
I am a Cannondale-bikefan since 1992. I have had Headshock, but ride Lefty since about 4 years now. Big difference, much better performance, less problems.
However, when there is a problem, Cannondale Corp is like banks and insurancecompanies, they are not there for you, but for themselve, customers are a pain in the a..
This video is why I spent the extra cash back in 2006 and got the F800 with lefty front fork instead. Unlike this fork which has always been junk the lefty only gave me trouble once two years after I bought it with not holding air. A simple trip to the bike shop where I bought it and the cannondale rep replaced a small part inside of it and did a oil chainge in less than a hour and good as new. I now have a 2010 carbon sl I traded my old one in for and it's been flawless since last year.
solution:stop buying this shock.
G0xPRO 1 week ago
Comment removed
labradorsin 2 weeks ago
this guy just hates all bikes.
vinlighten 3 weeks ago
This guy seriosuly doesn't know what he's talking about regarding the lock out. He is saying how the rockshox etc when they are locked out still compress a little bit. Well Mr, this was designed that way! It's called blow off. If you have it locked out and hit a rock for example, the suspension will compress and take the load off the inside components and the jarring of the rider. You shouldn't be riding down a trail locked out anyway; especially when you don't have the blow off feature.
p3x197 1 month ago
@p3x197 I never ride downhill locked out and don't On level trails, I pretty much never lock out the fork. I ride locked out on paved and dirt road climbs only. I even unlock for paved and dirt road downhills. But - I hate shocks that don't lock out 100% while standing and climbing up roads. It drives me nuts. I don't need any blow off especially on road climbs. Sorry.
bradtube1 1 month ago
How old are these bikes? I Was planning on buying a 2012 cannondal Flash 3 but now I got a little bit scared of buying it in case I will get unsatisfied. Thanks for posting so I/we could see the problems!
Regards
Kristofer
petsoon93 1 month ago
@petsoon93 2008 and earlier, but shocks bought in 2010 failed in 2011. i'd stay away from headshocks at all cost. i got a specialized epic expert which is no where near as light being full suspension and all but has front and rear brain shocks which work great so far. i had a taurine frame seperate at the rear axle - cannondale replaced it with a flash frame - very very light. i built it up as a rigid bike for dirt roads though.
bradtube1 1 month ago
@bradtube1 lefty's are supposed to be quite reliable - but i don't like that you have to lean a little to ride them no-handed.
bradtube1 1 month ago
@bradtube1 So you mean that it shouldn't be any problems with a 2012 since they've fixed the problem? Hope I did understand you right :) Specialixed makes great bikes but cannondale flash 3 look great!
petsoon93 1 month ago
@petsoon93 I wouldn't buy anything with a headshock - Cannondale definitely has not fixed that problem. One brand new one in 2010 quit working in 2011 so ... doubt they've done anything to fix them since they haven't done anything to fix them in the last 5-6 years.
bradtube1 1 month ago
@petsoon93 I have a trail SL 1 with a standard Headshock Fatty, I use the bike nearly every day for road and off road, So far I've had no problems, and the lock out is fully working. This is my second hardtail from cannondale and it fits like a glove, I can highly recomend getting one.
theagk19781 1 month ago
@theagk19781 The look of the C. Flash 3 2012 really speaks to me, since I love white and green in combination! Love the look the bike gets by the fatty fork too! But i really have to consider buying this, since I'm thinking of buying a Scott spark 70...
Thank you for your good respons and may be a good idea to contact cannondale themselves, to get another (probably more of a partial) view.
petsoon93 1 month ago
how fat are you?
RmXam 1 month ago
@RmXam fat, but my 110 lb wife has had two headshocks blow on her over the years so it's not neccessarily my weight.
bradtube1 1 month ago
If the forks give you so many problems, why on god's Earth do you have 5 bikes with the same forks?
borri68 1 month ago
@borri68 I don't anymore... I sold a couple bikes, converted a couple to 100% rigid by putting Niner 29er carbon fiber forks on them. Just one bike left with a headshok, which is the bike I gave to my father-in-law awhile ago... don't really want to sell it on him. Now I have a Specialized Epic with front and rear brain shocks - so far - no problems.
bradtube1 1 month ago
I have f600 and i dond need headshock so much, i ride cravelroads mostly. Do you know any good way to make fork stif? Or do i just need new fork
zzkokko 2 months ago
@zzkokko You should see what I did! Took a carbon fiber Flash (26" wheels) and put a Niner (29") carbon fiber fork on it. I should make a video. It's awesome. 20lbs. Ideal for dirt road riding. I'll try to make a video in a few days. Measure a rigid 29er fork compared to your headshock fork and get a cane creek headset reducer from 1.5" to 1 1/8" and you'll be good. Or - if you could, leave the headshock outside all winter and it might rust in place.
bradtube1 2 months ago
As a Cannondale RIZE CARBON & Cannondale Bad Boy owner. I also have problems about lockout. About 7or 8 months ago, my cannondale rize carbon fork lock also failed. Because it is 2009 model, I repaired it by myself, but i wonder if it can last one or two years? and my cannondale bad boy also have lock problem. I really like lefty and fatty shock, but cannondale must pay more attention on it to keep it working!
sbanzu 3 months ago
If your friends who do not get their forks serviced run into a problem later down the road, the company would not have to warranty anything since they did not follow the specified service plan for their forks. If you never change your cars oil because your car is driving fine and nobody originally told you you have to change it regularly, do you think that car company will warranty your engine when it seizes?
3Rbmxer 3 months ago
@3Rbmxer I can agree with you there, but... my much older headshocks with lockout would work for years without service. eventually, they'd get cruddy - the slides would - and i'd have to get them serviced to bring back the nice smooth feel, but actual failures were very rare, in fact, I can't remember if I actually ever had a failure.... unlike the versions with rebound adjustment - which fail like clockwork.
bradtube1 3 months ago
If you want a fork that you can lockout on smooth terrain and have the stiffest fork possible, then ride a cannondale. If you have a high end lefty you will not ever need to lock out your fork on the trail. they have rebound, damping and compression settings for a reason.
3Rbmxer 3 months ago
Headshock and leftys are not designed to be ridden locked out and to take hits at the same time, this is how they fail. if you want to run a fork locked out on the trail then you need to ride a different brand fork. The reason other brands do not fully lock out is so that they dont fail while being locked out, they are designed to allow the fork to blow through the lockout if needed, thus saving the internals.
3Rbmxer 3 months ago
@3Rbmxer I primarily lock out my shock when climbing on dirt or paved roads where I want to stand up. I always unlock the shock on downhills and in the woods. One of my most recent failures, I was riding down a dirt road with the shock unlocked and it turned into a pogo stick - no rebound dampening. If you can't use lockout, why'd they put it on there?
bradtube1 3 months ago
Brad,
Cannondale headshox and lefty forks are some the smoothest and stiffest shocks out in the market, period. ALL suspension needs to be serviced at regular intervals, if you were to read in ANY of there manuals, they would tell you this. If you are running your shocks locked out and that is when they are failing, then it is your fault.
3Rbmxer 3 months ago
dude thats gay same with the lefty stick with a normal shock and fox shoxks are good man so are marzocci and rock shox
iamthenavyseals 3 months ago
Geezus John. Get with the program. It's like pulling teeth getting you to talk!
ubicomp 4 months ago
I agree! This shocks maintenance is ridiculous. I hope they fix this design immediately. And all your friends are wierd for not locking their shocks out on a regular basis. I will never buy a Cannondale again just because of this problem. Great video, but now my blood is boiling!
caswel14 5 months ago
hey i really like your channel, i really like to ride mtb but i dont know how start from and where should i join. Are you live at east cost?
TRDBoomer 5 months ago
i strongly agree! Cannondales are not what they used to be.. i owned lots of cannondales in the mid 90's and they were flawless, beautifully crafted machines.
I fell out of love with them after 2001, the quality isn't the same, the ethos has gone, and have regrettably fallen victim to the mass-production game... whatever happened to 'Quality not Quantity'????
kober777 6 months ago
Comment removed
kdetubeyou 7 months ago
I am a Cannondale-bikefan since 1992. I have had Headshock, but ride Lefty since about 4 years now. Big difference, much better performance, less problems.
However, when there is a problem, Cannondale Corp is like banks and insurancecompanies, they are not there for you, but for themselve, customers are a pain in the a..
PaulRush01 7 months ago
This video is why I spent the extra cash back in 2006 and got the F800 with lefty front fork instead. Unlike this fork which has always been junk the lefty only gave me trouble once two years after I bought it with not holding air. A simple trip to the bike shop where I bought it and the cannondale rep replaced a small part inside of it and did a oil chainge in less than a hour and good as new. I now have a 2010 carbon sl I traded my old one in for and it's been flawless since last year.
traingp7 8 months ago