Cannondale HEADSHOK LEFTY Manuel Du Propriétaire page 7

ELO AND DLR AIR SPRING PRELOAD
ADJUSTMENT
Air preload adjustment requires a precision
suspension air pump with gauge that is capa-
ble of delivering at least 150 psi through a
Schrader valve. A check valve, quick-discon-
nect, or valve extension may also be helpful in
preventing air loss from the valve as the pump
is removed. The maximum preload pressure
for the air cartridge is 225 psi.
1. With the rider off of the bike, measure from
the floor to the center of one end of the handle-
bar with the bicycle standing perfectly upright.
Then position the rider on the bike in a seated,
natural riding position with both feet on the
pedals and weight on the seat. It may be easi-
est for the rider to lean against a wall or post.
With only the rear brake applied and the fork
unlocked, again measure the distance from the
floor to the center of the end of the handlebar.
2. The difference in these two measurements
is the preload sag. Most riders find the best
Lefty suspension performance with 1/2 - 5/8"
(12.5-16mm) sag. A good starting point is to
fill the air spring to 75% of the rider's body
weight. Add or remove air from the fork
through the Schrader valve located at the bot-
tom of the Lefty leg until the desired sag
measurement and fork feel are achieved. Note
this air pressure setting for future reference.
LEFTY M COIL SPRING / MCU PRELOAD
ADJUSTMENT
There are three different weights of coils avail-
able for the Lefty M, to allow the fork to be
customized to suit riders of different weights
Fig.6
and riding styles. Note that different bike
sizes come stock with different spring weights,
to best suit riders of different sizes. Each
spring kit also includes performance matched
negative spring in the same color. The nega-
tive spring acts to increase the ini-tial plush-
ness of the fork by overcoming the resistance
of the main spring. It also acts as a top-out
spring, to prevent a harsh stop at the full
extension of the fork.
Rider Weight Range
150 lbs. or less
140 – 200 lbs.
180 lbs. or more
Bike Size
Small
Medium
Large
Extra Large
Jumbo
Beyond changing the coil springs in the fork,
the spring preload can be fine-tuned to suit
rider weight and riding style.
1. With the rider off of the bike, measure from
the floor to the center of one end of the han-
dlebar with the bicycle standing perfectly
upright. Then position the rider on the bike in
a seated, natural riding position with both feet
on the pedals and weight on the seat. It may
be easiest for the rider to lean against a wall
or post. With only the rear brake applied,
again measure the distance from the floor to
the center of one end of the handlebar.
2. The difference in these two measurements
is the preload sag. Most riders find the best
suspension performance with 1/2 – 5/8" (12.5
- 16mm) preload sag compression. To change
the amount of sag, pull the rubber cap out of
the bottom of the Lefty fork leg and insert
5mm hex wrench into the hole in the bottom
of the leg. Turn the preload adjustment screw
clockwise for greater preload (less sag com-
pression) or counter-clockwise for less preload
(more sag compression). See Fig. 6. Note that
for full suspension use Cannondale recom-
mends running the Lefty M in the soft end of
the adjustment range to allow more shock sag.
3. When desired preload is set, replace the
rubber cap.
8
Recommended Spring Spring Kit Code
Green HD219/GRE
Blue HD219/BLU
Red HD219/RED
Comes With This Spring
Green
Blue
Blue
Red
Red