Excuse if this post is inappropriate for vintage. Unfamiliar with this model. Lucky me, an unknown model year Cannondale fell upon my doorsteps. (Not exactly like that but graciously from a neighbor who sadly is no longer able to safely ride. Thats another story but I told him he's not allowed to give it up that easily.) Anyways, he called it a Trek and I was ahhh, no it says Cannondale right there in big bold letters. He replied, we'll its a trekking bike, ya know! No arguing that, its a hybrid R-300 Adventure whatever CAAD 2 HeadShok jobbie - with a plush saddle and pogo seat post.

Title: 2012 Cannondale Lefty Owners Manual, Author: Tiago Fidalgo, Name: 2012. Services through Cannondale dealers for Headshok /Lefty suspension forks. ★ Can I purchase direct from Cannondale? ★ How do I get replacement parts for my Cannondale bicycle? ★ What size bike should I buy? ★ How do I become a Cannondale retailer? ★ How can I get stickers? See all 14 articles Registration & Warranty Information ★ How can I register my bike? ★ How do I get warranty service?

Unfamiliar with all this stuff, what do I need to service the HeadShok? The bike is like new and all functions, but just want to be prepared for the unexpected servicing of this fork -possibly obsolete parts.

Nice linear / V brakes stopping 700 x 32c rubber, room for much wider + future mudguards. Has SRAM twisties of which I might as well keep, though I'm thinking this ride needs some Midge On-ones or at least some drop bar changeout. __________________ ● 1971 Grandis SL ● 1972 Lambert Grand Prix frankenbike ● 1972 Raleigh Super Course fixie ● 1973 Nishiki Semi-Pro ● 1980 Apollo 'Legnano' ● 1981 Miyata 1000 ● 1984 Bianchi Limited ● 1984 Nishiki Landau ● 1984 Peugeot Vagabond ● 1985 Trek 600 ● 1985 Shogun Prairie Breaker ● 1986 Univega Nuovo Sport ● 1986 Merckx Super Corsa ● 1987 Schwinn Tempo ● 1988 Schwinn Voyageur ● 1989 Trek 400 ● 1990 Cannondale ST600 ● 1993 Technium RT600 ● 1996 Kona Lava Dome ● And a Bike to Be Named Later ●. The most important thing really is keeping that rubber boot intact. It's keeping the sliding surfaces and needle bearings/races clean.

If you know what your doing all the bearings and races are replaceable, they came in a bunch of different sizes and you need a whole pile of tools to get the thing apart though. I can't recall if any specific grease was called for, but just lifting the boot up and greasing things up in there was 99% of keeping the things going. The internal damping cartridge on some models had a tendency to blow out, they will still work but just go up and down with no control. Some had a lock out switch or dial on top, the lock out was the first thing to blow on those models, again still works but lock out fails and possibly damping/rebound control. The only models that will fail in a way that prevents riding would be an air spring version, schrader valve located at bottom of steerer tube on those guys.

Surprising amount of service parts for head shocks show up on ebay, and pretty cheap too. Programmi rascheta arok. You really have to know what you're looking for and have the tools however. At one point there was a shop that serviced them and the later lefty forks, I can't recall the name at the moment.

Like most of these things the folks over at retrobike.co.uk often know more or even have the service manual posted somewhere on the site. If you need parts, contact Mendonsmith Cycles. He has a deep knowledge of Cannondale suspension (Lefty's, in particular), and may even have parts.

That said, I've seen very few of the hybrid-style bikes that had broken headshocks. The first thing I check if I see a sagging front end is for a schrader valve under the fork crown, and if present, give the fork some air with a shock pump. I'd say the better part of 75% of bikes pass that treat with a working, if not well-functioning, headshock.Before you pump it up, remove the schrader valve core and drip a little oil into the shock. The oil provides the final seal, and the shock will lose air quickly without occasional renewal of the oil. And a floor pump with a schrader head works fine. I have a '93 mountain bike with a head shock. It only gets occasional use, but it still works fine.

I did replace the bearings once. Great feedback, boosted my confidence. Just today mentioned the HeadShok to my LBS where the owner replied it was made by Marzocchi. Neato I'm thinking. It has some Italiano in my USA made frame. Pretty sure I'm going to keep this bike around for some time so will chase for spare parts / future.

Do have further research to do in the initial air / oil settings. Apparently could damage it rather easily. This bike does have the variable valve control on top of the stem. Until I get a chance to really get miles on it and to the trails (not road), I'll see what the hoopla was all about. This bike can take some wider 700c rubber and one area I might experiment with.