Cannondale likes to swim against the tide. The Americans caused a stir in the early nineties with the Headshok system, and the Lefty, which was introduced later, is perhaps the only really successful upside-down suspension fork on the market.
With the Lefty Ocho, introduced in 2017, Cannondale limited the travel to 100 millimetres, but saved the double bridge construction in favour of a more competitive weight. There would no longer be a Lefty with more travel, was the word from the developers at the time.
Lefty 120: New with more suspension travel
Nevertheless, the Lefty 120 is now in the starting blocks. A Lefty Ocho that still manages without a double bridge, but offers 110 or 120 millimetres of travel. The tinkering with a longer Lefty fork was fuelled by the development of downhill-oriented cross-country bikes such as the Cannondale Scalpel SE. For this reason, Cannondale has decided not to offer the Lefty with only 100 millimetres of travel.
To ensure sufficient stiffness despite the extended suspension travel, Cannondale engineers have reworked parts of the Lefty Ocho. By using slightly more material, the new design should be stiff enough even without a double bridge and still remain light.
In total 13 Components the two forks differ from each other. The weight remains impressive: 1550 grammes is the weight of the carbon version of the Lefty 120, according to the manufacturer. This would make it just over 100 grams heavier than the classic Lefty Ocho and would put it on a par with the Rockshox Sid 120 or DT Swiss 232 One 120 suspension forks, which are also very light.
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Initially only in carbon fibre: key data and prices of the new Lefty
The other key data: 50 millimetre offset, brake disc clearance up to 200 millimetres (160 millimetre mount). The Lefty 60 hub already known from the Lefty Ocho fits on the special axle.
Given the high price, we find the fact that Cannondale relies on a lockout on the fork instead of a handlebar remote a little weak. However, the remote can be retrofitted.
The new Lefty will be available on the aftermarket from July 2021. For the time being, however, there is only the Carbon versionwhich was awarded a price of 1599 Euro is the price. It is likely that a cheaper aluminium version will follow at a later date, but this has not yet been confirmed.
High-end sports tourer: Scalpel SE LTD Lefty
The new Lefty 120 is also used in the newly launched top model of the Scalpel SE series are used. The Scalpel SE LTD Lefty complements Cannondale's range of aggressive cross-country bikes and rolls onto the trails with carbon wheels, Sram X01 Eagle equipment and Sram Level TLM brakes. Although the equipment is clearly in the high-end range, despite the price of 8399 Euro but with Level Ultimate carbon brakes or XX1 components there would clearly be room for improvement.
All information about the new Lefty and the Scalpel SE LTD Lefty can be found on the Website of Cannondale.
Adrian Kaether
Editor
