Cannondale Jekyll 2000SL w/lefty fork - x country bike?

Cannondale Jekyll 2000SL w/lefty fork - x country bike?

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308mate

Original Poster:

13,757 posts

229 months

Tuesday 17th July 2007
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Is this any good for x-country? Up to now Ive been firm on sticking with a hardtail cause Im a bit old skool and I like to feel like all the power from my legs is going into the ground.

But Ive spotted one of these for sale s/h and it looks the absolute horn.....and Ive always secretly hankered for a full sus Cannondale.

Is this going to be anywhere close to the way a Specialized Epic rides?




snotrag

14,925 posts

218 months

Tuesday 17th July 2007
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If you've ridden an Epic and liked it, the Jekyll will be a little different - its a simpler swingarm design and as such will be a little more susceptible to brake jack and be a bit more 'active'.

They are of course, good bikes though and if its in good nick, why not? Check the shock bushes for play at the rear, and that it holds air pressure and the damping adjustments make a noticeable difference.

The lefty should be smooth and quiet, as these can be expensive and fiddly to service.

I too, love my hardtail, for its directness, response, and that 'pure' feeling. But if your riding pretty rough stuff, your always going to be able to go faster, harder and longer on a well sorted full sus.

The Cannondales fit me really well though, If I was chopping both my bikes in for one it would quite posibbly be for a Prophet.

Sir Jonny

630 posts

217 months

Wednesday 18th July 2007
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Not too sure about the cannondale, the way I see it lefty forks are not a very good idea but I have no reason for this.

I really like hard tails but bolstered my old bike (96 GT Zaskar) with an epic and it is awesome. Very close to a hard tail in ride efficiency but bouncy for the rough stuff. It was is so good that a mate bought one the same, then so did another mate and after that my brother.


kieranbennett

306 posts

217 months

Thursday 19th July 2007
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I used to XC on exaclty that bike, and it was fantastic.

I beleive you can now get the rear shock upgraded so it has 'pro-pedal' to stop it bobbing when you pedal, but i never noticed that it was a problem anyway.

The lefty is a great fork, and don't let sceptics convince you otherwise. you wont get a 100mm fork with that low weight, and that stiffness on any other bike.

It will seem very different to the epic though. The shock on the epic is designed to completly lock out when the brain doesn't detect any bumps on the rear wheel. This means it rides like a hardtail most of the time.

The lefty has full lock out anyway, and you can get a lockout to fit the rear shock on the Jekyll.

I now ride a Prophet, fitted with a 140mm lefty, and although its not designed for it its also great for XC.

Edited to add really old pic of the Jekyll that i've jsut found



Edited by kieranbennett on Thursday 19th July 16:10