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Cannondale Super Fatty SL

MSRP $ 480.00
# of Reviews 18
Average Rating 3.44/5
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Submitted by jeff katz a Weekend Warrior from Traverse City MI.
Date Reviewed: April 2, 2002
Favorite Trail:Vasa
Duration Product Used:1 Year
Price Paid: $1600.00
Purchased At:Team Active
Strengths:Strong with NO flex
Weaknesses:Its like riding a pogo stick..squeak-squaek-squeak-squeak....
Similar Products Used:None, most of the other shocks are good compared to this.......
Bike Setup:Jeckyl 600
Bottom Line:I'm going to upgrade this piece of crap pogo stick for a real fork!
Value Rating:2Overall Rating:2

Submitted by Jim Schelling a Cross Country Rider from Chicago, Illinois, USA
Date Reviewed: January 8, 2001
Favorite Trail:Too hard to choose.
Duration Product Used:6 months
Price Paid: $1500.00
Purchased At:Won't Say
Strengths:Lock Out
Weaknesses:Lock out, Poorly trained mechanics, Poor engineering
Similar Products Used:None. First mountain bike ever purchased
Bottom Line:The Fatty D and Fatty SL shock that come on the Cannondale bicycles are junk. Save your money and buy anything else. This shock broke 4 times on the flat trails in Illinois. Mechanics didn't know how to fix them. I returned the bike to Cannondale after 6 months of this hell. They wouldn't return the tax I paid nor would they pay the shock upgrade. I will never buy anything short of a bike bag from Cannondale again and I recommend the same to you.
Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

Submitted by morgan a Weekend Warrior from newcastle.ME. US
Date Reviewed: November 22, 2000
Duration Product Used:1 Year
Price Paid: $300.00
Purchased At:Brown Dog Bikes
Strengths:stiff, structurally strong, .ooks kinda cool, at least it is different!
Weaknesses:for mine ('99) it was the oil cartridge, it breaks, spewing oil all over my frame so i bring it in and when i get it back he tells me that it was the factories fault and it it was assembled wrong but now it is fixed , i am thinking of cool it is a free fix, he charged me $70.00 for labor! it was the freakin assembly lines mistake and i end up paying! this is while it was still under warranty too, so i go out and ride it, not too hard just regular east coast MTBing, and 4 days later the exact same thing happes, the oil starts leaking out an i lose all damping and adjustabily via the top dial, NEVER BUY C-DALE PRODUCTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Similar Products Used:NONE
Bike Setup:C-DALE
Bottom Line:IT BLOWS!
Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

Submitted by Hannes a Cross Country Rider from Stuttgart
Date Reviewed: November 3, 2000
Favorite Trail:From Ruhpolding around Duerrnbachhorn/Germany
Duration Product Used:6 months
Price Paid: $300.00
Purchased At:Bike Shop Echterdingen
Strengths:No flex when used with disc brake, easy adjustablity of damping, rugged head set, few maintenance
Weaknesses:Shock sensibility far away from up-to-date Pace and Rock Shocks, although same travel; air loss after 6 months; Dealer was nice and quick in repair; even when broken in warranty period, the customer has to pay working hours; dealer did not accept to send the fork to Cannondale to have it redone; disc brake mount did not fit Luise; I had to do some work on the mount;
Similar Products Used:Pace RC36 EVO III; Judy; Girvin Vector
Bike Setup:Canny F 3000
Bottom Line:Disappointing sensibility and shock performance; if you have to buy it for the original price, better buy something else;
Value Rating:2Overall Rating:3

Submitted by Jon a Weekend Warrior from Chicago,IL
Date Reviewed: May 15, 2000
Duration Product Used:1 Year
Strengths:Super Strong.Looks cool. Adjustable. Really Strong.
Weaknesses:makes a weird noise? Could be related to Carbon Fiber frame.
Similar Products Used:Nothing is similar.
Bike Setup:SuperV Raven 2000 SL
Bottom Line:I've turned my front wheel into a taco shell, Taken 2-3 meter drops in the city on concrete, smashed right into numerous objects.This thing is indestructable although I guess it could use a little more adjustability. I'm no expert, but I like.
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

Submitted by Lewis Kosloski a Cross Country Rider from Moriches
Date Reviewed: April 6, 2000
Duration Product Used:2 Years
Strengths:Love the steering and handling
Weaknesses:I love C-Dale but this is the forth time this fork has gone down in 4 rides.I'm sick of having down time.I keep loosing travel.The air is bypassing o rings in air chamber and causing the fork to lose about 60 mm of travel.If C-dale doesn't make good this time I won't be buying another C-Dale
Similar Products Used:DD-50 P-Bone Fatty 70Sl
Bike Setup:Super vee 700 Spox wheels Fox air rear shock,9.0sl shifters and the rest is XTR
Bottom Line:I love C-Dale but I'm tired of the bike going back to shop.I here all these great stories about C-Dale but I haven't had a good one myself yet.The paint on my frame started to blister off and the rep told me it was because I sweated on the frame.Duh I was wondering how you could possibly keep the sweat from getting on the frame.The only thing that got me a new frame was it developed a stress crack by the rear shock mount.The bottom line is I think I'm going to build a new bike and it won't be a C-Dale
Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

Submitted by Scott Bays a Cross-Country Rider from Bonneau, SC
Date Reviewed: January 7, 2000
Favorite Trail:
tsali, thompson loop
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
No flex, finially-good travel
Weaknesses:
None
Similar Products Used:
DD60, MC60
Bike Setup:
Cannondale Raven
Bottom Line:I've only ridden Headshocks and my only complaint has been the limited travel, but now with over 3 inches...I'm a true Headshok junky. Love the air adjustibility.
Overall Rating:5

Submitted by boudewijn a Cross-Country Rider from Sint-Oedenrode
Date Reviewed: November 9, 1999
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
stiffness
Weaknesses:
travel
Similar Products Used:
marzocchi bomber z2
Bike Setup:
c'dale sv1000 disc
Bottom Line:I had to send my fork back for the fourth time. The travel had decreased to 60 mm. The thirth time
I got it back with a leaking oil-cartridge. They had broken it during fixing the air-cartridge. I got really sick of this fork. I've just had it with Cannondale. Last time I called them on the phone, it even looked if they had an answeringmachine that could only say: take it to your dealer, he will send it to us. beeeeeep
Overall Rating:1

Submitted by Jim Ryan a Cross-Country Rider from Redwood City, CA
Date Reviewed: July 13, 1999
Favorite Trail:
ECdM, Sierra Azul
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
Handling
Light Weight
Adjustable while riding!
Handling Handling Handling Handling
Handling Handling
Handling Handling
is that 50?
Weaknesses:
Looks goofy
Similar Products Used:
Rock Shox
Bike Setup:
Cannondale XTR/XT
CAAD3
Bottom Line:From the first test ride I was amazed at the handling capabilities of this shock. It provides the necessary travel with no problems and little maintenance.
Overall Rating:5

Submitted by Don S a Weekend Warrior from Jamul,CA
Date Reviewed: July 9, 1999
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
Lightweight,no flex,excellent
handler.Very
plush!
Weaknesses:
Not a fork for the home
mechanic to work on.
Topped out until LBS
replaced cartridge
Similar Products Used:
Judy SL
Bike Setup:
Cannondale SV 2000
Fox air on the rear
Bottom Line:I had a problem with topping out noise from the
beginning. LBS couldn't find the problem. Another
shop replaced cartridge and that did it(under
warranty).This is a plush fork that out handles
any single crown slider fork. No flex with point and shoot handling.Much plusher than my Judy SL
with downhill cartridges and speed springs and it
has less travel than the Judy did. NO FLEX AT ALL!
Overall Rating:5

Submitted by Jeff J. a Cross-Country Rider from Castaic
Date Reviewed: July 1, 1999
Favorite Trail:
Los Robles/Rosewood
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
NO flex, laterally, torsionally or any other way. Air spring is adjustable for big guys like myself (6'5, 245 lbs.) No harsh bottoming out. Rebound dampening adjustments that you can actually feel. And did I mention that they do NOT flex. What a difference that makes!
Weaknesses:
Huh?
Similar Products Used:
Rock Schlox Judy XC
Bike Setup:
Cannondale Super V 900 (120 mm rear travel, 80 mm front with Magura louise disc brakes )
Bottom Line:This fork has taken all of the pounding I have been able to give it short of crashing. This fork lets you forget about making excuses for not riding well. Point and shoot! It goes where you aim it. Baby head rock gardens, jumps, curbs, whatever, just hang on to the bars and enjoy. And did I mention that it does NOT twist or deflect! No stiction. No buying the right spring(s) (hopefully the first time). Yes, you have to buy a shock pump. Get over it. Why any serious rider would trust his sweaty carcass and expensive dental work with any other fork is beyond me. HEADSHOCK ROCKS!!! Five flaming steampiles for this puppy!
Overall Rating:5

Submitted by David Haight a Racer from Oxford, Ct.
Date Reviewed: June 25, 1999
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
No Flex
Weaknesses:
Harsh Bearings
Not User Friendly
Bike Setup:
Super-V Active 2000
Bottom Line:The bearings run with alot of friction and lubing
does not seem to help at all. I experienced a loss of travel (20mm), sent it back, had the new
one for 1 month... same thing all over again. Not
very satisfied at all.
Overall Rating:2

Submitted by C-Dale Man a Cross-Country Rider from Westlake Village, CA
Date Reviewed: June 7, 1999
Favorite Trail:
Hmmm...too many favs.
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
Super Stiff, super strong, good travel, amazing small hit compression, tons of adjustments, generally light, great traction. It looks so sweet, too! (For everyone who doesn't know, it's called original...don't be frightened.
Weaknesses:
very heavy steerer tubes.
annoying preload adjustment.
Bike Setup:
On my '99 SuperV 700
Bottom Line:This is a sweet fork. The best lateral stiffness in the shock industry, tons of adjustments. I find myself using the dial all the time. The travel is great (80 MM) and this thing eats up small hits like nothing else (via air shock design, of course). The shock is a pretty nice weight (3.4 pounds) but I don't understand why cannondale went with such heavy steerer tubes. Then again, that's what the ultra is sold for (new, much lighter tubes). The other annoying thing is adjusting preload. You have to get your hands on a suspension pump and use a chart to find your ideal PSI. What a hassle! Overall, this fork is amazing! Light, great feel, super stiff, amazing on small bumps, great traction, ad very tough (after the torture I have put it through, i'm shocked it's till in one piece!), and a kick ass look! Strongly suggest this amazing buy! Get used to the wierd headshok look and go buy it!
Overall Rating:5

Submitted by Palmquick a Racer from Chicago
Date Reviewed: May 11, 1999
Favorite Trail:
HardRock Ocala Fl
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
Extremely Stiff lateraly
Weaknesses:
Dampining dial rerely worked
Roller barrings felt extremely rough
Similar Products Used:
RockShox SID
MC 50
DD 60
Manitou SX Ti
Bike Setup:
Cannondale Cad 2
Fatty Sl
Bottom Line:I innitaly upgraded to this fork when Cannondale allowed me to warrenty my MC 50 fork when the paint began to flake off. The additional travel was a nice bonus and the adjustibility of the forks air pressure was great for a light weight rider(such as my self) to be able to fine tune enough to suck up the more subtle bumps. Unfourtuniatly the fork had an extremely gravely feel to it. The local Cannondale rep. looked at the fork and immeadiatly sent an additional fork out to me. The second Fatty was perfect for the first hour of my first ride, but unfourtuniatly the dampioning went out and left it with a violent thudding sensation every time the fork would rebound. Two weeks later I received my fourth Cannondale shock and this one did not work from the start. The adjustment nob on the top did not have any affect on the forks damping and it developed 20mm. of play with in the first month of riding. The following fork that they sent me was plauged with the same problem of the non working adjustment nob and it was stuck on the slowest rebound setting making it impossible for the fork to recover from a succession of bumps before bottoming out. After dealing with these unblieveably distracting problems I ended up purchasing a Trek 9900 to avoid any more problems that would hinder my racing. Cannondales quality control will have to be improved if they do not intend to frusturate and loose their current customers.
Overall Rating:1

Submitted by ART a Weekend Warrior from Baltimore, MD
Date Reviewed: May 5, 1999
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Durability, plenty of travel, on the fly dampening
Weaknesses:
none yet
Similar Products Used:
judy
Bike Setup:
'99 Raven Super V 1000
Bottom Line:Great product so far, no problems and plenty of travel.
Overall Rating:5

Submitted by Scott Bays a Cross-Country Rider from Bonneau, SC
Date Reviewed: April 29, 1999
Favorite Trail:
Tsali, Thompson loop
Duration Product Used:
less than 1 month
Strengths:
Infinite adjustability, Very stiff, Finially-real travel from a headshok
Weaknesses:
Nada so far.
Similar Products Used:
DD60
Bike Setup:
Raven
Bottom Line:I'm a Headshok junky from the first time I rode a Cannondale. My only gripe has been not enough travel. Well, now with over 3 inches and infinite adjustability of air, I'm in heaven. I just hope its as durable as my other Headshok was.
Overall Rating:5

Submitted by gerry a weekend warrior from Philly
Date Reviewed: February 26, 1999
Bottom Line:

This fork is fantastic for xc. It tracks with exact precision, the fork legs are super stiff , therefore giving max support to v brakes and the real on the fly dampening is excellent.
Overall Rating:5

Submitted by bob a cross-country rider from canada
Date Reviewed: February 26, 1999
Bottom Line:

i have never tried these but i felt sorry for them because no one had voted on them.!!!!! !!!!!!! !!!!!!! !!!!!! !!!!!! !!!!!! !!!!! !!!!!! !!!! ! ! !!!!! !!!! !!!! ! !!!!!! !!
Overall Rating:5






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