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.
Similar Products Used: None. First mountain bike ever purchased
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
morgan
a Weekend Warrior
from newcastle.ME. US
Date Reviewed: November 22, 2000
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Submitted by
Hannes
a Cross Country Rider
from Stuttgart
Date Reviewed: November 3, 2000
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;
Bottom Line:
Disappointing sensibility and shock performance; if you have to buy it for the original price, better buy something else;
Favorite Trail: From Ruhpolding around Duerrnbachhorn/Germany
Duration Product Used: 6 months
Price Paid:
$300.00
Purchased At: Bike Shop Echterdingen
Similar Products Used: Pace RC36 EVO III; Judy; Girvin Vector
Bike Setup: Canny F 3000
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Jon
a Weekend Warrior
from Chicago,IL
Date Reviewed: May 15, 2000
Strengths: Super Strong.Looks cool. Adjustable. Really Strong.
Weaknesses: makes a weird noise? Could be related to Carbon Fiber frame.
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.
Submitted by
Lewis Kosloski
a Cross Country Rider
from Moriches
Date Reviewed: April 6, 2000
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
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
Bike Setup: Super vee 700 Spox wheels Fox air rear shock,9.0sl shifters and the rest is XTR
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Scott Bays
a Cross-Country Rider
from Bonneau, SC
Date Reviewed: January 7, 2000
Strengths: No flex, finially-good travel
Weaknesses: None
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.
Submitted by
boudewijn
a Cross-Country Rider
from Sint-Oedenrode
Date Reviewed: November 9, 1999
Strengths: stiffness
Weaknesses: travel
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
Submitted by
Jim Ryan
a Cross-Country Rider
from Redwood City, CA
Date Reviewed: July 13, 1999
Strengths: Handling Light Weight Adjustable while riding! Handling Handling Handling Handling Handling Handling Handling Handling is that 50?
Weaknesses: Looks goofy
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.
Weaknesses: Not a fork for the home mechanic to work on. Topped out until LBS replaced cartridge
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!
Bike Setup: Cannondale SV 2000 Fox air on the rear
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jeff J.
a Cross-Country Rider
from Castaic
Date Reviewed: July 1, 1999
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?
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!
Bike Setup: Cannondale Super V 900 (120 mm rear travel, 80 mm front with Magura louise disc brakes )
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
David Haight
a Racer
from Oxford, Ct.
Date Reviewed: June 25, 1999
Strengths: No Flex
Weaknesses: Harsh Bearings Not User Friendly
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.
Submitted by
C-Dale Man
a Cross-Country Rider
from Westlake Village, CA
Date Reviewed: June 7, 1999
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.
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!
Weaknesses: Dampining dial rerely worked Roller barrings felt extremely rough
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.
Could someone tell me if the disc mount on the super fatty sl is IS or something else? Or could you tell me how I can determine this?
I want to upgrade my disc brakes and need Read More »
:mad: I just realize that I had no air in the fork (the boot was all scrunshed up).. so I extended the fork and locked it to save any damages till I got home. When I went to add ai Read More »
hey hey, im new here and new to mountain biking and cannondales. i got a 2002 caad3 f3000 from a friend through trade. he broke his fork, so the bike wasnt rideable. now i need the Read More »
Hello.
Does anyone know if a 1999 Cannondale Headshok Super Fatty SL pulled from a 1999 Super V will fit on a 1993 M800 "Beast of the East" ?
The Beast originally had a rigid Read More »
