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Cannondale
Fatty SL 70 HeadShok
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Submitted by
matt savage
a Cross Country Rider
from portland
Date Reviewed: May 15, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Gales Creek | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$450.00 | | Purchased At: | Santiam Bike and Hike, Salem | | Strengths: | Light, Stiff, Absolutely reliable. | | Weaknesses: | Limited travel compared to today's forks, but it's designed for xc racing, so give it a break. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | F500 upgraded to full XT, Easton Carbon bars and seatpost, Time carbon ti ATAC's | | Bottom Line: | It was introduced and perfected long before there was any sort of long travel fork, so people can't really complain about it not having long enough travel. I started riding Fatties in 95 and never, ever had a problem for years. Overhaul it once a year and you're good to go. Also, I ride in the Great Pac. NW where it rains almost continuously for 9 months out of the year, or more in the Coast Range. Water is not an issue. Just make sure the zip ties on the bootie aretight and that it's not torn. As with any product, as long as you don't abuse it, it will last; although some last longer than others, case in point, the Headshock. Though it may cost almost twice as much as any manitou or rock shox product, it will last four times as long, with a quarter of the maintenance and infinitely better quality of travel (compared to other short travel forks).
Now, what Cannondale needs to do is develope a longer travel HeadShock, and I don't mean the Lefty. That is a Ridiculously expensive upgrade! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Carlos
a Cross Country Rider
from Phoenix, AZ, USA
Date Reviewed: February 13, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | All | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | Sun & Ski Sports (Texas) | | Strengths: | Fits into the F700 head tube. | | Weaknesses: | Outdated. | | Similar Products Used: | Fox Racing 2004 F100X
Marzocci 2003 Marathon SL 105mm | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale F700 w/ V-Brakes. | | Bottom Line: | Cane Creek XC Short Headset adapts my Cannondale CAAD2 frame to any conventional 1 1/8 fork. Because of this, I now know what I've been missing all this years. The world has changed, and the Headshock has a built-in travel limitation of 70mm. The 70mm travel makes for a rough ride. Also, I had to put an O-Ring to quiet rattling inside of Head Shock -- how about that.
I'll give two Chili's because I was happy with my SL 70 in those days. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shane Gouldthread
a
from Weedville
Date Reviewed: February 2, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | any with single track | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Libbys bike shop(BIKERSHIGH) | | Strengths: | -light 3 pds
-plush
-0% FLex
-Very Predictable
-Compression
-Rebound
-handles everything smooth | | Weaknesses: | there is none.. its not a R.S. | | Similar Products Used: | Super Fatty Ultra and other headshocks... | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale F700 CAAD 3,all new XT compontes,Avid disc,Mavics 223 disc wheelset,IRC MYTHOS | | Bottom Line: | i dont realy know what the other reviews on here are about??? (stumped) i use this bike racing and training and everything in the middle. never had a probelm yet! i live in Pennsylvania and the summers are mostly dry. but theres always plenty of rain too! last race rained week before and day of race.. nothing but mud! the coarse was slick. changed IRC's to Pannaracer's Smokes(ORIGONAL SMOKES). ya i know bad rolling restiance, but i took first in my age group. 24 mins in front of second place. 11th in out of 191! so i did good for being 16yrs old. i ride 7 days a week and sometimes twice a day. when i go camping its always twice a day or to JIM THROPE all day. i live on my bike and love competion. i need a good bike to do all that. take it from me shes always did more than i ever needed..
so take it easy on days off and ride like theres no tomarrow!!
shane | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kris Allain
a
from Baton Rouge, LA
Date Reviewed: August 11, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Comite | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | lots of travel, on the fly adjustments and lockout | | Weaknesses: | Way too many for the price you pay for it!!! Ok I don't know exactly what the fork retails for but I understand like $550. At least that is what my LBS said. I bought a super v used but it was in great shape and supposedly the fork was just serviced. Well the other day I put my bike in the repair stand and left it over night. The next day the thing was completely froze up!! I used to do my own service on my Rock Shox forks but it is literally impossible for the normal rider. You have to go to an authorized cannondale dealer for this. I mean even if you were to have the exclusive cannondale tools needed for the job, there is no instructions or manuals anywhere on the internet. I walked in my C'Dale dealer(the only one in half of the state) and they quoted me at $75 for a cartridge overhaul. More than what I wanted to spend, but I had no choice cause I couldn't do it. Then I walked in the next day to bring the acutual bike and it was now $80 plus some parts and tax, totaling to $100 maybe $110. Then, I got a phone call today saying that my bearing and races are pitted and it was gonna be $140!! I rushed down to the shop and spoke to the owner who then quoted me at $175!! Geez. $175 just to replace the bearings and races with labor. This doesn't even include the cartridge overhaul I went in for. No, that would be $275!!!!!! That is half of a brand new Rock Shox Sid! Service is a nightmare and actual Cannondale service(employees) Suck! Apparently these forks are notorious for turning to SH!T if they ever come in contact with water. Well, I live in south Louisiana. You almost have to take a boat to get to my house. I just don't recommend getting these forks. If I had a choice from the beginning, I would've had the reducer cups put in and started running a conventional fork. One that you can actually get wet and service yourself. | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shox Judy, Judy SL, Sid, Pilot XC, Manitou | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale Super V, XTR shifters, XTR brakes, XTR levers, XTR hubs, XTR derauillers, Race Face Turbine Cranks and Bottom Bracket, Mavic 517 Ceramic | | Bottom Line: | It is nice when it works but that is less often than what it should be. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Miro Jurak
a Cross Country Rider
from Burlington, Canada
Date Reviewed: July 3, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Waterdown | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | Piereks Cycle | | Strengths: | Turning, Plushness, Adjust on the Fly, Stability | | Weaknesses: | Maintenance, Complex, Expensive to repair, Suseptible to Water Damage | | Similar Products Used: | None. | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale F2000 Factory | | Bottom Line: | When I first got this shok on the bike, I had water get in to it and it caused a lot of damage. 88 bearings replaced etc. The trick is keep water away and cut the Tie Wrap off every so often clean any water in teh boot and grease the Stem up to keep the water off. Once I did that it's been great for 3 years. Just have to pump air in about every couple of months. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeff
a Cross Country Rider
from Austin
Date Reviewed: September 12, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | so many, so many | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$450.00 | | Purchased At: | REI | | Strengths: | plush when working | | Weaknesses: | A maintenance nightmare. Damn thing is always broke or acting wierd. Rebound slams & hops one week, has no compression next. Takes long time for shops I've tried to get it fixed, if they can fix it at all. | | Similar Products Used: | Judy, Bomber | | Bottom Line: | Don't even think about a Headshok equiped bike if you ride resonably difficult terrain and weigh over 190 lbs. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kyle McKendree
a Cross Country Rider
from Bay City, MI, United States
Date Reviewed: July 21, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | stubway | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | friends garage\ Bell's Cycle and fitness | | Strengths: | lock out, wheight and stiffness | | Weaknesses: | highly coplicated in design, grinds with out regular service, zip ttied boot | | Similar Products Used: | many other forks | | Bike Setup: | several bikes ranging from unbreakable freeride to 20 lbs xc | | Bottom Line: | it may be the bomb to some but to me its to coplicated meaning more to go wrong in the end and a higher price | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
D Sims
a Cross Country Rider
from Greensboro
Date Reviewed: June 4, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | lbs | | Strengths: | durable, maintence free | | Weaknesses: | can't use it except for on cannondale | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou,Rock shox | | Bike Setup: | Caad3 (back when that was top of the line) all XT | | Bottom Line: | Great shock. I have been on this thing for two years and have abused the hell out of it and still have not done one lick of Maintenance to it. All I have to do is put air in it every so often I have just bought a ti and I can't use this fork anymore. I bought a Rock Shox sid sl and can't believe all the Maintenance required. I sucks that I can't use this fork anymore. When something works I like to stick with it | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
peter barosso
a Cross Country Rider
from stockton ca
Date Reviewed: June 9, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | tracking
stiffness
plushness
tuneing options
only fits cannondale unless you had some one custom build one, which gives me an idea......
| | Weaknesses: | serviceability, dont be like apple computer now.....
cant sleep with it.
no qualms with this fork setup always soaks up everything i can seem to roll over and keeps me on the bike. i think Jesus would have liked this fork | | Similar Products Used: | rockshox
legs | | Bike Setup: | caad3, 24.5# | | Bottom Line: | buy cannondale just for this reason.
i am not a kill my-self going as fast as possible rider. i go fast enough to give me the butterflies and keep the adrenalin pumping. ole fatty number one attribute is that there is no stiction. no wobliness at speed in the turns, or wheel deflection. not that cheep or as easy to upgrade, but once you get one you wont need another untill you break it | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave
a Cross-Country Rider
from freehold nj
Date Reviewed: April 9, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
very little flex, excellent tracking,on the fly rebound adjustability | | Weaknesses: |
needle bearings, all 88 of them, slid off the races, water intrusion,weird noises from the boot on compression, and most of all no plushness, i have tried air pressure changes, oil weight,swaped out shims for the valveing,,I have the air spring blues!! The dealer has been great and so has cannondale tech support, but time to change, this fork is not for me. Does any one want to buy all the tools to service this fork? | | Similar Products Used: |
rock shox | | Bike Setup: |
cannondale sv 100 frameset with fox vanilla rx,,I no longer use the alps 5, it came with,AIR springs just dont work for my weight(200), I can not get them dialed in! | | Bottom Line: | super company high quality product,,air springs suck! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric Brewer
a Cross-Country Rider
from Arlington, VA
Date Reviewed: April 8, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
It's a way of riding | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Precision steering. Cannondale stuck with a design and finally built a fork that is trully the BOMB! | | Weaknesses: |
not a fix it yourself fork | | Similar Products Used: |
Headshock DD60 (air/oil)
Headshock DD50(spring)
Headshock DD50 (elastomer)
Manitou 1 (from back in the day) | | Bike Setup: |
Cannondale Raven 2000 w/ various customizations. | | Bottom Line: | When I have this thing pumped up and dialed right I don't notice what it is doing. It lets me concentrate on the trail as apposed to thinking about whether or not it's too active or not active enough. I just pump this for up with air every month or so. Every other week my friends have to rebuild their cartridges and clean seals on their twin telescopic fork blades! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tony Estrada
a Racer
from Nashua, NH
Date Reviewed: April 8, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
markham park | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
-smooth as silk
-true 70mm travel
-awesome plushness
-no flex/brake rub
-unobstrusive and clean design
-fully tunable
-excellent tracking
-very light weight (3lbs)
-excellent value compared to similar models that offer equal performance.
-great customer support | | Weaknesses: |
-need special tools to take it apart (for tuning purposes) | | Similar Products Used: |
-headshok DD60
-headshok DD20
-WhiteBro 90's | | Bike Setup: |
-CAAD3 cannondale
-fatty SL 70
-XTR: rderailler, hubs
-XT: brakes, shifters, cranks, fderailler
-mavic 517 rims
-747 pedals
-moxey seat post
-coda 15°/130mm stem
-coda performance handlebars
blah blah blah | | Bottom Line: | 1. I cannot believe that there was 149 reviews for all the Headshok models under one category! Had to create this page for the Fatty SL70.2. I am very very please with this shock. Very very plush. Enough travel for Xcountry riding. Compared to other shocks that offer equal performance this is about 1/2 the price. | | Overall Rating: |
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