# giving mountain biking a try



## RWright (17 Sep 2013)

I have had the urge to give mountain biking a try for a few months and have been on the lookout for lower price bike in case I decide it isn't for me. I have been checking craigslist frequently for the past couple of weeks, looking for a used bike and hadn't seen much, the ones that did interest me were mostly over what I wanted to spend or I got no response when I replied to the ad. Today I was heading to Raleigh to pick up some equipment for work and about a mile down the road I thought that I would go back home and give craigslist a quick check in case something new had popped up and I was heading that way anyway....it had been at least 8 hours since I last checked.  I found an older Cannondale F900 (1999) and gave the guy a call. I talked with him a few minutes and set a time to meet him to look at it.

I did some quick searching for reviews of the bike and a brief idea of what I was getting into. I knew it would not be state of the art but just starting out I didn't need anything that was. I just wanted to find something to do some trail riding on. I don't think I will blitzing whoops or getting a lot of air...well not to start with anyway. 
I found this and gave $300.00 for it. It is a hardtail and the front does not have a lot of travel but it is not terribly heavy and has reasonable components on it. I wanted a 29er and may still some day get one, if I get into MTB. I wasn't very keen on twist shifters but these seem to shift very crisply, the bike seemed to fit ok and looked pretty fresh, so I went for it. The tires have some cracks from age but I don't know if the bike has ever been in the dirt or anywhere else very often for that matter. I checked the crank, frame and wheels and they all seemed very solid, the bike is very tight. I didn't go launching it off hills but I worked it pretty hard for being in the parking lot for his neighborhood pool and tennis courts. 

The guy told me he had it serviced not too long ago and the bike has always been stored indoors. It was getting dark when I got home but took it out for a 14 mile spin (on the road) after I took a few pictures (I did adjust the seat after taking the pics too). Everything seems to be in good working order.

Here is my latest N+1......Black Magic. Time to release it back into the wild. 






























I knew going in that the forks on this thing can be a bear to work on. I hope I don't need to do anything about the front suspension soon. The cranks seem solid for now too. If I decide to ever upgrade either I can or if I really get into mountain biking I can maybe just flip this bike and get something more contemporary...and that is a 29er.


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## lukesdad (17 Sep 2013)

Bl**dy 'ell I don't know where to start. Well Firstly if you ever want to upgrade you can box it up and send it over to me but I don't think you ever will ! What a bargain. Unless he's got some new old stock those IRC mythos tyres havn't been available for some time over here, and seeing as there isn't a lot of wear I shouldn't think its had much use recently ( they are a cracking tyre by the way I still have some from my racing days). Cannondale were and still probably are the benchmark for ali frames and thats a cracker the quality of welding is second to none. The headshock is usually fairly reliable, but im sure someone your side of the pond does an insert ( or used to) to convert it to a 1 1/8th steerer,so you could upgrade the fork. Drive train is quality too. A rare post mount rear caliper is another diamond on it. Its only weak point I can see is the grip shifts , I'd make trigger shifters the first upgrade they re cheap enough, and if you can find an insert to convert the steerer I'd snap it up even if you dont use it,it will make the bike far more attractive to a purchaser. Enjoy feck Im jealous.


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## lukesdad (17 Sep 2013)

Here we are as Q&As state just make sure the cups are pressed into the frame and not the bearings directly, I think yours will be OK.

http://www.treefortbikes.com/product/333222353378/614/Problem-Solvers-Reducer.html

and here http://www.bikeman.com/HD9902.html

By the way can't see any cracks on those tyres, if you are referring to the marks on the sidewalls ? The mythos tyres allways had those from manufacture.


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## lukesdad (17 Sep 2013)

Good thread about cannondale reducer cups here

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cannondale-reducer-cups-and-headsets-explain-please


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## RWright (17 Sep 2013)

lukesdad said:


> Here we are as Q&As state just make sure the cups are pressed into the frame and not the bearings directly, I think yours will be OK.
> 
> http://www.treefortbikes.com/product/333222353378/614/Problem-Solvers-Reducer.html
> 
> ...


 
Thanks for the bike info. I am sure I will use it. Your sticky at the top of the forum was a great help for me too. I hope my knee can take the stress of mountain biking and I think it can. I am not going to push terribly hard, more just for fitness and fun. Shifters will more than likely be the first thing I upgrade. I still have a lot of learning to do on mountain bikes, riding and wrenching.

The cracks are between the knobs...I guess that is what they are called.  It is not as bad as I thought at first but there are a few there. I was seeing lines from the tire mold and though they were cracks too. The sidewall lines I did think were supposed to be there. I really liked the look of the tires when I first saw them. The cracks are not as bad as I thought at first, but there are some shallow cracks from aging I think. Riding on the white lines on them really got my attention though. I will really be careful on them riding on wet paved roads, which I hope to not be doing a lot of, just to and from a local track.


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## RWright (17 Sep 2013)

I also found a step by step how to on working on the forks at Sheldon's web site. It is pretty complicated looking to me. I would more than likely just upgrade the forks. Thanks for the links. I saved them in my bicycle mechanics bookmarks folder.


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## Mo1959 (17 Sep 2013)

@RWright Nice bike Rocky. Well done on finding it. Looks like you made a great deal.

I still have a look on ebay and Gumtree most days too as I fancy an old mountain bike to run around on when the roads get really messy and there are actually some nice trails not too far away that I might be tempted with. I find I am starting to get just slightly stale and think mixing things up a bit would help keep my interest going. I can't afford very much though so won't be as nice as yours. Hope you have great fun on it


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## Crackle (17 Sep 2013)

Ld's said it all, that's an absolute cracker for the price and those brown wall tyres just aren't available anymore. I've an original pair of WTB Velociraptors like that, superb tyre but not available in a 29er, otherwise they'd be going on my new bike.

As it is, that bike is great but it's also worth upgrading. Great find, have fun on it.


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## lukesdad (17 Sep 2013)

RWright said:


> I also found a step by step how to on working on the forks at Sheldon's web site. It is pretty complicated looking to me. I would more than likely just upgrade the forks. Thanks for the links. I saved them in my bicycle mechanics bookmarks folder.


 If you do upgrade the forks with the reducer make sure they re a short travel fork 80-100mm besides keeping the geomtry sweet, if you go any longer you may encounter problems with the fork crown comming into contact with the downtube. As crax said well worth the effort upgrading.


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## Gravity Aided (18 Sep 2013)

Head Shok Fatty integral to the look of the bike. That bike is absolutely beautiful, and you have some fine places to put 'er through 'er paces. Everything looks new on this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Bike-Gear-Wal...&ie=UTF8&qid=1379467005&sr=1-42&keywords=gumw


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## RWright (18 Sep 2013)

Gravity Aided said:


> Head Shok Fatty integral to the look of the bike. That bike is absolutely beautiful, and you have some fine places to put 'er through 'er paces. Everything looks new on this one.
> http://www.amazon.com/Bike-Gear-Wal...&ie=UTF8&qid=1379467005&sr=1-42&keywords=gumw


 
Thanks for that link. I have it saved now too

I took the bike out today to the easiest track in my area. It was my first time on the trails with a mountain bike. I mean I rode in the woods when I was a kid on the bikes I had but that was before all the cool mountain bikes were being made. I have also been riding dirt bikes (motorcycles) since I was about 12 years old, so I had an idea of what it would be like on a bicycle. I had a great time. I enjoyed the workout off road riding gives. The bike seemed to do fine with what I was putting it thru, which was taking it easy and trying not to get thrown off. 

I made it through most everything on this track easily. There were a couple of technical areas with rocks, roots and very short, very steep climbs that switched back at the top that made me get off, I made it to the top but just didn't quite have the ability to get over the big tree roots at the top and cut it back, but it was a lot of fun. I have a lot to learn about riding technique in the woods on a bicycle. I also just used flat pedals. I am not comfortable enough yet to go clipless. I don't have any MTB pedals at the moment anyway. I just have SPD SL for the street.

I found out that jumping a log is not as easy at it looks, at least not to me yet. There was a log obstacle, and it wasn't very big, maybe 10 inches tall or so, I could just not figure out how to clear it. I tried it over and over several times. I don't know how to bunny hop properly and I think it is easier to do with clipless pedals. I could loft the front wheel over it easily but couldn't quite clear the cranks and back wheel. Riding by myself I was a little shy about really blasting it much harder than I was trying it at. I will be youtubing riding tutorials and practicing some whenever I get a chance.

I only saw one other mountain bike out the entire time, it was a little late in the evening when I arrived. I don't know my way around the place very well. So many trees around that it is hard to get the area memorized quickly. I did enjoy it and think the bike is going to fit my level of riding just fine, at least for some time. 

oh yeah, the twist shifters...my hands are large enough that I can't grip the bars really hard without also gripping the shifter. It made for an interesting shift or two thru some rough sections.  Nothing I cant live with but I think I would prefer something different eventually.


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## Gravity Aided (18 Sep 2013)

I use thumbies and click shifters, same problem with twist shifters. That, and many twist shifters are prone to problems and hard to repair. You have Grip Shifters, the better ones than basic twist shifters, but if they give you trouble, do not hesitate to change.
.


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## lukesdad (18 Sep 2013)

In ref. to the log episode, when you lift the front and it starts to clear the obstacle shift your weight forward to lighten the back wheel and it will follow, its similar to doing an endo on a motorcyle only your not using the brakes and keeping forward momnetum.


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## Crackle (18 Sep 2013)

I can't bunny hop either, well I can, if I'm lucky and there's a fair wind. I don't use clipped pedals either.


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## 02GF74 (23 Sep 2013)

nice bike you here for a good price. I suspect it is an oldish model but don't be put off - Cannondale know how to make a good frame.

grip shiftes - I hate them myself, nasty things that seemed more interested in tearing my gloves
than changing gears.


oh, forgot to mentiion the bar ends are on upside down.


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## RWright (23 Sep 2013)

Thanks. I am still on the fence about bar ends. I like the fact that they can maybe be used like a bark buster on motorcycle, just slam into the tree with them and bounce off and keep going but they make it wider and more difficult to get between the trees too. I didn't know which way they go. I just looked and it looks like the way they are now there would be less chance for impalement when I become more adept at the fine art of face planting.


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## Gravity Aided (24 Sep 2013)

Try flipping them, your wrists may be more comfortable. Try not to face plant, ever.


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## RWright (24 Sep 2013)

I took the bar ends off. The type riding I am doing so far I don't use them. Also a short term fix for the grip shifters, I can now grip the bars firmly without having my hands on the shifters.


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## Gravity Aided (25 Sep 2013)

Bar ends-not for everyone. Beer is for everyone. (except me, I have the gout.)


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## Nigeyy (26 Sep 2013)

Nice bike and nice find -I think that's a quality bike -and for 300 bucks too! Bargain!

Don't worry about the HeadShok, it's not that bad to work on. I took mine apart, replaced the bearings without too much trouble. A headset reducer would be appealing so that you could fit a traditional suspension fork, but it all depends on how much money you want to spend. I'd say ride it until you have to. 

Yes, travel is a bit limited compared to modern bikes, but it still works!


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## RWright (27 Sep 2013)

I have been out a few times now and do enjoy the riding. I have ridden two different trails and one section of power lines less than a mile from my house. I drove to the other two trails, one is about a 15 minute drive and the other about 20. I have one that is about 6 miles from my house by road. (the tough one, haven't ridden it yet) I went down the power lines looking for a more direct route so I could just ride there and back on the bike but so far I have only found a way that would either include getting back on the highway or going very near people's yards and maybe even riding on a golf course a little. I am still considering maybe trying it. No,I wouldn't shred the greens or fairways, the sand traps would be tempting though. 

I have ran into a couple of issues already however. I have knocked one of the knobs off the front knobby and put a small slice in the sidewall as well. I didn't flat but my beautiful tires are all gnarly looking now.  I may try to patch the sidewall and do a little riding this weekend anyway. The missing knob doesn't look too bad, I can see the tough red liner under the rubber but it is sort of off to the side. The amount of rubber missing is about the size of a small coin, maybe a little smaller. I don't know of anything much I can do about that. I will do some googling.

When I bought the bike I asked the guy if it leaks any brake fluid. He said it is cable brakes. I thought to myself that sure as hell looks like a brake fluid reservoir but thought ok, must be something I am not aware of. Last night I took off the top of reservoir and found out it is in fact fluid, mineral oil for that matter. Mineral oil that spilled out some when I was checking it out, mineral oil that I have none of to refill it. My rear brake is very squishy now.  I will order some or run by the LBS and get some. I also need to figure out how drain and refill these. I would be surprised if it has been done recently, if ever. Looks like a youtube and google mountain bike mechanics tutorial weekend for me.

Sorry for rambling on. I found a video of a section of the tougher of the two trails I have ridden so far. This guy videoed the entire track but this is just a 7 minute section. The rest of the trail is very similar. It was shot during the same month (not year) I rode it, so it looks very much the same right now. I do believe they added a few much tougher sections since this video was done. It shows the type riding I will more than likely be doing the most of. I am still looking for some nice tame smooth trails with great scenery and that isn't trying to buck me off every three seconds. 

I am enjoying it, much more intense workout for me so far. I like the variety of doing both street and dirt riding. Here is the video:


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## mrandmrspoves (27 Sep 2013)

Check on line because some hydraulic brakes use mineral oil and others use brake fluid.


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## RWright (27 Sep 2013)

mrandmrspoves said:


> Check on line because some hydraulic brakes use mineral oil and others use brake fluid.


These say mineral oil on the cap. I will double check though. I went to the Magura site and looked briefly. I think finding much info on these might be difficult because of their age. I have not found a model number on them yet. I didn't look really close yet either.


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## Gravity Aided (28 Sep 2013)

That trail is a real Banshee at the end. Looks like fun.


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## RWright (14 Oct 2013)

It has been raining some here the past several days so I haven't done much riding of any kind. I did spend some time fettling my MTB. I put on a set of WTB Velociraptors, My front brake was squealing so I sanded the rotors and pads and cleaned them with brake cleaner. Pads were glazed.I drained the brake fluid and put new in. I learned how to do it on Youtube. I was lucky my LBS had the fitting I needed for the caliper, as well as some plastic tubing. I got a couple of syringes from the pharmacy. The LBS guys are helpful and friendly, I would like to maybe buy a 29er from them some day. I would like to have one of their Niner brand but those things are a little pricy. I think that is going to be quite a while.

I got rid of the squeal and got the feel I wanted from the brakes as well. First time I had bled brakes of any kind. I have seen it done a lot but there is a difference when you do it yourself, fortunately there were some very good tutorials but not on the exact brakes like mine, but I got the message. I just need to bed the rear brakes, haven't had a chance to do that yet. I also took off the cassette,cleaned the hubs and gave them a quick look. The bike is very fresh. If it has over 50 miles on it I would be surprised. I learned a lot and didn't shed any of my own blood.

I put a seat I had laying around on it, the stock seat was brutal. I also had a set of riser bars I was not using on anything, they are on it now too. They are 5 inch risers and they look kind of funky but they feel pretty good just sitting on the bike. I haven't ridden with them yet. I think I will want some with less rise but will wait and see how I like these. I just need to decide now if I want to use some sort of saddle bag or just a strap to carry tools and tubes. I will use a saddle bag for now since I don't have a strap. I am ready to ride, I just need for it to stop raining and dry up a little. Don't want to get my spotless new toy all muddy, at least not quite yet.


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## Mo1959 (14 Oct 2013)

@RWright Well done. I wish I had your skills. I still keep looking for a cheapish mountain bike and almost bid on one in the next town the other day but money is tight and I chickened out at the last minute  As much as I do fancy getting one, it is yet another bike to maintain and buy stuff for 
Just ordered a new set of the Schwalbe Durano Plus for the road bike this morning. I thought about trying something lighter but these have been so reliable I think that is worth more to me, especially in the colder weather.

This auction finishes soon and looks in lovely condition. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Avalanche-GT-3-0-Bike-/331040120411?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item4d13875e5b  Not sure about the colour though....I am not a very girly girl


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## RWright (14 Oct 2013)

Mo1959 said:


> @RWright Well done. I wish I had your skills. I still keep looking for a cheapish mountain bike and almost bid on one in the next town the other day but money is tight and I chickened out at the last minute  As much as I do fancy getting one, it is yet another bike to maintain and buy stuff for
> Just ordered a new set of the Schwalbe Durano Plus for the road bike this morning. I thought about trying something lighter but these have been so reliable I think that is worth more to me, especially in the colder weather.
> 
> This auction finishes soon and looks in lovely condition. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Avalanche-GT-3-0-Bike-/331040120411?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item4d13875e5b  Not sure about the colour though....I am not a very girly girl


 
That's a fresh looking bike. Pink is fine...for a girl, you can always say it is magenta.  Still some time left to bid. 

Doing the work is time consuming because I am still learning. I try to stay with the same type cassettes if possible so I don't have to have different tools, My road bikes also have hallowtech II cranks and use the same BB tool (wish this bike was the same). I am sure you could do it, just need a few tools to make things easier. Probably my favorite tools are my P-Handle hex wrenches, they have a little stand and are large and easy to find. It seems like I spend about as much time looking around the house and in my tool box for tools as I do working on the bikes.


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## RWright (14 Oct 2013)

I thought I would post another picture since this is probably as clean and fresh as my MTB will ever be again.  I will try to find a cheap riser bar to replace the ones on it now. The ones on it don't feel bad but they are just a little too upright. I think something about the same width with about half the rise will work. I may have to visit bikes shops to find one with the sweep I like. I might even try to find a matching bottle cage or two. I like the new tires but I do miss the sound of the old ones, on the road at normal speed it sounded like a swarm of hornets, down a decent hill it sounded like a WW2 Stuka dive bomber.


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## Gravity Aided (15 Oct 2013)

And that is bad? I think those MTB tires sound more like an F4U Corsair, those howled without a siren on the landing gear. As did the Avro Vulcan

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQxb-V-rZqA


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## Gravity Aided (15 Oct 2013)

BTW- That is still the coolest MTB I've seen.


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## Mo1959 (15 Oct 2013)

@RWright That is really looking great Rocky. I had a bit of a mad moment last night and won an old Marin Bobcat on ebay for £80. Only one poorish picture and virtually no description so I am taking a chance it will be ok and do me for a couple of seasons and not be a pile of junk.


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## Dibs (15 Oct 2013)

RWright said:


> I thought I would post another picture since this is probably as clean and fresh as my MTB will ever be again.  I will try to find a cheap riser bar to replace the ones on it now. The ones on it don't feel bad but they are just a little too upright. I think something about the same width with about half the rise will work. I may have to visit bikes shops to find one with the sweep I like. I might even try to find a matching bottle cage or two. I like the new tires but I do miss the sound of the old ones, on the road at normal speed it sounded like a swarm of hornets, down a decent hill it sounded like a WW2 Stuka dive bomber.



That is one good looking bike...


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## Crackle (15 Oct 2013)

I think I said before, I have the Velociraptor's on my mtn bike, great tyre, not so trendy anymore, over here anyway but I've never had any 'moments' on mine, unlike on a few hire bikes I've used with Maxxis on. They are slow on the road though and indeed noisy 

Yeah, you need different bars, they make it look a bit BMX'y.


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## Venod (15 Oct 2013)

I agree with lukesdad a real bargain, I have a later model a Caffeine with a Headshock, I know a lot of people don't like Headshocks but for me they are fine, I have run all singing and dancing Fox forks with more adjustments than you can get your round, but the legs still run in bushes, the Headshock runs in bearings and has the best lockout of any fork I have had, ( yours may not have lockout) and its design makes it light, so if your not doing anything extreme I would think twice about changing the fork.


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## dan_bo (15 Oct 2013)

My favourite Cannondale era. Lush bike- Jammy find.


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## RWright (15 Oct 2013)

Crackle said:


> I think I said before, I have the Velociraptor's on my mtn bike, great tyre, not so trendy anymore, over here anyway but I've never had any 'moments' on mine, unlike on a few hire bikes I've used with Maxxis on. They are slow on the road though and indeed noisy
> 
> Yeah, you need different bars, they make it look a bit BMX'y.


The way I wrote the post .looks a little confusing now that I read it again. The tires I took off made a lot of noise. I was expecting the same from the Velociraptors but they are quieter so far. I don't recall reading anything bad about the Velociraptors and I think I saw you mention them and saw a lot of other good reviews and comments on them. They seemed to be reasonably prices to me at about 25 dollars. I almost ordered some of the red Panaracer Fires but figured I better learn how to ride a little before I get something that looks as fast as they do.

The bars put me just a little too upright, would be rough on my butt if I rode very far without a little more weight forward.

Afnug, The forks seem like they will be fine for what I will be doing. The lockout is very nice, this one has it on it. I will more than likely stick with these. I just need to pay close attention to the maintenance tutorials I have seen on them. I don't think they need anything at the moment. Hopefully I can ride a while before anything is required.


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## RWright (15 Oct 2013)

@Mo1959 Cool ! congrats on the new bike. Just check the normal maintenance stuff and ride it. I think you will have fun, I bet there are tons of cool places there to ride off road. If you have never done much off road riding, start out easy, it takes more concentration anyway, also starting out it won't be as boring as it can sometimes get on long road rides, far from it.


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## Venod (21 Oct 2013)

@RWright 

The last MTB Orienteering Event of the season was on Saturday, so I thought I would have a look at the Headshock Suspension, clean it out & regrease it, the bike is over 4 years old & I have never touched the suspension apart from checking the pressure now & again, I read all the info I could find on the web & decided it was within my capabilities, I didn't have any of the special tools required, I removed the top cap using pointed noise pliers instead of the recommended pin wrench, I made a castellated tool out of an old seat post, I made a pin spanner for the bottom of the outer cylinder by drilling my Shimano bottom bracket spanner & fitting 2 pegs, it came to bits easily, I have not treated this bike with kid gloves, it has covered some mileage & rough trails so I was pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness & condition of the bearings & slides, ( I have heard of bearings full of crud) I did not strip the hydraulic cylinder as it was not giving trouble, the fiddly bit is getting it all back together but if you tape the bearings as shown on line that helps, I did not use the inner tube trick to hold the outer bearing guides in position, I rolled some pipe insulation inserted it in the cylinder and let it expand to hold the slides, for anybody with a good grasp of all things mechanical its a fairly easy job that I would not hesitate to tackle again.


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## RWright (21 Oct 2013)

Afnug, Thanks for that info. I feel like it is ok for now and I am going to ride it like it is, when things dry out a little around here. Some of the tracks don't allow riding if they are wet and to be honest I don't want to be on them if they are wet and slick either. Your post does make me feel better about doing servicing on my forks when the time comes. If anything starts to feel or sound like it isn't right I now feel like I may be able to handle it ok.

I found this at Sheldon's site http://sheldonbrown.com/cannondale-headshok.html I am not sure if it is the exact forks that I have but it does give me some idea of what to look for and expect to see. That along with your info makes me feel a lot more comfortable about doing it when the time comes.


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## Venod (21 Oct 2013)

Yes that's were I got most of the info from, although mine is an air shock, but the bearing configuration is the same.

I think Sheldon may have lifted it from here.

http://forums.mtbr.com/cannondale/s...eassembly-step-step-my-experience-140972.html


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## DaveyM (6 Nov 2013)

@RWright
How funny I am just in the process of getting nearly the same bike...I pick up my Cannondale F800 sl this weekend. Can't wait 

Glad to see your enjoying yours so much.

I'll let you see photos as soon as I get it


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## RWright (7 Nov 2013)

DaveyM said:


> @RWright
> How funny I am just in the process of getting nearly the same bike...I pick up my Cannondale F800 sl this weekend. Can't wait
> 
> Glad to see your enjoying yours so much.
> ...


Cool Post em up would like to see it.


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## DaveyM (20 Nov 2013)

heres a photo (finally)
still waiting for new pedals.
I must give thanks to my good friend Mark, who I met through cycling this year and has become a very good friend. He has given me this bike (yes a free gift) and a load of spare upgrades just to help me keep cycling over the winter. (plus he has to get rid of a few to make room for new ones).

Been out a couple of times and it is an amazing piece of kit.


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## Gravity Aided (21 Nov 2013)

Wow! That is some gift.


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## RWright (21 Nov 2013)

@DaveyM very sharp bike. Have fun on it.


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## Adam Parker (22 Nov 2013)

I really love the Retro Cannondales  reminds me of my older F600........ really nice bike Adam


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