The cheaps(k/l)ate - now FOR SALE - see last post

hello all,

i've been a fan of the lefty fork design for quite a while now, but i was never really into mountain biking (sure, it is fun, but i don't have the time/place to go and use an mtb properly), so i mostly lusted after one and that's that.

but when the slate came out, my knees trembled a bit.. it is just so silly and not really good for anything, but then again: why do you need a porsche?

since i'm not prepared to pay the price of a proper slate, i began to outline a workaround, thinking i could convert a bad boy or some old cad mtb frame with a drop bar, but the geometries are far from optimal for road riding: they are too long, designed for flat/riser bar use and the angles are way too slack.

the solution came in the form of an ebay-kleinanzeigen ad that i saw: an unspecified, factory drop bar, disc brake cannondale with a fatty headshok. i had no idea what it was, but some googling later i found out it's called streetx and that it's rarer than hen's teeth (just my usual style..). since the seller wouldn't post, i began trawling the classifieds/ebay and a few months later i got lucky. it was poorly listed on ebay with 96x76 pixel photos, but the seller answered every question and sent a few better pics - a deal was struck and i became the owner of this thing (pic shows it post first ride - original knobby tires were replaced by kojaks and i put on my flite saddle):

i sold almost all the bits, halted my day-one project (being the #saarfofcannondales can be harsh) and started gathering the missing parts to finish this. got a super cheap lefty, a slate wheelset, an os clamp 1.56" stem and i've completed my rival hrd groupset (picture was taken before i got the calipers).

to lower the pointless-factor, i intend to use it as a tourer (with the original forks) and maybe a full-fender, bad weather bike in winter.

ah, and i have to mention the chap that already built a streetx-based slate before it was cool:

i found this on the vintage cannondale community, the chap who built it is most likely located in england, but he and his post both vanished from the forum (there was another pic, but i didn't save it)

Oh shit. subbed.

As a slate owner I fully approve of this type of craziness. Looking forward to the build.

Sounds interesting.. subbed!

Like the look of this. I've cobbled together something similar but on next to no budget. Used an old mountain bike frame and stuck with the fatty fork. It's a 2001 Caad 3 frame, so think the headangle is around 72 degrees, which is fairly steep and old school. Means it handles pretty well on the road , while the headshock helps with the bumps off it. Its not particularly #tukt and the wheelbase is on the long side, but it fits 2.0 tyres with ease and is still surprisingly light.

I want to upgrade the fork, as mine doesn't have lockout and is just coil sprung, so not very tune-able. Don't want to spend much cash though as this could turn into a money pit...trying to snipe ebay for bargains. Long term ideal would be lockout airsprung fork that works, spyre disk brakes and Sram 1x10 road shifters. Might happen.

that looks cool!

frame has disc mounts but fork doesn't? if the a2c allows it, a DLR80 might be the best choice (they can be found on ebay). would it clear 650B if you go for discs?

the original fork has been misbehaving since i got the bike. it has no damping effect and the lockout doesn't work.

a friend of mine also has a fatty and it is having some issues, so we decided to take them apart and give them a good service.

we don't own a park tool spa-1, so he threw some steel into the milling machine and made a tool to open the top caps.

since mine is some obscure, shortened version of the regular fatty, the castle tool will not work - we need to come up with something that has the castle interface at the bottom and some key slots for two different size adapters to use it in both forks.

Wish I had a milling machine! Cool project

my friend had some free time today so he spent it by the milling machine - it all started really well, but by the end of the day he wanted to set fire to the machine..

• 1 tool snapped
  
• 2 tools lost their points
  
• the code had some errors, so the tool bit into the steel where it shouldn't have
  
• 1 wireless keyboard and mouse wrecked (they were soaked in coolant)
  
• the machine decided it did not want to move anymore
  
  

it seems this wasn't a good day for taking out fatty cartridges. maybe some other time..

a little bit of progress here.. i put most of the bits on the frame. i'm going to need a setback seatpost (original plan was thomson inline) - it currently has a placeholder combo.

need to sort the hydro part (got the calipers and new cables waiting), do something about the boot rubbing on the rotor when compressed (no, i'm not going to go smaller than 203 on the disc) and machine some parts so i can use the rebound adjustment and lockout function of the lefty. ah, and a new chain.

Love the look of this. Even the Easter Island shifters don't bother me, just adds to it.

thanks! i'd much rather have these moai than the potatoes shimano does..

looks mega nice!
wheels r 650? (probably the answer is already here but 2 lazy to search)

ty! wheels are from a slate, so yes, 650B :) (with 1.75 gravel kings)

Hey, did this get finished? How was / is it?

My ratty Drop bar Cannondale F500 with super basic headshok has died a death, but I'm thinking of making something similar but nicer for my next project....It was ace for bridleway smashing with road sections in between. A rigid gravel bike just doesn't do it for me.

Interested to know how you got on.

not yet, i'm a bit busy atm with other projects/work, but i did get the brakes sorted (fully bled and working). i just need to finish the cabling and machine a plug/adjuster knob for the lefty.

got a better looking c2 seatpost and an slr instead of the horrendous placeholders it had before..

.

ok.. anyone want this? i test rode it a few times, i love how bonkers it is, but it's too short (and it already has a 120mm stem..)

i'd be letting go of the original frameset, so no lefty (might get used on another project). it has 52cm written on it, no geochart anywhere on the interwebz, but it rides like a 54 road bike with a fairly high headtube.

there are some bad points to the original forks:

• no lockout (never got to investigate)
  
• no lockout knob
  
• no rebound (again, never got to open the shock)
  
• needs a new bearing, as current one is rusty (available online)
  
  

could be opened up and inspected and repaired, i can take the rusty bearing off with a proper puller. or just throw a fatty/lefty in it and ride away into the sunset.

can do closeup shots (almost pristine condition, there is some paint flaking off near the dropouts).