I tried to look for info about this specific fork and how to service it. For now, the suspension can't stay blocked in either of its two positions, but it does rebound well.
I just found here that it's the DD15 and that elastomers can be bought for ~54$. There's no valve under the fork to pump it up.
Does anyone know more about what can be done on this one ?
by franklin348
5 Comments
oh man headshocks.
you need to find a cannondale dealer or one that was one in the past to do the overhaul. They had proprietary tools for taking it apart. Damper rebuild time.
Cannondale has stopped making a lot of the parts needed to rebuild these. There are dealers out there that may have the tooling required but they’re becoming few and far between
These Headshocks have a small hydraulic cartridge that controls the compression and lockout as well as the elastomer (which is the spring).
The lever at the top is basically closed the cartridge 100% giving you full lock out.
It sounds like you need to both, replace the elastomer and bleed the cartridge/replace the seals.
Here is a period appropriate manual:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/cannondale-headshok/headshok_service_manual_en.pdf
You can source parts from a couple of CDale specific aftermarket shops:
[This is the “castle tool” you need to remove the cartridge.](https://www.improvepart.com/en-ca/products/cannondale-headshok-fatty-moto-cartridge-service-tools)
[This looks like the appropriate elastomer.](https://www.suspensionforkparts.net/eshop/cannondale/cannondale-headshok-dd15.html)
If you’re in the US, try contacting Craig at [Mendon Cyclesmith ](https://www.mendoncyclesmith.com/). He’s located outside Rochester NY and does rebuilds of Headshoks and old Leftys. He’s also a super nice dude.
If you can’t fix it, I wonder if things would feel overall nicer with a nice carbon aero fork and a suspension stem?