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    Hi everybody! So I wanna start off by saying I completed my first 20 miles today! I feel great that I did.

    Okay so with this post I wanna ask you all is that can I upgrade my bikes parts with more modern ones? I had gone to my local bike shop to have my front brake looked at because the cable had just randomly snapped and what they told me is it would be easier to get new brake for the front but that since the bike is so old there was really nothing they could do about it, I was told before when I had it serviced that with my bikes age parts would be hard to get or it would be really expensive and I can’t really afford to get a new bike that would be simpler to get parts for when needed.
    So Reddit am I SOL or can I modernize my bike?

    by omankomessiah

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    6 Comments

    3. jaccuse_ on

      The parts on this bike look pretty good. A decent service will get it running nice and smooth so that would be my first choice!

    4. ValidGarry on

      It is an old design and style of bike. Cool to those who rode them when they were new bikes but not competitive with modern bikes. Used parts are still plentiful, so learn how to wrench your own bike and enjoy doing your own maintenance.

    5. TheBabyEatingDingo on

      I love vintage Cannondales for how weird they are. I’ve owned four of them and fully restored them as best as possible.

      So believe me when I tell you that you cannot upgrade this bike. Cannondale hasn’t made parts for these old Leftys in over a decade at this point. NOS parts have dried up, apart from the rare occasional barn find.

      You can get adapters to put a tapered steer fork in, but there are no forks which will make any real difference in the capability unless your Lefty is blown and you need a restoration part. You can replace the rear shock but again, won’t increase the capability.

      The issue is the geometry. These old bikes are geometry closer to a modern gravel bike than a current mountain bike. Changing the fork geo too much will reduce the stability on the rear triangle and increase stress on the frame. Not a good combination.

      Upgrading these old Cannondales is very expensive for very little return. Only do it if you really love the bike and don’t care that it’ll never be as good as a modern entry level mountain bike.

      If you just want a bike to ride around, you can get straight steerer fork adapters and put on a cheap Suntour or something similar as a restoration part for relatively cheap, should the Lefty ever go bad. But, if you can’t do your own work and need to pay a shop to do it, it’s not worth it. For that price you could get a new bike.

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