Dead Headshok advice

[majorpat]

I know someone will tell me to go to some other board and ask this, but I don't read any other boards and I have gotten good advice here, so...

I only ride my MTB (1999 C-Dale F1000) on dirt roads in the Adirondacks, no drops, rocky trails, killer DH etc. The stock headshok no longer moves up or down, pretty much "frozen". Should I explore a repair (expensive, so I hear) or just call it a rigid and drive on?

Thank you my wise friends.

Pat

[Gummee]

How bout c. none of the above. King makes De-volution headsets so you can run 'regular' forks in a c-dale. There's also cups made to do the same thing.

...but my guess is it isn't too tough a repair if you have the special tool(s) needed. Your needle bearings have migrated around and need to be put back in place.

I have a 'dead' headshok in the garage too, I just happened to have found a used one for cheap that still worked instead of fixing the one I had

M

[peanutgallery]

if the fork is "frozen", more than likely its the roller bearings at the bottom of the fork. If the boot gets a cut or the bearings get exposed this will happen. In that case it is done, unless you found a set of bearings somewhere. easy fix if you have the part and the tools

Sometimes (rarely) it is just the lock out function of the rebound cartridge, in that case a quick rebuild and some fresh o-rings (available in the plumbing section of Lowes for pennies) will cure it. All you need is someone who kept the tools

the headshock was a marvel for its time and had a long shelf life. fairly universal and easy to fix but life has moved on. best bet, a donor bike from craigslist or a rigid steel 29er - blows the doors off of anything with 26" wheels. totally worth the upgrade

[rwsaunders]

Try these folks as they have a ton of Cannondale parts and bikes, being located near what remains of the Bedford, PA plant.

http://www.fatjimmys.com

[notoriousdjw]

My neighbor had a Bad Boy with a blown headshok. There are videos online and it didn't look *that* difficult but I found a mechanic locally who was Cannondale certified. His shop didn't carry Cannondale any longer so I sourced the parts here: http://www.cannondaleexperts.com/Lefty-Headshok-Parts_c_9.html and he did all the work. REI also has parts for headshoks.