Preparing Cannondale Rush after long hiatus

[Duffman]

I basically have a Cannondale Rush Aluminum frame from 2007 with fairly newish condition parts on it, since I had just upgraded the rear casette , wheels, and added a new Fox RP23 rear shock years ago and had only ridden these parts 20 or so times before going on a long injury / work / kid MTB hiatus. The bike is in perfect shape having been sitting in my basement for the past 6 years unridden. I really want to get back to riding again now, obviously new bike tech is better but this will have to do for now. I worked at a shop decades ago through college but did primarily road bike work, so shock maintenance is a bot of an unknown to me but everything else is easy. After sitting for so long, what maintenance would you recommend , if any, to the Fox RP23 rear shock (its not stuck down and it holds air fine) or the Lefty DLR2 speed front (bearings were reset by me prior to storage, also seems to hold air fine) Is it Ok to just air it up and ride it or will old seals/fluid be a problem.

[toast2266]

Just ride it. It should be fine.

Although proper maintenance on a Lefty includes burning it until nothing is left, and then buying pretty much anything else.

[Duffman]

Haha. Valid points, the lefty is a PITA from the bearing migration, to the servicing, etc. No worries about the Fox if its holding air?

[toast2266]

Haha. Valid points, the lefty is a PITA from the bearing migration, to the servicing, etc. No worries about the Fox if its holding air?

The fox is a sealed system, so theoretically it should be fine. Ride it - if it feels ok, I wouldn't sweat it. If it's a pogo stick, it'll need to be sent off to be serviced (or just replaced).

[XXX-er]

Not sure about all the lefties but I had a lefty max with SPV other than needing to torque loose bolts on the triple (double?) clamp it worked perfectly for 14 yrs, if you wanted to be nice to it ... change the oil

The card that came with the bike made it really easy to set up just set it all up to your weight

Having said that I'm pretty sure the lefty made it harder to sell the bike used,

I got 500 $ for an 05

[livefreerdie]

I'd wipe down the stanchions with some oil or lubricant and work it into the seals then wipe again. Mine didn't have a lefty but it was a great bike and the RP23 rarely needed anything. Check the bleed on the brakes and go ride it.

[XXX-er]

there are no visible stanchions on a lefty the movable part is covered with a rubber boot, the strut is actualy square with 88 roller bearing running on the squared off surfaces

I think if the stantions were covered on every fork they would work a lot better for longer

but all that shinning stantion looks so fucking dead sexy

Lefty is pretty fucking wierd but the 3 bikes with lefty max I rode at interbike were awesume and so was the one I bought for 14 yars ... other than trying to ride it home no-hands back from the bar

of course YMMV

[rideit]

Let my username be your guide. Maybe new tires, something fatter, and preferably tubeless.

[Duffman]

Let my username be your guide. Maybe new tires, something fatter, and preferably tubeless.

So I took this advice, and while the Lefty is shockingly fine and the rest of the bike is working great, the RP23 is now a pogo stick and it didnt seen to make a bit of difference how the rebound adjustment knob was, whether fully clockwise or counterclockwise. I assume this means something is wrong with the damper. The propedal still seems to work so the compression damping must be OK, but close to zero rebound damping. Bizarre since this was an upgrade shock at one point and has less miles than the rest of the bike. Now what?

[XXX-er]

which lefty ?

Cedric Gracia ( crazy fucker) used to race on those things and i hear only blew up 2

[Duffman]

Lefty Speed DLR2 . Has been pretty bombproof so far other than having to take apart and do the bearing reset thing every now and then

[toast2266]

So I took this advice, and while the Lefty is shockingly fine and the rest of the bike is working great, the RP23 is now a pogo stick and it didnt seen to make a bit of difference how the rebound adjustment knob was, whether fully clockwise or counterclockwise. I assume this means something is wrong with the damper. The propedal still seems to work so the compression damping must be OK, but close to zero rebound damping. Bizarre since this was an upgrade shock at one point and has less miles than the rest of the bike. Now what?

If it's a common shock size, it might be easiest to just buy something new-ish (maybe a take off shock from something else). You could probably get the rp23 rebuilt, but that'll run $200-ish. Unless it's a weird size (which is a real possibility, because cannondale), I bet you can get a decent new shock for $200-250.

[Duffman]

If it's a common shock size, it might be easiest to just buy something new-ish (maybe a take off shock from something else). You could probably get the rp23 rebuilt, but that'll run $200-ish. Unless it's a weird size (which is a real possibility, because cannondale), I bet you can get a decent new shock for $200-250.

Yep, its stupid Cannondale w off sizes for everything, so its 7.5 x 1.75. An odd size to find.