I must admit, I did get a set of Roadracer guards but only managed to successfully attach the read guard which was effective despite being a little tight for space. Roadracers are designed for tyres up to 23 mm wide, Kojaks are 25 mm but worked fine.

My intention was to adapt the front guard to fit the Lefty fork. In the end I simply didn’t get around to doing it.

Having used the bike in wet conditions the rear guard was well worth the investment. Whilst the lack of front guard meant wetter feet than normal, the dry rear was way more important.

You could always go for the mtb styled Crudcatcher guards which would fit front and back with minimal effort. I do however prefer the more discrete styling of the Roadracers.

I’m sure there are other options available and wonder if Cannondale have themselves designed a specific guard for the lefty. Worth checking out.

In terms of weight, the rear end of the bike certainly weighs in heavier than you might expect. For me personally this doesn’t present a problem. The bike as far as I’m concerned isn’t going to be used for racing, just commuting, so reliability is my priority. The weight doesn’t seem to have any adverse effect when riding other than uphill slogs, but then again I’m not sure it’s my fitness that’s in question here.

With respect to lock, get the best one you can afford. Note the difference between locks that are designed to be simple deterrents against theft versus those more expensive locks designed to be secure

I’ve been pondering over one of these for ages and when I realised my employer does the R2W scheme as well I pondered no longer…. popped into Evans yesterday and ordered this for a test ride. Requested a Trek 7.7FX and a Specialized Sirrus Expert too just to get a comparison.

As it stands…. the only real issue against purchasing this bike is a lack of mudguards that fit. I did look at those Roadracers you mentioned so if they fit…. problem solved.

Apart from that, do you find any issues with the additional weight of the Alfine? I’ve never experienced a hub gear system but the additional weight keeps getting mentioned.

Hand grips aside…. any other issues? Oh…. and as I’ll be using it to commute about 12 miles each way…. any advice on shoes and (locking?) pedals?

Thanks, Sid

With respect to the lefty, that’s really a question for Canondale, although I would say the fork is pretty hefty and as long as you’re not going to be throwing it up and down curbs and stairs, should be fine, but best you get that from the horses mouth.

On the hub gear, I’d say that yes, I do sense a little added resistance, but then I haven’t touched the setup since I took collection of the bike last summer. I probably need to give it a service to make sure it’s running as smoothly as it can do. Really happy with hub gear though.

Have fun
Paul

Thats it. I am buying one too!
I was pretty smitten with it, but after reading this I need to get it.

After reading the Cannondale website, as well as several other blogs, I still have two questions.
Does the Lefty support someone hefty? I weigh about 226 lbs and worry if the fork can handle that.

Also, my (very limited) experience with in-hub gears is that there always is increased resistance within. Have you noticed this?

Cheers for your feedback!
Edward

Yes, the Kojaks are great tyres, I’m still riding them through the winter and as of yet haven’t experienced a single “p”, probably through luck than anything else… but you’re right, I wouldn’t even think of taking them anywhere that isn’t tarmac.

Take care – Paul

Re the kojaks, awesome tyre, DON’T try off road – I did!!!!

Before I bought via the Halfords ride to work scheme, I cheekily went to a branch of Evans and test rode a couple to check for sizing. Doing so really did reassure me of several things. First, the fit was right, and second the feel and handling of the bike as well as it’s speed and gear changing features. The test ride reassured me of all these things. I’d thoroughly recommend you test ride for yourself!

I’m 5 ft 8 inches high and I went for the Medium. Enjoy, Paul

interesting post and nice photos. Thanks for that.

I am thinking about getting a BB8 as well. Can you tell me what frame size you got and how tall you are? Would help me reg. sizing decision.

Thanks

Ben

Take care
Paul

I’m considering the BB8 – have you had any problems with the lefty; read that water can be an issue and rebuilds costly. Mine would unfortunately be left out to the elements during the day..

Ben

The brakes do bed in after a while, I admit mine took quite a while to bed in but they’re deadly now so worth the wait. They also suffered from a bit of shake at first, but that’s also gone. I don’t think you can really go wrong with a set of Avid Juicy’s. I run Juicy 7′s on my full susser and they are lethal stoppers (in a good way). The 5′s are nice and reliable.

Have fun.

Youre also OTM on the grips. Im gonna change mine as soon as I can. Im also thinking about taking an inch or two off the handlebars – theyre a bit wide. The brakes are a bit squeaky at the mo – do they bed in?

All in all a great bike. Super fast, and the alfine is brilliant.

Can anyone recommend any decent duathlons in the South-east region, preferably not the extreme type that involve wading through rivers of mud and crawling under cargo nets???

as one of the better 44 year old runners i got very annoyed when the likes of you shot past me on the bike section but there was always that last run heh heh. 1hr 42 or something I did in the end….but it was the hardest event i’ve ever done.

the running is muddy and the riding is what 6/10 on the technical scale? abou the limit of my ability without walking

I picked up on the issues with the EBB when I was researching the BB8, but to to date no problems after approx. 300 miles. So keeping my fingers crossed on this one although I suspect it’ll just need a good tightening up if it starts to slip.

On the tyres I’m still running the Kojak’s which are pretty awesome in the dry but do make me a little nervous in the wet. I have had to fight with the rear end on occasion when it’s hit a manhole cover or similar. With winter looming I’m considering swapping over to Marathon’s myself.

One thing I had to change pretty much straight away were the useless grips. Great for the first ride, but basically fell apart after that. I put my favourites on, Race Face Good n Evil’s. Love ‘em.

Apart from that she’s been riding very sweetly. Highly recommended, enjoy!

Paul

Looking at buying one too, any problems with your ebb (crank) squeaking? Heard this can be an issue, hoping they’ve fixed it in the newer models.

Havwe you changed the tires or still on the Kojaks, looking at putting marathon supreme on from the get go.
Dave

I ride a Bad Boy 8 with 28mm Kojak tyres. It wasn’t until I received the CrudRacer mudguards and read the packet that I realised they’re intended for 23/25 mm tyres. Despite this I thought I’d give it a go and take my chances, especially as the guards looked good, I’ve got myself a nicely fitted rear CrudRacer mudguard. Admitedly it’s a tight fit but works a treat. I’ve ridden with it for a couple of weeks now and all is good.

Still figuring out how to make it fit properly onto the front wheel, a pretty big challenge considering the wheel is fitted to a rigid Lefty, but I’ll give it a go, reckon it’ll work with a bit of tailoring.

Good luck with yours.

I bought a cheap one, £40 and kinda wish I hadn’t. I was forever tightening it up. Only one son so not such a big deal but I would spend more next time around. Isla bikes do a good looking one ‘Rohan’ and there is a Spec versions which is great – swoopy frame and bright red, one for the Enduro owners…

Having said that, “severe”…… Just rode Pipehouse Lane near Bath today, now that was interesting.

I love the climb – believe it or not – and the descents are wonderfully varied and simply awesome, especially the black run, oh and the “Energy” section.

I think most of us, as we get a bit older, are in this situation of precariously balancing our various priorities. I got married recently too, and sat down soon after to list my priorities. Some stuff I simply threw out, my marriage went to the top, along with some other major commitments. But I made very sure that the activity I love got time allocated to it, and so far things are going well. I am lucky to be a business owner and get to organise my working day as I wish to an extent. But you have to MAKE time for things like cycling, or it just won’t happen – I have allowed two short rides per week, a longer one every couple of weeks at least, and a major trek (several days mountain trekking) every couple of months which, although not a full-on training schedule, keeps me happy and does not detract from the most important things. (and the fantastic weather the last few months here has been a help too!)

All the best!

But suffice it to say I didn’t know anything about different parts, materials, brands, etc. etc. and still don’t know much, but my love of mountain-biking was born on the back of that sorry machine.

And I think riding a clunky, supermarket model of bike actually did great things for my fitness levels. I even entered a race with it, and was riding easily the worst and least cool bike there. And with only really aiming to finish, I came halfway down a field of 90 riders, a perfectly respectable result, I reckon.

So the two go hand in hand I reckon – by all means spend loads of money on a bike, but make sure the rider is worthy of it!

dont stop buying xtr though. girls like gucci, men like xtr. we fool our brains with the ‘its functional’ argument, but actually its about knowing you’ve treated yourself to the best there is. the worst thing is, once you have a super light bike you want the super burly one, etc etc and so it goes. before long you realise that your garage is full of bikes, but you love them all. buying bikes is time consuming but at the time it doesnt feel at all irnoic to spend a sunny weekend buying parts on the internet or buliding up frames. i know someone who strips his bikes to the bare frame and bulids them all up again to ‘clean them properly’. this takes weeks.

look at it this way – some of us spend more time on our bikes than in our cars or spare rooms so why not spend a bit of cash making the experience as nice as it possibly can be?

as for being a lard-arse, maybe thats just a symptom of spending too much time in bike shops