Cannondale Jekyll retro shock hack

I know I know, nothing to do with gravel, but my interests lie in all sorts of bikes and bike tech.
Today I am dealing with trying to sort out a shock lockout on my retro Jekyll without having to resort to buying some really hard to find Jekyll specific Fox Float with trunnion mount.

[@ryangilmourXT]

Thanks for the video. Having trouble finding info on the OE Float L for the Jeckyll. Good to see this little conversation can be made.

[@gravelproof]

No worries! If you need info I can help. What are you looking for?

[@ryangilmourXT]

@@gravelproof Thanks for the willingness to help. The canister was seized on and I was just a little stuck. Only the third rear shock I serviced and was caught off guard by the design. Got it serviced and will see if it's holding pressure and feels good on the bike tomorrow.

[@gravelproof]

Awesome! I actually have snapped up some spare shocks that have all the same internals so I can fix up other Jekyll shocks, I just hope people don’t throw away the cans with the threading on them when they fail!!!

[@dennishayes1505]

I'm working on this shock currently as well. Rebuild an 01 Jekyll. Whats the best way to communicate with you to get some info

[@gravelproof]

You could message me on my Instagram, which should be listed in the about details of the channel

[@AlexdaCunha]

Thanks for sharing! I have also same cannondale. But I want to get rid of the rear shock altogether 😄 I thought of filling the air chamber with rubber or silicone. The shock is leaking oil. I prefer to have a rigid frame since I ride mostly on the road or gravel.

[@gravelproof]

If you want to do that I would recommend you at least try to buy a dead shock to do it with and not destroy a working one 😢 the oil leaks are just that it needs a service

[@AlexdaCunha]

@@gravelproof I wanted to do a non destructive hack... So that if someone in the future would want to restore to the previous state, it could be done. That is why I have been thinking about this already for a couple of years and nothing done so far. I was planning to buy an old damaged shock... The problem is that this is a very dedicated solution for Cannondale with that thread outside the shock

[@gravelproof]

As you can move the aircan onto another shock you could always find a normal but broken 165, and take apart the IFP section and make it solid..

[@simonjoanna2432]

Hi, I realise this is a 2 year old video but I have a Jekyll with the same float L shock that seems to be stuck compressed with only about 15mm of the grey tube protruding. Do you know if it is likely that it can be recovered in the same way that your video shows? I will need to find a float L for donor parts of course. Thx

[@knopkaplay0507]

Awesome, thank you. My jekyll-specific one is definitely on its last legs. So doi understand it correctly that you basically got yourself a lockout on your 2002 Jekyll? How does it work/feel?

[@gravelproof]

Thanks! Much appreciated! Lockout and a functioning damper.. the previous shock had nitrogen penetration in the oil so it really didn’t damp correctly any more.. in terms of the lockout, it works great, once the lever is turned the rear end is mostly rigid. Of course you don’t want to be hitting bumps locked out but for climbs or on the road it’s good! It did make me realise the bushings needed to be replaced as I was suddenly getting a metallic knock on small bumps which the shock itself was hiding before.

[@knopkaplay0507]

@@gravelproof thanks for a quick response! Must be a worthwhile upgrade - with the vanilla float, my daughter call this bike a "bouncy bike" :-) As to bushings/mounting hardware, did you find a good source for those? Unusual size on mine (2002), at 15.75 mm, I'm wondering if there is a 5-piece polymer DU/bushing combo that fits. Do you have a fatty for the front shock? Any luck/wisdom to share servicing that one diy? Found the bike several years ago in a scrapyard truck, replaced everything i can (rebuilt the float, had the fatty serviced for a 100-some dollars, swapped the rear derailleur, cables and all). It is a fun old bike to ride, thinking of converting it to 1x, but it still has the old aluminum roboarm, so I'm a little wary of pumping any extra cash into it as it seems the arm can fail any minute.

[@gravelproof]

You are welcome! Haha yeah it is a bit!! You can also dial down the rebound if you have a Float R.. I actually have a few lying around that I can sell or modify..

[@gravelproof]

I’m changing the bushes on the regular fox eyelet, I haven’t tried changing any other bushings just yet.. I have an ultra and a lefty for the front.. I have serviced a few of those, probably need to put up a video about that, there are lots of variations though! I ended up doing a full paint and rebuild of mine and made it 1x

[@knopkaplay0507]

@@gravelproof yeah, a vid be great for ultra/lefty service. еven "regular" used floats are now anything but cheap... Probably a fair deal more than the bike itself at this point. Also, i see the swingarm on yours is different - so it seems a little more future-proof than mine, with a recalled bonded alu roboarm.

[@user-bo7yu2ju2l]

so...how is the result? does it actually work on the bike with the geometry and everything??

[@gravelproof]

Geometry-wise nothing has changed. It’s the same shock eye to eye. It’s just that the Jekyll one has no eye at the top and comes with the threaded air can. Other than that it’s exactly the same shock, so the only thing I was looking out for was some issues with the shock due to it’s age. I do notice some knocking on full lockout but that is because the frame bushings are a bit worn.

[@laattamaa]

Whats the travel of that shock you used?

[@gravelproof]

So the travel on these shocks are all the same, it’s the same internals between the Jekyll specific one and the conventional one. I can’t recall the travel off the top of my head, I can check tomorrow. I do have some more of those shocks I am servicing right now which I will be listing for sale at some point.

[@gravelproof]

Hi Marko I see a reply reported in my email but not on KZbin, not sure if you deleted it? The travel on the shock is the same as the one that I used to replace it, it’s a 165mm eye to eye, I can confirm the travel later.. If you get a shock with a different travel you will bottom out the shaft on the air can so I wouldn’t get just any shock. Also has to have the same thread on the air can so I haven’t tested other fox float generations.

[@laattamaa]

@@gravelproof yeah i did delete those comments, i wrote before thinking, bad habit when in night shift( shouldn't try to think in middle of the night😅). Have you tried to do this with rp series shock?

[@gravelproof]

Hahah tell me about it! Yeah so I haven’t tried with another series of shock, I would like to but I need to find one coming up cheap, the important bit is maintaining the same travel so that the piston doesn’t hit the end of the aircan.. maybe if I had access to a room full of old shocks it would be easier! 😂

[@greasemonkeyguitarshop]

How did it work out?

[@gravelproof]

So far so good! Although I haven’t ridden it as much as I would like, mostly having been out on my gravel bike and sometimes being away for months. No downside to the setup.