Magura's Headshok brain transplant

Cannondale's been building bikes with its Headshok telescopic-steerer suspension fork for many years. There's a lot to like about it for short-travel applications - it's stiff and clean-looking. But the internals haven't always been all that great, with earlier forks in particular being a bit flaky.

For 2005 Cannondale is equipping various Headshok bikes with new internals from German suspension and brake manufacturer Magura. The new guts offer a larger air chamber for more linear springing and externally-adjustable damping via a handy dial on the top of the unit. There's also a big lockout lever.

All good stuff, but the best bit is that the Magura innards will be available separately as a retrofittable upgrade to 80mm travel Headshok forks from year 2000 models onwards. It'll be under two hundred quid and should be just the ticket for anyone who's got an otherwise-lovely Cannondale hardtail hamstrung by a soggy old front end...