Cannondale guru needed, Compression Plug Question

[Charlie1025]

Hi all,
Long time , first time.

2014 SS Evo Hi-Mod Frame set.

Did C-Dale use an even newer style compression plug for the steerer? On my previous bike I thought the top cap was 6mm and the bolt for the expanding wedge was 5mm.

On current bike, it seems the top cap is 5 mm and I would assume the bolt for the expanding wedge would be 4mm?

I found a similar looking expanding compression wedge on CannondaleExperts.com but the cap has an "F2" designation under the SI on the top cap. My top cap has an "L3" stamped on it. Is the torque value of 6.8nm the same as well?

Thanks for all the help.

[ProEvoSLTeamHighMod]

Torque spec remains the same; the "top cap" is revised to be much lighter (really nice machining), hence the 5/4 instead of 6/5 fitting - this is an upgrade on the nicer evo models.

[Charlie1025]

Great. Thank you.

[deek]

The new one is so much better. It's about 15g vs the 50g for the old one.

[martinko]

Can you take a photo of it (or find one)?

[hmai18]

Old:


New:

[martinko]

Thanks. I have the old one and now I know how to shed few grams with this new one

[Ltoddokc]

I just built up a synapse hi-mod frameset with this same plug. When you say 6.8nm are you referring to the 4mm bolt or the 5mm? The 4mm should only be 4Nm according to the manual: http://media.cannondale.com/media/Synap ... en_low.pdf

[numberSix]

If you sweat a lot, strongly recommend putting a bit of black electrical tape over the cap.
The steel expander bolt will seize to the aluminum lower body. No amount of anti-seize was enough.

Other than that, great, reliable lightweight part.

[ParisCarbon]

Just a question on this as I just installed one... I was riding today and was getting awful creaks from my headset.. when I got home I was able to put the allenkey in the plug and spin it free with no effort with the stem still tight..

I reinstalled everything, and I noticed as I tighten the FSA stem bolts the cap is not holding tight.. the compression is still there though..

I do have a 5mm spacer on top, and the cap is not touching anything...

As I was tightening the stem the last time I gave the cap a half turn.. it seems to be snug in there now... but it seemed to have backed off somehow before thus my creaking issue??

[mattyNor]

Try using some carbon paste on the plug to help add so friction. We had this issue with a few of the bikes in my shop.

[ParisCarbon]

mattyNor ahh good call.... will try that tonite!

[goodboyr]

Or just replace with an FSA compressor. Those cannondale plugs are terrible. There's another thread on this issue.
http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=127424

[nickf]

I used a ultrastar 2 with my caad9 premium full carbon fork. No problems at all. Bike came with the old style plug but that thing was a tank. Running a enve 1.0 with the ultrastar without any issues. Never used carbon paste, no slippage problems.