Originally Posted by
jimmuller
But that arrangement does put a bending stress on the single strut. I would think that adds friction to the suspension, and also makes it wear out faster.
The thing about suspension forks is that even two-sided ones are generally internally asymmetric. i.e. the damper is on just one side.
Lefty forks actually have very low static friction: rather than use the upper and lower part of the leg as a circular bushing, they internally use a square-shaped connection on roller bearings. The square shape of the bearing connection is also why the fork doesn't twist, despite having only one leg.