Originally Posted by HigherGround

Good call. No point in making your User Name an ironic prediction, right?

There are three dimensions that you might be referring to:

1) On forks with a carbon steerer tube you generally you don't want to have too much steerer tube extending unsupported above the headset. Bike manufacturers cut the steerer tubes down on their production bikes to be within the safe limits. However after market forks usually are sold with a longer steerer tube so that the same fork can be sold to a customer whether they ride a 48 cm bike or a 61 cm. Stocking individual, pre-cut sizes would be an inventory nightmare for shops. However the shop will be able to cut it down to the correct size when installing the fork.

2) The fork offset, or rake, can also vary depending on the manufacturer. This can also effect the steering, and some people include comfort as well. I had switched forks a few years ago, and the new fork had a rake that was a few mm different from the original, but I didn't notice any significant difference. Your experience may vary, of course. If you want to be sure, check the Cannondale web site, or e-mail them, to find the original fork rake for your bike and try to match it.

3) The distance from the fork dropouts to the crown is potentially another factor. If this dimension were to change, it would also effectively change the head tube angle of the bike and the steering / handling characteristics. This is often a factor on mountain bikes if someone is trying to change between a rigid fork and a suspension fork. However I have never seen this dimension listed for aftermarket road forks, so it is probably not an issue.