Submitted by
6bobby9
a Weekend Warrior
from albuquerque, nm, usa
Date Reviewed: January 9, 2009
Strengths: The ability to change the angle before a challenging downhill is nice. It has a really smooth ride on fast, rocky descents. I love the feeling "floating on air" I get at times from this bike. Unreal. Brakes dont fade under heavy load.
Weaknesses: Frame could be stiffer. Paint scratches easily. I would have preferred shimano components as opposed to the sram. Seems to lose stability on drops more than 2'. No lockout on the suspension. Front or back
Bottom Line:
You'd be hard pressed to find a better bike for under $1,500.00. Although it doesnt get an "A" in any one category..... I'd give it a solid "B" across the board.
Submitted by
reddirtcrew
a Weekend Warrior
from st.George, UT
Date Reviewed: November 8, 2008
Strengths: The ability to adjust the head tube angle. The Lefy is awesome in the mud. An all around great bike.
Weaknesses: The tail is sloppy. There is lateral movement that should not be there. The Yeti 575 or the Knolly endorphin are much more rigid.
Bottom Line:
The bike is a great bike. I am at a point in my riding however that the sloppiness in the back end concerns me a lot. I can feel it when I am taking 3 to 4 foot drops and at high speeds on single track. I have wondered if this is due to a poor shop build, but after having multiple bad experiences with this shop I have simply tried to work on it myself.
While the bike is good, there are plenty of good bikes out there. I would find a great shop who is interested in helping you and start test riding as many bikes as you can. Cannondale is good, but there are a lot of great bikes out there. Find the right shop!!
Similar Products Used: Yeti 575 and Knolly endorphin
Bike Setup: General shop package. I did not change anything.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
hiredassassin
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney, NSW, Oz Trtails yaaah!
Date Reviewed: September 8, 2008
Strengths: This is an amazing frame. Being a heavy dude and a messy rider, i've done some damage to previous frames, though this is the most heavy duty rig i've built.
It's light for what it is, but solid as hell. No flex. Single pivot works beautifully, pedalling up is easy, flying down is just sublime!
Weaknesses: cleat coat is peeling
Bottom Line:
This thing is awesome - i've never felt so secure and confident on a bike. took it away last weekend and had a go at some downhill - I've never jumped so far and so fast... and i could still easily pedal back up to do it again!
Cockpit seems kinda short when first jumping on board, but hit some nice berms, rollercoasters and tech terrain and it's amazingly balanced.
and it likes to fly.
I was worried about the all day ability of this bike (will be doing a 24hr XC event next month and was gonna dust off the old bike, but i'm not worried now)... it's comfy and GRIN inducing!
Similar Products Used: cannondale jekyl, specialized epic, giant NRS
Bike Setup: AM beast: marzocchi 55 ATA forks, full 2008 XT drivetrain + sram PG990 cassette, Hayes stroker carbon brakes (8inch front, 6inch rear - XT centrelock rotors), Shimano XT AM rims (tubeless with nice red blinggg bits), Maxxis Ignitor
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
sctrix
a Weekend Warrior
from Albany ny
Date Reviewed: April 28, 2008
Strengths: This bike handles slippery nasty East Coast terrain and climbs very well for the set up. I am 200lbs and throw alot at this bike and it begs for more.
Weaknesses: I can not say enough about how comfortable this bike feels on single track.
Bottom Line:
I know that Cannodale has developed a little reputation for frame reliability. I will say that I am very happy my previous frame cracked without a major incident. But most of all it was replaced with this frame. You can tell this frame was built for the riding that i do and I truly do not have one complaint about it. Excellent job with this frame Cannondale.
Similar Products Used: Norco Shore, Rock Mountain Slayer
Bike Setup: XT/LX, Beefed up rims and tires,
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
chris
a Cross Country Rider
from kennesaw, GA, USA
Date Reviewed: June 9, 2007
Strengths: beautiful suspension, stock maxxis tires are awesome, shimano xt derailleur is plenty enough for me, everything about this bike is beautiful
Weaknesses: costs a lot for an average income guy like me
Bottom Line:
this is the perfect all mountain single track machine. When i first saw the lefty i figured it was a marketing scheme but i could not have dreamed up a better ride. That thing had me hitting drops that would have smashed my face against my handlebars on my fuel 70. the fox float was a dream compared to the rock shox bar i was on before. This suspension kept its stiffness uphill while it soaked up large rocks and roots with ease on downhill. It was hard for me to drop double the money that i paid for my fuel 70, but if you ride rough trails 2+ times a week it is more than worth it.
Submitted by
John Murphy
a Weekend Warrior
from Pikeville
Date Reviewed: December 3, 2006
Strengths: Total package, it has the fit and finish you expect from Cannondale, with the raw finish, you see everything. The component selection is pretty good. It weighs a bit less than the last models, the 800. The hydro brakes are smooth and you get the heavy lefty spring when you get the xl frame. The bike fits my tall frame very well. The lefty is smooth. I love the grind lock-on grips, and the big 2.35 tires hook very well.
Weaknesses: The seat is just a little firmer than i am used to, but it is sooooo light I aint changin it!!!
Bottom Line:
I love this bike, I am riding sections I was afraid to walk before!!! It also seems a lot lighter than I thought it would be. Moving from a hardtail to this is like sleeping on the sidewalk then hitting the tempur-pedic one night...I am seriously hooked on the full squish. I cant say enough about the lefty, it tracks so straight with no flex. If there were more flamin' chillis, I would give more