Submitted by
terry collins
a Cross Country Rider
from holland mi
Date Reviewed: April 30, 2001
Strengths: light 4 inches travel disc brakes both ends lockable fork has felt very good
Weaknesses: disc brakes not as good as hayes and mine just broke in half at the bottom bracket Fork is a little noisy no big deal and my elo quit working but cannondale fixed it no problem and my frame has been orderd with no problems so far
Bottom Line:
loved the bike but worried that it is not strong enough for everyday riding I might ride a little on the rough side but i take good care of the equipment if it happens again i will take cdale up on their offer of a jeckyl frame
Once I stripped all the Coda crap from the bike (and believe me their brakes suck big time) I thought I had a decent ride. Then the bottom bracket started to make strange noises. Two frames later a simple hop off a curb snapped the bike in two at the bb. Geez, good thing I wasn't doing something interesting. I know of others who have had a similar experience. The Lefty is a great fork, the rest of the bike isn't worth the plastic its made from.
Similar Products Used: norco rampage, rocky vapour
Bike Setup: hayes, rhino light, race face crank,
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Joe
a Cross Country Rider
from Nova Scotia
Date Reviewed: January 3, 2001
Strengths: Very light weight Awesome fork (Lefty) Great geometry
Weaknesses: Noisy frame slightly troublesome brakes grips (I know... but I'm reaching)
Bottom Line:
This bike is AWESOME! I am quite tall, with very long legs. I have always had to do extensive modifications to rider compartment on all other bikes I have owned (stems, bars, seatposts, crank arms, etc.), but this bad bay fit perfect out of the box. It will go anywhere! I can now clean sections of technical trail (particularly steep drops) that I could never do confidently before. If I had to pick one feature I like best, there is no question it is the Lefty fork. I have used triple clamp forks, long travel single crowns and linkage forks and none even come close for combination of stiffness, ride and travel. Brakes do require regular cleaning, but modulate beautifully (although not nearly as powerfull as Hayes)
Similar Products Used: Proflex Marin GT LTS Cannondale Super V
Bike Setup: Stock...oh, I did put on 645 pedals
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Rob
a Cross Country Rider
from canada
Date Reviewed: October 5, 2000
Strengths: The Lefty fork is good. Nothing spectacular but its nice to have a four incher thats light too. The best thing about this bike is that everything I replaced on it works very well. Cannondale warranty rocks
Weaknesses: I broke two frames within two months of each other. One was in the middle of a climb! The bb shell tore right out. cannondale needs to work on their R&d. The disc brakes worked very well one I installed the metal pads with the heatsinks. Now, they aren't as powerful as hayes but they are ok. coda components.
Bottom Line:
the raven rode great before i broke it in two. i now have serious doubts in cannondale and thermoplastic. The lefty tops out noisily but it works. once i DOWNGRADED to a jeckll 3000 sx i am as happy as dung. I love the ride of the Jeckll but i don't think i will buy another c'dale. If anyone wants a raven, i would reconsider and buy a jeckll
Strengths: Awesome fork. Overall pretty durable bike.
Weaknesses: Carbon frames are too loud. These disc brakes aren't too good (my hands have gotten very strong over the past year). The rims need constant retruing.
Bottom Line:
This bike is fast. I went from finishing midpack in sport class XC races on my old bike to a second and three firsts in the four races I did with this Raven (yes, the hardtail boys were pissed). The shining star of this bike is the Lefty fork which is absolutely awesome. So flex free and plush that I'm not afraid to try anything on this bike.
Strengths: susp. design (front & rear), light weight for long travel/disc eq. bike – looks damn good in a strange way
Weaknesses: original spec for saddle and tires sucked, but have been a non-issue since the first week with it
Bottom Line:
So here it is, after logging in about 500 miles since my initial review (I got a new job that doesn't allow for riding during the week ), I've come to the DEFINITE conclusion that my Raven has lived up to all my expectations and deserves high praises from one who's ridden it. No major problems at all – albeit squeally brakes, but only when the pads are dirty so they're fine if you keep them clean. One thing I was surprised to learn is how well this bike takes steep & sharp-turning singletrack. When I bought the bike, I thought it would really shine on fast fireroads (which it does), but would only be mediocre and a little over suspended for singletrack riding. Needless to say, I was very wrong in assuming so, and can't imagine owning any other bike that doesn't steer & cling (don't use the lockouts) to the trail the way my Raven does. Lastly, to all those out there who panned the Lefty without any REAL time with it, I'd like to thank you for educating the readers with the notion that just because someone took the time to type their opinions out, it could still mean as much as what comes out their rear. The Raven AND Lefty rule.
Similar Products Used: specialized fsr, santa cruz heckler, fisher joshua
Bike Setup: xtr drivetrain w/coda rings & cranks, coda expert discs, easton carbon monkeylight lo-rise bars, selle italia trans am(damn good) saddle, tioga mud tires
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
John H
a Weekend Warrior
from Toronto, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 11, 2000
Strengths: - This is my second review. Read below. - Lifetime Warranty.
Weaknesses: Ok, here we go.... I guess it's just bad luck. Why? because I've got a defective frame. clearcoat on the frame started to form bubbles on headtube and bottom bracket area. Yes, B.U.B.B.L.E.S. "NO WORDS" from cannondale, but they are shipping me a new frame by this Friday, so it's ok. Believe or not, they told me that nothing like this happened before.
Oh, Rear CODA ExpertDisc hub makes weird noise. My dealer told me that it just need to be greased. So, that also worked out find.
These things need just little adjustments, but I think a bike at this price range, shouldn't have these kinds of problems.
However, bike performs increadiblely well. Don't even try to judge this bike unless you spend many serious hours on this bike.
Bottom Line:
It's not bad, after riding 3 month, they sending me a new frame so everything just worked out fine, no hassle what so ever...
Bike Setup: i use the fox it so good it fell like your on air and with the new lefty drl
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Roger
a Weekend Warrior
from Newtown, CT
Date Reviewed: December 15, 1999
Strengths: XTR comps,Lightweight,Fast and Fun, Lefty DLR(adjustable return rate)Coda disk brakes worked fine, 4 plus of travel at 25.5 LBs. This Baby flies!
Weaknesses: Ordered bike in June and I got it in October. Cannondale had a few things to take care of. Annoying but now worth the wait. The Coda saddle is not too hot. I am replacing it. The Hutchinson Mosquito tires don't have much bite just nice yellow sidewalls(They look good with the 4000SX) No other weaknesses.
Bottom Line:
This baby can go anywhere with Speed. UP, DOWN, and AROUND, The LEFTY DLR shock is amazing! Strong, light, and 4 of Boulder eater! I REALLY Like this BIKE!!! IT IS FUN!!
Favorite Trail: CO, but CT woods have to do for now
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Similar Products Used: Gary Fischer, Gary Klein, Owned a Cannondale DeltaV 1000 previously. The Raven knocks the SOX off of all previous experiences. Light, responsive, and FAST!
Bike Setup: Time Atac Carbon pedals, the rest stock, but the Coda saddle is going to be replaced.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
John J H
a Weekend Warrior
from Toronto, Ont. Canada
Date Reviewed: December 12, 1999
Strengths: - Handbuilt by Cannondale in USA - Eye-candy, futuristic design - Durable, Single pivot - Carbon fiber skin with Magnesium spine - Great standover height(25) - Lefty really works - XTR - CODA Competetion DiskBrakes - Fox float RC with Lock-Out Lever - natural carbon with chrome decals looks cool - Finally, under 25.0 lb. freeride bike
Weaknesses: I don't think there is any...
Bottom Line:
Well, since I ordered this bike, I'm totally excited. The bike will be here after 3 weeks from now and I don't think I cann't wait any longer! My 4 years in dual-suspension bike research finally pays off.I will update my review as soon as I get my bike!! ^_^
Similar Products Used: '95 Cannondale Delta V 1000- Delta V Modified Top tube Design Frame - Headshok R.C.D.L. - Full XT - SUN CR-17A Rims - Flite Ti. - Continental Tires - Onza pedals
Bike Setup: Mostly stock parts, but I switched with following,,,- XTR crank (46-36-24) - TIME A.T.A.C Carbon Pedals - CN-7700 XTR chain - Syncros Hardcore seatpost - Flite Ti. Gel Kevlar - Kore Elite stem - Hutchinson Python Gold K. tires
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
MK
a Cross-Country Rider
from Pasadena, CA
Date Reviewed: October 18, 1999
Strengths: Frame (medium), Suspension (both Front & rear), Brakes, lightweight(25.5 lbs weighed), steering/handling, all XTR grupo, Fox air rear shock w/lockout
Weaknesses: tires, saddle, stickers
Bottom Line:
***NOTE:This is my preliminary review after only putting a little over 75 miles in 7 rides. Obviously, a more detailed and miles-substantiated review to follow later.Quick points:•Bike is very light for long travel (4 front & 4.5 rear) with disc brakes. •It handles very easily and has been very compliant and durable so far. Specifically, it takes hard corners (downhill) better than any other bike I've ridden and is an excellent climber especially with the rear shock activated (lockout is an unneeded feature on this bike). It seems to very fond of jumping. •Suspension is awesome. No complaints here so far. •CODA saddle sucked for me. Light, but WAY too narrow. •I had heard about the CODA disc brake problems early on, but mine work incredibly well. •It came spec'd w/Hutchison Mosquito tires — STUPID, STUPID, STUPID. Who at Cannondale thought it was a good idea to put these wide-spaced short-knobby un-trail friendly tires on this big travel funbike? Did I mention 'STUPID'? This was the only real dissapointment I had with this bike. •The stickers bubble a little. No performance killer, but kind of annoying. Like I said, this is an early review, but overall I am so satisfied with the performance of this bike I felt the need to share it. So far it's been worth the money and the wait. Be back at 200+ miles.
