Submitted by
Roger Miller
a Cross Country Rider
from Center Valley, Pa., USA
Date Reviewed: May 15, 2008
Strengths: I have had this bike since 1999. I find it hard to replace! I want to but then I don't because I like it that much. I love to climb and this is the bike to do it with. Its real light and easy to flick for a guy like me who is always bunny hoping and jumping trail obstacles (MX Racer)/
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
Hard to give this bike uo for all the new cool stuff, I think I'll keep it around still.
Submitted by
Mike W
a Racer
from San Francisco, CA
Date Reviewed: March 17, 2005
Strengths: Rigid rigid rigid, which I think is the most important thing in a mtb. Great frame. Strong brakes. Headshock is nice and stiff too.
Weaknesses: Coda cranks are crap. They loosen up and start popping and creaking every 3 months. When I have the $$$ I'm replacing the cranks for sure. The pedals got replaced with eggbeaters the day after I got it. The Coda pedals make better paper weights. The frame looks cool as hell (it's the battleship green one pictured above) and it's the recipient of quite a bit of bike-envy.
Bottom Line:
I bought this bike as a dual purpose daily commuter / weekend offroader. It is PERFECT for this. I bought a second wheelset with Specialized slicks. This is my daily commuter from Haight to Downtown. I'm a competitive rider, and with this setup the bike is the same in weight and rolling resistance to most road bikes. Only strong roadies can keep up or pass me. It sure is fun to pass roadies on a mtb. On the weekends I swap out the road wheels for the mountain wheels and I'm ready to go. I'm not an all-out offroader. I like the Railroad Grade because it's the full height of the mountain, technically easy and lets you get some FUN speed on the way down. The bike's rigidity is great on the trails, climbing is efficient since it's a hardtail and light. The headshock takes all the pounding I give it on the way down. I'd recommend this bike to anyone, especially if you can get at the steal price that this one was.
Similar Products Used: Scott mtb about 5 yrs ago. Univega (I know, don't laugh) before that.
Bike Setup: Crank Bros Stainless Eggbeater pedals. Second wheelset by Shimano with road slicks.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Dan
a Cross Country Rider
from Chi-Town Illinois
Date Reviewed: April 6, 2004
Strengths: Incredibly Light, stiff, fork tracks like it's on rails, have had no problems with the fork, brakes are so strong my fillings shot out of my mouth when I stood on them, did I mention stiff and light?
Weaknesses: Stiff. Also stiff, and it's stiff. Had trouble with the front large chain ring, Rapid rise is confusing as hell after years with a normal rise. Remaining fillings almost shot out after hitting the bumps it's so stiff
Bottom Line:
Bought the bike new, came with XT, XTR Fatty SL with 5 position dampner. Liked it because it felt similar to my OCLV in terms of handling, weight, etc. Turned out to be MUCH harder riding bike. Rode last week for an and hour and a half and could barely sit the next day. Ass STILL hurt a week later. Bought new bike shorts, seat, and thudbuster to correct. Not fun with numb hands from carpel tunnel like syndrome, numb naughty bits from crappy seat and seatpost, and throbbing ass. Rapid Rise confused me for months because I still rode my old bike once in a while. Shifters worked well, but had trouble with front chainring. Chain kept falling off and lousy chain suck. Turns out I had a bent ring. I used to smash my old OCLV rings and never bent them. Don't remember ONCE hitting large chain ring and it seemed to happen almost from the day I took possesion. Bike shop lied to me and gave me the run around, eventually paid $60 to diff. LBS to diagnose problem and get new ring. Never had a problem with the wheels, brakes, or Fatty headshok after hundreds of miles. Corners like a Ferrari and stops cold like you threw out the anchor. best steering I've ever experienced. Climbs like a scared cat on speed. I think I'm getting to old, I think my next bike will be Full suspension. Intrigued by Specialized Epic. Overall, love the lightness and nimbleness, can't stand the fact that it rides like a brick. My old Trek OCLV was MUCH more compliant while still being light and stiff. Five flamin' turds for value, incredible weight and performance for the cash, four for overall cause while it handles great, wish it was a little better with the ride and I think I got a bad ring from the factory. Wish I could give it 4.5
Weaknesses: coda components, aluminum (not just cannondale) frames tend to creek, hard to find knowledgeable headshok techs & aftermarket replacement parts for the fork/headset.
Bottom Line:
bought in '99. im a clyde (235 lbs) and ride urban and single track nothing crazy or with more than 3ft drop's. trashed the coda bar ends first yeat, trashed the coda crank first year, trashed the coda handle bars second year. the hubs have held out but are not smooth at all. the mavic 221's lasted almost 3 years but needed to be trued often. everything else rox0rs. love my caad4. bottom line, great hardtail that can be built up w/o replacing every piece of componetry, if you don't mind being tied to a particular fork/headset brand.
Submitted by
Dr. J
a Cross Country Rider
from Montreal Canada
Date Reviewed: August 12, 2002
Strengths: Light, Stiff, Perfect Geometry, Good Parts
Weaknesses: A bit bouncy, Weird road cogset, Defective small chainring, cheap Damping Dial on the fork
Bottom Line:
It's a 1999 model I bought in 1998, before 9 speeds were available from Shimano. So it has a weird setup: GripShift 9 speeds shifters, XTR RapidRise rear derailleur and a 12-27 Ultegra road cogset. I got powerful legs now! I changed those cheap Coda pedals, took off the bar-ends.
I had a lot of trouble with the small chainring. The chain seemed to just fall off of it, everytime. I thought it was a bad front derailleur adjustment, but it turned out to be a warped chainring. I took it off and never put it back (since at the time, I was riding almost always in the city).
It's a climber's dream machine. I'm not a big fan of Rock Shox and Manitous, I love the Headshok! It's very stiff (on par with the old Girvin Vector). This bike wants to go fast, all the time. It's not a cruising bike, it's really stiff and could be unconfortable to some (I had a Proflex before so I wasn't used to Alu Hardtails). I'll be buying other Cannondales that's for sure! Maybe a Scalpel 3000 next summer.
Weaknesses: everything, first off, 2 or 3 spokes break every 70 or so miles, 2nd, i cracked the frame, and i'm only 125lbs, 3rd, everything breaks down all the time,and last, i'm just never satisfied with the damn thing
Bottom Line:
this bike WILL BREAK DOWN !!!!!!!!! but for a 22lb bike, from 97', i guess you can't expect too much from that. for 300 bucks, thats what i got. i guess i deserved it?
Submitted by
Lauren
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: October 11, 2001
Strengths: Very light, responsive, cool color (green->brown fade) w/ yellow decal,
Weaknesses: Can have more grip on loose gravel or downhill. Don't have disc brakes.
Bottom Line:
I paid only $1k(altho of an older model) for a new 1999 (it is now Oct'01) Cannondale CAAD4 frame + XT/XTR components, I'm more than happy with the performance and everything.
This is definitely a racer-grade weight and setup. I am looking forward for years of mountaining raiding on this bike.
Submitted by
Barrett
a Cross Country Rider
from Costa Mesa, CA USA
Date Reviewed: June 23, 2001
Strengths: A natural born climber Unique proprietary fork design Durable frame with a lifetime warranty Razor sharp handling
Weaknesses: Super stiff...makes it a great climber but comes at a price downhill limited suspension and headset choices limited travel on the Headshok
Bottom Line:
Overall, this bike has given me years of service and, considering I have a lifetime warranty on the frame, will continue to serve well into the future. Originally, I bought the bike to hop up and build the stiffest, lightest, climbing machine xc racer out there. It was a perfect frame for that, really light at around 3lbs, and really stiff. It worked well for me. I raced a bit and had some success at it. The frame was a complement to my strengths at hillclimbing, yet it also tended to emphasize my squirrelyness going downhill. Like I said, the frame is REALLY stiff, specifically in the rear triangle. Bear in mind the fact that the newer CAAD 4s and 5s have much narrower, and bent, seat stays, which I'm sure take a lot of the sting out of technical downhills and rock gardens. With me, however, I'm fairly light, and the bike was disguntingly light, and I just got bounced all over the place. Not only have I raced with it, but I went on an extended bike tour from Vancouver, BC to Southern California over the course of six weeks. It was the perfect bike for that; light, rugged, and durable. What was great about the CDale as a tourer was the fairly standard fork blades of the headshok. Although I had to find extra large U Clamps for my Blackburn lowrider front racks, the design of the fork allowed my to have a front rack AND front suspension. I can't think of a better testament to bike frame durability than several years of xc racing and a 2000 mile bike ride over countless rolling hills lugging around 80 lbs of stuff....and still stiff as a board. I'm looking at getting a new racing bike, and I'll tell ya, the new CDales are still on my short list. Who knows, I might go with a Trek OCLV or even a dualie, but the same qualities I liked on the CDale design five years ago...the slop free steering, light weight, etc, are still attractive now. Some may hate headshoks, but give them points for originality; there's nothing else like it. Some of the gripes about parts I'll go along with too; but do what I did. Buy it at a place that will allow you to leave off particular parts (the weird Coda crankset in my case) with the commensurate deduction in the total price for the bike...then just get your own stuff.
Bike Setup: Set up at varying times as both a hopped up xc racer with all the chi chi titanifiber parts, and as a 100lb touring bike with front and year panniers
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Blake
a Cross Country Rider
from Bellingham, WA
Date Reviewed: April 14, 2001
Strengths: FRAME FRAME FRAME. Top of the line drivetrain. Really lightweight.
Weaknesses: CODA parts not as burly as other brands; Recommend different pedal setup than CODA ones
Bottom Line:
I love this bike. It is a serious climber: The lightness of the bike makes it go up pretty much anything, and you'd have to work much harder with many other bikes. Downhill is a different story. You have to really be concentrating or the bike will get away from you. Also, the CODA crankset is not the best...I'm probably going to replace with something else. The bottom line is that when you buy a Cannondale, you buy the frame, and the CAAD4 frame simply rocks. Also, the new F1000 has a lefty shock--which may be some technological advance in dropping the weight by some minimal amount, but as a vain biker I would feel stupid riding such an incredibly ugly bike (because as we all know, it's not about how you ride, it's about how you look when you ride! ;-)). Also, the 2001 F1000 has XT rear and LX front--1999 has XTR rear and XT front. I wanted the better drive train over the lefty shock myself.
Overall: I LOVE this bike. Its a great all around bike that, if you can find any, you will get at a great price if you buy today. Highly recommended...
Similar Products Used: Specialized Rockhopper Comp, Stumpjumper, Trek 8000
Bike Setup: STOCK
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
greg
a Cross Country Rider
from sweden
Date Reviewed: March 11, 2001
Strengths: light, stiff, avid brakes, nice paint
Weaknesses: headshock, coda parts, too stiff sometimes, wierd bar-ends, rapid rise, feels like its made of glass, 1 1/4 head is retarded
Bottom Line:
this bike is a pretty good all arounder. i use it to go to school and to work and sometimes ill take it on the trail. not too much anymore, since this is my second bike. on the trail it excells going up, on the downhill i wouldnt recomend doing anything too hairy. the headshock is good until you actually need it. it is terrible at soaking up small bumps when the pressure is high and if you lower it then you will bottom out really easily. although it does have good tracking abilities. the coda parts do thier job but are not on par with the other companies that are out there. the seat wasnt good at all. on the plus side....this bike is light enough to do some racing on even with the stock setup. the frame is very stiff which gives excellent power transfer to the wheel. although its easy to tell how stiff it really is after a long ride and your ass hurts. for slowing down avids arches are in my opinion the best v brake you can buy. probably the only ones that can hang with xtrs. no doubt the best thing about this bike is the frame. its made very well and has a good paint covering. the only this bad i can say about it is the lack of choice that you get when you buy it because of the dumb 1 1/4 head. the other things is if you tap the downtube near the bottom bracket it sounds like the bike is made of glass and is paper thin. i havent crashed this bike but if it took a good shot i dont think it would survive. if youre looking for a light inexpensive bike that you can have fun on or maybe do some light racing this could be a bike for you. if you are a serious trailrider that gets pretty dirty opt for the light fs cc bikes or longer travel models.
Bike Setup: stock except for seat (got a serfas) and pedals (shimanos)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Santee Dave
a Weekend Warrior
from Uh...Santee
Date Reviewed: January 13, 2001
Strengths: Light, INCREDIBLE handling & braking. Show me a better paint job - the "Reptillian Fade" is AWESOME!!!. This bike is an excellent climber, but (in my opinion) even better on the technical downhills. On the technical downhills I wonder: Is this really a XC bike?
Weaknesses: I concur with some of the other reviewers in that: 1)There may be some problems with the CODA BB, mine also started creaking after about 8 months - I may replace it with another brand. 2) I too needed to have the Fatty SL Headshock serviced (oil leak). This I can live with (as long as it is not a common occurrance) since the Cannondale headshock design is a major contributor to its lightness and "INCREDIBLE handling". This is not the best bike for technical uphill climbs because of fairly low ground clearance (pedals tend to hit things like rocks, etc...).
Bottom Line:
First: Those that complain about tires and seats on any bike don't have a clue - that's trivial stuff that is not intended for this type of review (in my opinion). REPLACE them if you don't like them and get on with life. Personally, I like the CODA 900 seat and I think that the MythosXC tires are a perfect match for this bike.
This bike is speced out real nice with the possible execption of some CODA parts. The "Avid Arch Rival" brakes KICK ASS!!!. The main reason I purchased this bike was so that I would have a lightweight bike that I could take on longer XC types of rides that I generally don't go on, but that I am occasionally invited to go on by some of my XC racing buddys. I couldn't have made a better choice. This bike actually is better than my 1998 Specialized FSR Comp on the real technical downhills (steep, lots of loose rocks) . I plan on riding this bike for a long time to come. I would recommend this bike for anyone that is interested in getting into XC racing or for anyone that simply wants a quality lightweight hardtail for specific types of rides. This is not a bike for entry level riders (unless your hobby is throwing away $$$). There are a ton of less expensive pretty good quality hardtails out there (check out Voodoo Al Comp - Mtn Bike Magazine June 2000 ). Happy downhills!!!!!
Submitted by
Jay Ramer
a Cross Country Rider
from Wisconsin, USA
Date Reviewed: December 14, 2000
Strengths: Stiff climber, great paint job (Chromalusion Purpleen), Good ergonomics, disc Compatible, Headshock
Weaknesses: Headshock tougher to work on, tall Cdale specific front end, downtube cables.
Bottom Line:
Bike looks great, I have only a few miles on it off road before the snow came, but so far it fits me well. The headshock will be more maintenance than I like, and hard to seal off. The Coda Cranks are great quality sugino units, regardless of what anyone else says about them. Original seat did suck, and the rear end is rather stiff, so Suspension seatpost was a good upgrade. 9 spd is good, rapid rise is wierd. Would suggest buying new seal for upper headset bearing (avail. from dealer) and upgrading cassette and bottom bracket to XT units to save weight. Bike is a good deal for the paint job alone. Stock bike is good deal for aspiring racer on a budget looking for world class handling, do not buy it if you want longer travel or hate headshocks. XC use only.
Similar Products Used: Schwinn Homegrown Factory XTR, Balance FS Pro w/EFC, Cdale M600 w/EFC, Specialized Stumpjumper Cromoly W/EFC, Have Ridden virtually every MTB in existence, own 27 bikes currently.
Bike Setup: Crossmax Wheels, XTR Brakes and deraillers, XT Rapidfires, Azonic World Force Flat bar, Ctrl Tech Barends, Stem in "rise" position, Suspension Seat Post, Flite Max saddle, 747's, UN72 BB and XTR cassette are only changes
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Andrew Grammer
a Weekend Warrior
from Lawrence, Kansas
Date Reviewed: October 17, 2000
Strengths: Climming ability, Headshock with lockout and lightweight frame with aggressive riding possition (put stem "down" like Tinker)
I absolutely love the bike. I had a V-700, which was a lot of fun in the mountains of Colorado, Utah and Idaho. However, the lightness of the F1000 makes it easy to handle on the down-hills (where I thought I would really miss the full suspension) and it kicks ass on the climbs!!! But, the Head shock with its lockout on the fly capability is probably one of the single most innovative concepts/components in all mountain bikedom - I would not be able to say enough about it here.
I would recommend this bike to anyone interested in fun, off-road riding to rippin' the trail to shreds! Don't waste this beauty on just pavement riding (i.e., only to and from school)!
[FONT=Times New Roman]I haved owned this bike since 2000 and it has been great to me. I have used it for leisure, taining and racing. And I can't complain about its preformance. Read More »
I just found a 1999 Cannondale F1000 for sale for $600. Is this a good price? The seller says it's in excellent shape and it comes w/ extra set of tires (for street riding) and pum Read More »
I have an F1000 that I bought brand new after completing the 1998 Big Ride. The bag is blown in the shock, and Cannondale tells me I have to replace the WHOLE headshock and the ol Read More »
