Submitted by
Chris Goellner
a Cross Country Rider
from Boise, ID, USA
Date Reviewed: June 15, 2011
Strengths: Lighweight, indestructible, solid components, great climber, fast.
Weaknesses: Head shock can bottom out on big hits and does not compare to modren lengths of travel.
Bottom Line:
This is a great bike. I've had it for years with no problems. Had the shock serviced once by a local dealer for about $50 and haven't had an issue since. This bike is lighter than all my friend's more expensive/newer bikes. Like I said, the head shock is a bit outdated for modern shocks but mine still sucks up all but the biggest bumps and gives a phenominal amount of control on downhills. Been riding this for 11 years with no plans of upgrading.
Similar Products Used: Nishiki Hard Tail(my first mtn bike)
Bike Setup: Pretty much stock
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Litor Puruit
a Racer
from detroit , michgan
Date Reviewed: June 26, 2004
Strengths: really good frame light strong ,nice looking bike. easy to climb with , precise steering.
Weaknesses: entry level front shock with this type of rigid frame you need better travel for the shock, unless you are just starting out. not good for downhill , not with that shock .
Bottom Line:
This is a good bike for a beginner to start with but easily be upgraded to a good xc racing bike , The stock spring shock is garbage ,I upgraded the shock to a air sprung kit but kept the same 60mm travel, wrong move I should of just spent more money and bought a super fatty kit, oh well . The shock does not have enough travel plain and simple , I now ride a f600 and the difference is amazing. I would recommend this bike to anyone starting out in mountain biking.
Strengths: The frame is killer. Pretty light and strong. A good buy in its price range.
Weaknesses: Some components are not strong enougne for someone who ride hard (I dont mean jumping, just hard trail riding).
Bottom Line:
I love the bike. After 2 years of riding I had to change some parts. When I bought it, I changed the seat the brake (for LX, and brake handle for DEORE)and the pedals (for bontrager RE-1). I prefer clipless. Later I changed the handlebar for riser bars. The seat post had to be changed cause the screw retaining the seat stripped and there was no way to tighten it. When I took it off I noticed that it was bent too. After a bad fall, the back wheel bent realy bad, so I just changed them for Mavic F519 with XT hubs. With those change I now have a good raceable bike.
I would recommend it to anyone. 4 chillis for overall cause it should come with clipless...
Submitted by
luke
a Weekend Warrior
from Lovell, ME , USA
Date Reviewed: March 30, 2002
Strengths: this bike has a very nice frame with clean welds. it is relitivley light, and the xt deraliure is a nice touch.
Weaknesses: the price! i got mine cheap, i dont think it is worth the retail. Also the fork is very limited in travel and ajustments(there r none).
Bottom Line:
this is a good bike if u can find a deal on it, it preforms awesome but the price is a little to high. overall a great first or second trail bike. could handel a little racing in the sport of begginer catagory because it is farily light.
Similar Products Used: giant xtc,gt zaskar,khs alite 2000&3000, cannondale f700.
Bike Setup: stock
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
David Parenteau
a Weekend Warrior
from Nanaimo,BC,Canada
Date Reviewed: February 11, 2002
Strengths: Great frame and wild color scheme(Blaze).It's comfortable to ride and it climbs great.Brakes are good but the shifters could be better.Contrary to what I've read about the rims,I've found them to be pretty good and I'm a 200 pounder
Weaknesses: The saddle doesn't cut it for a 200 pounder.My 12 year old has it on her bike now.I just got tired of straightening it after every ride. The noises emitting from the Headshok drive me crazy.
Bottom Line:
I've had the bike back to two dealers a total of three times and the Headshok still clunks and rattles.I then had the shok sent back to Cannondale at their own request and was assured that it would come back repaired.No clunking noises or popping noises.Guess what?It's better but it still makes noise.I've been assured by the Cannondale tech support that these shocks should not pop or clunk.Gonna call them back again and ask what they have in mind as far as plan B goes.Is it too much to ask for a bike like this to have a descent front shock.Fortunately I haven't had to fork out a penny of my own yet but then it still isn't fixed.The bottom line is that the shock does work but it's noisy The shock aside,I love the bike.Great value for the money and i'd reccomend it for any beginner to intermediate rider.
Weaknesses: The rest of the components. Must upgrade to have a competitive bike.
Bottom Line:
Granted the frame is 300g hevier than a Caad3, but is more durable and better energy transfer. I have shaved the weight where it matters. I have put this bike through a lot of abuse and broken most of the original components. Do not get hung up on the "light frame" fever. Unless you are racing, you are better of saving the bucks and buying an F300 or F400 and upgrading most of the components tham buying an F900, for example, and getting a fragile Caad4 with discs that. By the way, discs pretty much cancel the weight shaved from the frame. I have raced this bike at 24 lbs. (w/ sus seatpost). I am 188 lbs. The p-bone fork is definetly for begginers. I updated the spring to a red, but i still busted it. I boght a Fatty SL new on e-bay for $200. I tried a new F1000 with a Caad5 and it feels very weak.
Submitted by
Trevor Johnston
a Cross Country Rider
from Nepean, Ontario (Canada)
Date Reviewed: September 8, 2001
Strengths: -The steering precision is amazing, no flex or play in the head shock fork. -Frame is beautiful, especially the welds. -It is strong, I wiegh 260 pounds and i haven't broke it -I haven't had any problems with the hubs or rims like some people have, but I don't ride big drop offs and I ride pretty light for my size. -Colour is nice and so are the emblems -Allmost all the components work flawlessly together overall, for the money, this is a well designed package.
Weaknesses: -The seat sucks and I will replace it soon -The chainrings aren't the greatest, but I find that the cranks are good enough for me. -kind of heavy (27 pounds size large) but for my size I can't put on any stupid light products on the bike cause I would probally break them.
Bottom Line:
What this product delivers is value, yeah you could spend more on a front suspension bike but you wouldn't get that much better performance, overall this is a very good bike for the money.
The best bike for the money plus a life time warranty.Don't listen to that dude that says the rims bend. I am on my fourth mtn bike and this one has the best stock rims of all of them.I jump alot and go pretty high ! As log as you land right you can't hurt this bike! i have folded rims in half on lesser quality bikes such as giant and mongoose.
Strengths: the frame has a really, really cool color (the blue one, anyway) and a weird shape the makes it look like a moto-x bike
Weaknesses: hmmmm, where to start... the fork bites the big one, the whole component grup has screwed up at least once, the rims bend off a 1 foot drop, it says volvo on it (not every bike does)so people call me volvo-boy, the seat is terribly uncomfortable, the grips ripped clean off, u can't ugrade to a riser bar with the grip-shifts, and so on and so on
Bottom Line:
if you see this bike around, RUN AWAY!!! it will only make your life worse!!! if you see someone else riding it, throw rocks at them!
Submitted by
Hao Sam
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Clara, CA,
Date Reviewed: June 6, 2001
Strengths: Super light, durable, kick-ass color and design (super black w/ siver decals). Great deal for entry and upgradable to intermediate level bike.
Weaknesses: P-bone's performance is ok but popping sound sucks! Will become very annoying on rough rides. I've read complaints about the deore but have no trouble with it so far.
Bottom Line:
Great bike so far. If you're gonna buy a beginner bike but want some options to upgrade later on, get this one.
Bike Setup: Stock right now, but I'm looking to upgrade that damn annoying shock
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Chris Mackenzie
a Cross Country Rider
from Vienna
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2001
Strengths: Weight (I've got mine down to 11.3 kilos and my target is just under 11 kilos), geometry, colour, saddle, handle bars, XT rear derailleur and seatpost. Excellent handling and steering.
Weaknesses: Rims, hubs, P-bone clunks (now upgraded with suspension block kit), bottom bracket (now upgraded to Deore LX), chain wheel (now upgraded to Deore LX), sprocket, pedals, cranks (now upgraded to Deore LX), tyres (now upgraded to Ritchey Z Max) and shifters (now upgraded to Deore LX).
Bottom Line:
A great bike for the price, but upgrades are definitely required. Maybe I should have gone for the F600.
Bike Setup: If you ride the bike in the city, get a suspension block kit installed. It costs about $120.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
lee dutton
a Racer
from auburn,nh usa
Date Reviewed: May 26, 2001
Strengths: Light, durable, works on downhill rocky sections, great brakes, good deralliers
Weaknesses: the front derallier, shox don't have enough travel and the irc tires for mud and snow
Bottom Line:
I like it for downhill at the powerlines, the single tracks are perfect for that bike, the up hills on hardpacked dirt are good, the tires are good for hard pack but suck for snow and mud. I got the bike because my friend has the f500 and it almost the same but i didn't have enough money so i got the f400.
Hello, I bought a 2000 F400 frame I want to use a s a commuter/ fun bike. I want to go rigid. Does anyone know what length rigid fork I would need to keep the geometry? I have the Read More »
