Submitted by
retro-newb
a Weekend Warrior
from farmington,mo usa
Date Reviewed: September 5, 2008
Strengths: looks us handmade light for old fs
Weaknesses: cramped cockpit for med frame headshock
Bottom Line:
i havent rode in 14 yrs and got this bike on the cheap.
it has gotten me back in shape and in the woods. never failed me yet.i want to upgrade front forks and get disks/as i wanna ride in the winter other than that i just keep taking it out and jamming!!!!
Bike Setup: hehe all stock cept for truative hullesef cranks/bb
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Submitted by
Adam Leiter
a Cross Country Rider
from Mission Viejo, CA United States
Date Reviewed: August 12, 2004
Strengths: Frame is very stiff, and durable, great build quality, and paint. Designed to hold two water bottle cages. With this frame you have the opportunity to use any fork on the market.
Weaknesses: Below par components, Short top tube, cable routing needs work, the rear suspension locks up under heavy breaking
Bottom Line:
I bought this bike as a demo from my LBS in 1998. The components were just about done, but the frame was solid.
6 years and over 5,000 miles later this bike is in its 2nd complete build up and I wouldn't part with it for the world.
The frame is so robust and flex free it will probably last me another 6 years. It took a while to get the perfect length, and angle stem to strech out the short cockpit, and the shock upgrade by PUSH industries helps to make this the "one" bike. I can race it, I can trail ride it, I can ride all day epics, and I can even downhill it.
The combination of plush/effecient suspension, the flex free frame, and the ultimate flex free fork blows my mind, and makes me a much better rider than I am on any other bike.
Similar Products Used: Cannondale Raven Super V 700, Cannondale F500
Bike Setup: Candy apple red powdercoated 1998 Super V 2000 SL, swingarm replaced with a caad4 for 135mm travel. Fox float R with stable platform dampening upgrade by PUSH. Up front we have a Carbon/Titanium Lefty with electronic lock out. Rear wheel is Chris King hub, Double butted spokes, Mavic rim. XTR Crank, cassette & Front derailuer. Sram XO rear derauleur and attack trigger shifters. Easton Monkey lite carbon bars, Avid brake levers, Avid mechanical disc brakes, Full metal jacket brake lines, Thompson elite seat post, Selle Italia SLR Saddle. This is now a 4" front travel with lock out/5"rear travel with stable platform bike that wighs 25.5 pounds
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Submitted by
Grant A
a Weekend Warrior
from Bothell
Date Reviewed: May 14, 2004
Strengths: [1999 SVActive 120 Frame] Awesome standover clearance. Nearly zero maintenace. Wide, dual-cartrige bearing single-pivot design has yet to develop play or creak. Good trail feel and "cockpit" geometry. Plus, nothing looks nearly as cool!
Weaknesses: Disk-ready swingarm was designed around CODA brakeset, the caliper mounts are 3mm too far outboard for my XT setup and I'm running far too many shims to compensate. Some ankle-clearance issues on the vertical "seat boom" supports.
Bottom Line:
This isn't the lightest frameset, nor am I running the lightest build. The bike is a bit hefty at 29lbs... but that's a lot to do with parts. As you can see from my parts selection and "strengths" section I really appreciate the durabilty, quality construction & attention to detail C-Dale put into this long-lived design. The pressed-in headset bearings & sano design leave me with a 5-year old bike that I'd still choose over anything on the market today! Climbs with no complaints and has stable handling without a free-ride influenced feel to it. Love it!
Similar Products Used: Earlier-model KillerV900 (hardtail).
Bike Setup: Finally have upgraded to full XT groupo - including the 4-cylinder hydralic disks (love the lever feel!), MAVIC F219Disk rims on Hope hubs... and 8 speed cassette/RapidFire (far more durable & reliable than the 9spd crap!), HeadShok Fatty 80 fork (wishing for a Lefty) and TruVativ cranks. Very sano. ;-)
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Submitted by
Paul
a Weekend Warrior
from The Netherlands
Date Reviewed: April 15, 2004
Strengths: Looks, single pivot construction (low maintainance), comfort! (depending on fork and shock ofcourse)
Weaknesses: Front shifting (due to the moving front mech, it rotates around the chainrings) Fork angle a little steep with the standard 60mm Headshok. Not very light.
Bottom Line:
After 4 years I still like this bike a lot, especially since I upgraded to the Marzocchi and the discs. The longer fork goes well with the frame, a lot better than the 60mm Headshok, which was clearly too short for this bike's geometry. If you're a racer, forget this bike. If you like a good, comfortable and reliable all around bike, I can recommend the SuperV. (But ride it before you buy one :-)
Similar Products Used: Marin Pine Mountain, Airborne Lancaster, basic alu hardtail. (still own these bikes as well)
Bike Setup: 1999 SV 600 (120mm travel at the rear), Marzocchi Pro Coil 105mm, Fox vanilla RC, XT-disc/Mavic 317, XT/Sram shifting.
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Submitted by
Kris Allain
a Cross Country Rider
from Louisiana
Date Reviewed: March 5, 2004
Strengths: Tough
Weaknesses: Coda, headshock
Bottom Line:
I bought this bike used. It came with full XTR except for the Race Face Turbine crankset, Bottom Bracket and XY seatpost. I stole this bike practically since it had many other extras like, extra rear shock, spare wheelset with slicks, third set of rims, etc.
I really do like this bike alot. I think the frame is an excellent frame. Personally I wouldn't go with Coda components if you paid me but that is just my opinion.
The headshock was ok too until it froze up on me. I personally had no clue how the headshock functioned when I bought the bike. I used to do all my own work on my Rock Shox and Manitou forks but it was impossible for me to do so with the headshock because of the lack of special tools. I got cought in a bad rain storm on the trails one day and brought the bike home and then washed the mud off. After cleaning I put it in my repair stand and the next morning the headshock was completely frozen. I brought it into the only cannondale dealer in the state and they quoted me at $70 to fix. After a few phone calls from the shop and a couple of days time, the bill magically escalated to $299.97 to fix!! I told them they could shove the headshock up their ass and I then purchased the 2003 Manitou Black 1 1/8" conventional fork. The only problem is the 1 1/2" Cannondale headtube but I took care of that with the Cane Creek Double XC headset. Great move and worth the $75. I got a brand new 100-120mm fully adjustable fork and sealed cartridge bearing headset for alot less than it costs to fix the headshock. Best move I ever made. Now I am practically a light DH bike but still XC race weight. SWEET!
Bike Setup: 1997 Super V 1000 Active frame built up with full XTR from the beginning.
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Submitted by
Jegg Tolf
a Weekend Warrior
from Denton
Date Reviewed: November 29, 2003
Strengths: Tuff as hell frame. Rear suspension tough as nails. Super-cool looking bike for its day. V-frame design easy to ditch if need to get away from bike during nasty spills.
Weaknesses: Well, for the money back then...not many. It's a little heavy by todays' standards.
Bottom Line:
This is a review-eulogy to me dearly beloved 1997 SV500. I stripped her for what I could to build my new NRS frame. There's nothing left but a frame and a shock of this once mighty beast. Rub her the wrong way and she'd let you know - rub her the right way and float over nasty root-infested uphill switchbacks.
Back then it was that or the Trek "y" frame for about the same cost. Went with this one because she was suppossed to have less bob and the Trek sales monkey pissed me off. It ended up having a good amount of bob unless I tightened the external spring way, way down but it was an XL frame carrying a 225 lbs rider.
Every component except the bottom bracket, cranks, chainrings, seatpost, rear derailur and rear shock had to be replaced once or twice.
The bullet proof rear Rock Shox vanilla (simple pneumatic w/external spring) and the solid frame can be one hell of a fun bike with a properly working fork. Mostly used for old-guy single track cross country and some moderate urban hucking. Handling is, now that I have a wider perspective, quick on one hand but cumbersome on the other. Good balance while slow but really pushed into turns to the extent I had to slow way down. Horrible race bike -awsome play bike.
Thanks for bringing me back into mountain biking after several bad rides on cheap steel bikes with zero suspension sub LX components, one day I hope I can revive her.
Similar Products Used: 90 Nishiki, 94 Mongoose, 89 Alpine, 03 Giant NRS Air
Bike Setup: Ultimately, Marzocchi MCR QR20, Easton Risers, doublewide Sun rim in the back, STX/LX/XT
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Submitted by
Joel O
a Cross Country Rider
from San Luis Obispo
Date Reviewed: November 27, 2003
Strengths: Well made frames as everyone else notes. The strong single pivot design has also held up well over the years. Looked cool as hell back in 1997.
Weaknesses: Short top tube. Even the large frame was a bit small for me at (6'1"). Steep head angle. Short and soft travel front fork (DD 60). Expensive to upgrade to a modern shock because of the need for a reducer headset. Have to finda a Cannondale mechanic with the right tools just to get simple jobs done on it.
Bottom Line:
This is still a valid frame to build up for a full suspension bike on the cheap. Pay attention to two things if you are thinking about it:
1) The rear suspension varies in travel between years. Mine is a Super V Active 80. But they also made Active 100 and Active 120. Obviously, getting the 100 or 120 is a much better start to a build.
2) These bikes scream for a longer travel fork. The HeadShock was sweet in 1997, but it doesn't have enough travel now. Even the 80mm ones are too little. Replacing the Headshock with a 1 1/8 fork requires a headset reducer. The best way to do this is with a Cane Creek Double Xc reducer headset. This is a sweet setup but adds $100 to the cost. If you are looking at one of these bikes or frames used, calculate this into your decision.
Because of its quick geometery this bike is better for East Coast or Midwest riding.
Similar Products Used: When I bought this in 1997 I compared it to a Specialized FS that had a McPhearson strut rear suspension. Forgot the name. This was clearly superior.
Bike Setup: Inverted the stem, added wide riser bars, and Mutanoraptors. New V-brakes with WTB hard/soft compound pads. Rebuilt front fork with heavy MCU and oil. Otherwise mostly stock.
Bike Setup: 99 navy blue frame, chain guide, rock shox judy xl dc. fat mamut rims, maxxis 2.35 tires. the fender, azonic handle bar
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Submitted by
Christoph Zimmer
a Weekend Warrior
from Duesseldorf, Germany
Date Reviewed: June 14, 2003
Strengths: - the name - the look (FAT tubes) - stiffness - the bearings of the swing-arm - the weight - the super fatty (i got with the frame!) - the solid paint
Weaknesses: - limitation to chainrings with 44T/46T - most copied frame - lots of cheap bikes that wanna look like a super v (but will never reach or be one!!!!) - limitation of the tire-wide at the rear ( up to24x2.35 ) - limitation of the seatpost-adjustment-range
Bottom Line:
the super V is the most flexible frame-kit i know. you can built a cc-race-bike or a freerider/dirtjumper.
i don't understand why so many companys are so proud of their stiff bikes with oversized tubes. cannondale offers since years a solution for all your problems. you can upgrade the rear-suspension by putting a rearshock with a longer travel on the frame (i took a noleen-shock with about 50mm and the supspension of 150mm!!!). the frame is f**king stiff. you will brake and crush any other part on your bike before the super v is cracking up. it's built to survive. the quality of the paint is superb (but that's cannondale). some people don't like the geometry of the frame and they say that many cheap bikes look like this because it was very often copied. and the best is the fork. it takes a gazza 3.0 without any problems!
Similar Products Used: it's my first heavy-duty-fully
Bike Setup: 24" wheels with gazza 3.0 (front) - magura julie - noleen rearshock (gives you 150mm travel) - and so on
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Submitted by
J. STEEL
a Cross Country Rider
from SHEFFIELD,ENGLAND
Date Reviewed: May 24, 2003
Strengths: BIG AND CHUNKY FRAME,SOLID REAR TRIANGLE,ALL AROUND HEAD TURNER DESPITE NOT BEING A NEW BIKE (SOME THINGS WILL NEVER GO OUT OF FASHION) ITS EVEN BEEN RUN OVER BY A CAR WHICH ONLY RESULTED IN A BROKE (REPLACABLE) REAR MECH HANGER !
Weaknesses: FRONT FORK IS LOWER SPEC THAN IT NEEDS (BASIC ROCK SHOCK)OH YES THOSE CODA BITS THAT BROKE OR WORE OUT AFTER A FEW MONTHS THAT I HAD TO REPLACE
Bottom Line:
ALTHOUGH HEAVIER THAN ALL MY MATES XC BIKES ITS IN A WORLD OF ITS OWN, THE STEARING IS SUPERB,THE REAR VANILA IS AS PLUSH AS IS NEAR TO PERFECTION,I CAN ACTUALY STAY ON THIS BIKE ON THE DESENTS,UNLIKE ANY OTHER IVE TRIED(WHICH FOR ME IS QUITE SOME THING!)OVER ALL I LOVE THIS BIKE,IF I COULD ,ID SLEEP WITH IT (WELL MAYBE)
Strengths: Top design and engineering. Built to last. Made in U.S.A. Great looks. Flex free. Excellent craftsmanship. Did I mention BUILT TO LAST?
Weaknesses: No longer in production.
Bottom Line:
The only thing original is the frame. This bike has lasted me almost six years, with over 5000 miles logged. This from a 220 LB fat boy rider. The bike has been upgraded to account for changes in rider skill and technology advances. I foresee riding this bike for many years to come. Gotta say I got my moneys worth. Proud to say made in USA. If something were to happen to my beloved Super V, I would most likely replace it with another C-dale (5" Jekyll). Superior workmanship and design.
Bike Setup: '98 Super V frame, Bomber Z1 fork, XT/LX (9 spd), Truvativ Holzfeller cranks, Race Face ISIS BB, Shimano Mech. disk front/LX V-brake rear, Answer Pro Taper bars, Avid levers, Titec seat post, Tioga DH seat, Shimano clipless pedals, Deore diskhubs/ Sun Rynolite wheels
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Submitted by
Unka Jesse
a Cross Country Rider
from Macon, GA
Date Reviewed: August 7, 2002
Strengths: Wild looks, great DH traction, reasonably light weight, durability, and that wonderfully flawless Cannondale attention to detail and finish.
Weaknesses: Standard Headshok cartridge sucks root! Get the Fatty Air Cartridge and rock on!!
Bottom Line:
My experience with this bike is typical of what I hear from all Cannodale owners. The frames are an exercise in pefection, but the components suck. Cannondale's recent trend away from the in-house Coda stuff is a wise one. I'm liking my bike even more after an extensive rebuild with virtually all new components.
When I got this bike the LBS didn't tell me that I was too heavy (240lbs) for the standard spring and elastomer Headshok setup. I tried the "firm ride kit", but still bottomed the fork occasionally. The Fatty air Cartridge solved all my problems, plus gave me lock-out capability. Get one if you don't already have it.
As far as weight goes, yes, you do pay a weight penalty, but it's small. In fact, I'd say my bike weighs as much as my buddy's F400. Not bad for a bike that firmly straddles the line between dh and xc. Put a Moto fork on this thing and go big, set it up for xc and go light -- your choice. I don't experience any power loss on climbs b/c of the rear suspension, and the relatively light weight gets this bike to the top without too much effort.
Weight weenies look out on the downhills!!! (On your right!!!) This bike lives to descend. With the center of gravity low on the swing arm, it tracks like a dream downhill, with that 4 inch or whatever travel taking the hits for you in the back. The Headshok lets you pick the path you want to ride. Pure Nirvana on two wheels!
If I were buying a bike today, of course, I'd get one with discs. When I bought this bike, discs were still quite expensive, so I rode the V's for three years, until my recent rebuild, I made the jump to discs. Schweet!! Of course, it's pricey, but if you're already buying new wheels, there's just no excuse not to do it.
Shame on Cannondale for discontinuing the Super-V!! The Scalpel is like riding a hard tail. With 1 1/2 inches of travel, I'd save the weight and just get a hardtail -- why bother? The Jekyl's got 3 1/2 or something like that with no appreciable weight advantage over the V frame. And while I like the performance of the Lefty, I also like using my fork mount rack and being able to choose my components and get away from the POS Coda stuff.
Bike Setup: '99 Super-V 500 with Super Fatty M forks & 80mm Air Cartridge - Fox Vanilla coil-over rear shock; XT fd, rd, cassette & disc hubs; XTR brake levers & Avid Ball Bearing mechanical discs; Mavic X317 disc-specific rims running Pannaracer Fire XC Pro's; RaceFace Prodigy XC crankset, ISIS-splined bb, AirAlloy flat bar with Good & Evil grips; Shimano 959 pedals; Titec Micros barends; Quality Teflon sealed cabling; Thompson Elite seatpost with Selle Italia Prolink Gel saddle; Cateye Altimeter computer. whew!! The only Coda stuff left are the shifters & the stem.
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Submitted by
Darrell
a Cross Country Rider
from Cartersville, GA
Weaknesses: -short top tube -limited travel on rear shock
Bottom Line:
I've had this frame for a number of years and it has seen many upgrade--it's such a sweet ride that I just can't seem to part with it (although I frquently lust after some of the current zoot-capri FS designs). The C'Dale is a dependable, low-maint. ride, fairly lightweight (mine is 26lbs. with decent quality-mostly XT-)parts, and perfect for tight east coast single track.
Strengths: Great free-ride bike. Very Strong. A lot of stand over height. Quality work.
Weaknesses: Rear travel is not enough. The head shok that came with the bike does not have enough travel, only 80mm. I way about 130 punds and I kept bottoming out.
Bottom Line:
Great frame for minor DH riding, great for free riding. I recommend it to anyone wanting to explore the different worlds of mountain biking.
Similar Products Used: C'Dale DH fulcrum, C'Dale killer V
Bike Setup: MRP chain guide; Shimano XT 6" hydraulic discs(f&r); XT: hubs, rear derailleur; Sun ringle Rhyno lite TCB rims wrapped with IRC Kujo 2.35's; White Bros FR-3 triple crown fork with White Bros 0 degree stem and White Bros Titanium riser bar.
