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Submitted by
Chad VB
a Cross Country Rider
from Blacksburg, VA, USA
Date Reviewed: September 27, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Brush/Gap Mountian (all) | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$800.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | pretty good components, frame hasn't broken yet, 2 water bottle mounts | | Weaknesses: | HEADSHOK! Cannondale's use of their own products | | Similar Products Used: | Gary Fisher
| | Bike Setup: | Minute 3 fork, 8 inch front disc, Cane Creek XC short conversion Headset, Azonic stem, 959 clipless, WTB Seat... stock everything else | | Bottom Line: | Would have been a good bike for light cross country use, the trails here have 2-3 foot drops, rough terrain, and fast descents. The headshok was blown after 5 or so rides here. So i went with the whole conversion to a normal fork and it is the best money you could spend on this bike. I wish cannondale would make things industry standard though, because their "innovations" thus far have not been impressive for all but the most conservative of riders. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul
a Weekend Warrior
from Atlanta, GA USA
Date Reviewed: May 22, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$1200.00 | | Purchased At: | Atlanta Bicylce - bought new | | Strengths: | Ride, handling, excellent hydraulic disc brakes, frame welds, looks | | Weaknesses: | clunky front shock | | Similar Products Used: | specialized | | Bike Setup: | totally stock | | Bottom Line: | I like it. Its a little heavy, and Im not overly impressed with the head shock, but overall the bike is really good. Ive ridden it for 4 yrs now, and still havent replaced the brake pads! I dont know what people are saying about the disks, but they work very well. Very consistent stopping in any condition. Also, the deore XT equipment is very precise. Also dont know what is being said about pedals, why upgrade? very nice clipless system indeed.
currently, its in the shop getting tune up, and the head shock is leaking oil pretty bad. I think the head shock is a little clunky, but i do like ability to turn off shock on long uphills (like in northern GA, NC). guess thats price you pay to be able to disarm the shock so no bouncing on climbs.
Im liking this bike more and more each time I ride. Not perfect, but for $ its solid for intermediate rider like me. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mathijs de Wit
a Cross Country Rider
from The Netherland
Date Reviewed: December 10, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Still the stiffness of the frame and the way the headshock Super Fatty works. Also the geometrie of the bike. The service of Cannondale (I've had an air leaking problem with the fork but it's changed without any costs) | | Weaknesses: | The Magura Julie disc-brakes. The have been driven me (and my bike-shop specilist) completely crazy. They drag, the pistons failes several times and have lost brake power after they have been send to Magura. Endly I'm going to change them for Hope Mono Mini's now | | Similar Products Used: | American Eagle Death Valley. | | Bike Setup: | The main parts (frame, suspension, handle bar, wheels) are still the same as delivered from the factory. Of course I've changed a lot of parts during maintance the last years, and upgraded them, but that's nothing spectacular. | | Bottom Line: | This is a upgrade from my review of 14 december 2001. After a lot of km's I'm still very happy with this bike. Except of the Magura Julie disc brakes. They are realy less than rubbish. The bike go's where you want to go. It is functioning good in lowland's mud (we have a lot of it in The Netherlands), in middle and high-moutains (like the Alpes). The sitting position is very good, even in marathons (once I've been sitting on it about 10 hours without any problem, and you have to know that I'm having a serious backbone problem after a hard bike-crash 10 years ago). So if you don't need a fully, the F700 is still a absolute good choice.
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
arthur pielli
a Cross Country Rider
from coxsackie, ny usa
Date Reviewed: January 3, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Mount Washington | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$800.00 | | Purchased At: | Coxsackie Bike Shop | | Strengths: | FRAME! Love the hardtail...good welds. Very stiff | | Weaknesses: | CODA components......got rid of them | | Similar Products Used: | Nishiki Hard Tail | | Bike Setup: | Spox Spinergy Tires (love them) XT all around, Kore seat post....replaced the saddle Serfas ARC Gell. | | Bottom Line: | Love this bike. I also have had dual suspension but found myself going back to a hard tail. The frame is the best part of this bike, takes a beating. Replace components and in particular...the tires. I strongly recommend the SPOX spinergy. They are a pain to true but keep true pretty well and are super light. Bought it at the Coxsackie Bike Shop......great people! Buy this bike if you are looking for bang for the buck and a solid ride.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Warrick Johnston
a Cross Country Rider
from UK
Date Reviewed: January 17, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$800.00 | | Strengths: | Frame. | | Weaknesses: | Heavy coda parts. Short seat stay. | | Similar Products Used: | Most hard tails | | Bottom Line: | I loved Cannondales, although I don't really like this bike. Most of the above reviews seem to be from new owners with the "stars in their eyes" from new pruchases...
The frame is brilliant. No doubts there. The problems comes with the parts, and potentially the geometry. Of course geometry is hard to talk about as it is so personalised, however for the bike, the price, and the sizing - you can get much more "fitting" bikes. Mainly due to the short seat stay. If you suffer from lower back niggles then look elsewhere, or get a huge cannondale frame!
The coda parts are rubbish. They are heavy, not that tough, and cost a lot to upgrade. One thing though - they wear a long time.
To sum up - if you are looking for a cannondale, and at this model, then wait and buy the F800 or above. As soon as the "new bike" glazed eyes wear off you'll upgrade the thing so much it doubles the price. Just go out and buy something with decent parts to begin with! :)
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ben du Feu
a Cross Country Rider
from Jersey UK
Date Reviewed: November 15, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | woods | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1100.00 | | Purchased At: | leisure lakes | | Strengths: | Very light frame and forks, looks great, Drive train is great works well, nice ride position although handlebars are too high (turn stem upside down to make it lower)accelerates really fast. | | Weaknesses: | heavy wheels, Disk brakes are pathetic less powerful than my old V-brakes and huge amounts of rub on the back one (there must be something wrong with them) The lock-out stopped locking out totally and has gained 20mm of flat suspension. tyres arent very good (good on road cos can be pumped up to 5.5 bar) but they have little tread and dont grip like tyres that say Michelin on. the bottle mount thing which the screw goes in was turning rather than the screw moving in and out. (pliers needed to fix) | | Similar Products Used: | gt tempest 1999 | | Bike Setup: | as arrived | | Bottom Line: | pretty lightweight, long reach to handle bars, fast except for disc rub, feels solid (no frame flex) good on road but need to let tyres down for off road to soften out bumps. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Richard Vatcher
a Weekend Warrior
from Framingham, MA, USA
Date Reviewed: November 5, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Calahan state park | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1450.00 | | Purchased At: | Landry's in Framingham, MA | | Strengths: | Excellent disc brakes, shifting is easy, tires are great, super light frame which supports my large frame with ease. | | Weaknesses: | Had to upgrade seat and add clips | | Similar Products Used: | Gary Fisher, Specialized | | Bike Setup: | standard | | Bottom Line: | I would recommend this bike to any other novice-intermediate off road rider. Spend the extra $100 to upgrade the seat and peddles. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
stewart burgess
a Cross Country Rider
from edinburgh, UK
Date Reviewed: September 30, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | glentress forest | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | JE james, Sheffield | | Strengths: | Super stiff frame, lightwieght and great handling | | Weaknesses: | coda products | | Similar Products Used: | cannondale M2000 | | Bike Setup: | Now set up with hope XC hubs on mavic, Hope mini's, time carbon pedals, race face and easton kit | | Bottom Line: | For the money this bike is one of the best hardtails i have ridden. It handles superbly just point it in the direction you want to go and it follows. It corners like its on rails, climbs like a mountain goat and descents are just a great laugh! I never feel out of control on this bike and i pull some dodgy moves on it as well. One thing though get rid of the CODA parts as they are gash and the maguras do not do this bike justice so move to hope's or XT asap. With a few extra bucks spent i now have a hardtail to be proud of. Only gets 4 chillis for value due to the coda parts! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Raphaelle
a Racer
from Gatineau, Québec, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 25, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | beaverbrook | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1500.00 | | Purchased At: | Rebec & Kroes | | Strengths: | Frame, derailer, suspension | | Weaknesses: | breaks, high maintenance | | Bottom Line: | Great fun with the bike, it is very light (24 pounds), 9 speed derailer works well. This is a bike that should be bought by someone who will use it a lot, I would say for at least 150km / week of hard trail riding. The breaks always need some adjustements, and after 40 hours of riding the mineral oil has to be replaced. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
aKL
a Cross Country Rider
from Helsinki, Finland
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | The nearest | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1500.00 | | Strengths: | Great frame; stiff, light, solid and goodlooking. Well spec´d (added a few extras), Fork works well - is rigid and plush. Have to mention the brakes also, cheapest of Maguras but work extremely well. | | Weaknesses: | The stem doesn´t fit me perfectly due to the rise and for the Headshok it´s hard to find replacing stems. | | Similar Products Used: | Tested Kona Caldera in the buying process, but this had better value. | | Bike Setup: | 2002 F700 w/ Ice face color, LX Crankset, SRAM 7.0 rear cogs, Lizard Skins Jumbo chainstay protector, Sigma BC800 wireless | | Bottom Line: | Actually excellent value if you can get one form a sale. I wouldn`t maybe pay the full price. Can be upgraded to full potential w/ a few component choices, then the great frame get the respect it deserves.
Good bike for the price I bought it, have had it for 3-4 weeks, have ridden approx. 300-400km. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
CHAS
a Cross Country Rider
from PITTSBURGH, PA USA
Date Reviewed: August 7, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | COOPERS ROCK W.VA. | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1200.00 | | Purchased At: | VOLPATTI'S CYCLE | | Strengths: | CANNONDALE FRAME IS SWEET. CRAFTMANSHIP SUPERB. THE HEADSHOCK HAS PLENTY OF TRAVEL IF SET UP RIGHT. DISK BRAKES ROCK. ONE FINGER OPERATION IS ALL THAT'S NEEDED TO STOP EVEN ON THE STEEPEST GRADES. STOCK HANDLE BAR AND STEM SEEM STRONG AND STIFF. SPEAKING OF STIFF THE CRANK IS APPROPPIATE FOR MY 190 LBS. BODY | | Weaknesses: | IN MY OPINION 9 SPEEDS IS A WEAKNESS. MIX THAT WITH RAPID FIRE SHIFTERS AND IT DEFEATS WHAT THIS BIKE WAS DESIGNED FOR. MY CHAIN IS CONSTANTLY JUMPING AROUND ON THE CASSETTE AND THE BIGGEST WORKOUT I GET ON MY RIDE IS THE THUMB AND INDEX FINGERS FROM TRYING TO FIND THE RIGHT GEARS. I THINK I'M GOING TO CHANGE TO A SRAM TWIST GRIP SHIFTER. THE HUTCHINSON TIRES WORKED OK WHEN THEY WERE NEW BUT WORE OUT VERY QUICKLY. | | Similar Products Used: | CANNONDALE V1000 FULL SUSPENSION, COOK BROTHERS CRANKS, XTR SET-UP 7 SPEED CASSETTE WITH SRAM SHIFTERS. | | Bike Setup: | STOCK 2002 MODEL | | Bottom Line: | I'M HAPPY. IT WAS MONEY WELL SPENT. THE BIKE WAS ONE OF THE LIGHTEST I FOUND IN COMPARISION TO OTHERS IN ITS CLASS. I LIKE MY FULL SUSPENSION BIKE BUT THIS ONE IS MORE FUN TO RIDE. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sean Wright
a Cross Country Rider
from Tionesta Pa USA
Date Reviewed: August 6, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | silvermine trail | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Lockout on the shock helps on the occasional onroad riding.
Disk brakes are very responsive. Thanks to CAAD4 the bike is very light and good for climing and decending. | | Weaknesses: | Very stiff. At higher speeds front disk may rub. Long reach to the bar.
| | Similar Products Used: | 1999 GT Backwoods 2001 Trek 6700 Giant Raineer | | Bike Setup: | Stock with cylerite bar ends. | | Bottom Line: | Outstanding bike for the money. Buy it if you want a great cross country bike that decends and climbs awesome. Forget it if You want a soft,plush,and comfy bike.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Art
a Cross Country Rider
from Coxsackie
Date Reviewed: June 7, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Columbia Co. | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$700.00 | | Purchased At: | Coxsackie Bike Center | | Strengths: | Very stiff, good cross country bike. Love the fatty shock. | | Weaknesses: | Coda components | | Similar Products Used: | Nishiki hard tail | | Bike Setup: | LX/XT panaracer/snake bite | | Bottom Line: | Great bike for the money!! Coxsackie Bike shop is the best/fairest to work with. Upgrade from Coda parts though...you'll notice a difference. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Drew
a Racer
from Saginaw, MI
Date Reviewed: May 29, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | VASA singletrack in Traverse City, MI | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$685.00 | | Purchased At: | The Stable, Saginaw, MI (employee purchase) | | Strengths: | Sprints/climbs well; handling and fork are sweet; discs powerful | | Weaknesses: | A bit harsh; discs drag | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized RockHopper A1 FS (1997) | | Bike Setup: | IRC Mythos XC tires, Flite saddle, ATAC pedals, SRAM 9.0 drivetrain | | Bottom Line: | This is a good bike for XC racers on a budget. It's reasonably light, and the rigid frame and unflexible fork provide spot-on handling in all conditions. The rear end is a little harsh on the rough stuff, but it's an aluminum hardtail so the complaining stops here because that stiffness makes the bike accelerate quickly. The hydraulic Magura Clara discs have power to spare, but neither I nor my shop's mechanics have been able to get rid of the drag, so they squeal sometimes. The bike has a rather short top tube and stem, so you may want to do something about that, and the HeadShok puts the handlebars up really high, so you will probably want to flip the stem upside-down for XC riding and racing. Nothing flashy about the rest of the bike (Sun-Ringle wheels, Coda parts, Shimano Deore/LX/XT drivetrain), but it gets the job done just fine. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Craig Shakespeare
a Cross Country Rider
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: May 13, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | all of new zealand | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$5000.00 | | Purchased At: | Fleet cycles Western Australia | | Strengths: | Great frame light weight, very stiff ride, fast. | | Weaknesses: | The coda rubbish on my bike only last a few months before giving me touble. So upgrade by buying another bike and swaping all coda and the clara brakes and four bolt hubs(who but cannondale use 4 bolt hubs)rims drive train etc. | | Similar Products Used: | I work in a bike shop so see and use similar product daily, Marin, wheeler, Avanti, Giant, Kona, Specialized | | Bike Setup: | My bike is now equip with xt brakes and xt hubs and xt rear mech, lx everywhere else, time pedal conti explorer pro tires | | Bottom Line: | I love my bike but would love to change the head shock to a sid ti or some thing similar. Apart from maybe going to a dualie or but xtr on it goes great | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ken Shaw
a Weekend Warrior
from Philadelphia, PA USA
Date Reviewed: April 25, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Fairmont/Wissachochin | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1300.00 | | Purchased At: | Local Bike shop | | Strengths: | FRAME, very light and stiff and paintjob is great. BRAKES, Disc. TIRES, I replaced mine with Continental Explorers and they are excellent. | | Weaknesses: | CODA components. Get rid of them!!! I got Shimano XT components which are much better. | | Similar Products Used: | TREK 8000 | | Bike Setup: | Shimano XT/LX components, AVID CPS Disc Brakes, Continental Explorer tires, | | Bottom Line: | This is definately a great bike. Riding this bike, I don't think I will be getting a Full Suspension for a while. Get this bike if you have the cash to shell out for it. 1300 is alot of money but worth it. Don't get this bike if you don't like a stiff ride. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric Bergman
a
from Littlerock, WA
Date Reviewed: April 6, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Capitol Forest, Olympia, WA | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1200.00 | | Purchased At: | Silverdale Cyclery, Silverdale, WA | | Strengths: | Strength, power transfer, light weight, disc brakes, and durable components. | | Weaknesses: | No seat clamp quick release, Hutchinson tires when used in muddy conditions, the small front chainring. | | Similar Products Used: | 89 Schwinn High Sierra, 98 Giant Warp DS2 | | Bike Setup: | Stock except for Specialized seat. | | Bottom Line: | This a great bike for the money. I bought mine at the end of the season and got a great deal. The small chainring had to be replace within a month. This bike is fast and predictable. I gave up my street motorcyle to buy this bike, and I've never regretted it. The stock tires don't work too good in this Capitol Forest muck. The Magura Julie's have work great. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian Cunningham
a Weekend Warrior
from Cypress, Tx, U.S.A.
Date Reviewed: March 29, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Cypresswood | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$425.00 | | Purchased At: | Private Owner | | Strengths: | I love this bike, it has not given me many problems at all, it rides great. It rides great, is very light, and fast. | | Weaknesses: | The only thing that I don't like about the 700 is the head shok, it has almost no clearance at all. | | Similar Products Used: | crappy diamondback | | Bike Setup: | all stock | | Bottom Line: | the bottom line is well that it is the bottom line. the bike is not brand new it is probably 2 to 3 years old, it is a good bike for someone who is not a begginer, but in between. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt Bradley
a Cross Country Rider
from Watkinsville,GA,USA
Date Reviewed: March 10, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Chicopee Woods | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1550.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike Center | | Strengths: | I love my Cannondale F700! The Magura brakes are great, the stock Hutchinson tires are great, and the fork is the best fork I have ridden. The whole bike is stiff and very light. The Cannondale service. | | Weaknesses: | The only one I can think of is that it is so stiff. If you don't like stiff don't ride this bike. | | Similar Products Used: | Trek Fuel 90, Santa Cruz Superlight, Schwinn Homegrown | | Bike Setup: | Magura disk brakes, Selle Italia seat, Hutchinson Scorpion tires, Cane Creek bar ends, and Crank Brother Egg Beaters. | | Bottom Line: | This is a great trail/race bike. I rode fifty miles in two days on this bike in Tsali North Carolina and loved it. If you are a racer or a trail rider and can't stand full suspension (I can't stand it) buy this bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joseph Carpenter
a Cross Country Rider
from Orem, UT USA
Date Reviewed: January 30, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Great Western | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1200.00 | | Purchased At: | Copeland's Sports | | Strengths: | CAAD 4 frame offers incredible power transfer; Headshok Super Fatty DL's lockout is a major plus for riding smooth sections and pavement, as well as being downright plush; very contollable even through the bumps; I thought that I might upgrade the components, but the stock component groupo works beautifully so far (very smooth); this bike represents my first foray into disc brakes, and I love 'em; can't beat the yellow/orange paint. | | Weaknesses: | If you're not used to a stiff ride, this isn't your bike. (This isn't so much a weakness as a preference.) | | Similar Products Used: | Cannondale M700 (ancient), K2 Razorback (full-suspension) | | Bike Setup: | Stock, except for some XC fenders (especially for winter riding) and semi-slick tires. | | Bottom Line: | This bike rides like a dream. It's smooth, agile, and bombproof. I looked at and tested a good amount of other bikes, but couldn't find anything that I liked as much. The F700 makes it easy to forego full-suspension. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mathijs de Wit
a Cross Country Rider
from Netherlands
Date Reviewed: December 14, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Stifness frame. You can ride were you want to go, not were The bike wants to go (what a difference with the American Eagle I had before!). The superbe working of het Super Fatty Headshock system. | | Weaknesses: | The disc-brakes were little full of mud after a 75 km trail with only water and mud. But there was no less of brake-power | | Similar Products Used: | American Aegle Death Valley | | Bike Setup: | original from factory, only changed the bracked for an shimano XT type | | Bottom Line: | If you don't need a full suspension, this is your bike! Unless your an proffessional racer. Maybe you want to save some more weigth. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim
a Cross Country Rider
from Winnipeg, Canada
Date Reviewed: December 10, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Assinniboine River banks | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$2000.00 | | Purchased At: | Olympia cycle | | Strengths: | Headshok, which can be locked out for use well below freezing; Hand-welded frame. I have found pinholes in robot welds, which can be an entry point for water and a potential weak spot. Lots of tire clearance. Dealer support; Cannondale isn't about to go bankrupt as far as I know. | | Weaknesses: | Coda parts. I read about falling out ring pins beforehand, so I had an LX crankset swapped in. I have ridden every day year round for several decades and feel no need for disc brakes. It's flat beyond imagining here, and I saved $600 Canadian by having v-brakes instead. This isn't to say disc brakes are a weakness; in my case they're a liability due to complexity, cost, and maintenance. | | Similar Products Used: | There are no forks less flexy than a Headshok, so comparisons are unfair. I once blew up a Marzocchi in a single ride, admittedly I'm a "way Clydesdale" weightlifter. The closet thing would be a rigid steel bike. | | Bike Setup: | CAAD 3(2000) XL frame, Headshok DL, Serfas junk saver seat, Post Moderne suspension post, Titec riser bar, Deore levers and brakes, Rocket shorty shifters, XT front & rear derailleurs, M571 LX crankset, Ritchey Rock SC rims on XT hubs, Panaracer Dart & Smoke summer tires, Nokian studs and BMX pedals in winter. BLT nicad light. | | Bottom Line: | An excellent bike for cruising bush trails and touring monkey trails, unsuitable for downhill racing and urban roof-droppers. I thought the Post Moderne suspension post would blow up right away, it has remained cushy and wobble-free. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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