Similar Products Used: Specialized Epic, Gary Fisher Tass
Bike Setup: Stock, tires may changing
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Submitted by
Matt
a Cross Country Rider
from Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 11, 2005
Strengths: Light and versatile. Good for heavy riders.
Weaknesses: Seat post and stock seat.
Bottom Line:
Great bike! I'm 260lbs and this bike has served me well with little fuss. Love the Lefty - just pump in more air for stiffer ride and use the lockout all the time. Great trail tool, very responsive and the brakes are incredibly powerful.
great bike. the rear hub is trash, but for the price your really paying for the frame and fork. i went from a SID to the lefty and the difference is amazing. put some good wheels on it, lighter crankset and you have the perfect trailbike. 5 steamers all the way around.
Bike Setup: 717 disc wheels, king rear hub, woodsman lefty front, old raceface turbine cranks and rf ti bb, monkeylite bars, stock deore calipers with hayes rotors.
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Submitted by
Philippe Auger
a Cross Country Rider
from Montreal, Qc, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 23, 2004
Strengths: Very light, sprints like nothing, Lefty is awesome, I wasn't sure at first but after all the beating I gave it still works like new. The hydraulic discs are very precise and they break the same in any condition, rain, mud, etc.
Weaknesses: The Fi'zi:k Nisene saddle is really bad, the handlebar is way too wide, had to chop 3.5", and, like everyone else it seems, the seat post needs frequest adjustments.
Bottom Line:
This is probably the best bike in this price range I've ever seen. I was looking at the Santa Cruz, Trek and Specialized similar models but the Cannondale just has it all. I only do ~1500km/year so I'm no biking fanatic. After 1 year I didn't have to change anything on it, it works perfectly, my frame got smashed by a car (while the bike was on the rack behind my car) and it literally destroyed the other guy's hood. No dent, almost no scratch on it. Oh, and the matte silver with flames looks awesome with a black lefty. Everybody wants one now :)
Weaknesses: bottom bracket has developed a creak (or is it my knees?)Can't complain tho, after 1200+miles
Bottom Line:
the first thing that strikes you about this bike is the lightness, this thing gets me up the Lincolnshire alps faster than a very fast thing indeed! Luverly,luverly seamless welding on the frame.This machine looks fast stood still, doesn't dissapoint when you chuck your leg over it either.Whishbone stays soak up a lot of the lumps and bumps off road,but hey,if you want comfort,buy an armchair you girl!!!
Bike Setup: unchanged, apart from spds, riser bars, bar ends
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Submitted by
Andy Jackson
a Cross Country Rider
from Nottingham, UK
Date Reviewed: May 12, 2004
Strengths: Frame, forks, overall package
Weaknesses: Narrow bars - changed to XC X-Lite risers b4 I bought it Seat - changed to Specialised body geometry after 1 ride Tyres - very good but one thorn too many sent be back to my IRC methos. Coda rear hub - bearings are pants, will upgrade to Hope XC with dt spokes ASAP!! ONLY thing to realy grumble at.
Bottom Line:
Great bike to get in the sale - not full price!! For the price I'd expect better hubs (that don't wear as fast). Excellent frame & fork, which is the main thing.
Favorite Trail: Alpes in France - chamonix world cup course - hard!!
Duration Product Used: 6 months
Price Paid:
$1800.00
Purchased At: Leasure Lakes in summer 2003 sale
Similar Products Used: Specialised Rockhopper
Bike Setup: Standard apart from above plus my old Hope mini disc brake up front - Magura faded too much in the wet!
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Submitted by
12Bore
a Cross Country Rider
from Kent, UK
Date Reviewed: December 20, 2003
Strengths: Lightweight frame that is pretty well dialed for XC and general trail hacking. Frame finish is top draw. Headshock delivers a pretty stiff ride and adds to the 'sports car' feel of the bike. Ride doesn't seem too harsh compared to other Ali frames, and you get a decent spec' for the money. Cool looks.
Weaknesses: Narrow flat bars - change to a decent XC riser. Rubber boot on the headshock is very delicate - got torn following an excursion into local undergrowth. Varnish on the paint job rubs off easily especially under temporary light cables. Incorrectly assembeled disk rotor needed replacement under warrenty (thanks Evans).
Bottom Line:
If you want turbo charged performance in a light weight hard tail with a smooth ride look no further. The headshock isn't for everyone, but if you ride predominantly smooth/muddy/chalk/grit/sand trails like me its spot on. If you ride in a rocky area, jump a lot, do the freeride monster drop off thing - get rear suspension.
Similar Products Used: Kona Cindercone, Cannondale Jeckyl, old Dales, Kona Pahoehoe, Trek . . . . .
Bike Setup: Pretty much stock accepting race face 1.5" riser & SPDs
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Submitted by
Kevin Calvey
a Cross Country Rider
from Philadelphia, PA
Date Reviewed: August 26, 2003
Strengths: I have been very happy with the bike for the technical singletrack trails I ride. Seated and out of the saddle climbing is where this bike shines. The CAAD 5 Optimo frame is definitely one of the lightest on the market.
Weaknesses: Disc brakes heat up and fade a bit under hard use and the saddle can get uncomfortable after a few hours of riding. I am a light rider (160 lbs) for a large bike and as other reviewers noted the seat post does slip down a bit after 10 or 15 rides.
Bottom Line:
Although I have little to compare it to I can say that I have learned very quickly to effectively ride some pretty technical terrain on this bike due in part to it's light weight and long travel Lefty fork. When looking to purchase this bike I couldn't find anything at this price that matched the extremely high quality c'dale frame with the component mix it came with. I figured components will come and go as they brake but the frame is what you are committing to and this is one hell of a frame with a lifetime warranty!
Bike Setup: Stock for now but I think it would benefit from a better saddle, faster cooling discs if you do a lot of long technical descents, and a shorter stem because at 5'10" I am a little too stretched out on my Large frame.
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Submitted by
Rob
a Cross Country Rider
from Sydney Australia
Date Reviewed: August 10, 2003
Strengths: Lefty fork, Hayes Hydros all most throw you off the bike if you are not used to them at first,
Weaknesses: None - just the minoe inconvience of the computer sensor being mounted to the rear wheel.
Bottom Line:
Just an overall awesome machine that will take as much punishment as you can give it.
Submitted by
Steveo
a Cross Country Rider
from New Jersey, USA
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2003
Strengths: Light, fast, quick. Cadd5 frame looks great with the gray/flames. Lefty is the best fork I've used, totally adj 100MM, all XT-no Coda, XT hyd brakes have worked very well
Weaknesses: Richey seat post came loose every ride, replaced with Rockshok, Conti tires pickup thorns way too much, bars too wide-cut them down
Bottom Line:
Great bike. Excellent value for a hardtail, look at the component list. Left may be the best shock made. XT disc brakes have worked flawlessly (& quiet). Very handsome bike. Lifetime warranty on the frame. Well assembled from the LBS. Went with the hardtail for the type of riding in South Jersey. Hardtail w/Rockshok post provides the same travel as the Scapel without the wt.
Similar Products Used: Super-V, GF Paragon, Scapel
Bike Setup: Local racing & fun riding. Stock with changes as above.
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Submitted by
Enrico Bracesco
a Cross Country Rider
from Noventa Vicentina, Italy
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2003
Strengths: What a fast climber! The frame is really light and responsive. The fork is stiff and precise. Powerful Magura brakes. Looks pretty with the gloss white paintjob. Last but not least, the lifetime warranty of the frame...
Weaknesses: I simply can't notice any weakness so far. I'm still looking...
Bottom Line:
This bike is fast and rigid as I expected it to be, and every time I ride it on mountain I get excited for the outstanding lightness (if you compare it with top tier bikes you'll agree with me....). I appreciate first of all the ability to transfer the power from the crank to the ground without loosing any power. The precision of the fork is great so that you can concentrate only on riding. The bike goes great on the trail, weighs nothing and it's excellent on singletrack!
Bike Setup: XT / XTR, Trigon carbon handlebar, Cannondale Competition seatpost, Specialized Pro tyres. I'm thinking about shifting from fatty to lefty...
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Submitted by
Simon
a Weekend Warrior
from Alberta, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 12, 2003
Strengths: Stiff frame, Awsome looks, accelerates very fast, hydro brakes, LEFTY shock,light weight, everything about it is good!
Weaknesses: faulty seat post, but not C'dale fault. Poor seat. This seat has a rise in the middle of it cutting off circulation to my fun parts. Need to change soon.
Bottom Line:
A little expensive for the components you get but one hell of a frame and probably the best shock you can get in this price range.
The bike rides very stable. I got rid of the Deore shifters ride away. The half-pipes are 'Excellent'! SRAM rulez. My Time pedals moved from old bike to new one an feel very reliable. I hope the Coda Expert hubs stay good. They did run al bit more difficult at low temperatures (-9degC). Next bike: Cannondale!!
Bike Setup: I had a few parts replaced: Synchros saddle stem, Time Atac pedals, SRAM 9.0SL rear derailleur (white color!!) with 9.0SL shifters (half-pipe, also white color!!), DeoreXT front derailleur.
Hopefully this is the right spot to ask the question.
Most of the crew I road with over the years has moved on to road biking - so it seems I am going to do the same.
I'm curious Read More »
Good morning all,
Not sure if this is the right place to post this thread, but I'm more looking for advice more than anything else here.
I've decided to buy a Cannondale Fl Read More »
I've had this bike for about 2 weeks. I haven't gone through it yet (greasing/cleaning/adjusting), but I don't have all of the tools I need yet either.
Issue 1. Something sli Read More »
