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Submitted by
Pete
a
from Ottawa
Date Reviewed: November 3, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Camp Fortune | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | Rebec & Kroes | | Strengths: | What an amazing frame! Although this is the lower end of the Cannondale hardtail series the frame is very light and strong. I can climb for days with this. The headshock dampens most bumps and rocks and I can really jump sh*t with this bike. Some good components for the price like an XT rear drlr. | | Weaknesses: | Horrible Shiamno BR-420 that feel cheap like they'll fall apart if you squeeze em too hard, not enough travel on headshock and the boot rips easily, stock Hutchinson Mosquitos wore out faster than a wet diaper, tossed the seat soon as I came back from my first ride, changed the pedals to Smimano spd m454 which made a huge difference. | | Similar Products Used: | Mongoose, Trek Fuel | | Bike Setup: | Stock except seat, tires, pedals and added bullhorns | | Bottom Line: | For the price you get a superb quality frame with a good drive train but to make it truly xcountry worthy you need to do something with the headshock - just not enough travel and cannot be locked out. I'd also change the brakes asap as the scare me and maybe get stronger rims if you're going to ride gnarly stuff but all in all for the money - the bike made me smile so 5 chilis and a burp! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kash
a Weekend Warrior
from Bangkok, Thailand
Date Reviewed: October 22, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Aluminium light weight frame and Headshock fork. Very fine finishing work. Very good combination of components. Very pretty to look at. | | Weaknesses: | Rims and rubbers are a little bit too heavy. | | Bottom Line: | My wife and I have two '02 F400s, Petite and Medium. We have been riding these bikes since Jan '03. They run fast and climb up everything very well. Although they are base model for F-series, we feel like we are riding the top ones. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom
a Weekend Warrior
from Mountainville, NY
Date Reviewed: August 17, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Stewart MTA, Schunamunk | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$550.00 | | Purchased At: | Bryans Bikes | | Strengths: | Well made frame, ridged, awesome hardtail, all around good bike for the money. | | Weaknesses: | P-Bone Headshok is not serviceable and after 5 months of hard use, sinks about 20mm from just having a 150lb individual sit on the bike. In order to upgrade to a better non-cannondale shock, a new headset, stem, and reducers are required...$$$$$$. Plus it is easy to throw off the geometry of the bike performing this upgrade. Expect BB to go after about 5 or 6 months. | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Rock Hopper, Cannondale Scalpel 800, Cannondale F3000, Giant. | | Bike Setup: | Stock except for XT BB, and Continental Explorer tires. | | Bottom Line: | I purchased this bike to get back to the sport of Mountain Biking. This bike has not only done that but provides me with thills and excitement everytime I ride it. With the exception of the Headshok and BB, this is an awesome value and a great bike for someone who wants to get into MTB. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a
from New Jersey, USA
Date Reviewed: January 19, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Earth | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | Piermont Bike's | | Strengths: | Almost All See below! | | Weaknesses: | Seat post! Rear derailer is good but I want the XTR's!! | | Similar Products Used: | Raven 4000 SL | | Bike Setup: | Stock!! planet bike light (LED) and chain protector for frame!!! | | Bottom Line: | Ok If you want a bike that makes you one of the big boys than look no further. Now It is very light "STOCK" and is almost the same weight as a Raven 4000 SL. I thought that I might regret not getting a better model and I could have. I have had the bike since early September and it has been great, now I don't ever regret not getting a higher model because I could stick the $$$difference between the other model and upgrade the rear derailer to XTR HAHA now were talking and for only $90 why not you got to drop $3400 to get that in a bike. If you have any friends w/ the cannondale video ask them to borrow it then tell me if you want another brand. I want Easton handlebars and seat posts. You don't need it but heck its lick going to "Weight Watchers." If you are a person who wants a great bike to go out on the weekends and jump cliff's well It's a good choice or IF YOU JUST WANT TO GO OUT WITH THE KIDS OR GIRLFRIEND IT WILL DO NICELY TOO. .P.S. I'm 16, not a bad bike for anyone let alone a 16 year old. If I am telling you not to waste your money, well you get the picture!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Houston, Texas, US
Date Reviewed: January 9, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Memorial Park (GHORBA) trails | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | Sun & Ski Sports | | Strengths: | The Frame is stiff and responsive. The paint is beautiful and the craftmanship is typical of Cannondale products. | | Weaknesses: | The P-Bone fork (all Headshoks for that matter), weak rims and a cheap bottom bracket. | | Similar Products Used: | F500, Schwinn Mesa GSX, Gary Fisher Big Sur | | Bike Setup: | Race Face cranks and bottom bracket, XTR brakes and rear D, Rhyno Lite rims w/XT hubs, Black Super Air, EA50 Stem, XT Chain, Selle Italia XO, SPD's | | Bottom Line: | The bike has an excellent frame that is a keeper. The parts spec is just what you would expect for a great frame. At $500, I rode the bike until something broke, wore out or became a sweet deal at Pricepoint.com. The first to go was the pedals. That was the biggest upgrade for bike. The first thing to break was the left bottom bracket cup. Replacing the brakes are a must (a set of LX/XT/XTR brakes is a huge improvement). The chain broke next and the rims finally gave out with two huge flat spots. I am now into the bike for $1200 total and it is worth every penny. I have been doing adventure races for the past year and that is where most of the parts met their demise. If you are a trail rider (light duty), this bike is perfect. It is light, comfortable and handles like a dream. But to make it a durable racer, you will need to upgrade the chain, rims, brakes and pedals before the first race. The rest can be replaced as it wears out or breaks. For the price, frame and Cannondale quality, I give it 5 flamers. For the surprisingly low end parts spec, it gets a 4 (still good for the price). | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
EJ
a
from So. California
Date Reviewed: October 22, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Anywhere in the Santa Monica Mountains | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$750.00 | | Purchased At: | Newbury Park Bikes | | Strengths: | Good frame. Good mix of components. | | Weaknesses: | Front derailleur | | Similar Products Used: | Previously owned a ParkPre Comp. Ltd. steel hardtail. Own a Bottechia road bike. | | Bike Setup: | Stock. This is a 2003 model. See Cannondale's website for stock specs. | | Bottom Line: | I am still in the initial shakedown rides. I will write another review after I've owned the bike a little longer. First impressions are as follows: The bike accelerates very quickly. The frame feels light but very stiff. The lockout feature on the front suspension fork is great. I can climb faster and accelerate quicker with the front fork locked. The only problem is that I sometimes forget to unlock the fork when going downhill. The frame is very well finished. The paint is creamy smooth and the orange and black color scheme is just right for Halloween! Overall a nice bike for the price. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter Smith
a Cross Country Rider
from Lichfield
Date Reviewed: July 19, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Cannock Chase | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | Fred Williams | | Strengths: | Frame and fork. It feels so solid and goes just where you point it. | | Weaknesses: | Awful drive train.... chain suck. Brakes need an upgrade. | | Bike Setup: | Standard but with LX BB and Chainset.
I'm running slicks for commuting in the week and am about to replace the Hutchinson's cause there's not much rubber left. | | Bottom Line: | After dealing with awful chain suck the dealer relaced the chainset with a Sugino component, to no avail, a few months later it was replaced by Cannondale with a standard unit bfore they finally agreed to fit an LX set. To do this they had to replace the bottom bracket with an LX BB.... together with the holotec Chainset the bike rides like a dream.... but it took 5 months before Cannondale fixed it....
Has anyone else had chain suck on this bike? And have they fixed it? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
james mcmillan
a Cross Country Rider
from Salt Lake City
Date Reviewed: June 8, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Red Mtn., Vernal Utah | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Price Paid: |
$850.00 | | Purchased At: | REI | | Strengths: | dances over rocky stuff with agility. accomodates a heavier rider. you can pick a great line with it -- it's not squirrelly. good for the climb. XT rear der. | | Weaknesses: | not enough travel, deore shifters, schraeder valves?!, fork is a little squishy on the road w/ no lock-out mechanism. | | Similar Products Used: | Diamondback Sorrento (1990)
Giant Sedona (1992)
(original) Fisher CR-7 (1994 + upgrades) | | Bike Setup: | borrowed this bike from a friend for the week for a Moab trip. changed to 737 clipless pedals, Ritchey seat post, Selle Italia Flite titanium seat | | Bottom Line: | affordable, sturdy, medium-duty, cross-country bike. rode the Klondike Bluff trail N of Moab and it did really well (trail is of moderate-low difficulty). | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul
a Cross Country Rider
from Glasgow, Scotland
Date Reviewed: April 29, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Bottom Line: | This is an update to my previous review.
I've had my f400 for 6 months now and have made some considerable changes. I'm still well chuffed with the frame but the headshok suspension system is just not for me, it's not the lack of travel, it's because I don't think it responds to bumps at speed very well. I've also had maintainence issues. To address this, I ordered some headshok adapters from bikeusa.com, new headset and stem and a pair of 2002 Marzocchi Z2 atom race forks. These were assembled with little effort (not by myself though) and I'm very happy with the results. With 80 mm of travel, the new forks hardly alter the frame geometry at all, and the steering remains active.
A couple of things have boken in last 6 months. The bottom bracket was knackered after about 400 miles (and a no-branded contraption the weight of a brick was removed, certainly not the STX model as advertised - shame on you Cannondale, and replaced with an XT model) and after about 500 miles the freehub body gave out as well. The rims have come out of true a few times as well. Still, after about 700 miles of largely off-road biking, my ride is holding up well. I also ditched the Hutchison Mosquito tires which were a bit slippery and replaced them with some skinnier Panaracer Trailblasters. I replaced the stem, which was far too short, with a 120mm 0 degree rise Profile stiffy stem (from www.ultimateridingsports.com in the states, delivered within a week - class) which really improved the feel of the ride.
I agree with Dave below, it's a good buy, but be prepared to make some upgrades to get it feeling right for you. The fork supplied with the f400 (headshok P-Bone M) lies at the bottom end of headshok range and the headshok system was not for me. The 34mm adapters were about thirty quid and a good buy, plenty of places in the states sell them. One last point, the Shimano RM-40 hubs are balls, well out of place on a bike costing this much.
Anyway, it's not about owning the best bike in the world, it's about getting covered in sh1te every weekend with your mates and having an ace time doing it. Have fun. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave Powell
a Cross Country Rider
from Preston, Lancashire, England
Date Reviewed: April 29, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | anything in Wales or the Lake district | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Really nice, light and stiff frame. Some decent drivechain components. Err, comfy saddle? | | Weaknesses: | Weak and quite heavy wheels, scary forks, plastic brake levers | | Similar Products Used: | Old specialized SWorks M2 | | Bike Setup: | As stock, but with SPD's rather than the clips and straps supplied | | Bottom Line: | To be honest, you are buying a lovely frame worth a large percentage of the whole retail price with whatever components the mannfacturer could afford to bolt onto it. The forks have no rebound adjustment and fire back up at you violently. The wheels, although using decent enough rims twist and buckle very easily (and I'm quite light!)
Buy it if you will be able to upgrade the components and fork soon after purchase...otherwise save up a bit more and go higher in the range for a really ridable bike | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul
a Cross Country Rider
from Glasgow, Scotland
Date Reviewed: January 26, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Anything Scottish/Welsh | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$900.00 | | Purchased At: | Dales Cycles, Glasgow | | Strengths: | Fantastic frame (CAAD 3 Aluminium)- lightweight and responsive. Good top tube clearance - no nasty testicles/top tube meetings! Your basic Cannondale expert craftsmanship.
Transmission - Mixture of XT, LX and deore. Never autoshifts or skips.
Suspension (Headshok P-Bone M)- Very responsive, soaks up small bumps/potholes with ease. | | Weaknesses: | Braking system - bottom-end Shimano V's and Tektro levels. They'll stop you no problem, even in the wet, but they are not much to look at and I doubt they'd survive a decent fall.
Suspension - Only weaknesses are just 60 mm of travel and no rebound dampening so the mechanism frequently 'tops-out'.
Chainset (Cannondale's own) - No real weakness, just not sure how strong it really is. Am considereing upgrading to LX/XT. | | Similar Products Used: | Other bikes in same price range e.g. Kona, Trek and Specialized. | | Bike Setup: | As stock but have upgraded the pedals (Wellgo aluminium with straps) to SPD M858, the brakes to Avid SD7 V's with Speed-dial 7 levers and the suspension to 70 mm of travel with the Cannondale Fatty 70 upgrade cartridge (which provides adjustable rebound and compression dampening). Also, strapped to the bars is a Cateye cordless 2 computer. | | Bottom Line: | The bottom line is that if you buy a Cannondale bike you get a truely excellent frame with which you can bolt on all your favourite bits of kit. The quality of the components supplied with the frame depends on how much you spend.
This bike is ace and I would seriously reccommend it it any XC rider. However, I would also seriously advise getting the upgrade cartridge (£109 sterling). The difference is amazing and really transforms the bike into a hardtail to match any 'traditional' suspension-forked bike in this price-range.
The bottom line? The F400 handles like a dream under all the conditions the Scottish weather has thrown at me, for this price, I don't think it comes much better! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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