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Submitted by
Elaine Mertus
a Cross Country Rider
from Corning, New York, United States
Date Reviewed: July 26, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$900.00 | | Purchased At: | Chenango Point Cycles, Binghamton, NY | | Strengths: | Light, light, light. Comfortable ride for a smallish woman (I am 5'4" 122 lbs), smooth on grass, gravel, small bumps. The Headshox fork is great, the seat, the frame (did I mention that it is light?), the bike is fast and I love it!! | | Weaknesses: | None really! | | Similar Products Used: | Trek WSD's (including the 8000, which was somewhat comparable), Gary Fisher Sugar 3 Genesister (no comparison) | | Bike Setup: | Stock | | Bottom Line: | If you are a woman looking for a light, comfortable, fast bike that looks good and feels even better, I highly recommend this one! I went from a very old Trek 830 Antelope, have had the Cannondale less than a month and wondered how I was ever happy riding without it! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
juliet
a Cross Country Rider
from UK
Date Reviewed: March 14, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1176.00 | | Purchased At: | Baonthrone, UK | | Strengths: | Fantastic geometry frame with incredible attention to detail.
Short levers, narrow tubed bars & grips provide excellent controllability for small hands.
80mm travl is more than sufficient for light-weight cross-country riders.
Disc-specific frame allows for easy upgrade from V-style. | | Weaknesses: | Expect to change the saddle & pedals.
The rear can skitter beneath you when cornering at speed, especially on the Hutchinson mosquitos, but lower the pressure/change the tyres & the bike responds perfectly.
No lockout. | | Similar Products Used: | Gary Fisher Genesister range & Trek WSD. | | Bike Setup: | Standard Cannondale "expert" and Deore componentry, XT rear mech provide more than adequate shifting and braking control. Thelight-weight laid-back frame allows easy climbing and the compact size allows you to control the bike easily on downhills. | | Bottom Line: | Cannondale have always had a "love-it-or-hate-it" reputation for their set up, and true, the headshock doesn't suit everybody.
Having never even considered owning a 'dale in the past, I now consider myself a true convert.
I have ridden Boys Bikes for almost two decades, now & so was excited by the recent emergence of female-specific bikes (it only took them 30 years to realise that the other 50% of the population might also enjoy mtbing......but I digress).
In comparison to other women-specific designs, the F500, gives you a greater position of power & control over the bike, rather than the sit-up-and-beg position that most other (male?) designers seem to have deemed suitable for the female frame. Long cranks are ideal for long days in the saddle and Headshock forks are comparatively light - ideal for those women who would otherwise have trouble in lifting the front of the bike.
I'm really pleased with it's performance - both commuting through the city & charging through the hills, although it took me a while to overcome the embarrassment of becoming a "Mercedes-driver of the bike world"........ | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
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