Submitted by
jordan
a Downhiller
from novato Date Reviewed: December 6, 2006
Favorite Trail:
mt. tam
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$2000.00
Purchased At:
Mikes Bikes
Strengths:
this bike has an excellent xc setup. we had a fire in our garage in 03' and the whole front part of the bike was replaced, tires, rims, headset, handlebars, grips, seat, rear shock..... everything. but anyway, it is an excellent cross countrty bike.
Weaknesses:
the front brake is not very strong, so I upgraded to a hayes instead.thats it!
Similar Products Used:
cannondale gemini
Bottom Line:
Overall this bike is very strong. Im a downhiller and have took it off a couple 15ft drops and it just sucks it right in. the lefty fork is great. Even though im 13 I still to hardcore mountain bike you should buy this bike if you are into xc. It is a great bike for upgrades
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Pave
a Weekend Warrior
from FINLAND Date Reviewed: January 21, 2003
Favorite Trail:
still searching
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Simple, strong and maintenance-free mainframe (with welded swingarm, NOT with bonded '00/'01), warranty, looks
SV700 '00 (Europe) in these days; RS Psylo XC '01 (orig HS SuperFattyD), FoxVanillaRC (FoxVanilla), MavicCrossLinkDisc/Mavic521/MaguraComp/etc wheels (CodaExpertDisc), Magura Louise '99 disc brakes (Magura Clara/HS11), Titec HellBent post/bar (Coda/Coda-Kalloy), Coda saddle, Deore/LX/XT/Sram PC/CodaTarantulaCNC drivetrain, Shi PD-M535, IRCMythosXC/TiogaFactoryDH/NokianExtreme296 tires. And Polisport mudguard! ;o)
Bottom Line:
After breaking two '00-model swingarms I got stronger and lighter '02 model instead (warranty). HeadShok SuperFatty was not made for me; three broken cartridges (one warranty repair, one new cartridge by warranty). Got now RS Psylo, which doesn't feel as rigid, but has more travel and takes hits without breaking shims. SuperFatty is ultimate for light XC-ride, but not for abuse. The original Coda crankset liked to spit chain over teeth every time when "real" power was put on the pedal. LBS replaced that with Shimano LX (warranty). The original Shimano BB was replaced with better one after failure (warranty). Coda Expert disc wheels are too soft for serious use and those original spokes brake from the ends of the thread.
After few upgrades SV is a good and strong basic tool for off-road use. But on the road: like riding the kangaroo...
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Joe
a Cross Country Rider
from Dahlonega, GA 30533 Date Reviewed: April 15, 2002
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$1200.00
Purchased At:
bought piece by piece
Strengths:
Versitility with the air tuning front and back
Weaknesses:
None.
Similar Products Used:
Specialized Hardrock and Stumpjumper
Bike Setup:
Super Fatty DL, Fox Vanilla Float, Bontrager Race Lite Bar, Sun/Rhino Lite rims, Race-Face BB, Deore Hollowtech crank, Time ATAC pedals, everything else...XT!
Bottom Line:
This bike is a fun ride! It has made me a better rider over the course of the last month or so. The bike with this setup just asks to be ridden hard and put up wet. It has taken all the abuse I have dished out and never whined. A pure XC machine, singletrack or fire road no worries here! Build one for yourself and you won't regret it.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Matt Loftus
a Downhiller
from OKC, OK, USA Date Reviewed: July 19, 2001
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$1150.00
Purchased At:
Budget Bicycles
Strengths:
Great!!! Unreal Bike, decent components and attracts much attention.
Weaknesses:
people driving have stopped and asked me about my bike. Had some chain problems in the second day but were fixed in 2 minutes in my garage. Could use some more travel.
Similar Products Used:
Trek Y-11
Bottom Line:
This a great bike for all riders. Excellent value!! This bike does amazing things and it is a pleasure to be riding it. I give it 5 flamin' doodies!!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Joe Jacques
a Weekend Warrior
from San Francisco, CA U.S.A. Date Reviewed: December 25, 2000
Favorite Trail:
Marin Headlands
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$3500.00
Purchased At:
Avenue cyclery, SF
Strengths:
Excellent ground clearance, great balance, lots of travel, light weight yet strong. Good looks and a life time warranty on frame.
Weaknesses:
Gets mistaken for a motorcycle.
Similar Products Used:
1998 Super V700SL, other Cdale hardtails, Schwinn
Bike Setup:
Cannondale Super V700SX with: Lefty DLR fork, Fox Shox rear, All XTR drive train, MRP chain guide, Hayes full hydraulic disk brakes, Coda Hub front, DTswiss rear, 2.25" IRC Kujo DH tubeless tire/rim system, Easton Monkey lite handlebar and Easton carbon fiber seatpost, custom made Fizik Atlas saddle and THE rear fender.
Bottom Line:
Two years ago when I bought my first Cannondale I became hooked. It was a 1998 Super V SL model. This bike was great it helped me gain all the confidence needed to roll down the roughest hills at speeds exceeding 40mph. I recently uqgraded to a 2000 Super V SX model, custom built with all the latest technology money can buy. Now that I finally have my dream bike with all the bells and whistles including the new lefty with 100mm travel front and 120mm rear. I am having the time of my life just riding. I ride up and down stairs, large rocks, fallen tree branches, loose dirt, mud and snow, and 4 foot drops. After all this and over 200+ miles my bike just keeps on tiking. The lefty's hub and suspension have never been serviced. I am amaized at how much abuse this bike can take. It's no wonder that Cannondale's Super Vs have been the most copied bikes in the industry. Do not accept imitations. Go out and buy yourselves a Cannondale! Pricey but worth every dollar.
This bike kicks burro. Just look at the thing. Its light with disc braks and that fat burro LEFTY of shock. The damn tit-o-tron is of the frekin scale. All I really want is this bike. If anybody will help my cause and send me one free of charge please let me know by leaving a message in this review page. If you have any direct ties to Santan or child porn I am not interested. Keep the d@#$%! thing you goat worshiping pee-on. And all you kiddie porn guys should burn. Beyond that I would appreciate some help. ball hair The no profanity software this site has really takes away from the real descriptive words of the english language.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Pete Cresswell
a
from Paoli, PA USA Date Reviewed: December 10, 2000
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$1977.00
Purchased At:
Bean's Bikes, Paoli PA
Strengths:
The price was right, considering I wanted front/rear disk brakes and the only other thing I could find was going to cost over $3,000.
I've been pounding on it pretty hard (220 pounds, riding down railroad ties, riding on frozen ground...) and so far, it's staying tight.
Only mechanical malfunction so far is something in the rear end that has required re-shimming the disk brake four times to date - moving it inboard about three spacing washers each time.
I'm getting some sort of rattling sound from the lefty when riding over frozen ground - but it's silent otherwise so I'd say it's just from that particular cruel and unusual treatment.
The lefty fork doesn't cause me any problems - but, as I said, I'm probably not skilled/perceptive enough to comment on it's handling.
It *is* convenient to change the front tire without removing the wheel, and when people ask what I paid for it, I can tell them that I got a special price because of the factory defect (one side of the fork missing).
Weaknesses:
The proprietary steering tube (2" diameter) makes me crazy. I am tall and getting it set up properly is proving a challenge - in no small part because of the limited availability of the special-size Cannondale bar extensions.
Similar Products Used:
Stumpjumper hard tail
Bike Setup:
Extra-tall micro-adjustable seatpost to accomodate 35" inseam, BMX riser bars temporarily until I can find a handlebar extension that fits.
Azonic pedals (super-big platforms with protruding set screws that provide traction).
Bottom Line:
Speaking strictly as a dilletante, this bike isn't such a bad deal for me. I wouldn't know a good or bad handling bike if it came up and bit me - but this thing is reasonably light, doesn't rattle (yet), and feels ok when i ride it. I'm riding a lot in BMX mode - with the saddle all the way down and standing whenever I'm pedaling or negotiating rough terrain.
If I had it to do over again, I'd look longer and harder for the config I wanted in something like a Santa Cruz Heckler - just to be assured that nobody was going to slip in any weird-sized proprietary parts.
I think this bike would be well suited to a duffer like me that wasn't so obsessive about the proprietary parts and just wanted a reasonably-light, strong-enough, comfortable bike for noodling around: jumping curbs, going up and down stairs, riding across open ground, and taking to the dirt when cars pass on narrow roads.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Don
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego, CA Date Reviewed: September 11, 2000
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$1800.00
Purchased At:
Black Mountain Bicycles
Strengths:
Cannondale customer service (3 Lefty forks in one year, all under warrenty and fixed within 5 business days)
Weaknesses:
OEM components
Bike Setup:
Mavic 317 rims/OEM hubs RaceFace rings FSA BB SRAM ESP 9.0 Drivetrain Hayes HMX Mechanical Disk brakes
Bottom Line:
It's been a long year.
1) Blew out BB, replaced with Shimano UN72 2) Destroyed POS Weinmann Zach-19 rims, replaced with the Mavic 317s 3) Replaced POS Hayed cable actuated Hydraulic front disk brake with Coda Experts 4) Destroyed a bearing race on my first Lefty fork. Had brand new one installed. 5) I had one of the defective swingarms, snapped bunnyhopping a speedbump. Fortunately I was on my way back from the trail. Dropped bike off on Friday, C'Dale overnighted new swing arm on Saturday. Picked bike up on Monday. 6) Blew out the UN72, replaced with the FSA (2 drive side bearing sets, great BB) 7) Destroyed middle and large chainrings, broken teeth and the like. Replaced with RaceFace and Engagement Ring's Tooth Fairy. 8) Snapped rear axle. C'Dale taking a little to long warrenting things this time, still waiting. 9) Tired of BS issues with Coda Expert disks. Replaced with the new Hayes HMX Mechanical disks. Better stopping power with greater reliability at half the price. 10) Blew damping seals on Lefty, awaiting 3rd fork.
Would I buy C'Dale again? Not sure. The Lefty fork is awsome, and to be fair my problems with the Lefty had more to do with my weight and riding style as shown by my broken parts list above; and increasing the oil weight and switching to a stiffer "shim stack" should solve things. However I would definately take a close look at the Intense Tracer, Titus Loco Moto, and Rocky Mountain Instinct.
Value rating of 4 because this bike is a good step into the realm of high-end bikes and makes a good platform to build upon as things break. Also for the generally fantastic Cannondale customer service.
Overall rating of 3 for the component list as speced and the potential Lefty duribility issue.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Rick
a Weekend Warrior
from Chicago,IL,USA Date Reviewed: July 23, 2000
Favorite Trail:
Battlefield => downtown Chicago
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Lefty shock seems to absorb the biggest of bumps, and I hit a lot of them. It handles fine down stairs (as well as up them), and lands like a dream off of high places (and I am a big guy (265lbs). The ability to lockout the lefty when racing over flat terrain is great and removes any remaining bio-pacing that would otherwise be present.
Weaknesses:
As a big guy I really hit that rear shock hard. I needed to put quite a bit of pressure in it to stop from bouncing down the road. A bigger rider may want to pursue getting another shock.
Similar Products Used:
Schwinn S-20 full suspension and Cannondale F500 front susp.
Bike Setup:
All stock parts, lot of pressure in the rear shock
Bottom Line:
I love the bike. It offers a very cushy ride over the roughest terrain (stairs included). The paint job looks pretty slick too. As a heavy rider I am happy to finally ride a bike that feels like it is up to the challenge of carting my @$$ around. Disclaimer: I am a novice learning to ride hard. This bike has given me the courage to go on.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Derrick
a Cross Country Rider
from Queens, NY Date Reviewed: June 11, 2000
Favorite Trail:
Ringwood
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
lightweight; color scheme
Weaknesses:
agility
Similar Products Used:
1999 Cannondale Super V 700
Bike Setup:
Lefty DLR, Coda Expert Disc in the front, XTR v-brakes in the rear, Hutchison Alligator 26x2.0 (front and rear)
Bottom Line:
This is a real nice and comfortable ride. I especially like the 100mm of travel in the Lefty and the on-the-fly lockout. I will admit though that sometimes I forget to adjust the shock (it's off when it should be on) while riding and I have taken some hits that seem to hurt my left arm more that my right arm at the end of the day. That's rider error, though, isn't it? I find that the wide riser bars and the Hutchison Alligators make me a lot less nimble on singletrack than I'd like, but I have adjusted my riding/speed accordingly until I can find a decent bar that I can use. I have just started downhilling (SKI PLATTEKILL!) and I must admit that the Fox shock sucks up everything. I am very pleased with this bike. The only reason that I am in on a Sunday writing reviews is because it's at my LBS getting a tuneup. I've heard stories of people breaking the frame on this bike and the CODA brakes blowing up or the Lefty depressurizing. I haven't experienced any of this.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
dave
a Cross Country Rider
from colorado Date Reviewed: May 28, 2000
Favorite Trail:
oh, do i have to choose?!!
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Lefty shock is a groove thang and cool to look at. Actually it has been harder to dial in than my old D50 but after 2 weeks I am close. The lockout on the Lefty is good for Paved sections and picking your way through rocky singletrack. Like the Magura disk up front although it appears to be one of the heavier disk setups. By the way it is cable actuated making it able for me to use my XTR levers from my SV Carbon.
Weaknesses:
Ok. the first time I rode this bike on the trail I was scared that I had made a bad purchase. I immediately took all the XTR groupo off my old bike and replace all the factory gear. Major improvement. The standard setup included coda riser handlebars which made me feel like I was sitting on a bike that should have a basket attached to the front. Made uphills uncomforatable and forced me forward in the saddle. Shifting was Ok but I stll like the feel and smoothness of my XTR shifters and levers. Factory tires were huge and lacked lateral stability.0
Similar Products Used:
sugar, gt
Bike Setup:
Lefty,IRC Mythossx, xtr v-brake rear, magura disk front, titanium real cluster, titanium seat post, XTR bb, XTR Cranks and Chainrings, Xtr front and rear derailures
Bottom Line:
Love this bike with the better gear on it and lower handlebars. Dialing this bike in is not easy but worth the effort. Climbs like a goat as long as you stay in saddle. Lefty sucks up the bumpiest of trails and tracks very good. My friends have seen an improvement in my riding and I believe my confidence level is higher than ever. Ride On!!!!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jean-Louis Provencher
a Weekend Warrior
from Lac Delage, Québec, Canada Date Reviewed: May 24, 2000
Favorite Trail:
Boogie man (Vancouver, B.C.)
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Super plush ride, lightweight, very good handling. Excellent freeride bike. Lefty fork very efficient and easy to adjust.
Weaknesses:
I own a Mundial sportrack roof rack and I'm not able to fit this bike on it because of the Lefty fork. The SRAM half pipe shifters are too long. They almost shift everytime you land hard after a big hit.
Similar Products Used:
Specialized FSR, Gary Fisher Joshua, Cove G-Spot.
Bike Setup:
Front brake: Hayes hydraulic. Rear brake: Coda expert hydraulic. SRAM ESP 9.0 SL shifters and derailleurs. Fork: Headshok Lefty Shock: Fox Vanilla Float.
Bottom Line:
Despite the fact that this bike is very expensive, I think this is a good bike to buy because it delivers high performance. It's the lightest full suspension I ever try but it's also a strong bike that can survive punishment. The Lefty fork is awesome: very good handling and very easy to adjust. The rear shock is perfect for me because I am a lightweight rider but heavier person should use a different rear shock. I am an aggressive freeride and downhill rider and for my kind of riding, it's the best bike I ever try!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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