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Home | Product Reviews | Downhill Full Suspension | Cannondale Gemini DH | ||||
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Submitted by
Jeff Katz
a Downhiller
from Bend OR. USA
Date Reviewed: 5/11/2007 9:04:18 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Dirty Sanchez |
| Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years |
| Price Paid: | $2600 |
| Purchased At: | I forgot... |
| Strengths: | A seemingly unbreakable, harder than nails and tougher than wood pecker lips, predictable, inspiring, single pivot downhill rocket with a perfect BB height. |
| Weaknesses: | A heavy, prone to componet failure and limitation(s), brake-jack producing, difficult to manual single pivot anvil with a too short wheel base. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Kona, Mongoose, Norco... They're only similar because they are DH bikes. |
| Bike Setup: | Panaracer FR 2.3 rubber, Dual ring E-13, M-zoke Jr. T with Heavy oil and springs, Sram chain, and those pain in the back-side Hayes 9 hydraulic brakes. |
| Bottom Line: | If you appreciate single pivot bikes and you can get a decent componet package with this bike, it will suit as a beginning DH or Freeride bike. However, you will outgrow it and it's limitations as your skills advance and evolve. It has suited my needs and I have had to have Manitou re-build the shock (They took FOREVER!!!) and upgrade parts as they broke. It will rip DH in the right hands and course, but it is no huck machine. Also, if you're a bug boy like me, get a heavy shock spring, then you won't blow out the Manitou 4-way swinger as fast. C-Dale only warrantys thier FR bikes 3 years, so break accordingly! My next bike will either be a Iron Horse Sunday (DH race only) or a Banshee Scream (FR and DH) as I'm over the whole break-jack thing.... |
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Submitted by
Craig
a Weekend Warrior
from london, england
Date Reviewed: 2/19/2007 11:11:39 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Cwmcarn |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Purchased At: | 1500 (frame only) |
| Strengths: | light for type of bike, great geometry, fast, agile |
| Weaknesses: | stock spring, highish BB |
| Similar Products Tried: | Specialized enduro |
| Bike Setup: | manitou shermans, MTX rims, hope pro2 hubs, saint cranks, avid 5 brakes, fsa bits, tioga pedals |
| Bottom Line: | Beautifully made frame. riding poistion and geometry is fantastic, very natural. The bottom bracket is a little high this can be good and bad. Seems to still corner like it is on rails to me. Lovely light and agile for a DH bike. I couldn't have afforded the full price full spec bike but luckily got the DH frame cheap in a sale, thanks Royles. Rear shock setup still isn't 100% dialed, I may send it to TFTuned. What it lacks in travel compared to a V10 it makes up for in agility and chuckability. I even ridden it crosscountry style at afan forest with my sherman wound down. Got to the top and flew down. |
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Submitted by
thomas sinder
a Downhiller
from fullerton, CA
Date Reviewed: 7/17/2006 9:53:15 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | my street |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $1500 |
| Purchased At: | ebay |
| Strengths: | well the reflecters are good......and the um...... tire caps and the yeah thats it |
| Weaknesses: | well i took of my seat and went of a curb and tried to sit down...it was bad i was bleeding.....anyways the color makes the bike heavier and the tires are to fat....i was on the fullerton loop and i got passed by a road biker...this bike is a pice of poop gone wild |
| Similar Products Tried: | next power climber, magna elite, next triple |
| Bike Setup: | rock shock judys in the front and a spring shock from my old next it works realyy good. and i got tasels |
| Bottom Line: | this bike is good for beach riding and curb droping.....the biggest curb probaly i have done .....was about 10 inches...it was huge all my friends were scared to do it but this bike u can probaly drop off something 12 inches high...only if ur crazy... |
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Submitted by
Romain
a Weekend Warrior
from France
Date Reviewed: 5/3/2006 8:13:44 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $1400 |
| Purchased At: | chamonix |
| Strengths: | Simple design Great absortion of small and big shocks 12mm axle |
| Weaknesses: | 1.5 head tube (pain in the butt to find the right headset) |
| Similar Products Tried: | big hit |
| Bike Setup: | 2004 frame, gold edition, size M, boxxer team 2004, the usual Dh stuff (big tires, big brakes...) |
| Bottom Line: | I wanted to change my 2004 big hit comp. I had a bit of money saved and I had severed my ankle so I could spend my days on the net looking for great bargains. I got this frame brand new in 09/2005 for half the retail price, I did the same for my boxxers and so on. So i got about 50% off the retail price for the whole bike! I have only been freeriding so far, it is doing great! you don't need to go super fast it is all nice and nimble, pretty light for that kind of a bike! No matter how bad you're landing you won't get surprised with this bike. I took it to a really easy DH track, it handled really nice at high speed, you don't get much brake jack with the IBS! All in all I'd say if you can get a bargain on the frame then go for it, it can take FR and DH really well(CG won the redbull rampage with the exact same frame). Throw in some light forks and let it rock. I would not have paid that much for a monopivot frame! If I get rich I might swap it for a balfa or a apalache frame, not that I need it or that the frame sucks, but just to try something new! I give full chilis for value as I got it 50% off, and 4 chilis for overall as this bike is great but it lacks that little thingy that makes you not want to have anyother bike again! |
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Submitted by
James
a Downhiller
from Thunder Bay, Ontraio, Canada
Date Reviewed: 4/5/2006 1:11:16 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $6000 |
| Purchased At: | Cycle-Path |
| Strengths: | On the light side but still stiff. Frame is super beefy and strong. Simple rear suspension that works very well. No brake jack due to a floating rear disk brake. The bike feels so stable at high speeds. Makes you want to go faster and do bigger jumps/drops. |
| Weaknesses: | It costs so much. The stock tires are very heavy. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Santa Cruz VP-Free, Kona Stinky, Brodie Diablo. |
| Bike Setup: | 100% stock. Dorado, Swinger 6-way ect. |
| Bottom Line: | This bike is mint. Geometry is spot on. The Manitou' work so nicely together. What else can I say it is perfect. This bike is for wana-be pros. It is perfect for DH but is still good for freeride. |
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Submitted by
Rudi Gale
from Logatec
Date Reviewed: 7/30/2005 12:59:42 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only |
| Strengths: | Weight, handling, look, simplicty...just everything |
| Weaknesses: | Price, i think it's sold only as a complete bike...you cannot buy just a frame |
| Bike Setup: | Fox 40RC forks |
| Bottom Line: | Best bike I've ever ridden. I only wish I could afford it. This is my dream bike... |
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Submitted by
Pierre Blomdahl
a Downhiller
from Gothenburg, Sweden
Date Reviewed: 5/3/2005 1:58:59 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Åre Mountain |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Purchased At: | My job, Cykelspec |
| Strengths: | Supereasy handling, jumpfriendly and corners like a sportscar, relatively lightweight |
| Weaknesses: | Kind of flexy in the rear, Expensive |
| Similar Products Tried: | 24-bikes Le dude, Specialized Bighit, Santa cruz Bullit |
| Bike Setup: | Team replica frame size small Marzocchi 888 RC 170 mm Hayes El camino discbrakes Mavic 823 rims with Dt FR-hubs Shimano saint cranks Shimano 105 rear mech Easton vice stem, EA50 Monkeybar, EA30 seatpost Easton Flatboy pedals Lizard skins Lock-on grips Maxxis Minion DHF 2.7", Minion DHR 2.5" |
| Bottom Line: | Best bike i´ve had! Lucky me i got sponsored with it, otherwise i would not have been able to pay for it because cannondale´s are not the cheapest bikes in town but they´re damn good.. |
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Submitted by
Stefan Roeder
a Downhiller
from Cologne, Germany
Date Reviewed: 1/26/2005 3:33:59 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Lenzerheide/CH |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $4000 |
| Purchased At: | Cyclewerx |
| Strengths: | Light, Stiff, Perfect Goemetry, very good Set Up, easy to handle, Fast ! Best DH Bike I've ever ridden !!! |
| Weaknesses: | Chain rubs a bit at the rear wheel when at the small gear in the front 26/and biggest gear in the back ! |
| Similar Products Tried: | Super V 2000 FR, Super V 3000 DH, Gemini 2000 |
| Bike Setup: | Gemini DH Frame with 888VF, 4-way Swinger Coil, FSA, Truvativ Husselfelt 26-36 with Bashguard, Mavic X 823, Sram X.9 with Trigger, DT Huegi, Magura Louise FR 210mm, |
| Bottom Line: | After only a month of riding the bike and having found a perfect set up for me,I have to admit that I am completely in love with that bike. I think I will never challenge the limits of that bike (not in this life I suppose) but I can get an idea why Cedric Garcia uses this bike.... The 888 with the lower crown matches the frame perfect and I am looking forward to the 2005 DH-season !!!!! It's a speed machine !!!! |
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