Submitted by
Jason
a Weekend Warrior
from Walled Lake, MI, USA
Date Reviewed: 9/21/2007 12:09:53 PM
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| Duration Product Used: |
3 months |
| Strengths: |
Everything that isn't in the Weaknesses category |
| Weaknesses: |
Front Dr., Brakes, Tires |
| Bike Setup: |
Stock w/ Crank Bros smarty pedal, ergon grips, and a WTB saddle. |
| Bottom Line: |
This is to follow up my review from a few months ago. I have put more than a few hours, and miles onto this bike, and this is a more in depth review. The geometry is spot on. You may want to cut down the stock bars a little, as they are quite wide. The reccomended psi in the F/R shocks is pretty accurate. Where this bike could improve is tires, brakes, and maybe FD placement. Lets get into the hard parts. The FD is super hard to adjust due to the placement of the swingarm. I have been unable to make it use all 3 front chainrings, but that is more of an annoyance. As for the brakes, I have found them to be a little tricky to tune in. They squeak when you move the bike, and to make them not squeak, you have to adjust the pads out, which reduces effectiveness, so you have to pick your poison. The tires are my last complaint. They are good as long as you keep the bike upright. The weak tread pattern tends to get loose when cornering, and dances at high speeds, which can get a little scary. For an all mountain bike, the 26 x 2.0 tires may be a little skinny. I am just going to upgrade those. Overall, I still would suggest this bike for someone looking to get into a good FS trail rig. Its made in the USA, and is as good, or better than the competition! A couple of upgrades, and this is a rockin' machine! |
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Submitted by
Jason Whiteson
a Weekend Warrior
from Walled Lake, MI, USA
Date Reviewed: 7/19/2007 10:04:53 AM
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| FavoriteTrail: |
Lakeshore / Island LAke |
| Duration Product Used: |
Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: |
$1300 |
| Purchased At: |
The Ride Boutiqe |
| Strengths: |
Solid frame, nice fork up front, love the SRAM portion of the drivetrain, excellent looking bike |
| Weaknesses: |
The Truvativ crank is noisy enough to be irriating, front derailluer (Shim. Deore) doesn't quite do its job without a great deal of adjustment. The standard saddle is only good for pain lovers, that thing is narrow, and thin! |
| Similar Products Tried: |
I have ridden a SRAM equipped Fisher Marlin for the past few years, and I demo'd a Giant Anthem, Giant Trance, Specialized XC pro, Kona Kikapu, Santa Cruz Superlight, and Heckler, and a few other bikes.... |
| Bike Setup: |
Crank Bros. Smarty Pedals, Lizard Skins lock on grips, WTB speed V saddle, otherwise stock. |
| Bottom Line: |
Overall, this is a great XC trail bike! The frame is rock solid, as is the Rock Shox Recon that they spec'd on the front. It was good seeing a higher end fork on this one, whereas others in this price range had Marz. MX /MZ's, RS Toras, and Darts, and Manitou Slates, and Axels. The air shocks on both ends do their jobs pretty well, and its abuse just to have me on the thing, much less going though the woods, as I am a clydesdale size rider.... This bike does seem like it will take a few more rides to get broken in, and working as its capable of. It handles my weight, and in-efficent (but improving) riding style nicely, and really smooths out the trail! This bike is more comfortable than the Santa Cruz Superlite by quite a bit, and $400.00 less, they even look similar. I would recommend this bike to anyone who likes to pretty much keep 2 wheels on the dirt. Also if you are interested in a similar bike from Cannondale, make sure you go see Chad, and Kim at the Ride Boutique in Brighton, Michigan, awesome people, awesome shop, doesn't get any better! |
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Submitted by
Adam
a Downhiller
from Maine
Date Reviewed: 5/31/2007 5:37:33 AM
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| Duration Product Used: |
Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: |
$300 |
| Purchased At: |
trade plus cash |
| Strengths: |
light, fast, fun, pedals fast, does fine on dh, and great on uphills, and cheap, if you find the right seller. ;-) |
| Weaknesses: |
hmm, a chainguide would be nice, and my brakes are kinda lame, but, those dont matter to much, who needs brakes? |
| Similar Products Tried: |
gary fisher marlin, i also own a santa cruz vp-free. |
| Bike Setup: |
almost stock. |
| Bottom Line: |
SUPER FUN BIKE, wow, take this out on the trails, rocky, smooth, uphill, downhill, whatever, ITS FREAKIN FUN. i love this bike, almost as much at my vp-free! for trail riding the amount of travel and quality of the travel are perfect for everything. This bike just makes me giggle like a school girl when i ride it, and i dont plan on stopping any time soon. :) Go buy one. |
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Submitted by
Leo Cavalli
a Weekend Warrior
from Venezuela
Date Reviewed: 12/16/2006 8:04:16 PM
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| FavoriteTrail: |
La Siria - Guatire |
| Duration Product Used: |
6 months |
| Price Paid: |
$1500 |
| Strengths: |
Great equipment for the money you pay. Manitou Recon feels great! almost lock feeling when pedaling seated. Very stable frame, very nice and simple lookng frame. |
| Weaknesses: |
Up to now, none. Just a bit noisy truvativ crank set. |
| Similar Products Tried: |
Super V800. |
| Bike Setup: |
Standard, as bought. |
| Bottom Line: |
Great bke, not expensive set up. Same frame as more expensive bikes on the same line. If you´re on a low budget, go for the rush 6 and upgrade bit by bit. Get a better crank set, and you are done. GREAT BIKE! |
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Submitted by
Dzanda
a Weekend Warrior
from Hampton Roads, Virginia
Date Reviewed: 11/22/2006 2:22:44 PM
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| Duration Product Used: |
Less than 1 month |
| Purchased At: |
Conte's |
| Strengths: |
Terrific value; superb suspension provides excellent steering and comfort; decent running gear (for the price); stable geometry; seems plenty tough for its intended purpose. |
| Weaknesses: |
Could have better running gear; the BB-7 discs don't stop quite as strongly as I thought they would... maybe they aren't broken-in yet. |
| Similar Products Tried: |
Various Cannondale fully suspended bikes, including the Prophet |
| Bike Setup: |
Stock |
| Bottom Line: |
I got this bike as an exchange for a defective Super-V... and I like this bike much more (I guess it was time to switch!). I have no real gripes at this point.
As a guy who doesn't ride technical stuff... I'm extremely happy with the Rush, and definitely recommend it to folks who are more into endurance riding. I doubt it would hold up for big-rock riders... but then it wasn't designed for that. |
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Submitted by
bikeap
a Racer
from Davis, ca
Date Reviewed: 10/9/2006 5:38:50 AM
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| FavoriteTrail: |
China Camp |
| Duration Product Used: |
Tested or demo'ed only |
| Purchased At: |
Davis Wheelworks |
| Strengths: |
Long wheelbase, low bb give the bike stablity for a big rider (6'7" 225lbs) Shocks were supple, shifting good for the price. Frame felt rock solid on even crazy-steep sections |
| Weaknesses: |
budget components, some noise from rear shock, low head tube for a big frame. |
| Similar Products Tried: |
Santa Cruz Heckler, Specialized RockHopper FS |
| Bike Setup: |
stock with a thompson lay-back post |
| Bottom Line: |
The bike's a poor man's Heckler. You can't get a better bike for the money. You'll eventually break stuff and upgrade the lower end derailleurs, but that's mountain biking... But you'd have to throw the frame off a big cliff to do any damage. |
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