Hi, I just posted this same thread starter in the beginner's corner on road bike review, but then I found this page for cannondale and thought it might be more appropriate here. Let me know if it's not, as it's not technically a "mountain bike" topic.
I'm in the market for a commuter bike that will give me a lot of versatility, including the ability to switch mtb tires on every once in a while for an invigorating offroad experience. I am pretty strapped for cash and live in a tiny apartment, so I can't really afford (spatially or financially) to have two bikes. I've narrowed my search down to the Cannondale Quick CX line and the Cannondale Bad Boy line, only because I don't know of other brands that claim to have enough clearance to allow me to put on mtb tires on occasion (the brand is almost immaterial to me, though I have always thought Cannondale was a bit overpriced - looks like I'll have to change my mind on that, at least!).
My local shop has given me all the specs on the bikes (they carry Giant, Specialized, and Cannondale), so I have a general idea of what I want. I'd prefer to go with a rigid fork (to keep the weight down and to avoid potentially expensive maintenance issues), and that leaves me with only the Bad Boy rigid and the Quick CX 4 on my list. However, the components that come on these two bikes are pretty low end (Shimano Altus shifters, Acera derailleur, Acera or Tourney crankset), and I'm wondering whether it'd be worth the $ to upgrade the shifters, at least, to deore or alivio. I can replace anything on the bike myself, as I've got some fun experience stripping down and rebuilding everything on my specialized hardrock, but I don't really know if the Deore or Alivio shifters would be that much better than the Altus, and the only obvious advantage to changing out the crankset (as far as I can tell) would be a different gear ratio (my hardrock is a 42/32/22 set, which makes even the steepest hills a breeze - I could use a bit more in the top gear, though).
Again, I'm sorry if this is posted in the wrong place. Thanks for any suggestions or comments you may have!
I'm in the market for a commuter bike that will give me a lot of versatility, including the ability to switch mtb tires on every once in a while for an invigorating offroad experience. I am pretty strapped for cash and live in a tiny apartment, so I can't really afford (spatially or financially) to have two bikes. I've narrowed my search down to the Cannondale Quick CX line and the Cannondale Bad Boy line, only because I don't know of other brands that claim to have enough clearance to allow me to put on mtb tires on occasion (the brand is almost immaterial to me, though I have always thought Cannondale was a bit overpriced - looks like I'll have to change my mind on that, at least!).
My local shop has given me all the specs on the bikes (they carry Giant, Specialized, and Cannondale), so I have a general idea of what I want. I'd prefer to go with a rigid fork (to keep the weight down and to avoid potentially expensive maintenance issues), and that leaves me with only the Bad Boy rigid and the Quick CX 4 on my list. However, the components that come on these two bikes are pretty low end (Shimano Altus shifters, Acera derailleur, Acera or Tourney crankset), and I'm wondering whether it'd be worth the $ to upgrade the shifters, at least, to deore or alivio. I can replace anything on the bike myself, as I've got some fun experience stripping down and rebuilding everything on my specialized hardrock, but I don't really know if the Deore or Alivio shifters would be that much better than the Altus, and the only obvious advantage to changing out the crankset (as far as I can tell) would be a different gear ratio (my hardrock is a 42/32/22 set, which makes even the steepest hills a breeze - I could use a bit more in the top gear, though).
Again, I'm sorry if this is posted in the wrong place. Thanks for any suggestions or comments you may have!
