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Cannondale Flash 650B

17378 Views 13 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  88 rex, 
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After riding with 26" standard and 28" cyclocross setup its time now to experience the Flash with 650B wheels. Nice big wheel in front of me ;-) The RR 2.25 is a bit too large in the back, the QuasiMoto gives a little more space. The ride is excellent..

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MMcG
what's that thing weigh in at? Looks pretty darned light!
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B
With 26" wheels and RR 2.1 its 9.5 kg. Add appr 500 gr ..
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BertP said:
With 26" wheels and RR 2.1 its 9.5 kg. Add appr 500 gr ..
Click to expand...
Your frame is carbon, right?

So, that little pic with tire clearance is the Racing Ralph? I am pretty happy with the Quasi now that I've had it out on a few rides in mostly frozen sloppy conditions with leafs thrown in. It has surprising grip for a low tread tire ( I run 28ish psi tubeless and I weigh 155lbs). I was really hoping to try the RR, but I guess that won't be happening now. Looks like the only two tires that'll really fit with comfort are the Quasi and IRD.
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P
I'm not meaing this to be 29er coolaid talk, but why not just go for the Flash 29?

Tire options, wheel options, etc
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PaintPeelinPbody said:
I'm not meaing this to be 29er coolaid talk, but why not just go for the Flash 29?

Tire options, wheel options, etc
Click to expand...
I'll answer for myself, since this was my criteria for my new bike......a Flash F1 (26")

I had a 26" rear setup with 650b up front with my old bike. Loved it. Rode a few 29'ers and never really got that "fun" feeling. There was nothing wrong with the bikes. They were stable and liked to roll, but weren't "fun" to me. So I had my criteria.

The longer stays on the 29'er along with the bottom bracket drop really don't facilitate with popping up the front wheel. I'm not saying you can't, but it is clearly not as easy. I also didn't feel the need for a larger rear wheel. I never felt like the 26" rear wheel was really holding me up, nor did I find it losing traction. So, roll-overability and traction for the 29'er seemed to be a non issue since the 26" rear works just as well for me. The bonus for the 26" was the frame geometry. With the flash, I didn't like the low bottom bracket. The 650b brings it up to the perfect spot (12-12.25") for myself. On the front.....I don't like 26" wheels. This is where I could feel it getting hung up. The 29'er was definitely better here. However, the 650b, with the neo 2.3 is my absolute favorite front tire set-up. Grips great, rolls great, and despite the claim by others for the minimal increase over 26", it really does roll over stuff better than 26". Maybe not quite 29'er but more than adequate.

So, I have a bike with decent roll overability, a snappy feel for the mid atlantic rocky,rooty, in and out of trees, terrain here in De/SE PA, and I can float my front wheel on a moments notice for drops or roots.......or even climbing (to clear rocks and root ledges).

The 29'er is not as snappy, not as "playful", not as light.......but does roll well and is stable. Nice bike, just not for me.
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B
I like the ride of 26, 650B and 29" concepts, i like to understand the differences. I like the experiment ;-)

The Flash supports both 26 and 650B well. The Flash is VERY (a huge step in engineering, a big step for menkind..;-) quick by nature. With slightly bigger and heavier wheels it is still handling very well.

650B is a good compromise.
Sitting 'between' (more then 26") the wheels gives confidence when cornering and downhill..
Acceleration and handling very good too
Speed and rollover capabilities OK
And: it looks good ;-)

There's more to explore :thumbsup:
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M
why ditch the Lefty?
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B
The Lefty is a very good fork.
Stiff, precise steering, light..

But, twho things...

Cannot ride (easily) with my hands off the bar (to stretch a sometimes painfull lower back).. when i do, the bike goes left...

The Flash frame (large) is a bit short for me, so i need a stem 130mm, which is not available for a Lefty/headshok.
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BertP said:
The Lefty is a very good fork.
Stiff, precise steering, light..

But, twho things...

Cannot ride (easily) with my hands off the bar (to stretch a sometimes painfull lower back).. when i do, the bike goes left...

The Flash frame (large) is a bit short for me, so i need a stem 130mm, which is not available for a Lefty/headshok.
Click to expand...
1) Mine rides straight with hands off the bar, but I never ride without hands on dirt.

2) You can put any stem at any length and at any angle on a lefty. You don't have to use an SI stem/steerer combo. I also have a Large, but mine fortunately fits fine with the stock stem/steerer.:thumbsup:

EDIT:

Just looked it up and they have a 120mm stem combo if you wanted an SI combo, but it sounds more like you got a frame too small. The XL has a ETT of 25.2 which would make a normal stem length of 100-110mm easily attainable. But to each their own :)
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B
My former bike was a Taurine in XL, i used a 120mm SI-stem and Lefty then. The fit was perfect. But, i switched to a Flash in L, so now i need a longer stem.
Handling is noticably quicker, so its one way or the other. Nothing to worry about ;)
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BertP said:
My former bike was a Taurine in XL, i used a 120mm SI-stem and Lefty then. The fit was perfect. But, i switched to a Flash in L, so now i need a longer stem.
Handling is noticably quicker, so its one way or the other. Nothing to worry about ;)
Click to expand...
With equivalent head angles, a shorter stem will have a quicker steering feel. I don't know the angles of the tuarine vs flash, but generally speaking, a shorter stem should speed up steering.:)

Glad you like the Flash more than the Taurine though. I'm a huge fan of the Flash in general.
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P
Fork

What fork are you running on your Flash 650b frame?? I'm looking at getting a Flash and running it 650b style! Any chance you'll sell me yours???????????!!!!!!!!!!!
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ptownvelo said:
What fork are you running on your Flash 650b frame?? I'm looking at getting a Flash and running it 650b style! Any chance you'll sell me yours???????????!!!!!!!!!!!
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I run the lefty. Just plug and play.
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