[apacherider]

This Scalpel was broken this weekend in Texas at race:

Cannondale, if you are listening, please fix all these problems with your product lines. As a loyal Cannondale owner I'm starting to see quality and design slip away from what is a great brand.

 

[Method of Rhythm]

:'-(

I hope C'dale takes care of you, I am sure they can make it up to you with good CS.

 

[rkj__]

breakages like this are why some choose to employ the use of the word crack'n'fail when describing Cannondale bicycles.

I personally have no experience with the brand, and thus have no strong feelings of love or hatred towards the brand.

 

[sebastian21]

whoa,, One more to the list...

 

[vitaccop]

Yeah Yeah... here we go again with the "Cannondale bikes always break" monthly thread... we all know they suck and we should all immediately throw our bikes away and buy another brand. I'm sorry to report that I've been riding Cannondales since about 1994 and have never broken any of my frames.. but maybe if I'm lucky my Prophet will explode on the trails soon...

Newsflash.. things that are used in RACES will BREAK.. bikes, cars, boats, horses, radio controlled airplanes, gocarts, motorcycles.. whatever..

I get so sick of people implying that Cannondales always break. Does anybody have actual data showing the failure rate of Cannondales compared to their apparently unbreakable brands?

 

[rkj__]

Does anybody have actual data showing the failure rate of Cannondales compared to their apparently unbreakable brands?

No, but i bet gary fisher would be pretty high on the failure rate list

 

[vitaccop]

breakages like this are why some choose to employ the use of the word crack'n'fail when describing Cannondale bicycles.

I personally have no experience with the brand, and thus have no strong feelings of love or hatred towards the brand.

Uhhh.. then why are you even reading the CANNONDALE foum? I don't have any experience with Gary Fischer and personally I would feel like an idiot if I went to the Gary Fisher forum and commented on some issue over there... but that's just me.

 

[apacherider]

:'-(

I hope C'dale takes care of you, I am sure they can make it up to you with good CS.

It's not my bike, by the way.

There were over a dozen Team Edition and carbon fiber model Scalpels at the race this weekend that I saw. This was the only one that broke, but then again it's only the second race of the series. Since I live in New Mexico I usually only make the Terlingua race and one or two North Texas or Central Texas races.

It's a very expensive bike. Things like this should never happen to a bike that costs so much.

 

[CdaleTony]

It's not my bike, by the way.

There were over a dozen Team Edition and carbon fiber model Scalpels at the race this weekend that I saw. This was the only one that broke, but then again it's only the second race of the series. Since I live in New Mexico I usually only make the Terlingua race and one or two North Texas or Central Texas races.

It's a very expensive bike. Things like this should never happen to a bike that costs so much.

Man I would love to see what you'd say when a big ole S600 or CL65 is stuck with with a flat or some electrical malady. Things happen. It's how they are dealt with that makes the difference....
CDT

 

[Count Zero]

My history with the scalpel

My history with my Scalpel team replica, which I acquired upon its initial release in 2001 at about $4,000.

Month 1: Blown rear shock (granted, not a Cannondale problem)
Month 2: Recalled Lefty
Month 3: Blown Lefty cartridge
Month 4: Broken seatstay

The unrepentant jackasses in Cannondale's customer service department were frankly unsympathetic. So, I sold the bike at a substantial loss and continued to ride my bulletproof Maverick, vowing never, EVER to purchase another Cannondale again.

Sad but true. I wish things had worked out otherwise.

Tom O

 

[vitaccop]

My history with Cannondale bikes:

1995- bought two F-series Killer V's for me and wife - NO PROBLEMS
2003- bought two F-series with Lefty DLR's - NO PROBLEMS
2006- bought Rush with Lefty DLR2- NO PROBLEMS
2006- bought a Jekyll with Lefty - NO PROBLEMS
2007- bought two Prophets with Lefty MAX's (our current bikes) - NO PROBLEMS

What does all this prove? That EVERYTHING BREAKS SOMETIMES. I've had ZERO problems in over a decade of Cannondale ownership. Other people have not been so lucky. A US Air Force B-2 bomber crashed last week and that thing costs 2.5 BILLION DOLLARS!!!

 

[OSKIN100]

man i came on this to check things out and to post aht my buddy broke his frame straight in half today then i read all these other problems everyone is having. I new carbon was easy to break but come on this i riduclus. He wasn't even doing anything and the rear top of the triangle just sheared. Then we jhad to walk out 8 miles

 

[apacherider]

Man I would love to see what you'd say when a big ole S600 or CL65 is stuck with with a flat or some electrical malady. Things happen. It's how they are dealt with that makes the difference....
CDT

Yeah, but we are talking about mountain bikes here. It would be easy to say that the Space Shuttle and the Scalpel both have bonding issues with carbon fiber or even something like the stealth bomber or fighter. That's not fair to compare something that is complex like a Mercedes to a bike frame. Or maybe we should? Like a brand new Mercedes having a catastrophic chassis or strut failure right from the dealer.

I love Cannondales. Look through my posts and you will see how much I like them.

The photo I posted happened in a race in front of hundreds of people, not some "well I was just riding along" type threads. Cannondale has a big problem either in their design or quality control in the (Taiwanese I think) factorywhere these things are put together.

A frame that basically came unbonded and fell apart is a serious issue.

 

[vitaccop]

man i came on this to check things out and to post aht my buddy broke his frame straight in half today then i read all these other problems everyone is having. I new carbon was easy to break but come on this i riduclus. He wasn't even doing anything and the rear top of the triangle just sheared. Then we jhad to walk out 8 miles

Carbon is easy to break?

 

[Count Zero]

Good for you buddy.

My experience was far different.

 

[vitaccop]

Good for you buddy.

My experience was far different.

If people can go on and on about their bad Cannondale experiences I certainly can relate my positive ones... pal.

 

[907]

if im not mistaken, carbon is stronger than steel.

 

[rkj__]

Uhhh.. then why are you even reading the CANNONDALE foum? I don't have any experience with Gary Fischer and personally I would feel like an idiot if I went to the Gary Fisher forum and commented on some issue over there... but that's just me.

The comment about high Fisher failure rates comes from the many cracked hardtail seat tubes, cake pivot issues, sugar alignment issues, and HiFifolding issues that are posted on MTBR. FWIW, my dad has had a Fisher frame warrantied.

I don't just read threads that directly relate to what I own. I like to get the big picture. I use the "new posts" search feature a lot, to see what threads are currently active.

 

[Flying Wombat]

That part makes me feel better about MIUSA

There is only one problem with your statement, and that is that Cannondale Scalpel carbon frames are MADE IN THE USA! I think I will hold onto my problem free Chinese made Rush Carbon.

 

[vitaccop]

The comment about high Fisher failure rates comes from the many cracked hardtail seat tubes, cake pivot issues, sugar alignment issues, and HiFifolding issues that are posted on MTBR. FWIW, my dad has had a Fisher frame warrantied.

I don't just read threads that directly relate to what I own. I like to get the big picture. I use the "new posts" search feature a lot, to see what threads are currently active.

Oh ok.. sorry, I mis-read your comment. Since I don't know anything about Gary Fisher I thought you were saying that they didn't break. My mistake- I didn't mean to personally attack you. Anyway, I have to say that I don't think Cannondale is the best bike brand in the world or anything- just that they are really good bikes. That being said, it just bugs me when people come out and start bashing a brand like it is the suckiest bike that ever sucked. This happens on other forums too- I'm also a member of several other forums including Meade telescopes, N-scale trains and Rolex watches and this same type of polarization occurs on all of them. On a particular Rolex forum right now there are two heated threads about how Rolexes suck and how they aren't accurate, they break, and they are not worth the money. Blah, Blah, Blah...