Review Date
June 8, 2009

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 0 of 5

Reviewed by: Alberto ,  Cross Country Rider , from San Jose, CA. USA

Favorite Trail:
3 months

Summary:
I bought this bike for a commuter bike. I Ride about 25mi, round trip to work. I was previously commuting on a 1997 F2000 with road slicks. The F2000 was great for many years- but the 29er seemed like a perfect mix of bulk + road-size wheels to upgrade my commuting. Changed the large chain ring from a 44 to a 48tooth for more on-road speed. Luckily, my bike-shop mechanic was able to get the front derailleur to function with this bigger chain ring. I test rode the bike around the bike shop a couple of times, and quite honestly, wasn't super impressed. Picked up the bike last week. Rode next day to work with the standard mtn bike tires- Out on the open road was were this bike started to shine...I was immediately amazed by the difference in the speed with the larger tires. Evidently, size DOES matter! I was cruising up a gear or two from where I normally ride, and out-of-the-saddle sprints where all in the highest gear. I weigh 225 - 235 and this bike feels super-solid. Last weekend I put Road tires on it- beefy 700x35's. Man, does this bike look sick with the Road tires. The beefy head tube and lefty with a skinny road tire definitely looks unique. Now it feels like a road bike on steroids, and is even faster (that wasn’t' a surprise). Part of my ride is on dirt/loose gravel I have no complaint’s the bike handles fine and the lefty makes things really smooth
I am SUPER happy with this bike as my new commuter!
I will say this- I took it on my normal off-road ride twice last weekend. This is a 4 mile climb that takes about 40minutes up and about 8minutes down. I continued to be impressed by the 29er and its climbing abilities. I was, however, disappointed on the downhill. The lefty didn’t seem to have enough travel for the type of riding I was doing. The ride was noticeably rougher than my normal mountain bike. I have been riding a (dual suspension) Jekyll for 9 years and could be simply spoiled by the travel of the lefty on that bike, plus the rear suspension….

Strengths:
Cannondale Frame

Weaknesses:
Travel on the lefty

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Been riding Cannondale Mt and road bikes since 1986

Review Date
May 17, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 5 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 0 of 5

Reviewed by: darrinw2001 ,  Weekend Warrior , from Valrico, Florida

Favorite Trail:
Less than 1 month

Summary:
My 1st 29er, and I am still getting used to the big wheels, but this bike is great. The lefty fork is sweet, this frame fits me perfect and I dont need the Ergon grips anymore that I used on my 26" bikes. I always had hand numbness before no matter what, even some with the ergons (just not as much) but the way this bike fits, my weight is more centered and it just feels better. The bigger tires roll over everything, but they do take a little more to get rolling. For the price I paid for this bike with less than 100 miles and only 20 of so off-road, I could not pass it up, and so far I am glad I got it!

Strengths:
Light, nice fit and feel, love the lefty fork...

Weaknesses:
none so far....

Other recommended trails in the same area:
none

Review Date
February 5, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 5 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 0 of 5

Reviewed by: funrunner99 ,  Cross Country Rider , from Folsom, CA, USA

Favorite Trail:
1 Year

Summary:
This is the best handling most comfortable mountain bike I have ever been on. I haven't ridden a ton of MTB's, used to be a roadie racer but now mostly MTB riding with a little racing. I had a 2005 Heckler for a couple of years with 5+ travel front and rear, never could get used to the suspension, front or rear. The lefty fork on this bike is by far the smoothest, stiffest fork I have ever ridden. Almost don't even know it's doing it's thing. The lockout lever is right up by the bars, very easy to use with your thumb so I find I use it way more than my last bike. It also locks absolutely solid when engaged which is really cool. The only downside is they do require a little more maintenance but I think the tradeoff is worth it. I didn't have one of the recall forks but I needed to change the spring to a heavier one so I had my LBS send the fork to Cannondale to have it rebuilt, service was really quick.

With the 29" wheels I don't miss the rear suspension except on the roughest trails, and then not enough to go back. Might try one of those suspension seat tubes someday, but not in any hurry. This bike is amazingly light and stiff, only 23.5 lbs with the Stan's NoTubes and so far takes everything my 215 lbs. has thrown at it. The only week link so far is I had the rear WTB dual duty rim develop a crack, replaced it with the Stans rim. I bought the bike from a sponsored rider who raced it one season so the rim may have already been on the way out but I am sure my size didn't help! LOL

I am also totally sold on the 29'er thing. The big wheels really fly on the flats and downhills, great traction. Climbing is the best of any bike I have ever been on, great when seated and even better if you get out of the seat, the rear tire just stays planted and keeps digging. I am sure Cannondale's geometry helps but the big tires really work. Really the only gripe I would have with this bike is that I do bang a pedal every now and then due to the bottom bracket height a little more than I recall on other bikes. It bothered me at first but now that I have been on it a while I adjust for it most of the time so it's not a big deal.

This is the third Cannondale bike I have had over the last 20+ years, one road bike and two MTB's. Some may look down their noses at Cannondales but my experience has been awesome with all of them. Quality is excellent, welds and frames are beautiful and for the price I don't know if you can beat them. I don't have any warranty experience because I have never needed it but if my fork rebuild experience says anything I don't think you need to worry. Hate to sound like a rep or something but just calling it like I see it. And again, can't say enough about the 29'er thing, I know I will never go back.

As far as the ratings, I know I bought my bike used but for this frame and fork setup I think even at retail it would still be a great deal, guess you will have to decide that!! Or you just wait for one to pup up on MTBR or EBay!!LOL Have a great day, see ya at the races!!

Strengths:
Very light, stiff frame, great handling, awesome fork. Climbs well, great traction, especially when standing! Nice geometry, overall really nice package.

Weaknesses:
Bottom bracket is a little on the low side. Fork is awesome but may be a little higher on the maintenance than some others.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Last bike was a full suspension Santa Cruz Heckler, my last hardtail was a old Schwinn MOS that I had 15 years ago. Also rode a Cannondale hardtail with a solid fork back in the late 80's.

Review Date
May 9, 2008

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 5 of 5

Review Date
March 13, 2008

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 5 of 5