Review Date
October 29, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 0 of 5

Reviewed by: jasper431 ,  Cross Country Rider , from Akron, OH

Favorite Trail:
3 months

Summary:
Why I bought it: I was unsure of the 29er platform until a friend bought a Motobecane and let me try it, I put about 10 hours on it and loved it, I am Cannondale fanatic, so I bought one of the last USA made bikes.

Fit: I am 5'10" 175 lbs with a 32" inseam. This bike just fits me better than anything I have ridden. I honestly feel that I can ride all day long without the typical fatigue I have felt on my other bikes. I have put in a couple of 5 hour rides at Mohican State Forest and each time I have been ready for more.

Riding Switchbacks: Have only found one switchback I can't ride now, that I used to be able to ride.

Downhills: At least as fast as most previous bikes.

Climbing: As good as any other bike I have ridden.

Technical: More stable than my previous bikes.

Rock Gardens: Rolling through is still rough, but I don't get stalled on larger rocks as easy.

Components: Sram X-7/X-5 Drivetrain isn't spectacular, just functional and reliable. Grips were poor, Ergons are a must. Continental Race Kings have been a pleasant surprise, they look like a hardpack tire, but handle everything I have done, including mud and wet leaves. Juicy 3's felt like they were all on or all off, switched to BB7's with Speed Dial 7 levers, much greater modulation of the brakes.
Rims are staying true after about 600 miles of use. Saddle, bars, seat post are fine. I use SPD pedals on my CX bike and like uniformity, so I never tried the smarty pedals.

Frame: Clean smooth welds, Fat round tubes, looks good. The rear brake causes some sort of resonant vibration that is intolerable, it tickled me out of the seat with the Juicy's and is better, but not cured with the BB7's. A friend has SS version and it does the same thing(he also swapped brakes). Low BB hasn't been a problem for me.

Verdict: I love riding this bike, it feels comfortable, I feel good riding fast on trails. It was a little hard to tolerate the cost being double my buddy's Motobecane and a few hundred dollars more than a comparable Fisher or Specialized. I still wouldn't trade this bike for anything.

Suggestion: Really test ride some bikes, borrow a friend's bike and find a bike shop that lets you really try stuff out. I am really happy with my bike, but I could of had it sooner if I had been more patient and open minded at the beginning of my search.

Strengths:
Fit, tires, Lefty

Weaknesses:
Grips, Not a fan of Juicy brakes. Lefty fork makes the bike a pain in the butt to transport, Longer wheelbase doesn't fit well in the 5ft bed of my truck since taking the front wheel off is not as simple as a QR.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
1995 Cannondale F700 (26 HT)
1999 KHS Pro (26 FS)
2002 Cannondale Scalpel FS (26 FS)
2007 Cannondale Rush (26 FS)
2009 Motobecane 29er (29 HT)

Review Date
August 17, 2009

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 5 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 0 of 5

Reviewed by: PeterBowyer ,  Cross Country Rider , from Canberra, Australia.

Favorite Trail:
Less than 1 month

Summary:
This bike just fits. For the first time ever a bike that feels just right. I have only had this bike for 2 weeks and I love riding it anywhere. It just works! Climbs nice, handling in tight switchbacks is much better than I was expecting and it just rolls over rocks n tree roots. I'm 6'4 and riding the XL frame. If you haven't tried a 29er yet and are tall you gotta take one for a spin. For me I'm completely sold. Can't wait for an Epic ride! Thanks to the previous reviewers for their feedback as it helped me a lot with my decision to buy this bike and I could not be happier, so far! Will post more feedback after some harder riding.

Strengths:
Frame quality and finish, Lefty, juicy brakes. Nice handling like its on rails yet still good in the switchbacks.

Weaknesses:
None yet, hang on, maybe the pedals and the BB height. For sure BB height, banged a few rocks already.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Trek 8000, Last bike a VT2 Giant 26er. My first 29er!

Review Date
July 25, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 5 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 0 of 5

Review Date
June 18, 2009

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 5 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 0 of 5

Reviewed by: BLRacing67 ,  Weekend Warrior , from Fort Collins, CO

Favorite Trail:
3 months

Summary:
The bike is a large and fits me (6') just about perfect the way it is set up. Weighs 24 lbs on the dot- could be 22.5 with the Carbon SL fork. The bike handles very, very well on pretty much everything I have ridden so far. The only draw back is the low bottom bracket- it takes a little getting used to and I still hit it in rocky, off camber climbs. This is definitely the only thing I can complain about as the bike is fast, fast, fast. It takes the place of my Schwinn Homegrown, weighs 1 lb more and rides waaayy nicer- handles comparably! I would never go back to a 26er in anything but a FS and even then...I would have to think about it as I am now thinking of making my Prophet a 29,650b bike. This bike would easily be 5 chili's, but the low bottom bracket knocks it down to 4 for an overall rating. I have not done any real long rides on it yet, but it seems like it is going to be perfect for those 4 hour plus days!

Strengths:
Weight, Handling, ride- pretty much everything!

Weaknesses:
Bottom bracket height is too low!!

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Black sheep 29ers, Spot longboard, Niner Air 9, Kona Hei Hei (Kona was FS)

Review Date
May 26, 2009

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 0 of 5

Reviewed by: valiant1974 ,  Weekend Warrior , from Norfolk, NE

Favorite Trail:
Less than 1 month

Summary:
Overall, I am VERY happy with this bike. It handles well and riding it gives me confidence to ride terrain I normally can't ride.

Strengths:
This bike climbs and descends like nobody's business. Acceleration is excellent. The 29 inch wheels and tires allow me to handle terrain that I can't handle on my 26 inch bikes. The Lefty fork is plush.

Weaknesses:
The bike is relatively heavy with a mediocre component group for the purchase price. The TruVativ XR seatpost is light but creaks constantly despite constant adjustment.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
2007 Cannondale Rush 5, 2000 Cannondale F2000 SL, 1993 Cannondale M800 "Beast of the East"