Thread: Cannondale MTB - What Model???

Out of interest James, why is it that you state you are not a fan of Treks and Cannondales, when you hint that you are not familiar with them in your last post? I ask this because you also say you can only offer advice on what you know.

Originally Posted by rainman

If someone was willing to lend me something else and let me take it out and trash it, I would welcome the opportunity, but they won't.

James.

You can take mine for a spin........i doubt I will ride it anywhere near it's potential......not sure that I would be keen on your hardtail

I have a soft spot for Cannondales, oh, that's right, I ride one

My old LBS was a large Cannondale dealer and their workshop and tech back up was excellent, even though I did my own spannering.

Most of the boys there rode 'dales (although Macca wouldn't lower himself to ride one as he had a De Rosa)
They also serviced the team bikes of a well known Cannondale sponsored elite level Mtber.

I mentioned one day I was thinking of a roadie after getting sick of swapping slicks onto the mtb (Giant) I was offered an unbeatable deal on a NOS bike Cannondale Oz had in stock and wanted to get rid of.
Like Don's bike it was about the same reduction from list price so I had trouble resisting.

It's unfashionable now but I still love the old girl and she takes the sting out of the local goat tracks, er, bitumen as the front fork has 15mm of hydraulically damped travel.
So very late nineties/two thousand for the pavé

And any excuse for a pic.
Yes, I know it looks like a size or two too small but I have stupid long legs and a short body for my height, so needed the shorter top tube of a 58.

Cannondale here to, but only an F6.

Don't ride it as much as I used to as I find the Ducati a bit faster!

Using Capitals, the difference between helping your Uncle Jack off a horse or helping your uncle jack off a horse...

Originally Posted by Rayngie

Just in case, if you are looking at building a bike up, i have a Niner Air 9 Hardtail in Scandium i'm wanting to get rid of , Frame only, it's an XL depending on your size,i'm 6'4., $450 bux

very good bike, great ride...i'm just not into hardtails, so swapped all the parts over to a Canzo frame to use as an all mountain basher

hopefully a pic will appear here:

Thanks for the offer but I am after a medium.

Yes, Cannondale make damn fine bikes. I've never owned one but I've ridden several and they are the equal to anything else I've used.

I've also owned and ridden many high end Treks, and they too are very fine machines. Hopped of my Madone and onto a C40 years ago and I couldn't see what all the fuss was about!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by rick130

Great post, Rick - now that is pimped!

Originally Posted by Scallops

Out of interest James, why is it that you state you are not a fan of Treks and Cannondales, when you hint that you are not familiar with them in your last post? I ask this because you also say you can only offer advice on what you know.

Trek - I'm not a fan because I don't know them. I can't like something I don't know. As I've said, I see Giant and Trek as major competitors. I stick with Giant because I know them. Better the devil you know . I gained my respect for Giant because a number of the guys I ride with have them, meaning that I got to ride them, and I'm the one who services them.

Cannondale - it's a longer story. Back in the early 90s when I started mountain biking, Cannondale had one of the best reputations in the business. They were, apart from (believe it or not) Avanti, the only frame on the market that was heat treated after welding, rather than just being made from heat treated tubing. I bought an Avanti because I couldn't afford a Cannondale. I knew a lot of guys riding them and they seemed to be quite reliable apart from the odd failure, but around ten years ago they started to have all sorts of issues with cracking, earning them the name Crack'n'fail. This was a fairly pivotal point in my mountain biking career because it was when I could start to afford "more expensive" (I won't say "better quality" for fear of being shot down) bikes. I found Santa Cruz, and the rest is history.

Another major factor is that, due to my BMX background, I have always been a hardtail rider (the Giant Reign X1, bought last year is my first and so far only dual). Cannondale seems to do road and cross country bikes better than all mountain/freeride/downhill, and to my knowledge the only hardtails they currently offer are cross country. I need a strong, freeride type hardtail to suit my style. My road and cross country bikes are Scott because again, they are tried and tested by me (and my friends), and I get them at a good price.

I haven't suggested not to buy a Trek or a Cannondale. I said I would "sit out of the conversation" because I'm not a fan/don't know about them, and it seems CJT has his heart set on a Cannondale. I did suggest not going down the Lefty route because CJT mentioned a BMX background and being a "bit of a dirt jumper". You'll notice on the "bigger" Cannondale bikes like the Claymore and the Jekyll come with a standard platform fork; not a Lefty. I believe there's a reason for that.

I hope we haven't totally hijacked your thread CJT. Sorry if so....


James.