which 29er?

ADZ

Member
I have always been a hardtail rider until I had to exchange my Cannondale F600 in for a warranty frame. After talking to my LBS about my options with Cannondale I was talked in to upgrading the f600 frame in for a rush frame. Since I have been living in NJ I thought this would be a good opportunity to get a FS bike. The LBS was good to let me try out a FS bike for a weekend and I loved it. So I decided to go for it and upgraded to the Rush. That was about 4 months ago and I am not happy with my decision. I love having a FS bike for some of the riding I do, but I badly miss a hardtail bike.

So to get to my point I am going to be looking for a new bike in the next couple of months and I am thinking about a 29er(geared). I like to have the option to use this bike on the road as well as off road, so I think the larger wheels will be good in that department. I don’t want to spend too much money and was hoping not to part with more than $1200. I would like to get a good frame and I’m not too worried about the components on the bike. I can change these out as needed over time. Naturally I am looking at the Cannondale Caffeine 4, because I have been so happy with there frames and the bike runs about 1000 bucks. Would like to hear what all you 29er riders think of this and any advice you have would be much appreciated.

Cheers
A
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
The fork on the 29er 4 is crap. If you are going to ride a c-dale you might as well grab a bike w a lefty. I have a left-over f29er geared from 07 in med if you can ride a med.

Otherwise you might consider a Haro mary XC. It is less than the C-dale but heavier and cable discs rather than the hydros on the C-dale for 08.

A 29er on the road with 700x 40 slick is really fun for street riding.

J_
 

clarkenstein

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
i don't know much about 'em, but are any of the gary fisher bikes in your pricepoint?
 

ADZ

Member
The fork on the 29er 4 is crap. If you are going to ride a c-dale you might as well grab a bike w a lefty.

J_

I was thinking the same, so i was hoping to upgrade the forks to a higher rated fork when i get the bike. I have a viper top mount bike rack for the car and i think its a pain in the bottom with the lefty fork. What Cannondale 07 29er do you have?
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
in your price range you probably can't go wrong with the haro mary xc. i'm told that they (haro) are also going to be producing an aluminum, hardtail 29er that will be released in the next couple of months. i think (IIRC) the price point is about $1,000.
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
i don't know much about 'em, but are any of the gary fisher bikes in your pricepoint?

The Gary Fisher Cobia is in that price range...It uses the same frame as both the Paragon and X-Caliber, but instead of having the Fox F29 it has a Rockshox...I ride a 17.5 inch Paragon that I'd be more than willing to let you test out if you're interested...

-Jim.
 

ADZ

Member
The Gary Fisher Cobia is in that price range...It uses the same frame as both the Paragon and X-Caliber, but instead of having the Fox F29 it has a Rockshox...I ride a 17.5 inch Paragon that I'd be more than willing to let you test out if you're interested...

-Jim.

I was just checking out the Cobia on GF web site. it looks like a nice bike, how does that fork compare with the shock on the cannondale caffeine 4? Also i see that you sell cannondale and fisher bikes, which frame would you say is the stiffer out of the two?

cheers
 

ADZ

Member
in your price range you probably can't go wrong with the haro mary xc.

this bike looks like its priced at around $1800, so its out of reach for me. Also what make the haro bike any better than the cannondale or gary fisher?

cheers
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
the mary xc is really $1,800? wow. didn't know that. wasn't it $1,200 last year?!?

anway, to answer your question, what makes any bike better than another? welp, i dunno. all things being equal in terms of materials and components, it basically comes down to geometry and branding. by branding, i mean, what brands are you loyal to?

i love my haro but i'm looking a niners, fishers, and van dessels for my next bike since i'm looking to build a hardtail and may (gulp) actually race next year...like doing more than a couple. that's a whole different story though.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
probably b/c i do. :D

but seriously, why wouldn't he? a geared 29er is like having two turn tables and a microphone.
 

clarkenstein

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
why would you want geared 29?

i'm all about the geared 29er... the gears are a nice option for really technical terrain (IMHO). i dont think some of the sourlands would be possible for me if i wasn't able to get my gearing right...

that said, i am thinking about picking up a 29er SS. i had a 26er SS for about a year or so and i miss SS, but i want a cheap one - so i'm gonna start looking in the summer.
 

CycleBoy

Sussex Bike and Sport
Shop Keep
While it is an air fork, it's not a plush as, say a Reba or a Fox. It still has 32 millimeter stanchions and is fairly stiff, but not the lightest fork. If you can swing 1400, I'd look at the Fisher X Caliber.
Another thing to consider is closeouts. If in fact you are a medium(17.5) Fisher still has 07 X calibers and paragons at discounted rates.

I was just checking out the Cobia on GF web site. it looks like a nice bike, how does that fork compare with the shock on the cannondale caffeine 4? Also i see that you sell cannondale and fisher bikes, which frame would you say is the stiffer out of the two?

cheers
 

ADZ

Member
well i have been doing some good research on the fisher because what some of you are saying. Now is it true that you can't put XT drive components on the x-caliber, that you are stuck with the sram x7. I can't see why that would be, but someone did write that in a review i was reading.
Cheers to all for there input into this subject, you have open my eyes up to other bikes. I do love a Cannondale, but i think fisher have put more R&D in to there 29ers and I'm LIKING the x-caliber. now who what's to sell me one cheap....

cheers
A
 
Top Bottom