Cannondale Bike Demo Part 2

In this segment I am testing the 2007 Cannondale Rush 4. I am going to discuss the Rush by itself and try not to compare it to the Prophet just yet. I will save that for the final post and base my decision on that.

The Rush is Cannondale's 24 hour racer/epic trail bike. The large frame Rush 4 weighed in at 29.8 pounds. Certainly not a lightweight bike for its intended purpose. And the Rush 4 is a middle of the line bike with 2 other models falling in below it.

The Rush 4 comes equipped with Shimano LX shifters and an XT rear derailleur. It also has LX hydraulic brakes. Other highlights are the FSA crankset and Mavic 117 wheelset with CST Caballero 26X2.0 tires. A Cannondale Lefty fork and a Fox RP2 rear shock give the Rush four inches of balanced travel.

I decided to ride the Heil Ranch trail. The same trail I rode aboard the Prophet two weeks before. This was the best way to compare the bikes side by side. The trail configuration is a lollipop with 2.5 miles up to the 2.5 mile loop. A very rocky singletrack trail with a moderate climb.

Aboard the Rush I felt centered between the wheels while seated. This bike was designed to pedal, and staying seated while pedaling was the most rewarding. Even though the bike was a bit heavy for a cross-country racer, it seemed to accelerate with ease and I found myself in at least one stronger gear than I was accustomed to. The CST tires rolled with ease and did an adequate job going uphill. The Lefty fork on my Jekyll I currently ride is very quick steering. I expected the same results on the Rush, especially with the wide FSA handlebars. The steering was adequate but not quick. In trying to navigate the uphill rock gardens of Heil Ranch, the bike felt overwhelmed if I tried to power over the rocks. If I tried to navigate around the obstacles, the steering was sometimes not quick enough to stay on track and avoid the rocks scattered around the trail. On smoother sections of singletrack the Rush did an excellent job.

Standing up for a hill climb or a descent I felt pushed over the front tire. An odd feeling while descending. On the descents through the rock gardens I was not confident and found myself going slower than expected. The extra weight over the front tire felt off and I had to force myself to stay back over the rear tire. And I must say, the standout disappointment of this bike is the tires. The stopping power of the Shimano hydraulic brakes were exceptional as expected, but the power transfer to the tires did not work. The tires skidded very easy and in fast corners did not feel confident. Now I know the tires were not designed to bomb down the trail but they should at least be able to handle the stopping power of a "24 hour racer". Fortunately a tire swap is an easy fix and one I would recommend.

On the flipside, the standout performance came from the Fox RP2 rear shock. This shock has two settings with the blue lever switching between them. A full open setting and a pro-pedal semi locked out setting. It also has rebound adjustment. The pro-pedal setting will allow the shock to react when the bike encounters an obstacle, but gave a firm pedaling feel in the saddle on the uphills. The lever is situated to allow for an easy reach to flip it back to wide open for the downhills.

Up front the Lefty felt balanced with the Fox shock and did an excellent job on smoother drops and jumps. The lefty comes equipped with an on the fly lockout and rebound adjustment. On smooth singletrack with small drops and rollers, the suspension was spot on.

The Rush 4 is an excellent bike for its intended purpose. Flying up or down smooth rolling singletrack is this bike's forte'. In the saddle the bike was comfortable and I could envision spending time in the saddle on an all day epic. The drawback comes when it is time to encounter numerous obstacles on the trail. If your biggest concern is how far behind you are to the lead racer, then this bike would serve you well. If your interests are a variety of singletrack conditions, then this bike may prove to be inadequate. 5/14/07