Cannondale Flash 29er 2 Pre-Ride Review

So, I got my new mountain bike, Cannondale Flash 29er 2, a few weeks ago. We've had a lot of snow so I haven't been able to ride it on the trails yet. I've been meaning to put up some photos but the winter weather has kept me, unmotivated. Well, things are starting to warm up and I'm dreaming of hitting he trails on the new bike. So here is the pre-ride story so far and some juice photo's (even if they're not that good)

It appears that Cannondale is continuing to change what will be offered on this bike. Originally they had a set of specs on their web site describing the build but they've changed them. Funny thing is they haven't updated the photo so it still has the original components on it, look closely.

Basically the bike is a simple aluminum 29er with a green paint. The over-sized tubing on the main triangle and hydroformed tubes make it look very sweet. The SAVE chain and seat stays are designed to keep the ride comfortable. The tube shapes are impressive compared to what was available the last time I got an aluminium framed bike. I believe the bike is darker than the Cannondale website shows. It's more olive drab, but I think it looks a lot better darker. The frame is still made in the U.S.A., and I view that as plus during these economic times. I'm doing my part to help the recovery..... right?


The frame has a BB30 bottom bracket and the original spec had it coming with a lower end FSA BB30 crank. My bike came with some Shimano standard thing and I asked my great local bike shop to fix it. The FSA crank wasn't available so they upgraded me to the FSA afterburner crank. I was ok with that. With that huge down tube and the BB30, that baby is stiff! When they switched out the crank, they told me the difference was likely half a pound or more. Why would you buy a BB30 frame and then have a heavy adapter and low end crank on it?


The bike was spec'd to have all SRAM X-7 shifters and derailleurs but I ended up with X-7 shifters, X-9 rear derailleur and a shimano Deore front derailleur. The brakes are Avid Elixir 5's and work well. No issues when I ride it in the house or around the block. I think the drive train will be fine and if I have issues the components are easy to swap out and relatively inexpensive.

I added some Ergon grips and Shimano XT pedals. The crank bros pedals are great for cross but don't hold me secure enough during longer and rough rides. The handle bars came crazy wide and had to be cut down so the bike would fit through the doorway to get in the house. The Lefty fork looks sweet but may take some getting used to, its reviews are good and it's a full pound lighter than other high end forks. This fork is only 40g heavier than the next level up carbon Lefty (blew me away, the $ to gram ratio for that doesn't quite work). The wheels are solid, the are DT swiss rims and spokes. The bike was spec'd to have competition spokes but these are straight gauge. I asked Cannondale to fix this but with the crank exchange and the cost of a wheel rebuild they politely declined and said "the wheels will be more robust with straight gauge spokes." True enough but they will also be heavier. Perhaps I'll just need some good race wheels, or maybe not it only ~30 grams per wheel difference.


See some more photos below. I'll have an other post with a first ride review. I'm very excited.

Thanks for reading