A Quick Ride

February 22, 2014


A change was in order, but it took me three months to find it.

To start with, the front suspension unit .... "Headshok", Cannondale calls it, failed again for the third time in the last three years. Mine is one of those "new fangled" air shock types with air spring and oil damping. Very light, and very responsive with great handling. I've got to hand it to Cannondale engineering .... what a great idea ..... Just too bad it don't work ..... Anyway, I have little patience with things that don't work for me, and I had decided when it went bad this time, that I was going to do something different.

The front shock portion goes through the oversize headtube and continues down to the fork crown, which makes it a very long steering tube. My first thought was to replace it with a standard mountain bike twin fork shock unit. Checked them out. I didn't want air..... still the same kind of problems, and even spring forks require regular maintenance. Also, the coil spring forks weighed 4 1/2 pounds (2200 grams). I don't really want an extra 4 1/2 pounds of weight hanging over the front end of the bike, thank you. So ...lets look at rigid. First off..... short head tube..... the bike frame is not really made for a rigid fork. I measured the length of the fork from axle to the bottom of the headtube (which would be where the fork crown would be on a normal fork) and found that the only forks that came close would be 29er forks. That's going to leave a lot of empty space between the top of my 26 inch tire and the top of the fork. Probably look rather ridiculous, and may have an effect on handling as well. The Niner carbon fork would have looked fine on the bike, and fit well for length and trail, but at almost $600 was not in my price range. Now that I'm retired for good, I no longer have unlimited amounts to spend on toys. So, still looking ....can't really decide. Looked at some cyclocross bikes, test rode one, and I didn't really care for it. It was light, it did handle well .... it was a road bike made with a frame width that would accept larger tires. It was also expensive. This sent me back to looking at my mountain bike again and what I could do with it. Three months of this agonizing went by .... until ...... I found the answer at our local bike shop .... I thought ..... It was an answer, but it still required a bit more attention. First ..... let us say goodbye to a beloved friend that took me many interesting places. I don't ride a mountain bike much, and this one had only about 2000 lifetime miles on it, but it took me to far away places and was my companion for so many unique and interesting trips and we saw so many wonderful things together. I'll miss you ...



                                         

Now, for the replacement. Cyclocross? They all seemed to be geared awfully high with 46/36 cranks and 11/28 cassettes on the back..... at least for me. There were many times I used all the gears on my mountain bike. I needed old man gears. I know, Oklahoma is flat, what do I need gears for. Well, I don't always stay right around here, and besides, Oklahoma isn't really that flat. I looked at newer 29er mountain bikes .... not really what I wanted either, heavy, slow handling, and not what I really needed. I don't jump off cliffs, or rock or root gardens, or really do much that would get me injured too seriously. Old bones take a long time to heal. So what? Back to looking at Cyclocross bikes ..... nope .... Wait ..... who was this wallflower in the back ...... sexy colored outfit ..... cute lookin' thing with her shiny brushed aluminum and black finish ... what is this? It's a Cannondale Quick CX-1 ..... a hybrid 'cross bike. A mixture of a Cyclocross frame and mountain bike gearing. Let me ride it! So he did .... I fell in love. Told him to put my name on it until the bike shop owner got back from Europe. It had a Headshok front end....... but, it was coil spring. Really didn't think it would be a problem until I talked to others that had bought the same bike and had a problem with the Headshok the first year. Take my name off....... more research! Okay ....... Cannondale also has a rigid model of basically the same bike. This one is designed around the rigid fork and the frame geometry changed to accommodate that style fork. Cheaper components, but still, all Shimano. And really, what I've found to be pretty much true is that the cheaper Shimano components are just as durable, or maybe more so because they are made from steel, not soft aluminum alloy, but they are heavier. That is the price you pay for the downgrade ...... weight. I had to assess requirements here, and not let fluff and shiny new stuff go to my head.

First: It had to be durable, and simple.

Second: It had to be relatively trouble free, and if there was maintenance I wanted to be able to do it myself, something I couldn't do with the Headshok.

Third:  It had to be cost effective. This is not my main bike, it is just one I grab for rides I want to do when I couldn't use the road bike, and didn't really want to use the touring bike.

Fourth:    It was to be a "beater" bike. Not one to wreck, but one I could take anywhere and do anything with without concern for it's fragile expensive components or frame. Cheaper components, and standard (not proprietary) components that I could replace cheaply and easily myself was also a necessity. This ruled out $2000 bikes, (the range of most cyclocross bikes). I also looked at steel bike manufacturers who seem to think steel is more expensive than carbon fiber. I thought about building one from a frame, and changed my mind.

Fifth:   It had to be geared to go anywhere I took it, and be capable of anything I wanted to do with it. This left out road bike gearing. Not many rigid mountain bikes to be found either.

So ...... I know .....if you've stayed with me this far, the suspense has to be killing you by now. Here it is ....



                                                                                     

Meet Cannondale Quick CX-4. It's a Hybrid bike that is a cross between a cyclocross and a mountain bike. A 'cross frame, and mountain bike gearing. Like most hybrids, it is a compromise. Because of the cheaper components, it is heavier than most 'cross bikes, but because of the lighter frame, and rigid front fork, (still mountain bike strong) it is still lighter than most mountain bikes. Not the sexy brushed aluminum and black finish of the CX-1, but I really liked the understated matte battleship gray no-nonsense color scheme. The bike came with 700/35 'cross tires, but has room for 40's. I thought I'd wear these out getting used to the bike and get what I really want (Clement Xplor MSO 40's) later. The front fork is an aluminum alloy, which I had trepidations about. I needn't have had. It rode better, in most places, than my suspension fork on the mountain bike. Cannondale's Fatty fork has a well deserved reputation for ride and handling, as well as toughness. The bike has gearing of  48/36/26 in front .... on a triple crank. The back has an 11/32 cassette. Low enough for get down and grunt gears, and high enough to suit my old man's need for speed, which isn't what it was when I was younger, a 30 mph bike, give or take a bit. Bare bike weight, before I put my stuff on it was around 23 pounds. Light enough to make me happy. The cost difference, including my trade in, (mountain bike needing repairs) was little more than a new standard coil spring suspension fork, and the labor to install it on my mountain bike. Now for a test ride or two ...... following in the next blog post .....