Cannondale Rush Feminine 2 and Santa Cruz Superlight
04-25-09, 07:27 AM
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Cannondale Rush Feminine 2 and Santa Cruz Superlight
Hi,
My daughter has been bit by the mountain bike bug so took her to look for a bike. We try several and she likes the specialized Mykra and Safire. She tells me she likes the Mykra and tad better and this is likely due to suspension setup as safire had better components. Before I pull the trigger I opted to go to one more bike shop a friend told me about that is a little farther away from were we live. They have a Cannondale Rush Feminine 2, Santa Cruz Superlight, and Cannondale scapel in 2008 models which had better componentry then the two Specialized bikes and, which the exception of the scapel, were cheaper...however, the scapal had a sticker of 2699 and they were selling for 1799 with fox shocks front and back and pretty decent componentry as well.
The Cannondale Feminine 2 which had a sticker of 2100 was being sold for 1350 and had the following:
Frame Rush SL Feminine, 110 mm Fork Lefty Speed Bonded DLR2, 110 mm Rear Shock FOX Float RP2
Rims WTB Speed Disc XC, 32 hole Hubs Cannondale Lefty Front, Shimano M525 rear Spokes DT Champion Tires Maxxis ,RIDGELINE, 26X2.1" Pedals Welgo Clipless Crank Shimano FC-M521, 22/32/44
Chain Shimano 9-speed Rear Cogs Shimano HG50 11-34 Bottom Bracket Shimano BB-ES25 Octalink
Front Derailleur Shimano LX Rear Derailleur SRAM X-7 Shifters Sram X-7 Trigger Handlebars FSA XC-281-AOS Women Specific, 25 mm rise Stem Cannondale XC3 HeadShok, 31.8 mm Headset Cannondale HeadShok Si Brakeset Avid Juicy 5 160/160mm Brakelevers Avid Juicy 5 Saddle Terry Butterfly
Seat Post Cannondale C4 Alloy Sizes P, S, M Extras Cannondale Morse Grip
The Santa Cruz Superlight was originally listed at 1800 and was on sale for 1250 and had the following:
Tora 318 front air shock Fox float rear REAR DER. Shimano M772 SGS (XT) FRONT DER. Shimano M660 (SLX) SHIFTERS Shimano M530 (Deore) CRANKSET Shimano M532 22/32/44 (Deore) BOTTOM BRACKET Included w/ crankset CASSETTE Shimano HG 50, 11-34 (Deore) CHAIN Shimano HG 53 (LX) BRAKES Avid Juicy 3 w/160mm rotors BRAKE LEVERS Avid Juicy 3 BARS Race Face Rde XC low rise STEM TruVativ XR 3D, 25.4mm GRIPS Lizard Skin Charger
Now the daughter really liked the cannondale and even the left shock much to my surprize. However, which surprized me more, the wife didnt like the cannnondale and loved the superlight. Can anyone tell me if they have any experience or can provide any insight into these two bikes. Anyone have/had a lefty fork on their bikes and can provided feedback there. From what dealer showed the lefty shock is very stable. Are Santa Cruz Superlights and the Cannondale Feminine Rush Line good bikes. Also, i am sure that the original stickers might have been high, but from what we have been looking at in the local area they both have good compentary for the price point now that they are reduced to 1350 to 1250 respectively...and as neither are racers i believe the setup on both bikes would be sufficient for the two.
I have done a search on this forum with little results on information pertaining to either. Have searched the Internet with some results on the SC Superlight, which seemed somewhat positive but the bikes reviewed were spec'd with top of the line components. Now the search information on other bikes from the two companies seem positive (blur, scapel, rush mens, heckler, etc). Very little information provided on the C-dale Rush Feminine. Do you think these are good deals or are they so cheap cuz they are the bottom brand of the companies (SC and C-dale). Anyone have any experience with either of these two bikes and can provide any insight would be greatly appreciated. Will probably pull the trigger on these two as the girls really did seam to like and again, price/componentry breakout was better on these bikes than any other bikes, however, would still like to get some feedback on what we are getting any any insight into known problems or pluses with these bikes. I am familiar with pros/cons of the single pivot design which both of these bikes have. Would appreciate any feedback any of you might have and thanks...got another female in the sport :-)...and she loves to climb (by the way anyone know if the c-dale feminine 2 is a good climber?). Thanks and sorry for long post.
My daughter has been bit by the mountain bike bug so took her to look for a bike. We try several and she likes the specialized Mykra and Safire. She tells me she likes the Mykra and tad better and this is likely due to suspension setup as safire had better components. Before I pull the trigger I opted to go to one more bike shop a friend told me about that is a little farther away from were we live. They have a Cannondale Rush Feminine 2, Santa Cruz Superlight, and Cannondale scapel in 2008 models which had better componentry then the two Specialized bikes and, which the exception of the scapel, were cheaper...however, the scapal had a sticker of 2699 and they were selling for 1799 with fox shocks front and back and pretty decent componentry as well.
The Cannondale Feminine 2 which had a sticker of 2100 was being sold for 1350 and had the following:
Frame Rush SL Feminine, 110 mm Fork Lefty Speed Bonded DLR2, 110 mm Rear Shock FOX Float RP2
Rims WTB Speed Disc XC, 32 hole Hubs Cannondale Lefty Front, Shimano M525 rear Spokes DT Champion Tires Maxxis ,RIDGELINE, 26X2.1" Pedals Welgo Clipless Crank Shimano FC-M521, 22/32/44
Chain Shimano 9-speed Rear Cogs Shimano HG50 11-34 Bottom Bracket Shimano BB-ES25 Octalink
Front Derailleur Shimano LX Rear Derailleur SRAM X-7 Shifters Sram X-7 Trigger Handlebars FSA XC-281-AOS Women Specific, 25 mm rise Stem Cannondale XC3 HeadShok, 31.8 mm Headset Cannondale HeadShok Si Brakeset Avid Juicy 5 160/160mm Brakelevers Avid Juicy 5 Saddle Terry Butterfly
Seat Post Cannondale C4 Alloy Sizes P, S, M Extras Cannondale Morse Grip
The Santa Cruz Superlight was originally listed at 1800 and was on sale for 1250 and had the following:
Tora 318 front air shock Fox float rear REAR DER. Shimano M772 SGS (XT) FRONT DER. Shimano M660 (SLX) SHIFTERS Shimano M530 (Deore) CRANKSET Shimano M532 22/32/44 (Deore) BOTTOM BRACKET Included w/ crankset CASSETTE Shimano HG 50, 11-34 (Deore) CHAIN Shimano HG 53 (LX) BRAKES Avid Juicy 3 w/160mm rotors BRAKE LEVERS Avid Juicy 3 BARS Race Face Rde XC low rise STEM TruVativ XR 3D, 25.4mm GRIPS Lizard Skin Charger
Now the daughter really liked the cannondale and even the left shock much to my surprize. However, which surprized me more, the wife didnt like the cannnondale and loved the superlight. Can anyone tell me if they have any experience or can provide any insight into these two bikes. Anyone have/had a lefty fork on their bikes and can provided feedback there. From what dealer showed the lefty shock is very stable. Are Santa Cruz Superlights and the Cannondale Feminine Rush Line good bikes. Also, i am sure that the original stickers might have been high, but from what we have been looking at in the local area they both have good compentary for the price point now that they are reduced to 1350 to 1250 respectively...and as neither are racers i believe the setup on both bikes would be sufficient for the two.
I have done a search on this forum with little results on information pertaining to either. Have searched the Internet with some results on the SC Superlight, which seemed somewhat positive but the bikes reviewed were spec'd with top of the line components. Now the search information on other bikes from the two companies seem positive (blur, scapel, rush mens, heckler, etc). Very little information provided on the C-dale Rush Feminine. Do you think these are good deals or are they so cheap cuz they are the bottom brand of the companies (SC and C-dale). Anyone have any experience with either of these two bikes and can provide any insight would be greatly appreciated. Will probably pull the trigger on these two as the girls really did seam to like and again, price/componentry breakout was better on these bikes than any other bikes, however, would still like to get some feedback on what we are getting any any insight into known problems or pluses with these bikes. I am familiar with pros/cons of the single pivot design which both of these bikes have. Would appreciate any feedback any of you might have and thanks...got another female in the sport :-)...and she loves to climb (by the way anyone know if the c-dale feminine 2 is a good climber?). Thanks and sorry for long post.
04-25-09, 07:50 AM
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All the bikes you mentioned are good bikes. Nothing wrong with the Lefty or single pivots either. Some people will say that single pivots will cause pedal bob, but at this point, the technology is so good that pedal bob won't be an issue. Go with which bike your daughter likes best after riding, whether that's the Myka or C'dale or something else, because that's likely the one that fits her best. Componentry can be upgraded later, AND chances are she won't notice much difference between XT and LX anyway, but geometry and fit of the frame are key.
04-25-09, 08:25 AM
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Thanks for input Zephyr
Yea the daughter liked the C-dale along with the Mykra...wasnt overly found of the Safire, giant or the Treks for some reason. That is why I was checkin as I am planning to get her the C-Dale...it is cheaper than the Mykra with better componentry to get her started. What surprized me was the wifes liking to the SC Superlight. She has a fisher HT that looks like my son will be getting, but truly liked the SC Superlight far more than any other bike the daughter tried to the point she stated she wouldnt mind upgrading to full suspension and getting the superlight. So will be getting both bikes today. I do appreciate the info as i couldnt pull much up on search.
Yea the daughter liked the C-dale along with the Mykra...wasnt overly found of the Safire, giant or the Treks for some reason. That is why I was checkin as I am planning to get her the C-Dale...it is cheaper than the Mykra with better componentry to get her started. What surprized me was the wifes liking to the SC Superlight. She has a fisher HT that looks like my son will be getting, but truly liked the SC Superlight far more than any other bike the daughter tried to the point she stated she wouldnt mind upgrading to full suspension and getting the superlight. So will be getting both bikes today. I do appreciate the info as i couldnt pull much up on search.
04-25-09, 04:52 PM
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So Gina, do you mean the C-Dale Feminine Rush 2 is a cheaper model? Anyway, it is a done deal as we bought the two of them, the wife and daughter was fitted and suspension adjusted today as well. Just as we finished up it started pouring so we havent had the chance to take them out yet. The suspension on the SC Superlight seems a bit softer, but i dont know if that is a good or bad thing as the wife seems to like it. Anyway, is the Fem Rush 2 considered one of c-dales cheap lines you had mentioned...you can tell me i can take it. I think both bikes will be a good fit for their skill level...i actually didnt think the componentry on the C-dale was that bad. Then again, I did most of my research on the specialized and went with that. Thanks for input I appreciate.
