cyberpep

After comparing and riding dozens of touring bikes for the last year I have settled on the Cannondale T2000. Seem's to be the best bike for an older and heavier rider. It will serve me as a loaded touring and commuting bike. I think it is the best choice for me as it seems to have everything that I am looking for without having to change components. Low gearing and heavy tires and rims with top end shifters/derailers. The only real flaw seems to be that it has only 1 threaded hole on both the front and rear for rack/fender mounting. I want this bike to last me for several years and don't mind paying for a bike with a proven track record, there are so many cheaper new touring bikes on the market this year that seem to be converted cyclo-cross bikes which I consider too light for a person my size ( 225lb + load ).
I am interested in any positive or negative opitions on the T2000.

NeezyDeezy

It strikes me as "different" that you view the T2000 as being the best bike for a larger rider, because generally thick tubed steel is considered the standard for touring reliability and durability. I definitely think you would have no problems with the T2000 though. it would work well for the purposes you describe. It's a reliable bike, but I'm not sure how comfortable it is. I ride an aluminum bike everyday to work and back, and I have also owned a steel road bike. When I test rode a T2000 (unloaded, so my opinion is worth very little) I thought that, even for aluminum, the ride was unforgiving. I wouldn't want to take that thing across the country without some really fat tires.

Have you considered the bikes commonly discussed here? What didn't you like about the surly LHT complete?

tacomee

Cannondale is a very good bike company with a lot of touring bike experance. Buy that T2000 and don't look back.

One question-- do you like/trust your LBS that's going to sell you your Cannondale? You're looking at a quality bike here, it's not cheap, and you should get top end dealer support. The folks at Cannondale agree with me BTW.

Shemp

I have a T2000 and I'm 230lbs and 6'4". I love the fit of the bike. I've got fenders and racks sharing the same holes. Just buy an assortment of sizes of stainless bolts at the local hardware store to get the right length. And for having the huge "jumbo" frame, the thing is definitely stiff. I had an older Cannondale mountain bike that had a lot more flex, notably in the bottom bracket area. The components are great, the gearing is good (perfect) to go out of the box.

If you like the feeling of the ride and the fit, I don't think you'll have any regrets.

InTheRain

Yes, that T2000 is a great bike. I test rode a T2000 (hard to find) and I liked it. It felt pretty good unloaded. Of course I'd been riding an aluminum road bike for about a year so I was accustomed to that feel. It does have really, really good components for a touring bike. However, as far as the ride goes, I rode some steel bikes and they did ride nicer... Jamis Aurora, Trek 520, and my favorite... Rocky Mountain Sherpa 30. The Sherpa 30 is made of a high quality, high strength steel (Reynolds 853) which is used on steel road frames. I keep shoutin' the praises of the Sherpa but don't hear too much about the bike. I think it must be difficult to find in the States. I had to go to Canada for mine. Well worth the trip. And this is a bike I'll have for 30 years!

redbike72

At the risk of offending anybodies sensibilities, I have to say that I've got a T2000 with only 9000 kms on it but so far I like it. I'll probably keep it a long time.
I'm 5'10"-185lbs.

drcrash

I had a T2000 for several years and found the quality of the ride to be more a function of the tire and tire pressure rather than the fact that it was made of aluminum. I used Specialized Nimbus (700x32) tires and found the ride very harsh. When I switched to Continental Top Touring 2000's (700x37), the ride smoothed right out. I pulled a Bob trailer with it, and it was very solid.

magicant

I've had one for about six years. Only done a little real touring on it, but it used to be my bike for all my rides (I'd load it up with supplies for a full day century through the mountains). Also commute on it.

Never had any issues with it - rode well, stood up to a ton of miles and still gets me where I want to go. I highly recommend it.

tacomee

Alu frames are suppost not to last, according to the steel is real crowd, but I've seen a lot of high mile Cannondales out on the road. They seem to be holding up really well.

cyccommute 

I've been using a T800 (same frame but different fork) since 2003. For a big guy the frame is less flexy than other steel touring bikes I've tried that were readily available. The ride unloaded is unforgiving but with a load on it, the ride is much better. It has plenty of spring to be comfortable for all day riding but it corners and responds to hard pedaling much better. On my old bike, the only way I could stand to ride it was to pedal as straight up and down as possible, i.e. no throwing the bike from side to side as you would an unloaded bike. I can pedal the T800 standing just like I'd ride an unloaded bike.

The T800 also handles high speed downhills much better. There's no shimmy at speeds over 40 mph and cornering seems to be much more predictable. My old steel bike would wander on corners at speed which is very...um...disconcerting, to say the least.

Shemp

Yeah, I'll back that up. The thing is very confident descending at 40mph (so long as you have good brakes and a true rim, and that's independent of the bike). On the way back up, you can put power down climbing and it responds. No sway or bothersome flex.

Thanks for reminding me cyccommute!

card

I've had a T2000 4 or 5 years. I changed out the cranks and put Truvative (?) sp on to get a little lower gearing. Bike has served me well. Also think it's very comfortable. Lately, though, it's in the shop hanging up. I going to do some touring on a Bike Friday. If the BF tours well, I'm selling the T2000.

Cave

Buy it. Stable ride, good components, dosen't even notice a load (72km/hr on a downhill wilth panniers, no shimmy or wobble!). The heavier you are the more you will appreciate a bike like this.

The gearing is low enough for loads, high enough to still be useful for when you ride it without a load.

T800 wheels are good, I have re-trued once after ~3000km - rear wheel after riding on gravel on a flat tyre for a little while. Rim was fine, no problems since. The T2000 has better wheels, if I remember correctly.

I haven't ridden a loaded T2000 but unloaded it feels the same as my T800 despite the different fork. Seemed to respond well to effort, felt really smooth too.

Yes, it is a stiff bike and you will feel the bumps if you pump your tyres up hard. With medium pressure 35s it is pretty comfortable. It comes with a suspension post which helps some, but the hardware will still rattle on rough roads.

The single eyelets at the back are a bit of an issue. I suggest using cable ties for your mudguards, and having the most secure pannier attachment possible. Watch the rack bolts, you don't want these getting loose. Some racks have attachment points for mudguards (although the included Blackburn rear rack dosen't).

I have toe overlap problems with the front wheel on my size M frame, but I probably should have gone to a size L (I let the bike shop talk me out of this...). Also, the 3rd bottle cage on the size M is too close to the front wheel to be useful - I can put a 500ml bottle there without fenders, but not with. Again, the longer frame in the larger sizes dosen't have this problem. I get the impression that this bike works best in the larger sizes, for tall heavy riders.

The other potential fit issue is handlebar height, I would have expected a longer steerer on a touring bike (they can always be cut down). This may or may not worry you. I swapped to a slightly higher rise stem. Again, this is probably a frame size issue (live and learn...).

I find it really hard to get enough braking power from the hoods of my STI levers. The shifters on a T2000 feel the same. The brakes themselves are fine, work well from the drops. The shape of the handle bar makes it a little difficult to get it comfortable both on the hoods and on the drops - it is not quite a 180 degree bend, more like about 130 degrees.

If you have tried lots of other bikes and like the Cannondale best, you won't be disappointed with the quality or the stability when loaded.

Shemp

I wonder if that's not a function of the bike shop that assembled it as mine has several spacers on the steerer so I can make adjustments.

Supertick

I have a "Jumbo" size T2000 and like it a lot. I am a big guy and I actually like the ride when it is not loaded for touring. But when it is loaded for touring it really is a smoother ride. In one of the posts it is mentioned about the rear dropouts only having one hole on each side. That is true. It was also mentioned not to let these screws on the rack get loose. This is also true. Mine did come loose over time while the rear rack was loaded and it actually enlarged the hole so I have not been able to use a rear rack. It is impossible to put a nut on the screw because of spacing. This is probably a one in a million chance of this happening but it happened to me. So now I use front panniers and tow a BOB trailer. The T2000 is a pretty solid bike for touring.

EZ-SportAX Curt

I have a 2006 T2000 Large, and I'm 6`1 and weigh 265. I love the paint job on the bike, its painted like an old road map. I have finders and had to change out the rear rack so my BOB would hook up. For some reason the stock rack was just too wide at the eyelets, or was it too low to the skewer can't remember now. I too sometimes get toe strike on my front finder when I make sharp turns, I guess that's because I wear a size 47 in biking shoes. I also had to put a stem with more rise due to my large belly, and I upgraded to a Brookes saddle, which isn't broken in yet. I don't care about the stock brakes too much and may switch her over to V brakes, time will tell on this. For my weight it rides very smooth with 80psi in my top touring tires, and the #1 thing I don't get on this bike is moans and creaking noise like I get on my mountain bikes. So if you want a top of the line touring bike, go get it.

duuuuuude

I'm rocking a 2004 T800, but upgraded the components with old road 9 speed road components from my race bikes. The freakin bike rides like a dream. I commute daily on it and I also took it down the entire California coast last year with absolutely no problems.

For the tour, I used 700x28 contintental top touring tires, a way overloaded bob trailer and way overloaded front and rear panniers too. Again, no issues with the additional weight (except that the tires did wear down faster than I'm used to). The beast was as steady as ever on the long descents as well. As others have mentioned, it's definitely much more stable and forgiving when it's loaded.

I'm a minority in the forums weighing in at 130 lbs, but I've had no issues with comfort at all, so I can't comment on others' views about "bigger is better" in terms of comfort. I don't think you can't go wrong with the T800 or T2000.

grolby

My goodness, why would you use cable ties? Just put both racks and fenders on the same eyelets. The rack goes on first, right against the eyelet. Fenders go on the outside, up against the rack legs. There is absolutely nothing wrong or unsafe about this arrangement. Fenders don't put any load on the bike, after all, and tightening down the bolts means that the load is a carried by your frame - not the hardware. I've carried full touring loads a couple of different times using this kind of arrangement on an older touring bike. It works just fine. Having two sets of eyelets on the dropouts is definitely a better arrangement, but it's more a matter of convenience than anything else. Single eyelets are no problem.

cyccommute 

I agree completely. The only thing I might add is a washer outboard of the fender islet so that you a bit better attachment (the bolt head could squeeze through the fender stay). If you don't feel comfortable with that, use a nylon p-clip (Lowes has them by the bucket full ) and attach the fenders to one of the rack legs.

teamcompi

I have a t-2000 I bought it since it was a good bike for the money and it had good gearing etc.. Mine has been ridden across the country once but has a total of 9,000 Km to date. I have no complaints other than the seat post which was too short for me and the seat which had a bad habit of puffing up at elevation ( a Look with gel insert). I am a big guy so I swaped out the bars for a wider set and am much happier.

I handled the one hole setup by installing the bolts from the inside of the frame, I ground the head to clear the small cog. I too agree that the bike behaves according to the wheels and tires that are on it. I have a set of go fast wheels for unloaded riding and it behaves almost like a road bike. I would buy one again.