First Real MTB Upgrades
 

Good morning all,


Just want to say thank you in advance, would really appreciate a little help here. I just bought my first "real" MTB, I have not owned a bike in many years, looking to get in shape and do some exploring here in Michigan and beyond. Obviously bikes are not exactly easy to come by these days and when I saw a 2021 Cannondale Habit 5 come up for sale at a shop in SoCal the other day, I jumped on it.


It will be here this week, cannot wait haha


In my very thorough internet searches I have found this bike has a couple possible weaknesses, the brakes and perhaps the tires.


I am 230ish pounds, and by this Fall would like to go do some more advanced riding in Copper Harbor, etc...


I used to race motorcross when I was young, the knowledge is there, just need to get the body back to being "there" haha


I would like to upgrade the brakes to start with to a 4 piston system, price really isn't an issue, but I don't want to spend more than I really need to either. I am very mechanically inclined, but admittedly know nothing about modern bicycles persay, however I am sure I can install them myself.


Obviously the ability to stop is quite important so I am willing to go all in on this part of the bike.


Any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated!

Congrats on the new bike and welcome to the forum! I think I speak for every member/lurker when I say, post some pics when you get it and are past your 10 post restriction.

Riding it as-is for a while when you get it is probably the best way to ensure you're not going to spend money needlessly. It's very unlikely that a major manufacturer is going to release an unsafe bike so you may find that the Tektro two-piston brakes suit your riding just fine. Four-piston brakes are more powerful but not always necessary/better than two-piston in every application. In some cases, locking up a wheel when you don't want to could sacrifice traction and control. I'd be inclined to trust the designers and techs at Cannondale along with your own real-world experiences more than the opinions of internet commenters (including the one replying to you right now) who've never ridden your bike the way you ride it.

As for the installation, no doubt you can do it yourself with a little research. You may need some specialized tools though. That might be a bonus (Woohoo! More tools!) or an annoyance if you only plan on doing this sort of thing once.

Happy riding!

I looked up the bike's specs -- i wouldnt touch it until you break something -- If you really want to juice up the brakes, upsize the front to a 203mm rotor

Here's my old bike on top of the Continental Divide at a downhill area --- note the 160mm rotors front and back - also twin piston brakes - never felt like i was boiling the brake fluid or that the brakes were going away -- in fact your bike has a similar looking spec , - aluminum frame , 140mm travel, 11 speed, Fox suspension (at least on the back) , Ardent tires

- i definitely say ride it until you sense some weakness , then upgrade -- but a 203mm front rotor ewill give you more stopping power without sacrificing brake modulation

https://i.imgur.com/HQ68qIm.jpg


Same bike a few years later with a "bikepark friendly" setup -- 203mm rotors front and rear, plus 4 piston brakes from the Zee lineup- but im only using the Zee brakes because i moved the XTR's over to my new bike -- the 2 piston brakes with a big rotor were more than adequate. Still using Ardent tires as well

https://i.imgur.com/pmWIyEq.jpg


Post some pics when you get it ! -- we see the catalog spec, but seeing one out in the wild would be killer !

Thank you so much for the replies!

Really looking forward to getting out and I will definitely share some photos!

Couple things I'll Share...

I had the 2016 model of that bike...

• The frame cracked 3 times on me (That's why people have renamed Cannondale to Crack and Fail) but Cannondale did cover it under warranty each time.
• Their press fit bottom bracket sucks. I could never get it to stop creaking in my 3-1/2 years of ownership. I'd get it fixed and it would be fine for a while while then a month or so later it would start creaking again. With that said...that's often the case with most press fit bottom bracket systems.
• Suspension pivot bearings prematurely wore out twice in 3 years.

Not sure if they addressed these issues since then, but I would never buy another Cannondale bike.

The tires and brakes look OK on that bike. The fork would be the first thing I would upgrade.

I don't mean to pile on. But man, that fork... it's got to be 7 lb and has no compression damper. Not just a cheap one, none at all. With your weight the spring is too light as well. Don't try to upgrade it into something nice, just swap it out when you find you are ready.

Much about brake feel can be changed by the pad material, you don't need to swap out the whole system to try something different. Tires wear out, don't swap unless there is something wrong with them for your terrain.