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2006 Cannondale Rush
Cannondale has great success on the World Cup cross country circuit with riders like Christoph Sauser ripping up the courses and piling up victories on his Scalpel. To date, they’ve had very good press from the results of Tinker Juarez, a guy who keeps on ticking, despite being around the scene pretty much forever. Until this year Tinker’s been riding a Scalpel which, obviously, has done him well. Despite the success, Cannondale obviously wanted to move into the ‘trail’ bike market with their own trail bike, built around 4″ of front and rear suspension.
The result is the 2006 Cannondale Rush, a 4″ bike that utilizes the company’s tried-and-true single pivot suspension platform and the Fox-powered Lefty front shock. The Rush is a tight looking bike, with great geometry for an all-day epic or the 24 Hour race that’s been on your mind all year. It has a relatively slack 69 degree head angle, which is more than acceptable for most people’s climbing needs and makes for a strong descender; similarly, it has short chainstays for snappy cornering in tight singletrack.
The Cannondale Rush is available in eight different configurations, ranging from the high-end Rush Team Replica to the lower priced Rush 400. Included in the lineup is the Rush Feminine, which features a shorter standover height and a smaller wheelbase.
The only thing that gets me a little bit is Cannondale’s continued insistence on the use of proprietary, in house products. While the company has been doing it forever, proprietary products have limited distribution channels, meaning you’re usually out of luck if you have a mechanical failure on a road trip far from the nearest Cannondale dealer. Just something to keep in mind when considering a major purchase like a high-end bike.
Update (6 January 2006): Dan just posted his initial impressions of the 2006 Cannondale Rush 1000. Looks like I have to eat my words regarding Cannondale’s reliance on in-house products — the Rush 1000 looks well-spec’d with components from a range of manufacturers.
1. Posted by Some more thoughts on the 2006 Cannondale Rush 2000 » The Biking Hub | 6:47 pm, 26 January 2006
[…] Judging by the popularity of our entries on the 2006 Cannondale Rush, it looks as though Cannondale made lots of good decisions when planning their new cross country racer. Dan’s initial impressions of the Rush 1000 were quite positive and other, similar assessments are starting to pop up around the Internet. […]