I had owned an older model of the cannondale chase 2, i think it was the 2004 one and it was excellent, only flaw being the avid cable disc brakes which i had to upgrade. I had had this for a while and thought of getting a new bike so i looked at the cannondale range as i liked my old one so much. I saw the chase 2 2007 model and fell in love with it.
Among the strengths is the chase hardtail frame which is chunky, made from cnc machined 6061 aluminium which is mega strong and has nice simple graphics. Also the ISGC BB is great as it give you a better ability to keep the chain on when used with a suitable chain guide and single ring at the front. The forks are an upgrade from the 2004 model. The 100mm Marzochi dirt jump 3s are slightly better than the manitou stance 100mm which used to rock bottom if used for jumps. Although these are better than the old ones it would be good to invest in an even better set of forks if you are half decent at jumping as you will find these will end up rock bottom on the bigger jumps. The brakes now are hydraulic hayes HFX 9s which are alot better than the cable discs, more precision stopping although a front brake is not really required for jumping but still good to have for other rides. The sun single track wheels are really strong and after having the bike for 3 months and jumping with it still have no buckles or dints. The tyres which are maxxis holy rollers, (26 x 2.4) are quite big and the tread does not wear away easy as mine are still near new. The pedals are great for grip as when you stand up for the jump you can feel the pedals gripping to your shoes and never once have my feet slipped on these pedals yet.
The bads points are that i dont think that the truvativ hussefelt double chainring is suitable for jumping,i thing it should be a single ring which is more reliable especially with a shimano alivio front derailleur which i think makes it look cheap and also i had problems when i pedalled backwards. I have changed mine to a single ring and a truvativ box guide which has reduced the chances of the chain coming off as easily as the standard setup whilst jumping. Once i was going for a jump and i hit a large stone which was not visible to me and the chain came off and tried to pedal and then my knee hit the handle bar and i fell to the side, i was in agony this is why i changed and ive never had this problem since.
The geometry of the bike is great, it feels like you are sitting in the middle and when you try to lift the front end for wheelies or jumps it is sooooo easy and easy to control even though the bike is quite heavy.
So after many jumps, crashes and general obserations: I think this bike would be perfect for beginner jumpers the way it comes and could easily be good for an experienced jumper if they changed some of the components such as forks and drive setup. I think this bike could be good for a little downhilling and free ride also. I would also recommend to anyone who likes to have a nice bike which is good for basic street use.
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Nice review, but, as perfectly polishes says below, some spaces between paragraphs would make this much easier to read.
perfectlypolished 30.07.2007 18:06
There's lots of detail here but it would be a lot easier to read if you put in a few paragraphs and explained some of the technical terms. Let me know in my gb if you edit and I'm happy to re-read. Lin
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