Cannondale Habit - If I Can't Ride It, I Should Write Something About It

New bike day came on December 10th, 2015.  It was a good day.

What's in the box?  WHAT'S IN THE BOX???

But let's back up a bit.  I had been looking at the Cannondale Habit for a while and Bike Works got the Carbon 3 in as a demo.  It was a size large, and I ride a medium, but I took the opportunity to flog it a bit anyway.  The Habit and I had some fun.

 

In the stand, getting all set up.

After getting it set up, I took it out to Toro Park to climb Ollasen and then back down Pipeline.

Ollason Peak - 1800ft

Then a couple days later I took it out to Fort Ord to ride down 42, over 44 (Outhouse) to 41 (Goat Upper & Lower). Good times.

Beautiful sunset over Fort Ord.

The bike was great, but definitely on the big side. When I returned the demo bike, I talked with Sean about what was available in a medium.  The Carbon 3 and Carbon 2 were available, but the Carbon SE wasn't available until April or May 2016.  I wasn't terribly fond of the graphics on the 3, so after much nagging to my wife she caved and I ordered the 2.  Much stoke.

The bike arrived and I built it that night as soon as my daughters were asleep.  The only things I changed were the stock 60mm stem to a 75mm Thomson and the stock grips to ESI Fit XC.  I also added a titanium King Cage and a set of Crank Bros Eggbeaters (since replaced with Candys).

Unfortunately, due to rain and holiday travel, I've only been able to ride the bike one time.  For 9.5 miles.  Ugg.  And now the forecast is for rain for the next two weeks.  Yay.  My one ride was great.  The bike climbs well, as all reviews have claimed, and is a great descender.  I've never used a dropper post so I was a bit lost when first trying it out on Trail 42.  I've always used the seat as a reference to where I am on the bike, so I need to get comfortable getting lower and changing all I've known for the last 20 plus years of mountain biking. My next step will to experiment with the pressures and settings for the Lefty fork and Monarch shock.  So far, so good.

Cannondale Habit Carbon 2

Cannondale Habit Carbon 2