>>1913393I got that bike because I wanted to make the easy local trails around me harder but then I decided that rigid sucks balls and got a suspension fork. Then I got the cannondale because I wanted something I could lock outside without major worry, but at this point it’s nearly $900 total anyways (all parts except brake levers, front wheel, frame/fork/headset replaced) so its still something I would worry about. Not that I ever commute by bike anyways, that’s a fantasy that’s never going to actually happen and I need to accept that (multi-day bike rides are different and I basically sleep tied to my bike)
>>1913392Those are the 52cm Ritchey venturemax bars, they’re pretty great except I’m not big on the “bio bump” in the drops, it’s not intrusive but it seems totally unhelpful. I swapped it for 46cm Ritchey Beacon bars and I’m liking the drop shape a lot more, the narrower stance is (noticeably) better for aero and the extra flare feels much more mtb-like to me, while the control is perfectly fine for riding extreme terrain (single black diamond tech slowly and blue square flow trails fast and hard)
But the 90’s cannondale can hit those corners and pump the terrain better than any of my several mountain bikes can, it rides like nothing else being made today and that’s the whole reason I got it, it’s like an overgrown BMX with the high rise bars and short top tube that warrants a setback post. I just worry about the “advanced aluminum design” holding up after 28 years but it seemed barely ridden when I bought it
