Cannondale Bad Boy

no-mates

Hi All,

Got myself a Bad Boy two weeks ago for commuting and some leisure cycling at weekends and have been reading this forum ever since. Don't want to be a lurker so thought I'd ask some questions. Cannondale don't seem too popular on this forum, have I made a bad choice? ( don't worry, thickskinned). Will admit that was swayed by the bikes looks but aren't we all a bit guilty of that? I've got myself some spd pedals and yes have already fallen over once, was wondering what my next upgrade should be? It's the bottom of the range Bad Boy BTW.

Cheers
Norm.

Squaggles

Hi , congratulations on the new bike . What makes you say Cannondale's aren't too popular ?

no-mates

I'm only new to the forum but I haven't seem any posts that endorse them in the 'what should I buy' posts. I'm well chuffed with mine but I didn't really do any extensive research before purchase, went on the advice of two mates who are keen cyclists.

Belv

I think Cannondale are not immediately thought of when someone asks what to buy, but that's really only a reflection of their marketing compared to Specialized, Trek, etc. That may change now they have been bought out by the same company that owns GT, Mongoose and Schwinn.

Bassjunkieuk

I took my mates Bad Boy for a little ride last year on the way back from the Hovis Freewheel and thought it was really nice. It was light and the frame seemed quite responsive, that along with the nice strong disc brakes proved for a fun ride in the brief time I used it :-)

I personally would consider a Badboy if I was in the market for a hybrid, mainly because like you I like the looks of it, especially Lefty :-) Unfortunately I wanted a road bike as I preferred that for riding around in traffic and the BB was over my budget :-(

Surf-Matt

I like them a lot.

Cannondales are great - but often a bit pricier and slightly "leftfield" compared to more mainstream brands - maybe that has an influence?

meanwhile

no-mates wrote:

Hi All,

Got myself a Bad Boy two weeks ago for commuting and some leisure cycling at weekends and have been reading this forum ever since. Don't want to be a lurker so thought I'd ask some questions. Cannondale don't seem too popular on this forum, have I made a bad choice?

Cannondale are a superb choice, if you're willing to pay for quality and like a particular type of bike. Their hardtail MTB's and hybrids usually make superb urban hot rods with the right (slick) tyres on.

The worst thing I would say against a C'dale is that they are very attractive to thieves - be careful where and how you lock the bike. I put some links on bike security here:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12572258

woodgob

Agree with meanwhile. A friend of mine has an old CAAD hardtail with slicks and it's a superb runaround/commute rig. Even more so since he put 700cc wheels on it.

BTW - love the Bad Boy. It's a great looking rig and love the attention to detail like lights built into saddle and headest (whether they are practical or not I've no idea).

mrwibble

I am very lucky and own a 2008 Bad Boy Ultra, it is a really, really great bike.

Mithras

Would love one for work.....ideal name for a coppers bike, added to the fact it is a superb piece of kit!

toslow

Cannondale make fantastic bikes ,used to own jekyll 800 ,always felt different from the pack with a lefty . looking through the forum there are a lot of manufactures that don't get mentioned a great deal but i don't think that should reflect on there quality or popularity.
The only upgrade you need to think about , as mentioned is a big lock , and maybe good insurance.

tardington

I like them too!

And yes, a huge lock and hug insurance!

tardington

*huge* insurance, even!

maveco

I bought a 2008 Bad Boy 8, superb bike, did the London to Brighton race on Sunday on it, I think Cannondale are worth the money, is a perfect ride.

A great choice mate, enjoy.

no-mates

Not a negative comment to be had - just wish I'd bought one of the more expensive Badboys now!

sc999cs

I own a Carrera Zelos and you'll never hear anything good about them...

Steve C

Dark-Star

Hi guys, I've been looking at getting a bad boy as well (an 8 or 700)
I've only ever ridden bikes with derailleur gears, what are your thoughts on the hub gears?

Surf-Matt

Dark - we had a hybrid (Spesh Globe) with Nexus 8 speed hub gears and I found them near useless - no range at all and heavy.
Might be okay if you live somewhere pretty flat but a no non for anywhere hilly.

My LBS realised they had mis sold it (claimed it had the same range of gears as a 21 speed MTB) and gave us a full refund - we then got a Rockhopper Disk.

maveco

Dark-Star - hub gears are not for everyone. The range of gear ratios is perfect for commuting and small to medium bike rides, not so good for steep hills, and feel a little flimsy, but are virtually maintenance free and look great, no fuss and you can change gear without moving. I have had my Bad Boy 8 for 5 months and could do with a few more gears, but for 99% of my rides it is perfect.

Dark-Star

Matt/maveco,
Thanks for the advice, I was already leaning towards derailleurs as that's what I'm used to from my mountain biking days (sooooo long ago) and It's anything but flat up here in Scotland.
Now all I need to do is see if I can wangle the 700 through my subsidised cycle 2 work scheme!!
Cheers guys
D_S

Leejel

Hey ,

apologies if I'm treading over old ground here, I just bought a cannondale bad boywith the internal hub gears. I've had to take the bike back about 3 times so far to get them to "fix" the bottom bracket. Has anyone had experience with this? I;'ve just asked in Evans Cycles if it's common and apparantly it is... nearly every bad boy they've sold they reckon they've had returned and have had to either fix or refund. Apparantly Cannondale realised 2 months ago that there is a fault with the hub gear bikes and have sent additional parts to try to resolve the bottom bracket problem. It seems this is an on-going problem for people who own these bikes - I'm considering taking mine back and geting a different bike alltogether

Rocky-ETSX

Hello,
I'm the proud owner of a BadBoy 8 with a Alfine 8-speed hub and a lefty.
So far I didn't have any problems with the Bottom Bracket, but I got my bike only 3 weeks ago. If I understand correctly you have a problem that the excentric BB cannot be fixed, so it moves? My LBS explained that the excentric BB is made of two conic parts. You can loosen the bolts, adjust the BB to tighten the chain, and tighten the bolts again and the conic parts should lock and the BB should be fixed. They made it sound easy but I haven't tried it. Once I have a tool to rotate the BB I will try it myself.
I had some problems with a nasty squeek in the front hub. I solved this by loosening the bolt a bit and I put a drop of oil between the bold and the hub.
I use my Bad Boy for commuting and I really enjoy the speedhub. As I live in Holland (no hills) the eight gears are more than enough.
Maybe I get kicked for writing this but I put fenders on my BadBoy. If you commute daily, fenders are a must have. I put on the SKS Chromoplastics 28" and 35mm wide. As there is nothing to attach the fender on the lefty, I had to improvise a bit but it worked. And my bike still looks good, even with fenders.

Farmer_John

I've got a Bad Boy Ultra and it rocks. There's something of the devil about it - it flies up hills, storms along the flats to the point where my mates complain that it seems to even freewheel going up hill. On the downside, it's not particularly light, but that only seems to help it maintain a good pace once I've cranked it up to speed. We likey.

dac73

Leejel wrote:

Hey ,

apologies if I'm treading over old ground here, I just bought a cannondale bad boywith the internal hub gears. I've had to take the bike back about 3 times so far to get them to "fix" the bottom bracket. Has anyone had experience with this? I;'ve just asked in Evans Cycles if it's common and apparantly it is... nearly every bad boy they've sold they reckon they've had returned and have had to either fix or refund. Apparantly Cannondale realised 2 months ago that there is a fault with the hub gear bikes and have sent additional parts to try to resolve the bottom bracket problem. It seems this is an on-going problem for people who own these bikes - I'm considering taking mine back and geting a different bike alltogether

The fault has been know for a lot longer than that. Cannondale usually sends a set of shims out to the LBS to sort the problem - Evan's should know this. I've been told that Evan's usually orders the shims when they buy the BB8 to sort the problem out quickly but it looks like this may not be true. Once the shims are in, it should be good!

dac73

Farmer_John wrote:

I've got a Bad Boy Ultra and it rocks. There's something of the devil about it - it flies up hills, storms along the flats to the point where my mates complain that it seems to even freewheel going up hill. On the downside, it's not particularly light, but that only seems to help it maintain a good pace once I've cranked it up to speed. We likey.

I also have a Bad Boy Ultra and agree that it's awesome! Love the frame. The standard components aren't robust enough for London commuting - this may also have something to do with my less than regular maintenance program ...

I love riding it though, trying to do about 200kms a week!

gb155

I really wanted a bad boy once cycle2work ggets set up but my poor time with the Dawes put me off, What are they like vs a MTB ? The Dawes was just too "Roadie" for me.

Gazpez

Hi,
I just bought a Cannondale bad boy 2011.
Great bike.
But I want to remove the decal on the forks. .
It's the reflective kind..
Can someone please advice.???
Some people say use a hairdryer.
Anyone acually done it ..??


Many thanks Gaz.

shouldbeinbed

I've got a Cannondale street ultra Alfine 8 speed hub. Its not fast but its a total jeep of a bike, bombproof and reliable, no problems with the BB in the 18 months I've had it, piece of cake to adjust too.