Cannondale Bad Boy 700 - good commuter?

DevUK

I'm looking to replace my Trek 7.5 FX as I believe it's a little too flimsy for my ample frame. Currently I commute 2.5 miles either direction but this may increase to 8 miles each way next year, most of which will be busy country roads.

I bought the Trek through the C2W scheme in 2007 and have had some problems, mostly with popping rear spokes. I've had a new back wheel (thankfully under warranty) but I'm just not comfortable riding it on my local streets, lined with potholes (Coventry roads suck!)

Since the trek was more on the road side of the hybrid bikes I've been looking at the more MTB side of hybrids this time around. A few have taken my fancy but I'm limited to £750 by my work's C2W scheme. So far I've liked the look of the Kona Dr Dew, Cannondale Bad boy/bad boy 700 and the Cube Hooper (maybe a bit too road). I think I'd like more than the 8 speed Alfine, so that rules out the Hooper in retrospect.

Anyone have a Bad Boy/Bad Boy 700? I really like the look of it. Any other suggestions for something similar? Has the spec level dropped from 2009 to 2010? (I notice the 09 has avid Juicy 3's and the 2010 has different brakes for instance).

Thanks in advance

Stuey01

one mans ample is another mans svelte. How big are we talking here?

It would be much cheaper to upgrade to some nice new handbuilt wheels for your trek.
Not sure why you think the cannondale would be better anyway, it has the same size wheels and they are typically a budget cutting area on low to mid range bikes as the average punter doesn't know what they are looking at and focusses on the more obvious components.

Medders

I use an 09 bad boy 700 for my commute 15 miles each way. Its a pretty heavy bike but makes the weekend club jaunts on the carbon lovely even more satisfying!

Very happy with it - comfortable, sturdy and even take a few roadie scalps. Brakes currently squealing like stuck pig but will sort that at the weekend. So far seems to be a quality bit of kit and I bought it as wanted something I will be confident on even in the depths of winter - hydraulic disc brakes ftw!

I look at the all the similar stuff when I bought it - most obvious comparitor was the boardman team but my mate has one and is having serious problem with the rear brake (noise/vibration - makes it almost unusable). next best is Ridgeback flight but the similar specced model was more expensive than the cannondale.

gl with choosing!

Lbaguley

I'm probably not the best to advise on this, but I don't think the frame of the Trek will be any problem. If you have had problems with wheels then a decent set of touring wheels is substantially cheaper than a new bike (although I grant you, you can't use C2W for that) and will stand up to a lot more than a standard 700c wheel.

On which note, the Bad Boy 700 - does that not have 700c wheels? Not sure that they will be much stronger than the wheels the Trek came with (I've not checked the specs though). It will probably, however, have a more upright riding position, which may be what you're after.

Of course, if you just want a new bike, please don't let me stand in your way

DevUK

Stuey01 wrote:

one mans ample is another mans svelte. How big are we talking here?

It would be much cheaper to upgrade to some nice new handbuilt wheels for your trek.
Not sure why you think the cannondale would be better anyway, it has the same size wheels and they are typically a budget cutting area on low to mid range bikes as the average punter doesn't know what they are looking at and focusses on the more obvious components.

We're talking 20st here (surprisingly I've just spent 3 weeks in the USA and didn't put any weight on?!) I've thought about doing that but it's finding the cash. At least with the C2W scheme I don't need to find cash up front so to speak.

With regards to the Cannondale wheels, I realise the 700 has similar wheels, but I'm thinking 32H is far better than 22H on the Trek. That being said, I could opt for the 26" bad boy also, or which ever bike I go for.

Medders wrote:

I use an 09 bad boy 700 for my commute 15 miles each way. Its a pretty heavy bike but makes the weekend club jaunts on the carbon lovely even more satisfying!

Very happy with it - comfortable, sturdy and even take a few roadie scalps. Brakes currently squealing like stuck pig but will sort that at the weekend. So far seems to be a quality bit of kit and I bought it as wanted something I will be confident on even in the depths of winter - hydraulic disc brakes ftw!

Hydraulic disc's are one of the main attractions. I have a cheap mongoose MTB which I spent a lot of money on, including Hope M4's and I love them! The V brakes on the trek are OK, but just can't compare to disc

Thanks for the other bike suggestions, I'll check them out. Any thoughts on the Kona?

MrChuck

You could just get a different wheel for your Trek?
Apart from the spoke count, I don't think there's enough practical difference between the Trek and (say) the Bad Boy to make it worth changing over. Funnily enough I have a Trek 7500 FX (same as yours but older) and a friend has a Bad Boy, and I certainly wouldn't say that the Bad Boy is any less "road" than the Trek- rather they are both made for the same job really.

When Bad Boys come up on here the consensus seems to be that they're nice but maybe a bit too nice for commuting, especially if you'd ever be leaving it in public.

There are the discs of course- nice to have but again I'm not sure if it's woth ditching your Trek for them. Sure, discs are more powerful but it's not like well set-up Vs aren't powerful enough, especially if you have relatively skinny tires!