Cannondale or Pinnacle

like2bike
like2bike Posts: 21
edited March 2015 in Road buying advice
Does anyone have any thoughts on which of these bikes would be best, and also how the two cannondales compare:

Pinnacle Cobalt Two 2015 £450
Pinnacle Cobalt Three 2015 £550
Cannondale Bad Boy 4 2015 £549.99
Cannondale Bad Boy 3 2015 £699.99

Will be using it for 6 mile daily commute, plus general getting about, taking it out on cycle tracks, river paths etc

Thanks.

Comments

  • iron-clover
    iron-clover Posts: 737
    Any of these will be able to do what you're looking for.
    The difference between the two Cannondales is the drivetrain and brakes- the frame is the same. With the Bad Boy 3 it looks like you get a rung up Shimano's MTB groupset ladder, and you also get their M355 Hydraulic brakes rather than the Cannondale branded mechanical stoppers.

    The Cobalt 3 also comes with similar groupset, and also the M355 brakes. The Cannondale will be a bit lighter and probably fell a little more sporty than the Pinncale, mainly because of its rigid fork, but the Pinnacle might iron out the bumps a little more- although my experience of cheap suspension forks isn't that good and you'll want wide tyres too.

    Your best bet is to go down to Evans and have a go on each to see what feels better for you.
    Good luck!
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    With a bit of deduction and whittling down its an easy answer.

    You do not need the suspension fork (A/ because you would not be considering the Bad Boy if you did B/ You simply do not for your stated use).
    That leaves the two Cannondales and only one has hydraulic brakes, so buy the Bad Boy 3 :wink:
  • like2bike
    like2bike Posts: 21
    Carbonator wrote:
    With a bit of deduction and whittling down its an easy answer.

    You do not need the suspension fork (A/ because you would not be considering the Bad Boy if you did B/ You simply do not for your stated use).
    That leaves the two Cannondales and only one has hydraulic brakes, so buy the Bad Boy 3 :wink:

    How much would it cost to upgrade to hydraulic brakes at a later date?
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Not worth considering IMO.
    Get them now or put up with the mechanical ones.
  • iron-clover
    iron-clover Posts: 737
    As above, I would just go with the hydraulic option straight off the bat.
    Chain Reaction is selling complete M355 lever/ caliper sets for £17.50 each, so you'd be looking at £33 for hardware. Added to that you might need to bleed them if you have to cut the hoses and you'll have to take care with the installation.

    If you don't want to have to learn how to sort out hydraulic systems (which are useless if you get air in them) then I would just buy the upgraded model- esp as it will have the better drivetrain components as well. If you want a shop to do it for you then you will probably lose all of your saving and have a worse specced bike at the end.
    However, if you are an already half competent mechanic and want to learn how to service all of your kit (and ready to invest in more tools) then buying aftermarket is a bit cheaper.

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