Today was supposed to be a lifting day but
Kerkove informed me that he was going for a ride and so I skipped the lifting and went for a spin. The plan was to ride through the Greenbelt area which is a fast open area but is singletrack. This would be the first time on the singletrack for myself and the Cannondale Rush 2000 which I ride.
A-Dog commented here during my initial review of the Rush that "if you like it now, wait till you get it on some singletrack". This comment has been on my mind since I first read it. Anticipation was truly huge.
My first impressions of the Rush were posted about one month ago and they can be read
here. Well today's jaunt was not ideal trail conditions but it was going to give me my much needed fix of the trail instead of all of the gravel during the winter months. A bit on the damp side in some areas and some major trail work in another, in the form of a new bridge installation for the hikers, provided me with plenty of extra weight to carry with me.
Picking up leaves off the trail with the front wheel.
Carrying a bit of extra weight on the tires.
I was beyond impressed with the handling on these trails considering how the trails were just a bit damp yet. The Rush definately feels at home on the singletrack. My Rush 2000 feels nowhere near the 27 pounds that it has weighed in at and handles like it is on rails. It goes through the rollers just great, feels fabulous with the Pro Pedal through the not-so-smooth sections, and actually feels pretty quick. I have the Fox RP3 rear shock and the Lefty Carbon DLR2 set right at the manufacturer's recommendations for air pressure and rebound and they both feel dead on so far. I was extremely impressed with the overall performance today even though it was a short singletrack ride. One other key was that the few short climbs that we came across were no different than any of the other bikes that I ridden recently. No extra effort needed to push the Rush over the top. I cannont wait for the chance to get over to the Decorah area to put the Rush to a true climbing test and down to Sugar Bottom near North Liberty for some fast flowing singletrack action.
A-Dog was right on the nose with his comments. This bike begs for the singletrack.
Here is a little plug for the "crew" over at
Ride424. I have no affiliation with Ride424 but the website rocks in the endurance world so I will gladly put it on my bikes. Keep up the good work!!!
That's about it for now, I have to go clean the Rush and the dirty Diadoras. I will definately be planning a trip to Decorah hopefully soon. I need to find some dry singletrack!!
-Peace.
