This has been a breakout year for me on the mountain bike trails. I had three amazing rides on trails that instilled confidence and reinforced my enthusiasm for mountain biking, so I decided it was time to demo some bikes that have the potential to take the place of my trusty Trek.
I'll talk more about a variety of bikes later, but today I'm going to give some feedback based on my experience with two bikes from Cannondale that have similar geometry but different specs. In ski speak, I liken this to two skis that are 88mm underfoot but have different flex patterns and turning radii.
I demoed the Trigger 3 and Bad Habit 4 in size medium, a day apart, on different trails. The Bad Habit 4 has 120mm of travel and is 27+ so the tires are wider and suck up a lot more in the rugged terrain and rolled over the rocks in the trail with little effort. We took the Sundance Cutoff from Cinnamon Twist to Sundance, which has some rocky areas where timing of pedal stroke is essential on the uphill. The 1x11 drive train definitely makes life easier, coming from a 3x9. The confidence came quickly to me on the downhill section as soon as I felt the bike roll over rocks that would normally give me pause.
The Trigger 3 has 150 mm of travel and standard 27.5 tires, making it a bit more nimble to maneuver and seemingly lighter while climbing (though I haven't checked the actual weight). My day on the Trigger 3 started on the Pivot Mach 5.5, but I switched bikes with @Philpug a couple miles into the climb, which was a 4-mi sustained uphill with switchbacks and loose decomposed granite. I was impressed with the climbing ability and generally nimble feeling while making my way around the switchbacks and loose granite. The reward after a long uphill climb is, of course, the downhill fun. This bike delivered the fun in a way that I hadn't thought possible over the past few years.
On both of these rides, I did more climbing than I usually do and found myself doing better on the climbs than I have in the past. Perhaps it is the tire size, perhaps it's the ease in shifting, or perhaps it's the ability to use the dropper post to adjust my body position on climbs and downhills. Maybe it is all of the above.
I could honestly be happy with either of these bikes; because of the improvements in my riding experience, I'm leaning toward the Trigger 3. This could easily change as I continue to demo.
A couple photos to give you an idea about geometry
Thanks to BlueZone Sports for the demos.
A bit about me:
I am a 51-year-old female who, after taking off 7 years from riding, is falling back in love with mountain biking. I tend to be timid but am gaining confidence doing things I used to do, like log piles, rock gardens, and switchbacks. My goal is to find a bike to replace my 9-year-old Trek Fuel EX8 WSD 16.5.
I'll talk more about a variety of bikes later, but today I'm going to give some feedback based on my experience with two bikes from Cannondale that have similar geometry but different specs. In ski speak, I liken this to two skis that are 88mm underfoot but have different flex patterns and turning radii.
I demoed the Trigger 3 and Bad Habit 4 in size medium, a day apart, on different trails. The Bad Habit 4 has 120mm of travel and is 27+ so the tires are wider and suck up a lot more in the rugged terrain and rolled over the rocks in the trail with little effort. We took the Sundance Cutoff from Cinnamon Twist to Sundance, which has some rocky areas where timing of pedal stroke is essential on the uphill. The 1x11 drive train definitely makes life easier, coming from a 3x9. The confidence came quickly to me on the downhill section as soon as I felt the bike roll over rocks that would normally give me pause.
The Trigger 3 has 150 mm of travel and standard 27.5 tires, making it a bit more nimble to maneuver and seemingly lighter while climbing (though I haven't checked the actual weight). My day on the Trigger 3 started on the Pivot Mach 5.5, but I switched bikes with @Philpug a couple miles into the climb, which was a 4-mi sustained uphill with switchbacks and loose decomposed granite. I was impressed with the climbing ability and generally nimble feeling while making my way around the switchbacks and loose granite. The reward after a long uphill climb is, of course, the downhill fun. This bike delivered the fun in a way that I hadn't thought possible over the past few years.
On both of these rides, I did more climbing than I usually do and found myself doing better on the climbs than I have in the past. Perhaps it is the tire size, perhaps it's the ease in shifting, or perhaps it's the ability to use the dropper post to adjust my body position on climbs and downhills. Maybe it is all of the above.
I could honestly be happy with either of these bikes; because of the improvements in my riding experience, I'm leaning toward the Trigger 3. This could easily change as I continue to demo.
A couple photos to give you an idea about geometry
Thanks to BlueZone Sports for the demos.
A bit about me:
I am a 51-year-old female who, after taking off 7 years from riding, is falling back in love with mountain biking. I tend to be timid but am gaining confidence doing things I used to do, like log piles, rock gardens, and switchbacks. My goal is to find a bike to replace my 9-year-old Trek Fuel EX8 WSD 16.5.