Conference noted::bicycle

    My husband bought a Rocky Mountain Equipe this Spring and absolutely
    loves it.  It's a really great bike: it's light, quick, handles really
    well.  The quality is excellent: i.e. paint job, welds, etc.  His is
    a '91 (I think.  He bought it barely-second-hand from a bike shop
    manager's personal stable of MTBs) and is almost all XT equipped.  I
    think the '92 Equipes are DX.

    It's way too big for me, so I haven't had the pleasure of trying it
    out, but a friend of ours who's had and tried a number of high quality
    MTB's said it's the best MTB he's ever ridden.  The balance is
    apparently very nice and the bike is lively.  Also, it comes with a
    Rocky Mountain saddle which I guess is incredibly comfortable. %^)

    Mark had a good news/bad news experience with it a couple of weeks ago.
    The bad news is he crunched the seat stay on a rock.  The good news is
    that since it's a cro-moly frame he was able to have it fixed, as opposed
    to having to trash an aluminum frame.

    That's my second-hand knowledge about the bike.  If you want to know
    more, I could let Mark to reply.  I know that he would tell you that
    he's thrilled with his bike.

    Go for it!
    Sue

Well, Sue, thanks very much for that information. I've now had a chance
to try out the Equipe, even though it was mostly on road and for a
short period. The balance did feel very good and the weight is
comparable to the Cannondale. Certainly, I would say the build quality
is as good as the Cannondale, if not slightly better. For the price, I
guess it should be. One nice touch is that Rocky Mountain give you a
little booklet detailing who did the various jobs on your bike, so you
have a person to thank for the quality of the work.

I would like to ask for a favour from someone on the west side of the
Atlantic. It would help me a great deal if I could get a price quote on
the Cannondale M700 and the Rocky Mountain Equipe. Over here in the
U.K., the M700 is going for �775 and the Equipe at �900.

Of course, to muddy the waters still further there are the Specialized
Stumpjumper Comp, the Kona Explosif, etc! Where does it all end? Still,
being mostly Canadian, my heart goes out to the Rocky Mountain.

Thanks,
Tim

    
    	I was looking at a M800 at International Cycle in Needham for
    $695.00.
    	Roger

Okay, it turns out that the '92 Cannondale M700s are already sold out
in Europe! However, the indications are that the '93s will be worth
waiting for, as they will have the '93 Shimano LX group set.
Apparently, Shimano are getting rid of DX and moving LX up in the
chain. Therefore, lots of the '92 XTR features will appear on the '93
LX kit! On the Internet, I saw a note from one chap who calims to have
seen a '93 Cannondale brochure.

I have two questions. When will the '93 Cannondale mountain bikes start
appearing in the shops? Has anyone any other information regarding the
'93 offerings?

As far as I can see, I have a multitude of options. One is to fly over
to the U.S. for a week and bring back a bike with me. These days, it's
about as cheap to get a cheap flight and pay U.S. prices as to buy in
the U.K.! Anyway, thanks for any information. Cannondale in the U.K. is
going through all sorts of hassle at the moment, which is why I am
having trouble getting answers here. Apparently, the European
distributors in Holland have ditched the U.K. group. The plan is to
distribute dircectly from Holland. However, the chain is not yet in
place and getting answers is difficult at best. Mostly, the response is
to ring around to as many Cannondale dealers as you can find and buy
from their existing stock.

Thanks,
Tim

    
    	I have a 93 Cannondale M800 and so far am happy with it.
    It is not really an 800 as I bought it frame only on their upgrade
    deal $300. We were surprised when the 93 frame came out of the box.
    8*)
    	It doesn't have any nomenclature on it save for CANNONDALE on the
    down tube and BEASTof the EAST on the stay. It's red. I mounted mostly
    XT on it except for my old DX cranks which will soon be XTR or COOKS.
    I got an A_TAC stem made for Cannondale and it looks trick. I guess
    what I have is an M2000 with a raised BB for $900 plus so far. Oh yeah
    almost forgot 2-finger Ritchey levers and a Vetta LITE saddle. I have
    already begun brutalizing this bike and am happy so far.
    	It has 1.250 headstem and a pleasant surprise was the 93 cam action
    force 40 brakes (mucho stoppo)I backed these up with xt low profile
    cants
     and above mentioned Ritchey levers.
    
    	Regards

I bought a Cannondale m700 for app $775 in March and it has been great.
I bought it in Seattle.

Many thanks to you all for your useful help. I have finally come to a decision
and picked up a Cannondale M700 on Saturday. Even though they are charging �775
over here, I finally decided I was better off helping to support a more local
chop. It's frustrating to think that for the same anount of money, I could
travel to the U.S. AND buy the bike! However, I now have a matched pair for red
Cannondales - an M700 and an R400. What more can a man ask?

In the end, I decided that the Rocky Mountains weren't worth the extra money
for me. In part, this is due to a long-lived infatuation with Cannondales.

Thanks again,
Tim

    
    I am trying to decide which bike to buy; a Cannondale M400 or a KONA
    Laver Dome.
    I read the previous notes and can see that there are good opinions 
    on Cannondales.
    Obviously the M400 is not quite the same as a M700 but I wondered what
    your opinions of the M400 were.
    Has the M400 the same frame as a M700?
    
    Any comments appreciated.
    
    ..Simon

    Re: -.1
    
    The 93 Cannondale has a different frame than the M700.  I've no idea
    how it rides.  I bought a left-over 92 M400, since that has the same
    frame as the M700.  Overall, I'm happy with the bike.  The frame is
    quite nimble, climbs very well, but it is very stiff.  When I go riding
    in a rocky area, I come back very tired and beat up.
    
    /Bob
    

The 93 M400 has total different frame then the M500 or the M700. The M400 frame
uses a 1.5" diameter and thicker wall tubing then the M500 and 700 C-dale. The
frame is heavier by about .5-.75 lbs and the welding joints are not as polish
as higher end C-dale Mt. Bike frame. You should be able to pick up a M500 close
the price of M400 because of C-dale over stock. I have seen the M500 for around
$600 and the M400 at $575. I think that would be a no brainer choice if you
were buy a C-dale.


Dave