I am looking to buy a new bike just as soon as I can build both the funds and the case to justify it to my wife. I definitely have my eye on the 2006 Cannondale Rush among others (more in another post). Since my last post on the Rush there have been two new previews worth noting:
Guitar Ted took one for a spin around his shop for a while and posts this mostly positive first impression. (Photo from Guitar Ted).
Singletrack Magazine in the U.K. got a good look at one and posted a number of pictures on it's site. The main knock against the bike so far seems to be about it's lower than expected bottom bracket clearance. A look at the discussion boards shows that there seems to be some confusion about where this bike fits into the overall Cannondale line. Singletrack explains the following:
With 110mm of travel at both ends the 'Marathon' class Rush is designed to sit between the 'All Mountain' class120mm travel Prophet SL and the 'XC Racing' class 100mm travel Scalpel. Another (arguably better) term for this bike's intended purpose would be 'technical XC' but that's by the by. It's designed for folk who want a fairly light performance-orientated (aka bump absorbing!) bike that still climbs and pedals decently.
Brad from Cannondale agrees with this assessment.
Update on September 2, 2005: Cannondale has posted information on its web page. Visit http://www.cannondale.com/rush
