Update: Cannondale Quick 3 - 5K Miles and Counting!

So I have been meaning to this post for some time.  While this blog has primarily taken on a trail running tone, I would be remiss to say that I also do a lot of cycling. Since I use my bicycle to commute to the train station, I typically put in anywhere between 45 to 78 miles of a week.  So my bike is pretty important to me.

One of my earliest posts on my blog was a review of my Cannondale Quick 3.  I love this bike!  It has really been a stalwart bike, letting me to put on an easy 5K miles before any major work.  That said, it was time for me to replace the drive-train, the rear tire (should have been replaced over 1,500 miles ago), and some brake work.

In reality, I took my bike for some work on the front brake (the cable had broken), the rear tire (down to the mesh), and a tune-up; however, other work was found that needed to be done.  Since this is a commute bike, the work is more of a necessity than something that could be put off.  This meant however, that the bike would be out of commission a couple of weeks – until the parts were ordered and it could be fixed.

The great news, if you call it great, I put the bike in at the beginning of the BART strike which was followed by my down time due to my strep throat which meant the downtime didn’t have that much of an impact.  However, this further impacted my performance at the Diablo Trail Adventure.

I will say though that now that I have my bike back, it rides like a new one.  It is a solid bike, rides smoothly, and is very stealthy along the Canal Trail.  While I had been doing regular tune-ups, the fixes have really made a noticeable impact in the ride and feel.

Like I have said before, while this bike is now a couple of years old, is worth the investment.  It is definitely not a high end bike; however, it takes my commute abuse in stride and I can easily see another 5K miles being put on it before my next big investment in it!

Now if I can only figure on how to have a more efficient cadence and increase my speed on the bike, I can really say I am taking the full advantage of all of the features of this bike!