Cannondale Quick: a carbon commuter

Cannondale Quick

Last September I swapped my commuting bike for a beautiful new Cannondale Quick carbon hybrid.

For the last three years I'd been riding a 15kg steel-framed Thorn touring bike with Rholoff hub gears. The bike was solid and reliable, ideal for commuting but not very exciting. I wanted something lighter, faster and more fun to ride. Matters came to a head when a friend rode away from me on the commute home and texted to ask why I hadn't been on his wheel when he looked around. The only possible response was that my bike was too heavy; the alternative explanation, that he's a stronger and fitter rider than me couldn't be contemplated. Anyway, at that point I started looking around for a new bike.

I wanted a light-weight hybrid with carbon frame, disc brakes and mounts for rack and mudguards. Once I'd set those parameters it was very easy to choose the bike. My local bike shop, Westbrook Cycles in Stokesley, showed me a Cannondale Quick hybrid and offered to get hold of a better specced version with Shimano 105 compact groupset, 12-28 cassette and hydraulic disc brakes. Within a couple of days I was the happy owner of a brand new lime green and black bike. As it only cost about £100 more than I got for my Thorn tourer it was an almost free upgrade,

I rode the Cannondale to work the same afternoon and decided it needed some adjustments to the set-up. The handlebars were very wide but a few minutes with a hacksaw shortened them by 2cm on both sides. The medium frame felt a little cramped compared to my road bike but this was easily corrected by fitting a longer stem. Over the winter I've replaced the original 25mm tyres with Michelin Endurance 28mm and feel more confident riding on wet, muddy roads.

The Cannondale makes my regular 40 km commute so much quicker and more fun than the Thorn. I've used it on steady club rides when the weather's bad and enjoyed the stability and confidence of running disc brakes and 28mm tyres. My next road bike will have the same set up. I'm even hoping to take it touring at some point over the next couple of years. I really like this bike.