Cannondale Habit 3 review

The Cannondale Habit 3 has all the potential in the world to be a steadfast pedal pal for years to come. It’s not just good value. It’s a great investment.

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By ben_haworth

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https://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/cannondale-habit-3-review/

How does the Rush damper compare to Motion Control?  I’m a bit behind with RS suspension and although I’ve ridden some MoCo and Charger forks over the years I’ve not heard of the Rush one.

Cons
Ropey fork

might have your answer?
Then again, he also says “The DB8 brakes might not be as powerful as more expensive brakes but they’re more than adequate.” my 3 ton ebike is specced with those and they are easily powerful enough (does have 200mm rotors to be fair).

That was a thoughtful review. Shame that the Rush damper doesn’t seem to cut it – sounds like not all Pikes can now live up to the reputation that they set with the introduction of the first Charger damper back in 2016.

The thing that made me decide against the Habit when I was trail bike shopping a couple of years ago, and would continue to put me off today, is the very slack angle of the upper section of the seat tube. If you run a ‘normal’ length seatpost, or a ‘normal’ amount of seatpost insertion then I’m sure it combines well with the forward-sloping lower section and everything works just fine. But if, like me, you have long legs for your height and raise your saddle close to the maximum, you end up way out back with a disproportionate weight distribution and a too-long cockpit.

Would have been better designed with a straighter seat tube and an extended pivot mount IMO.

The Habit range is a bit odd – if i wanted to move up the range to avoid the “Ropey fork” and “Optimistic tyres”, the next model up is a 150/140mm version with a Lyrik fork – a different beast to the “modern, capable trail bike” described. Bit of a shame, unless you budget in the upgrades.

I ended up with DB8s on a new bike instead of Shimano 4 pots and was a bit skeptical – my initial thought was to put some Guide Rs that I had hanging around on instead, but the adapters weren’t compatible and I was itching to go out and ride it, so I left them on. I’m glad I did – they’ve been smashing, and I’ll be buying new pads once the first set reach the end of the line.