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Long Term Review: Cannondale Bad Habit Carbon 2 mountain bike

2017 Cannondale Bad Habit 275plus mountain bike review
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The Cannondale Bad Habit Carbon 2 combines floaty 27.5+ wheels with 120mm full suspension, resulting in a very fun and forgiving trail bike.  This was my first long term exposure to a fully suspended plus bike, and I was initially skeptical about having both large volume tires and dual suspension. However, like adding butter to a peanut butter sandwich, it may seem excessive, but it totally works. And it’s a bad habit you should try. Here’s my full review with weights and specs…

2017 Cannondale Bad Habit 275plus mountain bike review

Cannondale’s Bad Habit is the 27.5+ version of it’s popular Habit. The Bad Habit is offered in both carbon and aluminum frames, each with two build options that include either a Lefty (1) or a Rockshox (2) fork. The Bad Habit Carbon 2 tested ($4,799.99) comes spec’d with a 120mm RockShox Pike RC Boost, and comes in a dialed green color scheme that got a lot of positive comments. The asymmetric design links to a swooping and offset seattube, providing clearance for the 3’ tires and more gearing options. A sloping toptube integrates with the shock cleanly, and provides extra standover space.

cannondale bad habit full suspension plus bike actual weight

There is a weight penalty for 27.5+ bikes, with all that rotating rubber and a wider frame. Considering this, the 30lb overall weight is respectable. The fatter tires also make a lot of noise on hardpack surfaces and they feel slower. So 27.5+ might not be the right setup for you if you’re all about long fireroad climbs and lactate thresholds. However, for clearing technical climbs, absorbing drops, and generally having a blast, I’m a fan of the mid-fat tires.cannondale bad habit review of their plus-tire full suspension mountain bike

With a trusty 120mm Fox Float DPS and Fox Transfer IR dropper, the Bad Habit can get as rowdy as any good trail bike out there, especially with 3’ tires to further soften the terrain. Even with the bigger wheels, the ubiquitous SRAM Guide R brakes with 180mm rotors have good stopping power. My only complaint on the overall spec is the PressFit30 BB.  While the PressFit lightens the bike, it developed an annoying creak. Irksome, but not a deal breaker. It was a quick fix to remove and clean the cranks and bearings, which resolved the issue (tip: you can use a standard Park crank puller – minus the center pin, and not buy the $50 Cannondale tool). And also take note that big tires and sloping toptubes can make transport on the car more challenging, but still doable.

The 1×11 SRAM X1 drivetrain and Cannondale Si crank and SpideRing (30t) had enough gearing for any climbs and shifted smoothly after several months of hard use. The floating front derailleur mount was interesting, but moot with a 1x setup. WTB Scraper i40 27.5″ wheels have held up well and were easily setup for tubeless (the test bike came with tubes). Schwalbe Nobby Nic SnakeSkin 3.0 tires served me well during summer dry conditions, but these lighter weight skins are thin, so tire plugs and copious amounts of Stan’s saved me on several rides. Cannondale supplies the remaining controls with their own headset, short 31.5mm stem, and mid-range 760mm bars.2017 Cannondale Bad Habit 275plus mountain bike review and geometry chart

Overall, the steeper head angle and big wheels made for a super fun ride. With the 68 degree head angle, I expected the bike to handle tight and twisty well, and it didn’t disappoint. It’s been the perfect match for my local New England rocky, un-flow trails. The 13.1” bb height meant fewer pedal strikes than lower hung bikes. And those big tires stuck to boulders like…well, like 3″ low pressure, soft rubber tires, on rough granite.

cannondale bad habit review of their plus-tire full suspension mountain bike

I was pleasantly surprised how predictable it was at higher speeds too. On trips to the flow trail meccas of Knoxville, TN and Kingdom Trails, VT, the Bad Habit 2 was happy at speeds my wife would not approve of. I’ll never forget flying down Barn Burner at Baker’s Creek in Knoxville, that deep rumbling buzz of the big tires, with intermittent silence from each of the many jumps. I’ll need to try a Lefty version of the bike to confirm, but it seems like the RockShox Pike and it’s shorter offset might help make the Bad Habit 2 a bit more stable at speed than the geometry numbers would suggest.

The only downside to floaty 27.5+ tires is the tendency for the front wheel to float laterally (aka washout) on slick corners.  Where a narrower tire with more bite might be able to hold a little better. For me though, the benefits outweigh this side effect. I’d rather have the increased climbing traction, season extending winter riding, and general confidence that these big tires provide.

2017 Cannondale Bad Habit 275plus mountain bike review

To my surfer friends, I’ve been calling the Bad Habit a “funbike”, equating it to funboards, which are mid-sized boards that are good for catching small waves but can still carve a turn. A 7’ do-it-all funboard is perfect for small New England surf. Similarly a “funbike” like the Bad Habit can handle just about any trail, maximizing fun on both old-school technical and destination flow trails.

cannondale bad habit review of their plus-tire full suspension mountain bike

In the end, I found the 120mm suspension and big volume tires to be a good match for my skill level (advanced-mediocre), and riding style (fun loving wimp). The Bad Habit easily handled the “big” 3 – 4ft drops I like to hit. The large tires took the edge off when the shocks bottomed out. This is the forgiving bit, it sucked up ledges and ill-planned rock gardens like a bike with more travel. I hit several of my local hairball descents faster than ever, knowing that if I took a bad line, I could lean back and bounce over just about anything.

cannondale bad habit 275plus mountain bike reviewLately I’ve found myself taking the Bad Habit over to the trails where I grew up. Rocky but fast trails, flat pedals, stopping for dive in the quarry and a beer with friends. Great fun. And after the ride, a PB&J, with butter. That’s a fun day. And a fun bike.

Cannondale.com

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19 Comments
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kimbo305
kimbo305
6 years ago

Single apostrophe means foot. You want double apostrophe.
3″, not 3′.

Ripnshread
Ripnshread
6 years ago

The PBnB is best toasted and on an English muffin or even a Portuguese sweet roll.

therealgreenplease
6 years ago
Reply to  Ripnshread

Portuguese sweet roll I like it. I think you and I could get along.

Ripnshread
Ripnshread
6 years ago

When I was a young punk I would snag one of ’em at 2am when they left them to cool on the sill in Provincetown.

Flatbiller
Flatbiller
6 years ago

Worst name for a bike ever. Must’ve been the same team that came up with the Chevy Nova or Ford Probe?

Seraph
Seraph
6 years ago
Reply to  Flatbiller

It’s the badass version of the Habit. I don’t see the problem here.

Mike
Mike
6 years ago

“(tip: you can use a standard Park crank puller – minus the center pin, and not buy the $50 Cannondale tool)”

Maybe. I had the same thought. I have an older Park crank puller and it only threads in about one thread on my SISL and SISL2 cranks. I sure as heck am not pulling cranks that expensive on one thread. I sucked it up and bought the proper tool. The $50 hurt, but the $600 or so would hurt more.

Austin
Austin
6 years ago
Reply to  Mike

I tried the same. I wonder if these si cranks are different. I don’t think they are the same design as holliwgrams.

Ary
Ary
6 years ago
Reply to  Austin

same design, same tools to remove crank and Spider/chainring. they are forged rather than a hollow design

Tom in MN
Tom in MN
6 years ago

From an engineering point of view this rear suspension design would seem to have some advantages: rider weight is carried by the chainstay pivot, keeping it off the upper linkage. The upper linkage passes the seatstay force directly to the shock minimizing load on those bearings compared to vertical shock designs, and the lack of a dropout pivot simplifies the design.

dontcoast
dontcoast
6 years ago

you know you’re not on pinkbike when the first comment isn’t about reach numbers from 2012.

just looking at the first picture i though it looked short.

looks like a great bike for less aggro riders though.

duder
duder
6 years ago
Reply to  dontcoast

I haven’t ridden this bike, but looking at the geo numbers you can probably just size up unless you’re maxing out the range. I ride a “L” in most brands, and Cdale’s “L” size has always run a little small. “XL” looks like it would be great.

Chris
Chris
6 years ago
Reply to  duder

I rode a Habit last weekend, it was the smallest large i’ve ever ridden.

Mattie Davitt
6 years ago
Reply to  dontcoast

Yep, not to be a bandwagoner, but the short headtube, short reach and steep hta are a gen out of date as soon as the bike hit. V2 could be rad, inherit the new Trigger geo numbers.

Doc Mortimer
Doc Mortimer
6 years ago

“The rear of the bike combines alloy chainstays with flexing pivotless carbon seatstays”
Surely the whole swingarm, including seatstays, is alloy, and then the front triangle and link carbon?

John
6 years ago
Reply to  Doc Mortimer

Do’oh, yes, or course you’re right. The welds were sanded down on seatstays, and fooled me. Would have been tough join to make. I’ll fix.

mr. serious
mr. serious
6 years ago

the skull has some spinach in its teeth.

Derek
6 years ago

I have both a large 2016 Habit and 2016 Santa Cruz 5010. Same ETT, roughly the same reach.

Jamie in Kelowna
Jamie in Kelowna
3 years ago

I’m in my 3rd season on my Bad Habit. I would describe my riding as middle aged man looking for thrills. I’ve tried my friend’s Giants and Specialized. The Bad Habit is just too easy to ride tho. I’ll either retire or die on it.

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