Oh dear, so the market for idiots buying "One of them fat ally Cannondales fings" has gone has it? And making motorbikes was a silly idea as well?

What the hell is happening if one of the leading lights of the bike industry can't keep it's head above water. All I can say is that I hope all's well with the other big companies (Trek, Specialized etc) so that all can be well for the smaller companies, like Orange etc

oh thats such a shame...... nope sorry cant even give false symathy.... haha, GOOD!

Mr.Ste What a narrow-minded view, Cannondale have been and will probably still continue be one of the most creative bike manufacturers ever like them or not. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.

Tried it, they suck.

ANd as for their customer 'service', don't even start me on that one...

i have tried it...

sorry man, but both cannondale i have owned, and a very large majority of ones people i know own there are so many problems with corrosion....

they have a bad name for themselves now, gonna be hard to come back from that with so amny other reputable (sp?) companies around

Yeah, I've heard so many people on the internet who've had problems with them. Never met one in real life though.

Looks like you guys where unfortunate I’m on my 3rd Dale in 17 years of riding (few years on PACE and Dave Yates) although customer service has been bad from time to time the bikes have been superb. J.

Mind you as I’m the only one who likes them and hasn’t had any trouble i can't say I’m surprised they've gone down the pan.

Charlie, are you viewing this matter as someone who's worked in the cycle industry?

There will be thousands of satisfied 'dale owners as much as there are thousands of S*****n owners.

If we're each satified with our individual bike (as I am with my Killi Comp - knock down price from Evans) I can't see a problem.

I just don't understand the hostility towards Cannondale. I've always liked their approach, not afraid to experiment, not afraid to get it wrong occasionally. When did mountain biking become so damned conservative that these are bad things? Don't forget that all those Taiwanese factories knocking out decent ally frames only got their know how from the R&D that companies like Cannondale put in 10-15 years ago.

I never particularly planned to buy a Dale, but when I ws in the market for a new bike, I was offered a test ride on one and I liked it. So I bought it. A couple of friends had Dales and swore by them (rather than at them) and as for logevity, my brothers 93 Beast of the East is still going strong. I like my bike, the frame is a beaut and I hope to be riding it for a long time to come.

Surely any bike firm going under is bad news, because it deprives us of choice. There are bikes that I don't like myself - I hate Ellsworths, hideous things, but if they're the right bike for someone out there, then I say good on 'em. Long may they last.

I've never had a single problem with a Cannondale myself. Mainly due to the fact that I've never owned one.

A few friends have had problems with some of their own brand stuff like the brakes, and the forks, and the badly designed sus-seatpost, but not with the frames as far as I know. Ivan's even got one of their original full sus frames in his garage, (complete with two notches of travel at each end).

I'd be sorry to see them go under, as there are very few large bike manufacturers doing anything innovative or original any more. Their products may not suit me, but they have their place in the market.

I used to sell them, yes. And they don't offer a very good margin, their customer service isn't. (Not "Isn't any good" or anything, it just isn't!)

YEs people are satisfied with them, and good luck . I just think that they completely cocked up by not realising what actually makes money.

mioght sound contadictory, but i LOVED my beast of the east, lovely frame, just a perfect fit for me.

but then it died. praps thats where i hold my hostility towards them...they took my baby away from me!

*cue violins*

" I just think that they completely cocked up by not realising what actually makes money."

Well obviously. Motorbikes. I think they found themselves in a difficult position - they became a big company, but not a 'huge' company. Big companies generally get swallowed up by 'huge' companies these days, but CD wanted to stay independant. So they tried to diversify into a big money market and have got royally stung.

I reckon the bike brand will be bought up by Trek or someone. It'll be a shame to see the last big independant go, but maybe it was inevitable.

Just a shame that it wasn't Volvo that went under.

And that "Lefty" was just soooo ugly. Anybody got one?

mmmm, apparently they work....

ive heard good things about them to be fair.

Come on, at least READ the bloody article.

The bit that you seem to have overlooked is this:
They've sold $22m motorbikes - each one at a loss.
No mention of the MTB division being unprofitable.
In fact it seems from the limited story that the part of Cannondale making mountain bikes is still a profitable and going concern, but the motorbike part isn't.
Sounds like they've overstretched themselves a bit too far. Mountainbikes to Motorbikes seems to have been a bit too ambitious for them.

The market for buying big fat alloy bikes (that aren't the biggest and fattest any more - doh), hasn't fallen away.
Like John says, Cannondale are a very creative mtb company. For example they were using big fat alloy tubes years before almost anyone else. They did the hollow bottom bracket thing before shimano, the lefty fork is a fantastic piece of thinking, the original Super V was perhaps one of the most influential bikes in the development of full suspension, etc.

Charlie, this comment that you made is laughable:
"All I can say is that I hope all's well with the other big companies (Trek, Specialized etc) so that all can be well for the smaller companies, like Orange etc"
Nice.
I'm sure you've noticed that each of these companies COMPETE with each other for our hard earned cash.
This means that the bigger and more successful the big companies get, the more difficult life becomes for their competitors.

Same here. Although not as good as the things I've heard about the U.S.E. SUB.

Yes, but big companies doing well drives the whole industry forward, thus helping the smaller ones.

I like my Cannondale. It'll be a pity if they're never seen again.

If you want to point out legitimate problems with Cannondale, I think referring to them as "Crack 'n' Fail" and using other childish insults reduces the likelihood that others will pay attention to any fair points you make.

I think Lefty's look cool, probably because they're so different. Presumably USE like the look of them as well.