Cannondale Habit LT 2 review | Trail Bike of the Year contender

Launched in 2023, the Cannondale Habit LT 2 sits alongside the ‘regular’ Habit models. The LT denotes an extra 10mm of travel at either end of the bike, boosting it to 140mm at the back and 150mm at the front, and a build that's more suited to the rugged end of the trail riding spectrum.

In addition to the extra travel, you get enduro-ready forks, a piggyback shock and powerful brakes.

This LT2 model has an alloy frame, a Shimano drivetrain and RockShox suspension.

Cannondale also gives the Habit its Proportional Response Design, meaning the geometry and the suspension are size-specific – think differing kinematics and altered chainstay lengths.

The LT retains the Habit’s poppy and fun character while adding a hint of extra capability.

The mid-stroke support gives it character on jumps and through berms, and ensures a stable pedalling platform. But when tracks get chunky, basic dampers in the suspension hold the bike back a touch.

Cannondale Habit LT 2 frame and suspension

Cannondale uses its SmartFirm C1 Alloy to build the 140mm travel 29er frame (the XS size runs 27.5in wheels).

The hydroformed tubes give arced lines, with the link that drives the shock sat mid-way up the curved seat tube, placing the shock in the middle of the frame.

Despite this, the seat tube is straight enough to fit a long travel dropper post.

The suspension is a Horst Linkage, with a chainstay located pivot there to help reduce the impact of pedalling and braking on the suspension.

The frame features downtube and chainstay protection to keep the paint fresh and noise levels down, while there’s also room for a bottle in the main triangle.

Cables run internally, while there’s a Universal Derailleur Hanger (UDH) and threaded bottom bracket to keep maintenance simple. ISCG05 mounts mean if you do want to go even burlier, you can mount a bash guard and chain guide, too.

Cannondale Habit LT 2 geometry

Cannondale offers four sizes, from XS to XL. At 182cm tall, I tested the size Large.

Angles and numbers are thoroughly modern - for example, the effective seat angle sits at 77.1 degrees - plenty steep enough to get the hips right over the saddle.

The actual seat tube angle is slacker between 70.6 and 72.1 degrees depending on frame size, according to their geometry chart, so the higher the saddle, the slacker the effective seat height will be.

At my 750mm saddle height, I measured the seat angle at 77.4 degrees.

Further forward you get a 64.7 degree head angle, which is pretty slack for a trail bike.

Rear centre (chainstay) lengths lengthen on larger bikes, reflecting the relative changes of rider weight distribution with taller riders.

On the XS they sit at 434mm, while the XL is up at 445mm. That's not a huge difference but it's notable nonetheless.

Cannondale Habit LT 2 specifications

From the point of view of barrelling through some properly technical terrain, the standout components will be the 150mm RockShox Lyrik Select suspension fork and the piggy-backed Super Deluxe Select shock.

This extra appendage on the shock allows for more oil volume, making it more resistant to heat build-up on long, rough descents.

The Lyrik was RockShox’s enduro fork, before the even burlier Zeb arrived, but this fork still has serious clout.

Continuing this burly theme are the 4-piston Shimano Deore brakes, though a full 200mm rotor at the rear would really signify intent, rather than the 180mm rotor that’s fitted.

Broad WTB rims hold Maxxis Minion and Dissector tyres, both in a 2.5in width - plenty of volume there to deal with the hits. Though they’re both listed as Dual Compound EXO cased tyres, my rear was a triple compound (MaxxTerra) EXO+ cased tyre offering more puncture resistance.

A mixed Shimano drivetrain, with Deore, SLX and XT components, as well as Cannondale finishing kit complete the build, contributing to the 15.8kg weight.

Cannondale Habit LT 2 ride impressions

With RockShox suspension at either end of the bike, the Habit LT was refreshingly simple to set up – pop some air in the springs and ensure that the rebound settings were to my liking.

I tend to start with 28 per cent sag, and on the Habit LT this is also where I ended up, after going both harder and softer on the rear suspension. It seemed to give a good balance of pedalling and descending performance.

As ever, I also started with 22psi in the rear tyre and 21psi in the front, altering pressures depending on trail style and conditions. The broad rims and EXO+ rear casing, though, meant I had no qualms running such pressures, and they’re consistent with what I usually run on my trail bikes.

Cannondale Habit LT 2 climbing performance

The Habit LT likes to sit relatively high in its travel when pedalling, with the anti-squat working to keep the suspension stable and the bike from sinking deep past its sag point, even when pointing up some steep terrain.

This gives the Habit LT an energetic performance, ensuring that even though you’re plenty of suspension to push up the hill, it’s not trying to impede your progress as you go.

It does mean that when you bump and bang through stepped climbs, there’s a little more fed back through the cranks and saddle than one might get on a less lively bike.

This is even the case when you’re stood out of the saddle. The bike is still relatively stable and efficient feeling, more so than most of the other trail bikes in the 2024 Bike of the Year test.

This is, to some extent, handy, as the Select level rear Super Deluxe shock doesn’t have a lockout switch.

Even on smooth drags, I didn’t really find this missing.

The perky suspension is backed up with a moderately fast rolling rear Dissector tyre. The central treads don’t offer up too much rolling resistance, and so the bike doesn’t feel like a drag when you’re winching up steep slopes.

The flip side of this is that when it's properly wet, the Dissector doesn’t quite dig into soft mud, or bite over log or rock steps as well as more aggressively treaded tyres.

The upright seat angle ensures your hips are placed nicely over the centre of the cranks, giving you an efficient feeling position from which to pedal.

Cannondale Habit LT 2 descending performance

The Habit LT is seriously fast on rolling flow trails.

The fast-feeling Dissector out back helps give the bike real zip. With the suspension in the middle offering good levels of support, every pedal stroke goes into driving the bike forward, while pumping the bike into downslopes or round berms does wonders for your forward motion.

This contributes to a bike that loves getting airborne. Show it a lip of a jump, or even just a bump over a root, and the Habit seems to love getting a few air miles.

Cannondale has worked wonders ensuring that the shorter travel Habit’s fun-loving attitude is maintained in the Long Travel variant.

Show the bike a few corners, and it’s not dissuaded from having fun, either.

While it might not sit as low as some, with its 344mm bottom bracket height, and happily sitting higher rather than hunkering into its travel, it can be loaded up and pushed through corners - so long as you’re happy standing tall and putting the effort in, rather than being a passenger.

It’s here that the tyres have more of an impact.

The Dissector and Minion DHF corner well on their shoulder treads. However, at the front, the gap between the central and shoulder treads can lead to a vague feeling as you transition to the shoulder.

At the back, the Dissector can get a little scrabbly as you brake. But the 4-bar suspension does help keep the rear relatively active as you squeeze the brake, so as long as you've got traction, braking performance is good.

Let’s get serious

When tracks start to get seriously chunky, the Cannondale’s Achilles heel starts to make an appearance.

The base level fork and shock can’t compete with the Select+ level suspension found on some– but not all – competitor bikes.

The fork doesn’t feel quite as smooth as the Charger 3 damped Select+ models, for example, found on bikes such as the Marin Rift Zone 29 XR or GT sensor Carbon Pro, nor the cheaper Fox 36 Rhythms’ GRIP damper found on the Canyon Spectral CF7 or Trek Fuel EX 9.7.

This leads to a slightly less settled or calm ride when you’re really attacking rockier, gnarlier tracks with repeated hits. The fork and shock get a little overwhelmed. The fork in particular starts to feel harsh, spiking on repeated hits, and unable to recover effectively between impacts.

Having said that, large, individual hits are dispatched with ease.

The suspension at the rear remains progressive and so the Habit LT eases into its latter stroke, without trying to blow your ankles off the pedals.

When the trails get steeper, the Lyrik’s DebonAir Spring does offer good support, so the fork doesn’t dive horribly as you aim towards a catch berm, keeping you positioned nicely over the bike.

The 64.7-degree head angle and mid-pack length reach help keep you stable on the steeps, and on loose terrain.

The Cannondale Habit LT's geometry isn't the longest or slackest around, which contributes to its playful, rather than sled-like nature.

The Shimano Deore 4-piston brakes are powerful stoppers, though as mentioned earlier, a 200mm rear rotor would further boost their performance. They have the typical Shimano snappy feel as the pads engage the rotor, which gives me confidence.

Shimano’s SLX drivetrain is a reliable workhorse. However, it requires maintenance and care to keep it running smoothly through a wet winter.

How does the Cannondale Habit LT 2 compare to the Canyon Spectral CF7?

On paper, the Canyon Spectral CF7 and Cannondale Habit LT 2 are fairly similar. They are 140/150mm travel trail bikes with entry-level suspension from the two main players in the game, and modern, yet not radical geometry.

Ok, the Canyon benefits from their direct-to-consumer selling model, which allows for a carbon frame at a price that’s lower than the Cannondale, but this would be countered with in-shop back-up that many people appreciate.

What the comparison highlights is the difference in suspension.

Fox’s entry-level Rhythm 36 and Performance Float X shock outperform the RockShox Lyrik and Super Deluxe shock on fast, rocky tracks, with a smoother, more comfortable feeling. This is despite the Lyrik having a little more mid-stroke support when you push hard.

When pushing and popping around on the bikes, they are more than happy to fly. The Cannondale feeds back a little more through the bars and pedals, but has plenty of oomph, while the Canyon has a silky feeling that might not feel quite as urgent, but still does the job well.

Cannondale Habit LT 2 bottom line

I really enjoyed riding the Cannondale Habit LT. It’s a fast trail bike that loves to be pumped and pulled over terrain, generating speed as it goes.

Show it a jump or a drop and it’s ready and waiting to pounce, with plenty of air-generating po and deep stroke control to ensure landings are achieved without fuss.

Blue and red graded trails are its bread and butter, flying along with vigour.

It’ll handle the blacks, too, thanks to decent geometry and confidence-inspiring brakes, however posher, and ultimately plusher dampers would make the Habit LT excel.