My Cannondale Carbon Flash 29er needs a shout out right about now. I can't thank White Pine Touring enough for hooking me up with this sweet ride. The first time I rode it, I fell in love. Every time I race or ride it, I love it more. It handles so smoothly and the carbon frame is so responsive. The Lefty is not only the lightest front suspension you can buy, it has an easy lock-out feature. The best part about that, is when it's locked out, you can still blow through it if you hit a big bump and the shock will return to locked. While racing the Sea Otter Classic I chose to race with the fork locked out the entire time. The course had very little technical riding and lots of pavement and fire road. I didn't want suspension to sap my power on the flats and I didn't really need suspension for the short single track. So the lockout was perfect.

My bike weighs in just slightly over 20 lbs. right now. The Carbon Flash 29er is THE ideal bike for racing cross country.