Cannondale Gravel Bikes

edrobbin

Has anyone seen these? Road bikes with LEFTY FORK!!!

Cannondale Slate 2016 range - Google it and be blown away!

That has to be the perfect combination. Anyone want to buy a 2012 Scalpel?

veronese68

I just thought what could be the difference between a gravel bike and a cross bike. Is the downtube on a gravel bike silenced somehow so it doesn't ping when small stones hit it?

Lefty forks are all kinds of wrong.

UndercoverElephant

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19732848#p19732848]edrobbin[/url] wrote:

Cannondale Slate 2016 range - Google it and be blown away!

Or Google it and feel queasy,

smokey_bacon

I love these bikes. Shame they are abit out of my price range at the moment otherwise I'd have one.

roger_merriman

think as before I question 650b over 700c tyres to what aim? 650b has a narrow range, and tyres partically if going off road make huge differences.

and I do question a 30mm fork, for suspension to make a difference it needs travel. my MTB I commute on uses more just pootling on gravel tracks, to not bottom out a 30mm is going to need to be very stiff.

it is a interesting idea but i'm unconvinced that uncommonly used tyre size plus a very short travel shock, is what a gravel bike needs.

iPete

I'd really like to give one a proper test ride.
Do they live up to the hype of being a fast road bike and decent off-roader?

ddraver

Credit to Cannondale for the R&D but I don't see this being much of a hit. I suspect a few riders at Team Cannondale will be forced to use it at Roubaix and Flanders next year but...meh





Certainly that second photo shows that in the US there are Gravel roads and Gravel roads though...

veronese68

If cross bike are for perverts, who are these for?

iPete

It's certainly a bike that will attract plenty of 'I've got nowhere to ride it, therefore the bike must be rubbish' comments.

But seriously, where can I give one a proper test ride?! Not an Evans Cycles around the block and keep it clean test ride.

backo

have a lefty on a f29 and cant fault the fork at all....admitedly once you get used to how it looks!

this bike looks great fun to ride as a cross between a road bike and a hardtail..possibley for people who dont like their elbows taking a hammering on a cross bike!

roger_merriman

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19732926#p19732926]backo[/url] wrote:

have a lefty on a f29 and cant fault the fork at all....admitedly once you get used to how it looks!

this bike looks great fun to ride as a cross between a road bike and a hardtail..possibley for people who dont like their elbows taking a hammering on a cross bike!

Much closer to a road bike, most budget Hardtails are 100mm, the slate close on a quarter of that, while it is I'm sure a good fork, getting a fork that can smooth out lumps and bumps within 30mm with out bottoming out etc is going to quite a ask, frankly the tyre width of 40 vs 28 or 32 even is likely to be more of a difference.

backo

I didnt realise it only had 30mm of travel...that will be interesting!

ddraver

It keeps the front wheel gripping over small bumps - that's all it's for (IMO). It's not to absorb big hits like an MTB fork is (also) for

k1875

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19732908#p19732908]Veronese68[/url] wrote:

If cross bike are for perverts, who are these for?

Blind perverts.

spasypaddy

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19732910#p19732910]iPete[/url] wrote:

It's certainly a bike that will attract plenty of 'I've got nowhere to ride it, therefore the bike must be rubbish' comments.

But seriously, where can I give one a proper test ride?! Not an Evans Cycles around the block and keep it clean test ride.

there are only 2 or 3 in the country i believe. so good luck with that

iPete

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733290#p19733290]spasypaddy[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19732910#p19732910]iPete[/url] wrote:

It's certainly a bike that will attract plenty of 'I've got nowhere to ride it, therefore the bike must be rubbish' comments.

But seriously, where can I give one a proper test ride?! Not an Evans Cycles around the block and keep it clean test ride.

there are only 2 or 3 in the country i believe. so good luck with that

Quite, not even on sale until after Winter, genius :idea:

DrLex

Other than being easier to fix a front puncture, what's the benefit here?

NeXXus

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733296#p19733296]DrLex[/url] wrote:

Other than being easier to fix a front puncture, what's the benefit here?

There isn't one, just Cannondale solving a problem that didn't exist

First.Aspect

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733373#p19733373]NeXXus[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733296#p19733296]DrLex[/url] wrote:

Other than being easier to fix a front puncture, what's the benefit here?

There isn't one, just Cannondale solving a problem that didn't exist

There are large parts of the US with relatively few tarmac roads, but miles and miles of fire roads - gravel roads giving vehicle access to tackle brush fire - but a bit bone jarring for a cross bike.

That is your market, not Londoners or other inhabitants of a small over populated island.

That said, it might be ideal for large parts of Scotland, forestry commision land and so on. But that's north of Watford, eh?

kajjal

I have a diverge DSW comp which is a great bike for my riding. Smooths out the bumpy roads, not much slower than a road bike and handles well on smoother off road trails. Also it has very good brakes. My road bike is now gathering dust as i prefer the smoother ride.

roger_merriman

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19732975#p19732975]ddraver[/url] wrote:

It keeps the front wheel gripping over small bumps - that's all it's for (IMO). It's not to absorb big hits like an MTB fork is (also) for

yes, but to do that it needs travel or the fork has to be very stiff, which judging by Cannondales own videos, most of the time the riders pull up and they have chosen terrain well.

But you can see the bike when it's rolling over gravel is slightly juddering as a CX etc bike would.

I'm sure it has an effect but i'm very cynical that it's anything like the hype.

kajjal

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733432#p19733432]roger merriman[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19732975#p19732975]ddraver[/url] wrote:

It keeps the front wheel gripping over small bumps - that's all it's for (IMO). It's not to absorb big hits like an MTB fork is (also) for

yes, but to do that it needs travel or the fork has to be very stiff, which judging by Cannondales own videos, most of the time the riders pull up and they have chosen terrain well.

But you can see the bike when it's rolling over gravel is slightly juddering as a CX etc bike would.

I'm sure it has an effect but i'm very cynical that it's anything like the hype.

My first XC hardtail mountain bike in the mid 1990's had only 50mm of front suspension but it made a huge difference in the control of the bike and not having the pain of being beaten up by a rigid bike that I had previously. I still lifted / unweighted the front over trail obstacles rather than try and ride through them.

roger_merriman

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733450#p19733450]Kajjal[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733432#p19733432]roger merriman[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19732975#p19732975]ddraver[/url] wrote:

It keeps the front wheel gripping over small bumps - that's all it's for (IMO). It's not to absorb big hits like an MTB fork is (also) for

yes, but to do that it needs travel or the fork has to be very stiff, which judging by Cannondales own videos, most of the time the riders pull up and they have chosen terrain well.

But you can see the bike when it's rolling over gravel is slightly juddering as a CX etc bike would.

I'm sure it has an effect but i'm very cynical that it's anything like the hype.

My first XC hardtail mountain bike in the mid 1990's had only 50mm of front suspension but it made a huge difference in the control of the bike and not having the pain of being beaten up by a rigid bike that I had previously. I still lifted / unweighted the front over trail obstacles rather than try and ride through them.

Yup but although fairly primitive it was 50mm not 30mm, 30mm is not a lot of travel, videos seem to show little difference vs a CX bike. Maybe one day I'll get a chance and say nope I'm wrong but I just don't see how that little amount is going to amount to much.

NeXXus

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733395#p19733395]First Aspect[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733373#p19733373]NeXXus[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733296#p19733296]DrLex[/url] wrote:

Other than being easier to fix a front puncture, what's the benefit here?

There isn't one, just Cannondale solving a problem that didn't exist

There are large parts of the US with relatively few tarmac roads, but miles and miles of fire roads - gravel roads giving vehicle access to tackle brush fire - but a bit bone jarring for a cross bike.

That is your market, not Londoners or other inhabitants of a small over populated island.

That said, it might be ideal for large parts of Scotland, forestry commision land and so on. But that's north of Watford, eh?

What did people do before the Cannondale gravel lefty came along then?

First.Aspect

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733483#p19733483]NeXXus[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733395#p19733395]First Aspect[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733373#p19733373]NeXXus[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733296#p19733296]DrLex[/url] wrote:

Other than being easier to fix a front puncture, what's the benefit here?

There isn't one, just Cannondale solving a problem that didn't exist

There are large parts of the US with relatively few tarmac roads, but miles and miles of fire roads - gravel roads giving vehicle access to tackle brush fire - but a bit bone jarring for a cross bike.

That is your market, not Londoners or other inhabitants of a small over populated island.

That said, it might be ideal for large parts of Scotland, forestry commision land and so on. But that's north of Watford, eh?

What did people do before the Cannondale gravel lefty came along then?

What did people do before mtbs came along then?

See, we can all say stupid censored .

NeXXus

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733509#p19733509]First Aspect[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733483#p19733483]NeXXus[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733395#p19733395]First Aspect[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733373#p19733373]NeXXus[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733296#p19733296]DrLex[/url] wrote:

Other than being easier to fix a front puncture, what's the benefit here?

There isn't one, just Cannondale solving a problem that didn't exist

There are large parts of the US with relatively few tarmac roads, but miles and miles of fire roads - gravel roads giving vehicle access to tackle brush fire - but a bit bone jarring for a cross bike.

That is your market, not Londoners or other inhabitants of a small over populated island.

That said, it might be ideal for large parts of Scotland, forestry commision land and so on. But that's north of Watford, eh?

What did people do before the Cannondale gravel lefty came along then?

What did people do before mtbs came along then?

See, we can all say stupid censored .

We can, some people can't help themselves though

ddraver

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733463#p19733463]roger merriman[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733450#p19733450]Kajjal[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733432#p19733432]roger merriman[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19732975#p19732975]ddraver[/url] wrote:

It keeps the front wheel gripping over small bumps - that's all it's for (IMO). It's not to absorb big hits like an MTB fork is (also) for

yes, but to do that it needs travel or the fork has to be very stiff, which judging by Cannondales own videos, most of the time the riders pull up and they have chosen terrain well.

But you can see the bike when it's rolling over gravel is slightly juddering as a CX etc bike would.

I'm sure it has an effect but i'm very cynical that it's anything like the hype.

My first XC hardtail mountain bike in the mid 1990's had only 50mm of front suspension but it made a huge difference in the control of the bike and not having the pain of being beaten up by a rigid bike that I had previously. I still lifted / unweighted the front over trail obstacles rather than try and ride through them.

Yup but although fairly primitive it was 50mm not 30mm, 30mm is not a lot of travel, videos seem to show little difference vs a CX bike. Maybe one day I'll get a chance and say nope I'm wrong but I just don't see how that little amount is going to amount to much.

It doesnt need to have a lot of travel. 30mm keeps the wheel on the ground over small (gravel sized) stones and bumps when a rigid fork would bounce into the air (by a mm or so) and lose traction. The juddering is nt important. It's the tyre grip that has been improved. A common misconception of XC MTB suspension is that it's to make the ride smooth. It's not, it's to allow you to ride faster by increasing grip.

Nexxus is just being a d1ck...

NeXXus

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733522#p19733522]ddraver[/url] wrote:

Nexxus is just being a d1ck...

No need for name calling, I stopped doing that when I was about 12. You'll find I'm actually in agreement with you.

DrLex

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733373#p19733373]NeXXus[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733296#p19733296]DrLex[/url] wrote:

Other than being easier to fix a front puncture, what's the benefit here?

There isn't one, just Cannondale solving a problem that didn't exist

You misunderstand me; why the one-armed (or should that be one-tined) fork?
Does it need a special hub, too?

timothyw

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733777#p19733777]DrLex[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733373#p19733373]NeXXus[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733296#p19733296]DrLex[/url] wrote:

Other than being easier to fix a front puncture, what's the benefit here?

There isn't one, just Cannondale solving a problem that didn't exist

You misunderstand me; why the one-armed (or should that be one-tined) fork?
Does it need a special hub, too?

Of course it does, don't be silly. I'll be rushing straight away to buy into this system supported by only one manufacturer, with the added benefit of a wonky looking bike.

I totally get the point of this if you actually live near fire/gravel roads, but I don't think UK roads are quite that bad... yet.

NeXXus

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733777#p19733777]DrLex[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733373#p19733373]NeXXus[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733296#p19733296]DrLex[/url] wrote:

Other than being easier to fix a front puncture, what's the benefit here?

There isn't one, just Cannondale solving a problem that didn't exist

You misunderstand me; why the one-armed (or should that be one-tined) fork?
Does it need a special hub, too?

That's the question most people can't answer. It does have a special hub, it looks like this