Talk me out of buying a Cannonade Slate

graeme_s-2

I've always liked the look of the Cannondale Slate, and there are some pretty good sale prices for them at the moment. The 2017 Slate 105 can be picked up for £1350. It also seems that Cannondale will not be selling the Slate in the UK in 2018.

For some reason I have a strange hankering for one of these bikes. I've always liked the look of them.

There are some mixed tarmac/off road rides I could do round here that I think it would be suitable for.

My main commuting bike is a Planet X London Road with Rival 22 and Hydraulic disc brakes, which I've enjoyed riding off road a couple of times. I use my LR every day to commute on and it has full mudguards on (I may even attach a rack soon), so I'm less likely to use it for off road jaunts in the evening or at weekends.

I also like the idea of maybe some less muddy cyclocross, or some of the long distance cyclocross/adventure type events that are available now, and maybe a bit of bike packing.

Things that appeal to me about the Slate:

• I think it looks awesome
• The sale price is great

Things that put me off:

• Never owned a bike with suspension before, are there likely to be servicing problems with the lefty fork going forwards, especially if the bikes won't be available in the UK?
• Some of the reviews complain about tight tyre/frame clearances for an off road bike
• Only thing that's prompted me to consider buying a bike right now is the sale price and limited future availability. It's not going to bankrupt me, but might make better sense in 12 to 18 months time
• None of the components will be swappable with my London Road (different wheel size and group set)
• Don't believe there are any ice tyres that can be used on it (I rarely do this, but I do have an old 700C hybrid that I fit Marathon Winters to when it gets cold enough in the winter, and use this for my commute when necessary)
• I'm a bit meh on the colour scheme of the 105 Slate. It's fine, but I think the Apex (which I don't want) and Ultegra (which I can't afford) versions both have nicer paint jobs

I think my ideal bike for the sort of thing I want would probably be a cyclocross/gravel/adventure bike with:

• 700C wheels with QR levers that are swappable with my LR
• Tubeless compatible wheelset
• Bigger tyre clearance than my LR (I have full guards and 38C tyres on there, it'll take 40Cs with the guards off)
• SRAM Rival 1x with Hydraulic brakes (again, providing interchangeability with my LR)
• A comparable price (£1000-£1,500)

If I can find such a bike then it might suppress my lusty impulses towards the Slate. I basically talked myself out of buying one last week on the basis that I'd probably be able to get one in the 2018 sales if I still wanted one, then read over the weekend that Cannondale aren't selling the Slate in the UK next year. Today I've applied for and received a price match voucher at Evans (there's a shop nearby) for the £1350 sale price I've seen elsewhere.

kingstongraham

Graeme_S wrote:

I've always liked the look of the Cannondale Slate

If that's the case, then there's probably no talking you out of it at that price.

graeme_s-2

KingstonGraham wrote:

If that's the case, then there's probably no talking you out of it at that price.

I knew this was essentially going to be like asking a bunch of smack addicts to talk me out of scoring my next hit

keef66

https://www.rutlandcycling.com/bikes/ro ... gLp2fD_BwE

This fails to tick some of your boxes, but having seen this in their Histon showroom it is rather lovely...

Bargain if they have your size

daniel_b

I too think it looks awesome, so feel your pain - even more so, as I have no genuine need, or use for one - bit over the top for a followmetandem sadly :-(

All I will say, and I have done zero research on this, is that I have read a few people mention issues with the forks, and that some have been replced under warranty - not sure how widespread the issue is, and or how long the warranty on the fork lasts, but might be worth investigating further.

And this may be of interest:

DrLex wrote:

2017 Cannondale Slate 105 - use "bike10" to get it to £1,215 from £2,699 RRP.

graeme_s-2

Daniel B wrote:

I too think it looks awesome, so feel your pain - even more so, as I have no genuine need, or use for one - bit over the top for a followmetandem sadly :-(

I absolutely started out with "I want one, how could I imagine using it in a way that justifies me buying one?"

Daniel B wrote:

All I will say, and I have done zero research on this, is that I have read a few people mention issues with the forks, and that some have been replced under warranty - not sure how widespread the issue is, and or how long the warranty on the fork lasts, but might be worth investigating further.

Thanks for that - I'll look into it.

daniel_b

No worries - just edited my post above too!

graeme_s-2

I have found a bike that I think meets pretty much all my criteria (don't think the wheels are tubeless ready), which is the Planet X XLS SRAM Rival 1.

It's a carbon fibre cyclocross bike with SRAM Rival 1. Full price is £1,399.99, currently reduced to £1,299.99. I'm sure it'd be a much more sensible purchase, but it really bores me!

daniel_b

Graeme_S wrote:

I have found a bike that I think meets pretty much all my criteria (don't think the wheels are tubeless ready), which is the Planet X XLS SRAM Rival 1.

It's a carbon fibre cyclocross bike with SRAM Rival 1. Full price is £1,399.99, currently reduced to £1,299.99. I'm sure it'd be a much more sensible purchase, but it really bores me!

I'm with you there!

I'm going to try and achieve a similar, all be it suspensionless, ride with my Synapse.

graeme_s-2

Daniel B wrote:

No worries - just edited my post above too!

Thanks for that - I'd seen it there, but hadn't seen the voucher code.

daniel_b

Graeme_S wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

No worries - just edited my post above too!

Thanks for that - I'd seen it there, but hadn't seen the voucher code.

Damn it's pretty!

TheHound

I've heard they shrink your penis

arlowood

Have a read through the comments in this post in the "Your Bikes" sub-forum, if you haven't already.

viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=13072289&start=20

Some love it - others might not be so enamored - particularly the comments in the most recent post about warranty issues with the fork and wheels

graeme_s-2

Thanks for further comments (including entertaining attempts to dissuade me).

Looks like the frame has a lifetime warranty for the original owner. All other parts, including the lefty fork are a 1 year warranty.

svetty

I wouldn't get one of those - every one I've seen has the R front fork leg snapped off

daniel_b

Graeme_S wrote:

Thanks for further comments (including entertaining attempts to dissuade me).

Looks like the frame has a lifetime warranty for the original owner. All other parts, including the lefty fork are a 1 year warranty.

Hmm, that's a bit sh1tty isn't it, that would put me off a fair bit, unless there are aftermarket, or fixed options you could replace it with, or will they be horrifically expensive?

if it were me, and it genuinely WAS a regular issue, I would want a 3-5 year warranty to let me feel like I could get something like my moneys worth out of it if the worst was to happen.

kingstongraham

Svetty wrote:

I wouldn't get one of those - every one I've seen has the R front fork leg snapped off

Now you mention it - I knew there was something that looked weird about them.

janwal

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXFMAPEX ... ravel-bike
Fulfills all your needs just change wheels for some tubeless with what you save.

graeme_s-2

Daniel B wrote:

Graeme_S wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

No worries - just edited my post above too!

Thanks for that - I'd seen it there, but hadn't seen the voucher code.

It was indeed - ordered it from Evans for delivery to my local store this morning!

Once I'd seen the 2 Planet X cyclocross bikes that were sensible and satisfied all my criteria and was completely bored by them I realised I'd regret it if I missed out on picking one of these up at this price.

I may live to regret buying it, but lots of owners talk about just how much fun they are, so I'm looking forwards to getting out and riding some weird tarmac/off road rides.

10-14 days until I can pick it up, and that's likely to mean it arrives while I'm on holiday in Cornwall, so might be second week in September before I get my mitts on it!

daniel_b

Good new bike news! Let us know how you get on.

I have bought 3 bikes from Evans, and two had issues, so my advice would be to go over it with a fine toothed comb.
And also check the parts fitted, two of mine had incorrect length X 2, and material X 1 seatposts.
They were Dales too.

Look forward to hearing how you get on and seeing pics.

graeme_s-2

Thanks for the tip re Evans. I'm under no illusions that they're some pinnacle of high standards, I just thought it would be convenient to have a local shop I can actually go back to should I have any issues.

For those interested, there's an enormous owners thread that I read through here:

http://forums.mtbr.com/cyclocross/anyon ... 93664.html

Not all glowing write ups by any means, although there are also a lot of very happy owners. The main thing that appeals to me is how much fun people seem to be having on it.

sloppyschleckonds

Graeme_S wrote:

The main thing that appeals to me is how much fun people seem to be having on it.

People lie, cycling is about suffering and pain

graeme_s-2

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Graeme_S wrote:

The main thing that appeals to me is how much fun people seem to be having on it.

People lie, cycling is about suffering and pain

8) but we're cyclists. We already think suffering and pain is fun!

ugo.santalucia

Graeme_S wrote:

My main commuting bike is a Planet X London Road with Rival 22 and Hydraulic disc brakes, which I've enjoyed riding off road a couple of times.

Parked behind physics today?

graeme_s-2

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Graeme_S wrote:

My main commuting bike is a Planet X London Road with Rival 22 and Hydraulic disc brakes, which I've enjoyed riding off road a couple of times.

Parked behind physics today?

Nope - in its usual spot by WBS - there are a few about on campus though! There's another in camo green that shares the WBS stands with mine. Another forumer on campus has one in a flat bar configuration I think.

ugo.santalucia

Graeme_S wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Graeme_S wrote:

My main commuting bike is a Planet X London Road with Rival 22 and Hydraulic disc brakes, which I've enjoyed riding off road a couple of times.

Parked behind physics today?

Nope - in its usual spot by WBS - there are a few about on campus though! There's another in camo green that shares the WBS stands with mine. Another forumer on campus has one in a flat bar configuration I think.

Must be a new one... looks very clean.. drop bars and Sram Hydro

graeme_s-2

Mine looks neither new, nor clean at the moment!

But I do still get a kick out of the fluorescent green paintjob

graeme_s-2

Daniel B wrote:

Graeme_S wrote:

Thanks for further comments (including entertaining attempts to dissuade me).

Looks like the frame has a lifetime warranty for the original owner. All other parts, including the lefty fork are a 1 year warranty.

Hmm, that's a bit sh1tty isn't it, that would put me off a fair bit, unless there are aftermarket, or fixed options you could replace it with, or will they be horrifically expensive?

if it were me, and it genuinely WAS a regular issue, I would want a 3-5 year warranty to let me feel like I could get something like my moneys worth out of it if the worst was to happen.

It looks like I got this wrong. The structural components of the lefty fork are covered by the frame's lifetime warranty. The smaller servicable components are covered by the 1 year parts warranty (although I read something else that said that was 2 years).

lettingthedaysgoby

What's the point/supposed advantage of that silly fork?

andcp

Graeme_S wrote:

Don't believe there are any ice tyres that can be used on it (I rarely do this, but I do have an old 700C hybrid that I fit Marathon Winters to when it gets cold enough in the winter, and use this for my commute when necessary)

Well you can, but even with a 45% discount they're not inexpensive....http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-ice-sp ... -mtb-tyre/

andcp

lettingthedaysgoby wrote:

What's the point/supposed advantage of that silly fork?

Cannondale MTB's originally had a single shock that was in the head tube for weight reduction, but they found that they could only get about 2.5" of travel. To obtain more travel (about 4") they moved the shock outside the head tube but retained the single piston. I guess on the Slate they are using it for saving weight as I believe this shock only has about 2" travel in this application.

I have a very, very old 'lefty' shock with 4" of travel which works really well and invariably starts a discussion when I stop for cake.