ISSUE
34
japan
style
adiridas
in south africa FreeWheel Magazine May 2009
$ 9.95
S C
I NGLESPEED APO , PL U G ,
jongewaardFRY
Taberlay
S H OWDOWN : P I STA , BOWERY
ENDURO 12
2
Cannondale 29er 2 When I see a 29er it evokes certain emotions in me that no other bike does. When I think about it, there’s one emotion in particular that rings through: fun. I’ve ridden a few of these things now and they really are something special. It must be said that I’m a big fan of these big wheeled bikes. Words by Peter Hatton
TESTING
T
he Cannondale brand is a bike company with pedigree. If you needed any convincing, you only have to look at the ‘made in the USA’ sticker on the downtube –quite a draw card, particularly at this price point. Does it make the bike any better? I’m not sure, but it definitely makes you feel special and privileged riding a handcrafted bike. And that’s a powerful thing because people who own 29ers are indeed special and privileged. The Bike Okay: this bike looks good. The gloss white paint with red trim and black componentry is a nice combination. Add to this the unique lefty fork, the big wheels and wide handlebars; it’s an impressive looking bike for sure. Well as you do, the next thing I did was pick it up for a weight check. It’s heavy. No bones about it. For a similar price, a comparable 26inch bike would be at least a kilo lighter. But how does this extra weight transfer on the trails? Well it slows you down. That’s right. Compare it to an equivalently priced 26inch bike that’s a kilo or more lighter, and on just about any cross country-type circuit, it will be slower. So at this price point, if all you want is the fastest bike you can get, you should get a traditional 26inch hardtail. The end? Well, no actually. There’s a lot more to the Cannondale 29er 2 than recording the fastest time around a loop. On just about any terrain, ascending or descending, cornering or climbing, the 29er 2 is a wholly entertaining
experience and I enjoyed it every time I threw a leg over. With the extra wide handlebars and oversized, almost comical wheels, it made me feel like a kid in a toy shop, or errr, I guess that should be a man in a bike shop… The Ride The frame is very solid and matched with the big wheels, produced a super-stable ride. Power transfer felt good. There is nothing like medium to high speed cornering on a 29er, the longer wheelbase and extra rubber can give you a feeling of being on rails. And speaking of rubber, the continental’s were excellent; they rolled very well and also offered stable, predictable handling. The frame really is very stiff and is so solid it actually feels over-built. This is always a two edged sword as it lends itself to great handling but at times, some bigger hits to the rear really kicked the back end up hard. To compensate this, I found myself lowering the tyre pressure more and more to the point where I was hitting the rim on some occasions, although never flatting, another testament to the excellent Conti tyres. Despite the sometimes harsh ride, the bigger wheels and softer rubber did there job and smoothed out trails effectively most of the time. On top of that, the extra wide bars and roomy cockpit gave an especially comfortable riding position. Up steeper climbs and accelerating hard I could feel the weight, but as I said earlier, pure point-to-point speed is not what this
bike is about. However, there were times when pushing hard on some rougher sections of trail and descents that the bike’s capabilities reached their limits, or more specifically Cannondale’s 80mm proprietary Lefty fork reached its limits. From a structural aspect it was fantastic with excellent stiffness, direct and rock-solid steering response. It also has one of the best lockouts I’ve ever used. Most of the time, the Lefty felt superb. But when pushed hard the internals were not up to the job and damping really suffered. On a couple of occasions I could swear the front actually seized up and became rigid momentarily, an unexpected and jarring sensation that was not a pleasurable experience. I’m not sure why and maybe it was partially due to the fact that 80mm up the front these days is on the lean side. Although, in Cannondale’s defence, there’s a compromise that has to be made here given the challenge of keeping the front end low enough for responsive handling despite the bigger wheels. So, I can forgive Cannondale for the shorter 80mm of travel forks but this model Lefty left me wishing it could have smoothed out the bumps a bit more effectively at times. The rest of the bike performed well. The SRAM triggers and derailleurs offered their customarily clunky but solid shifting and the Jalco rims held up well. The Avid Juicy 3 brakes also hooked up well and provided decent feel.
Paul concentrates on taming those large hoops. Photo: Adam MacLeod
The worst Weight, Lefty fork occasionally lacked plushness when pushed hard
contact (02) 9979 5851
Seat & post Cannondale CO2 / TruVativ XR RRP $3300
Crankset Shimano FC-M521 Handlebar TruVativ Stylo World Cup Stem Cannondale XC3 HeadShok
Rims Jalco Disc X320 29’er Tyres Continental Race King foldable, 29 x 2.2” Brakes Avid Juicy 3
Derailleurs Shimano Deore (F), SRAM X-7 (R) Shifters SRAM X-5 Trigger
The Verdict Overall I had a great time with the Cannondale 29er 2. While it did have some limitations, I feel that at this price point the type of rider to buy it would hardly notice. Of course if they do they may wish to consider the upgrade to the 29er 1. Either way, if you’re in the market for a 29’er the Cannondale 29’er 2 will definitely have you enjoying the ride!
Frame Caffeine 29 BB30 Fork Lefty 29’er w/ DLR, 80 mm
The best Stable, predictable, awesome fun to ride
STANDS ALONE. The Lefty Speed 110. The lightest and best tracking fork in its class. Standard on the Cannondale Factory Team Scalpel.
The good fight.
cannondale.com
photo: adam macleod
testing...
Handlebar: Cannondale C3, 31.8mm
Ok, ok…I’m done with my gripes but I think it’s important to call a spade a spade. In fact,
Frame: CAAD5 Optimo Track
Anyone who knows anything about the fixie
Stem: Cannondale C4
Before I read that I thought the bike was very cool…after I read it, I didn’t know what to think.
Now, where was I before I was rudely interrupted…? Ah, yes, it’s not a track bike. While this is Cannondale’s “track bike”, like its marketing scheme, there are a few things that disqualify it. First of all the geometry is not quite track. 74-75.5 degree seat angles are close to track I’ll admit, but head tube angles of 72.573.5 are not. Jumping off an actual track bike and onto a the Capo with it’s 73 degree head angle (on the 58cm model) made it feel like I was riding a tractor, or at least something quite far from a true fixie.
Fork: Slice Ultra
One glance at the marketing guff for the Capo gives you an idea of what and who this bike is made for: “The Capo is the vanguard of urban style. With the grit and mettle for counterculture acceptance, the Capo lives, breathes and bleeds the fixed-gear lifestyle. And when it’s time to take it easy, just flip the hub for freewheel bliss.” It goes on, “The Capo is stripped to the core. It is the bare essence of a bicycle lean, mean, and ready for the unpredictability of gritty urban streets. So whether you’re running errands or delivering packages, the visceral nature of the Capo is ready for duty.”
Having said that, marketing bullshit aside, the Capo is a fantastic bike. I just had to address the marketing stuff up front because quite frankly it probably turns more people away than it does make them want to buy the bike.
Seat & post: Selle San Marco Ponza Lux / Cannondale C2
The Bike
scene would read the above words and know that the marketing mob at Cannondale are missing the mark just a tad. For example, it’s a bit hard to say you are at the core of the fixie culture while specc’ing a bike with a freewheel… sort of like bombing for peace or screwing for virginity.
Hubs: Formula Track, Flip-flop
I
n case I have been unclear so far, I am being complimentary of Cannondale. Giant’s attempt at a street/single-speed/ fixie fell well short of the mark. KHS, Schwinn, Bianchi, Kona and many others have made solid attempts but Cannondale, without sparing expense, have come close to nailing it with the ’09 Capo.
RRP: $1750
Words by Mikkeli Godfree
Rims: Jalco GX460, 700c, 32h
DISTRIBUTED BY: Cannondale Ph: 02 9979 5851
This is not a track bike. This is something entirely different. This bike is a sign of the times. It’s a bike in a catalogue of a major bike manufacturer that serves as a mirror we can hold up to ourselves and say “In 2009, this is where we are”. I say this because Cannondale is a big, smart, stylish company who has its finger on the pulse. I also say this of the Capo because it is a bike that is symbolic of a company who has been looking at what has been going on around it.
Tyres: Maxxis Fuse w/nylon belt, foldable, 700 x 25c
Brakes: Tektro
Crankset: TruVatiV 5D 1.0, 42T photo: Mikkeli Godfree
the source of my gripes are only with the marketing, the actual bike itself is one of the best bikes I’ve ever ridden. If this bike was marketed as a single-speed road bike I would have been glowing from the start. As it is, I’ve had to wait until now to start glowing. Having looked at the Capo online in the black and white low-key colour scheme for a total of about 17 hours before the beast actually arrived, I was expecting a great deal in the aesthetics department. When the sword was drawn from its sheath (I pulled the bike out of the box) I was not disappointed. The glossy paint sparkled in the sun, the deep black paint, punctuated by a strip of white and topped off with a white saddle, brought a smile to my dial. Sure, it’s a bike from a big-brand bike company but Cannondale do mass-production better than most, if not all – one decent look at the paint-job on this bike confirms that. As I finished off wrapping the white tape, having removed the rear brake and lever, I almost felt a bit guilty that I didn’t have white bike shoes to achieve the holy trinity. Not to worry, I suppose white cranks get the Capo across the line without the need for some bianco slippers.
photo: adam macleod
Having dispensed with the freewheel, the plastic pedals and the rear brake, slapped on some decent pedals and a cog, I was ready to roll. Before I set out, I gave the bike a good once-over: the CAAD5 Optimo frame looked pimp-tastic with its wishbone stays, fat downtube (with bottle-cage mounts – on a track bike?!) topped off with a Slice Ultra carbon fork. Cannondale could have easily have finished the job there but they spec’d some lovely bits on the bike including the aforementioned Selle San Marco Ponza Lux white saddle and TruVativ 5D white cranks, Cannondale bar, stem and post, Tektro brakes, nice stumpy brake levers and Formula hubs laced with DT black spokes onto Jalco white rims along with Maxxis Fuse tyres (foldable 25mm). The Ride Rolling out into the “gritty urban streets” I put some power down and the Capo came to life, the power transported faithfully by the stiff CAAD5 frameset. The 25mm tyres seemed a bit fat at first but their puncture resistance was exceptional and, as was constantly reminded, it’s always nice to have a bit of extra margin for
error when riding a fixie - making an ugly transition up a gutter with 20mm tyres can leave you walking while 25’s might save the day. Having set up a fixie previously with flat bars I was interested to see how the drop track bars would feel. They felt fantastic. I loved the shallow drop and the tight angle. In addition to the shape, the bars were stiff and comfortable. They were wide enough to enable some wrestling of the bike and narrow enough to get through some tight gaps. On the road, the bike was supple yet stiff. The wider tyres and carbon forks softened the ride while the race-proven frame and stiff wheels provided great power-transfer and confidence in hard corners, unpredictable traffic and the like. The bike was not only pretty, but pretty comfortable (the fat bars and high-quality set adding to the comfort levels). One thing that did take a while to come to terms with was the slack steering angle. It left me feeling like it was pretty much the only blemish on what would otherwise be a close-toflawless bike. I missed that ability to flick the bike around with a twitch of the bars, that extra
bit of confidence that a steep-steering angle gives in traffic. Finally, I should note that the Capo is a bike that needs a bit of looking after. The top tube on the CAAD frame will not put up with being dropped against poles when locking the bike up as the lightweight tube will dent without too much effort. This is nothing that a top-tube pad and a bit of love won’t fix though. The Wrap The relaxed steerer (and the marketing jargon) aside, I was thoroughly impressed with the Capo. I think the Capo looks truly beautiful and will still look as good in 5 years time. In fact, it turned more heads that any bike I have ever ridden – fact. Cannondale have nailed the aesthetics and the parts kit and have made what is possibly the pimpest mass-production singlespeed road bike – as opposed to the pimpest mass-production track bike. As you probably know, many of the fixie mob will turn their nose up at a production bike, but when this looks better and rides as well as over 90% of the bikes out there, why would you go past it…?
Ashley Gilbertson