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TECH NEWS
First look: Cannondale Slate Ultegra + Video, photo gallery, spec and full range info
Cannondale have released another video featuring their new Slate gravel/adventure/gnarmac (think about it) bike and we’ve also got our first chance to take a look at one in the flesh at the recent CAAD 12 and SuperSix Evo launches in Austria.
The video and our pics also show that there’s going to be more than one Slate - in fact Cannondale have now told us it will be a three bike range. The bikes in the video are Slate 105s, I wont insult your intelligence by telling you what the groupset is. Okay I will then, it’s Shimano 105, well the front and rear derailleurs, chain, and cassette are. The 52-36 chainset is Cannondale’s own BB30a Si offering. Shifters are Shimano R505 non series hydraulic mechanical shifters.
Buyers Guide to Gravel and Adventure Bikes
The bike we got to see and photograph was the Slate Ultegra. This model comes with Shimano 6800 in place of 105 as well as upgraded Shimano hydraulic brakes, and a Cannondale Hollowgram Si chainset and a Cannondale C2 Carbon seat post in place of the alloy one on the Slate 105. The bike we saw had 38mm Maxxis Detonator 650b tyres rather than the 42mm tyres that will come on the production version. The Slate will run tubeless tyres.
The third, and as yet unseen model in the range is the Slate Force CX1, which replaces all the Shimano bits with SRAM CX 1x and Force components. So the drivetrain is a 10-42 cassette matched to a Cannondale Hollowgram Si BB30a crank with a 44T Spider ring - hence the band on front mech on the two Shimano models.
What colour is it going to be? I’m guessing black with maybe some purple details… I dunno, maybe the cranks and the front hub, but that’s just a guess. Although they would neither confirm or deny my guess, those who've seen pictures inform me that it will look "sick to the power of rad." But looks are such a subjective thing.
The new vid showcases once again the Slate’s all road/adventure… no, let’s stick with gnarmac - credentials as Cannondale’s road product manager, David Devine and Tim Johnson of Cyclo-cross World put it through its paces on the roads, hills, and trails of northern California locking out the Slate-specific Lefty Oliver fork for the road climbs but getting the full benefit of its 30mm of travel on gravel road and singletrack descents.
They aren't hanging about either - Cannondale obviously being keen to emphasise that speed is also part of the Slate's all-rounder armoury. That's further underlined by the bike's riding position - which Cannondale say is half way between the all out race position of the SuperSix Evo and the more relaxed endurance position of the Synapse.
The video also features the duo riding in the rain, and while they don’t stop to slap on some mudguards (the Slate does feature eyelets for rear guards) it does showcase the tencious grip offered by the combo of the short 400mm chainstays when hooked up with properly fat tyres.
So having watched the vid and seen the bike for ourselves - unfortunately we only saw it because Cannondale were showing a non-rideable sample, what more can we learn about the new machine?
Well, although it's a very different bike from the CAAD 12 it does shares some notable similarities.
The similarities first…
Like all of the new CAAD 12 range the Slate(s) are all Di2 compatible - giving you the chance to upgrade to electronic at some point in the future and laying open some interesting future speccing opportunities for Cannondale - esp if/when Shimano 105 Di2 hoves in to view.
All Slate frames come with Cannondale’s new BB30a bottom bracket - again like the CAAD 12
Like the Slate the CAAD 12 Disc has flat mount Shimano hydraulic discs - except for the one that has flat mount SRAM hydraulic discs.
Cannondale have used the same True Flow Modelling system they used on the CAAD 12 to prototype and test the tube profiles, shapes and wall thicknesses. Indeed they’ve used some of the same shapes so the the seat tube uses their Delta profile - seen on both the new CAAD 12 and the SuperSix Evo - which flares at the seat tube junction for added stiffness but narrows from the mid section to give a bit of compliance to the rider.
Like the CAAD 12 the Slate utilises Cannondale’s SAVE micro-suspension system to boost rider comfort. SAVE basically combines strong but compliant tube shapes, profiles, and wall thicknesses with a compliant seat post. In the Slate’s case this is a 27.2mm post - which means you can also retrofit a suspension seat post if you want. Cannondale’s performance road bikes have moved to 25.4mm post diameters to get their dose of micro-suspension via more for and aft flex.
The other difference is that while the Slate’s seat stays are thin they have the flattened profile of Cannondale’s Synapse sportive/endurance bike rather than the pencil thinness of the CAAD 12’s stays. That’s because the Slate’s shorter back end needs the extra flex afforded by the Synapse shaped stays to help mitigate the stiffness caused by that shorter length.
While the Slate’s rear triangle is notably shorter than the CAAD12, the chainstays feature the same smooth, squared profiles, with none of the dents or kinks traditionally associated with aluminium frames. That smooth appearance is something typical of both frames - at first glance you wouldn’t know either the CAAD 12 or the Slate was an aluminium bike.
So that’s the similarities, what about the differences?
The most obvious two and ones we’ve already talked about are the wheel size - 650b and that Lefty Oliver fork.
According to Cannondale the Slate’s 650bs shod with 42mm tyres gives the same outer wheels circumference as a 700c road wheel with a 23c tyre. Giving the claimed benefits of road speeds, with limpit like grip - especially in the corners and masses of comfort and a super-smooth ride. Certainly looks grippy in the vid - you’d hope though eh?
Comfort and smoothness and control looks to be the name of the game with the Lefty Oliver fork too. According to the Cannondale tech blurb I caught a sneaky peek of, the fork is designed to give 30mm of travel, with (this bit’s for mountain bikers) “heavily tuned low speed compression damping” and a “unique COG (Coil over Gas) negative spring to minimise bobbing. PBR on-the-fly lockout and rebound adjustment. Carbon outer structure and OPI forged alloy inner leg.” Before adding rather unnecessarily you might think given the level of competition “it's the most capable front suspension the road has ever seen."
Up close and personal the Lefty looks a very capable bit of kit indeed. In theory at least the fork/tyre combo matched up with those short rear stays, the Slate’s long centre to front, and slack head angle - a geometry setup Cannondale dub “Full fun” should make for a very forgiving bike for gnarmac* novices venturing off the blacktop. Having picked it up it’s not outrageously heavy either, another big plus point.
One last thing that’s worth commenting on. As you might have noticed the Slate has thru-axles front and rear - Syntcw 142x12mm as it happens - given that it is designed to go well off the beaten track this shouldn’t be a surprise, they’ve been pretty much the norm on mountain bikes for years to boost handling and lessen the chances of front wheel ejection - off-roaders used to worry about that back in the day with some justification. Oh, a thru-axle also means that you worry less about aligning your wheel and disc brake - so the rotor is always in the right place, minimising the chances of wheel rub.
Now that we've had a Slate in our hands and seen some of the new gnarmac/gravel/adventure bike competition such as the Merckx Strasbourg 71 one thing that does occur is that Cannondale could create even more of a stir by making a Slate with a rigid Lefty fork. The Lefty Oliver looks cool, but it also looks like it is going to account for a fair chunk of the change a Slate will cost. Given that the frame also incorporates a Headshok anyway and the bike has the benefit of 42mm tyres - you would wonder whether that isn't more than enough bump-taming capability for a lot - if not most - of its potential customers. Cannondale do make a rigid Lefty it featured on one of their Bad Boy commuter bikes, and the Hooligan also has a rigid monoblade fork too. Easy win we'd say.
We’re hoping to see the Slate range in its full glory at Eurobike at the end of August and we’d expect it to launch either just before or just after that and we predict it will be available in four sizes: small, medium, large and extra large. We’ve got our name down for a test bike already.
*If they’re having 'Full fun geometry' we're having gnarmac.
road.cc's founder and first editor, nowadays to be found riding a spreadsheet. Tony's journey in cycling media started in 1997 as production editor and then deputy editor of Total Bike, acting editor of Total Mountain Bike and then seven years as editor of Cycling Plus. He launched his first cycling website - the Cycling Plus Forum at the turn of the century. In 2006 he left C+ to head up the launch team for Bike Radar which he edited until 2008, when he co-launched the multi-award winning road.cc - finally handing on the reins in 2021 to Jack Sexty. His favourite ride is his ‘commute’ - which he does most days inc weekends and he’s been cycle-commuting since 1994. His favourite bikes are titanium and have disc brakes, though he'd like to own a carbon bike one day.
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35 comments
I've been riding on gravel trails on Salisbury Plain this evening, similar to those earlier in the video, on my fixed wheel Langster with a 69 inch gear! Cost me £250 (it was previous year's model so old colour) plus £250 for a pair of Harry Rowland wheels and 25mm Gator Hardshell tyres. I wasn't going quite as fast as the guys in the video mind ( ;))but it does the job.
But for all of that I wouldn't say no to a Slate if they were giving them away.
OK, I'm going to whack some drop bars on a 1980 something Trek 8000 aluminium MTB. This Cannondale thingey can eat my dust. I shall rename it the Schist.
interesting bike, though I'm rather cynical that 30mm of travel, how ever good, will be work well, certainly to live up to some of the claims.
and equally unless your talking about MTB tyres 650b limits your choice of tyres.
interesting technology but i'm not sure it what it gains over a rigid/700c cx/gravel/adventure bike
The lack of tire choice is a concern but the point of the suspension is comfort. Yes its only an inch but that will help when you are going over washboard gravel or miles of loose gravel.
There isn't a lack of tyre choice. Buy and fit the tyres you want.
This does not make sense: "Given that the frame also incorporates a Headshok anyway . . ."
There's no Headshok incorporated into anything. There's a Lefty suspension fork "incorporated" into the bike via headset bearings, if by that you mean to say that the bike is equipped with it. The frame has a head tube and a headset that might be able to run a Headshok, much in the way that much of Cannondale's line of bikes might be able to be equipped with a Headshok, if they chose to do so.
I'm very skeptical that the Synapse shaped stays are going to introduce any noticeable flex in an aluminium frame. The large volume tyres at lower pressure are going to make much more difference.
I've read that you need oversized tubing on aluminium bikes to eliminate flex at the welds. Any flex leads to the welds cracking.
i reckon the next natural development from this might be flat bars and then maybe a bit more compliance at the back. Maybe some rear suspension. Then how about 29inch wheels? Maybe a bit wider to handle larger tyres. Who knows you might get a whole new niche... Oh hang on....darn!
Stick a flat bar, long stem and slightly nobbly tyres on the Slate and you a mountain bike from about 25 years ago, just with 650b wheels and suspension that works.
Or to put it another way, this is probably quite close to the mountain bike with drop bars that John Tomac used to race.
bring back his Tioga disc as well!!
"you would wonder whether that isn't more than enough bump-taming capability"
Yeah, just like 3" of travel was thought to be more than enough travel for downhill mountain biking!
Once you've appreciated the benefits of decent suspension to traction through corners, I don't think you'll want to go back to rigid.
And what's that about incorporating a headshok in the head tube?!
I like the Open Cycles Unbeaten Path concept - 650B up to 2.1" or 700c for 28-38mm or so. Not sure how the reality of that plays out, but it sure gives potential for a lot of different uses with 2 or 3 wheel sets.
http://road.cc/content/news/148856-open-cycle-unveil-unbeaten-path-grave...
Are there enough gravel trails in the UK for this sort of bike? When I go off road in Surrey it is on trails with either thick mud or stones of varying size. Give me an MTB every time for these sorts of ride.
Oh FFS, there is a shed load more to Britain than the south east!
Go onto google earth or google maps and just look at all the forest areas there are around the uk for a start, there are 100s of miles of gravel roads in there, then add all the canal towpaths, and grassy double tracks over moorland (exmoor has some great grassy double track if it's still like it was when I was there a decade ago).
Where I am in the Scottish Borders I could pick out half a dozen 30-70 miles rides straight from the house that are roughly 65% road and 35% gravel. Same where I used to live in wales.
Is there, would never have guessed !
You might realise that, but iso2000 doesn't seem to know much about what the UK has to offer.
Let the war of the regions commence! But seriously riding in forests is pretty boring.
Thanks for the heads-up - I was going to try a 'forest' one day but shall give them a miss now. Presumably all the non-forest stuff is OK though, yeah ?
Just thought actually, would be quite fun to have a bike like this to ride to a trail centre on the road, annoy the 'all the gear, no idea' boys/girls by flying round some of the trails on it and then ride home - saves the hassle of loading the mountain bike into the car and makes for a longer ride!
Love the idea behind this bike, to the point that I'm thinking that instead of a cross bike or one of the already available gravel bikes, I might get a road bike that has decent tyre clearance, change the wheels to 650b, stick some wide road tyres on and have that as my gravel bike instead.
(Sorry ccannondale, I know you'd rather I just buy a slate, but I have contacts that mean I can get certain stuff at trade, and connondale bikes aren't one of them).
The problem with my plan is the complete lack of 650b road/cross over tyres here in the uk, and I do wonder if that could prove a problem for the slate here in the uk too.
I'd be surprised if you can find something that will have wider clearance. we also do the GT Grade, great 'gravelish' bike but you won't get wider than a 37mm tyre in there. Looking at where this is all going we anticipate quite a few 650 tyre options coming out.
Not tried it yet, but my current road disc carbon framed bike has loads of room (it can take proper full mudguards) and on intital measuring seems to have rrom for a 40mm tyre, but only if fitted to a 650b rim - there is no way I could get it in there on a 700c wheel.
Personally, anything I need suspension for I don't want to be riding with drop bars. And the other way around applies to - anything I need to be in the drops for (AKA caning it along the flat/a smooth descent), I don't really want or need suspension. Could just be me - I've never ridden CX so drop bars on anything but road don't feel right to me.
Interesting idea though.
"Given that the frame also incorporates a Headshok anyway and the bike has the benefit of 42mm tyres - you would wonder whether that isn't more than enough bump-taming capability for a lot - if not most - of its potential customers"
Agreed - be more interested in a cheaper, rigid forked version to tempt me away from the alternative 'Adventure' bikes.
Apparently Spesh already do a gravel bike dropper post.
I reckon one of these plus a Mason would cancel out my need for N+1. As much as I'd like to think I can ride stuff off road the reality is I'm a great big wimp on even the most medium of trail stuff. A Slate would cover all the types
of off road I'm ever likely to realistically ride.
My first reaction to this is 'want it' then I reconsider and just think 'meh'. I have a long and bitter love/hate affair with Cannondale, they have some great ideas but also some infuriating downsides. In this case the 650b wheels just seem like a pointlessly awkward choice. And why have they chosen to fit the hitherto unavailable 52/36 spidering to this bike?
On the positive side, it has made me think about getting some gravel tyres and maybe a dropper post for my Mason, and trying it on some of the local forest tracks.
Aren't the chainstays a bit short? I thought Shimano were recommending 415mm as the minimum length for chainstays on wider axel bikes?
Schwalbe Racing Ralph 33mm cyclocross tyres would do the trick there. Awesome in everything but sloppy mud, where you'd probably use an MTB anyway.
Nope, they would be 700c not 650.
There seems to be some confused folks, this is not a cyclocross bike, Cannondale make a full range of those, this is what's generally referred to as a 'adventure/gravel/gnarmac" bike where the bike is subject to much wider interpretation of what attributes it has over the classic categories like race bikes and cross bikes.
Trying to pigeon hole this bike is dangerous and I will tell you why; Last November we were presented this bike at the global marketing meeting and I asked various people involved who the bike was for. i got a different answer from each person leading me to think that the product team had got it wrong because if they didn't even know who they'd made a bike for, how the hell were we going to sell it? I concluded that this weird thing was a pet project of David Devine our road product manager and would be a flop.
However since the teaser videos have gone out, the forums and press reports have gone bonkers talking about it, mostly very positive but the thing that has made me realise that the product team are geniuses and that I am an idiot, is the diversity of the people interested in getting one and that is this bikes ace up it's sleeve, it's fantastically broad appeal.
I'll say it again for those that know me and know that I rarely admit to being wrong, i'm an idiot......worse than that I really want one of these now!
In the UK, this is going to live or die on tyre choice. If someone can make a tyre that works in UK mud and doesn't run like a tractor on the road then this bike makes a lot more sense.
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