First Look: Cannondale Jekyll and Trigger – all new trail and enduro bikes

Look! A new bike release without mention of plus tires! Or even 29ers. Just good-old 27.5 Minion tires in the ever popular 2.35 width on all models. While the Lefty is gone, along with the weird pull-shock from previous Trigger and Jekyll models, don’t let the conservative take on wheels and tires and missing propriety suspension bits fool you into thinking Cannondale isn’t doing some really Cannondale-y stuff here.

“This is an exciting new start for both bikes,” said Peter Vallance, Global Director of Product Management for Cannondale. “The goal was to stay true to the technological advancements of previous models, but push the performance envelope with simple but powerful features like our new Gemini shock, Ai offset drivetrain and LockR pivots. We even designed them to accept a full-size water bottle in the main triangle.”

Let’s look at the Gemini rear shock. Some might remember the Gemini as a freeride bike, from way back when Cannondale slapped a copyright on the term “freeride” (and inadvertently helped to launch an effective ad campaign for a competing company via the exploits of the “fro riders”). This new shock has nothing to do with any of that. It takes the idea of the weird, dual-chamber pull shocks on the old Trigger and Jekyll and fits it within the body of a modern metric sized Fox Float or Float X rear shock. A handlebar remote switches between “Hustle” and “Flow” modes. Flow is full travel, Hustle reduces travel and increases progression by effectively decreasing the size of the air spring chamber. This isn’t a lock-out, or damping adjustment or pedaling platform. The three position low-speed compression damping switch is still on the shock, so maybe look at this as having two “ride modes”.

The Ai offset drivetrain is a 148 mm rear end, but with the hub spaced over to the driveside, and the rim dished offset to stay centered on the bike. Cannondale has been doing this for some time with 142 rear ends, the claim being it equalizes spoke tension and creates more room for swing arms, drivetrains, tires and suspension parts. This requires a different chainring offset, but that is the only out-of-the-ordinary part needed here. It is almost like another rear hub standard, but not really.

On the longer-travel Jekyll, Flow is 165 mm of travel, Hustle is 130 mm. This is matched up to a Fox 36 with 170 mm of travel. Geometry is obviously tilted hard to the low, slack, long ideology. The chainstays stand out as very short for a bike like this at 420/16.5, but the rest of the geo is pretty standard for a go-fast-and-take-chances bike.

The Trigger is the shorter travel bike. Cannondale calls it “all mountain” but most would just call it a trail bike. Regardless, Flow gets you 145 mm of travel, Hustle drops to 115 mm. A Fox 34 leads the way with 150 mm of travel.

Geometry isn’t really that far from the Jekyll. Same short chainstays, only slightly steeper head angle (66 vs. 65.5), and slightly shorter reach, the Trigger isn’t going to be confused with the Habit or Scalpel.

Both bikes can fit a 24oz bottle on the seat tube under the suspension linkage. Cable routing is internal and can be set up for 1x, 2x or Di2 drivetrains. All bikes come stock with droppers and single ring cranks. No threads in the bottom bracket, unfortunately. I have an email in to check, as the press release material say all frames have a BB30 shell, not the more common PF30.

All bikes, save for the least expensive all-aluminum Jekyll 4, have carbon front triangles. Swingarms on the Jekyll 1 and Trigger 1 are carbon, the rest of the bikes use aluminum swingarms.

Pricing

Jekyll 1	$7,750
Jekyll 2	$6,000
Jekyll 3	$4,200
Jekyll 4	$3,200
Trigger 1	$7,750
Trigger 2	$6,000
Trigger 3	$4,000
Trigger 1 Women’s	$4,000

 

Get the more info on the Cannondale website, and stay tuned for a full review.