CANNONDALE JEKYLL 1

Does this enduro rig’s high-pivot revamp pay off on the trail?

The Cannondale Jekyll, a bike that’s remained largely untouched since 2017, has undergone some big changes for 2022, including a radically different frame. Is this the dawning of a new era for a brand that once frequented the Enduro World Series podium?

THE FRAME

At the core of the new, carbon fibre Jekyll is its suspension design. The latest bike moves to a high-pivot fourbar linkage design with 165mm of rear wheel travel and an idler pulley to help eliminate pedal kickback. Suspension kinematics (anti-squat, leverage ratio, anti-rise and axle path) differ between the frame sizes, as does the effective chainstay length. Our medium Jekyll sports 435mm stays, while on the XL they’re 450mm. A slack 63.7-degree head angle and decent 450mm of reach boost stability, while the 77.5-degree seat tube angle is designed for efficient climbing.

The 342mm BB height is good for a bike with this much travel, and Cannondale have placed the shock in the down tube to keep the Jekyll’s centre of mass as low as possible. It also gets their Ai (Asymmetric Integration) Offset treatment, which shifts the drivetrain 6mm to the right. The Jekyll comes with 29in wheels, with no option to run mixed sizes.

THE KIT

The Jekyll 1 is the priciest model in the two-bike range and comes with some flashy kit, although we think improvements could be made. We were more than happy with the Kashima-coated Fox Factory suspension; while our 68kg tester had to run all the adjusters open on the 170mm-travel 38 fork, it still performed brilliantly. SRAM’s Code RSC brakes won our grouptest in MBUK 398 and Cannondale wisely spec a 220mm front rotor (with a 200mm disc at the rear) for maximum stopping power. We were impressed by the Maxxis Assegai and Minion DHR II tyre combo, too. However, the WTB Trail i30 rims, while decent enough, can be dinged easily, and we had to re-tension the rear wheel several times near the end of our time with the bike. The SRAM rear hub doesn’t have the quickest pick-up, either.

THE RIDE

It may be designed primarily to go fast downhill, but the Jekyll is easygoing on the way back up, too. The steep effective seat tube angle helps to sit you up and further forward over the bottom bracket (BB), and there’s not much suspension bob when pedalling,

so you can leave the shock’s low-speed compression lever well alone and allow the rear wheel to track the trail better and maintain traction.

There’s a bit of noise from the idler, but little more than you get from a bike with an upper chain guide when using the bigger sprockets on the cassette. This does increase when it’s caked in mud, but we didn’t notice it making pedalling any harder (Cannondale say it’s around one per cent less efficient). If you’ve not got the rear sag set properly, you’ll know as soon as you pummel into the first downhill. Too much and the Jekyll stays stuck to the ground and lacks any kind of playfulness. Using the prescribed 25 per cent, it feels more dynamic, flickable and fun to ride, yet still manages to soak up the chunder with masses of control.

The Cannondale feels calm and composed over square-edged hits. While it doesn’t totally isolate you from the trail, the feedback is nicely muted and never harsh or unforgiving. The main take-away when riding really rough sections is just how stable the chassis remains as you hammer through the bumps – it’s a lot like our Enduro Bike of the Year, the Trek Slash 8, but doesn’t feel like it works at quite the same frenetic pace, even though it delivers similar results.

In loose, poorly-supported corners, it inspires confidence and maintains speed well. The centred ride position, supportive, balanced suspension, low-slung weight and grippy triplecompound tyres all help to make it a predictable bike when you’re railing turns, encouraging you to push ever harder. Overall, we’re really impressed by the new Jekyll. It’s composed, controlled and well-proportioned. The only significant change we’d like to see

VERDICT

Stable, composed and seriously quick, but a better set of wheels would elevate it even further