Tested: Cannondale Trail SL 29’er 2 £999.99
Fisheye meet wagon wheel; not a great combo
When the Cannondale arrived our first thought was that someone had cocked up and shipped us a woman-specific highbrid by mistake — not the best start to a bike test.
Frame
Cannondale pioneered the oversized 1.5in head tube but, compared with the more slender profiles of the top and down tubes, it looks disproportionately large on the Trail SL. And even with its relatively low stack height, we had to remove the 15mm conical headset spacer to get the handlebar low enough.
Another of Cannondale’s pioneering frame technologies is the Synapse Active Vibration Elimination (SAVE) stays: where the flattened mid-sections enhance vertical compliance and reduce vibration.
Cable routing on the Trail SL frame is about as bad as it gets: both gear outer casings rub on the fork crown while the exposed inner running to the rear mech doesn’t even follow the line of the chainstay. Hopefully it’s just a case of changing the cable guide under the BB to rectify the problem.
Suspension
The RockShox Recon fitted to the Trail SL doesn’t feel anything like as plush as the coil forks on the Charge or Specialized and it has and annoying top out knock on rebound, which is even noticeable when climbing.
Wheels
The close block tread on the Kenda Small Block Eight tyres is great for hard-pack trails and wouldn’t look out of place on the daily commute. Cannondale isn’t doing itself any favours however, by fitting the cheap, heavy, steel bead version.
Drivetrain
Sporting a SRAM X5 3×10 groupset with an 11-36t cassette you’re more likely to loop-out on a climb than run out of gears on the Trail SL. Shifting took longer than normal to settle in, but that could have something to do with the dodgy cable routing mentioned earlier.
1.5in head tube, manipulated SAVE stays, cable routing cuts it close to tyre
Components
With the only oversized seatpost here, the Cannondale wasn’t as harsh as we expected, possibly because there was so much post exposed. Or it could be that the SAVE stays actually do save you. We shouldn’t rule out the comfortable profile and sufficiently padded Cannondale saddle either.
Performance
When climbing seated, the Cannondale feels great. The front wheel stays planted and you just need to keep on the gas. Stand up however, and your weight is slightly too far forward, making it easy to break traction on the rear. It’s not that the cockpit is cramped — there is plenty of knee clearance — it’s just that the relatively short front centre makes for a more forward weight bias. To balance this out we may have been better off on a size large. But upsizing could just as easily negate the ’Dale’s key asset; namely, that the riding position feels more akin to 26in bike, even if the geometry and balance of the bike are very different. Throw the ultra low-slung top tube into the mix and the Trail SL felt easiest to pop over roots and get your weight over the bars in corners. Even with the additional mobility the tighter bike affords, it is still relatively easy to run wide on a corner; then when you try to compensate the front end tucks under easily. To be fair to Cannondale, it is the same on the Specialized and, to a lesser extent, the Charge.
As for Cannondale’s SAVE technology, the back end of the Trail SL certainly feels less harsh than the Specialized, but it is hard to say if it is down to the flattened stays, Cannondale’s aluminium alloy or simply the narrower rims. As for any additional stiffness benefits of the full-blown 1.5in steerer and stem, there is just too much else going on with the fork to notice.
Verdict
Given our initial impression, the Cannondale Trail SL 29’er 2 was always going to be on the back foot in this test. Factor in the dodgy cable routing and the lacklustre performance of the air sprung RockShox Recon fork and a knockout blow in the first round looked inevitable.
But something about the ’Dale won us over: the riding position reminding us of the more playfully nature of a 26in wheel bike, while the low slung frame design allowed us to move around the bike unimpeded. With a proper working fork it could easily have gone the distance with the Charge Cooker.
Rating 8
- Love: how it rides and feels more like a 26er
- Hate: the fork topping-out
Cannondale Trail SL 29'er 2
1: The 80mm air sprung RockShox Recon fork with rebound adjustment and lockout
2: At 13.1kg (without pedals) the Cannondale is easily the lightest bike on test
3: SRAM’s X5 3×10 transmission with its 11-36t cassette gives a massive spread of gears
4: Oversized 31.6mm seat tube
Angle Finder:
Size tested: Medium
Head angle: 70°
Seat angle: 73°
BB height: 310mm
Chainstay: 452mm
Front centre: 645mm
Wheelbase: 1,097mm
Down tube: 665mm
Weight: 28.8lb without pedals
Contact: www.cannondale.com
Words: Alan Muldoon Photos: Roo Fowler
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