Hot off the presses Cannondale has announced entering the 650b market. "What the hell is 650b?" 650b is a wheel size equates to 27"5 inches, and falls between the aging standard of 26" and the big turning 29".
Recently, the popularity of the in-between wheel size of 27.5" has really taken off, with companies like Trek and Specialized introducing models. Never one to be left behind, Cannondale introduced a couple models of 27.5" wheel bikes last week:
There are a couple differences in these models. The first is the travel: the Jekyll is 160/95mm travel and the Trigger is 140/85mm travel (The two numbers are the full travel and locked down travel). The second difference is and the suspension linkage configuration. The Jekyll 27.5 uses the linkage system from the Jekyll 26" and Claymore 26" frames. The Trigger 27.5 adopts the linkage from the Trigger 29er.
In addition to the frames, you get the Lefty Supermax fork, the longest travel Lefty to be released:
This fork replaces the Fox fork that came on these long travel bikes in the past. It comes in both 140mm and 160mm travel for either configuration. True to form, people are up in arms in attack and defense of the Lefty. "It's an abomination!" "It's the best thing ever!" No such thing as bad press, eh?
With the mid season release, there's been some muttering about Cannondale pulling the rug out form under their retail shops, leaving them with hard to sell stock. Two shop owners had this to say:
Good to know this wasn't a complete surprise to anyone but me!
Whether you like 27.5" or 29" wheels, everyone can agree on one thing: 26" wheels are on the way out. Now, to convince my wife that I need a third mountain bike...
Standard mountain wheel sizes
Recently, the popularity of the in-between wheel size of 27.5" has really taken off, with companies like Trek and Specialized introducing models. Never one to be left behind, Cannondale introduced a couple models of 27.5" wheel bikes last week:
2014 Jekyll 27.5
2014 Trigger 27.5
There are a couple differences in these models. The first is the travel: the Jekyll is 160/95mm travel and the Trigger is 140/85mm travel (The two numbers are the full travel and locked down travel). The second difference is and the suspension linkage configuration. The Jekyll 27.5 uses the linkage system from the Jekyll 26" and Claymore 26" frames. The Trigger 27.5 adopts the linkage from the Trigger 29er.
In addition to the frames, you get the Lefty Supermax fork, the longest travel Lefty to be released:
Lefty Supermax 27.5
This fork replaces the Fox fork that came on these long travel bikes in the past. It comes in both 140mm and 160mm travel for either configuration. True to form, people are up in arms in attack and defense of the Lefty. "It's an abomination!" "It's the best thing ever!" No such thing as bad press, eh?
With the mid season release, there's been some muttering about Cannondale pulling the rug out form under their retail shops, leaving them with hard to sell stock. Two shop owners had this to say:
"As a cannondale dealer we have known about the mid year release for almost a year, cannondale has given us increadible (sic) pricing and ample warning, in fact this has been our best year yet because of it."
"We didn’t book any 26″ Jekylls knowing that no one wants it. I doubt many did. We’ve been waiting for the 650b to show up and now they are here."
Good to know this wasn't a complete surprise to anyone but me!
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