The Cannondale Moto replaces the Prophet MX bike for 2008 as their foray into the 160mm “Big Mountain” class. This lighter, stronger all mountain bike is built to climb with no compromise in descending. With their new Hatchet Drive and carbon frame this bike is stiff, plush and light. First impressions of this bike suggests a big heavy and unresponsive ride. The oversized carbon tubes, busy main triangle and burly rear triangle follows Cannondale’s legacy of innovation. Once on this bike the great standover and nice settling of the suspension puts you in control. A capable if not snappy climber, the suspension falls into its world when you start heading downhill.The Bike
Currently available only in carbon, the Medium Moto2 was tested. The weight and stiffness of this svelte 30lb freeride machine is achieved using a carbon monocoque design, alloy linkage plates, and asymmetric carbon rear triangle. Using seven bladders to create the frame rather then the traditional four is a testament to Cannondale’s innovation. A 12mm Maxle rear dropout also aids in stiffening the rear end of this single pivot bike.
While some may gasp at the use of carbon for a freeride bike, suspension stresses on the frame are mitigated by the “Hatchet Drive”. Attaching the shock via the “Hatchet” at the dual pronged downtube disperses stress between the 1.5inch headtube and the extra carbon fiber sheet that runs along the length of the downtube to the bottom bracket. Dubbed Cannondale’s Force Dispersion Technology as the bike travels through its suspension, shock forces move through the links into the down tube in a dispersed manner. The Hatchet Drive design also reduces stiction in the shock creating smoother suspension performance.
The headtube boasts a 66.6mm outer diameter dubbed the DIABLO which stiffens the front end to facilitate steering precision. Additionally two carbon sheets sandwich Cannondale’s unified HOT BOX bottom bracket laterally to absorb the torsional pedaling stresses in this area. The shock attached directly to the rear triangle allows for further weight reduction. The lower shock placement on the frame also adds to the stability of this platform. The main pivot location above and ahead of the bottom bracket creates an ideal pedaling platform by neutralizing the pedaling forces on the suspension and allows the suspension to absorb the terrain more efficiently.
The Moto has a falling rate of suspension allowing the suspension to get softer as it goes through its travel thus utilizing the full 160mm of suspension. The final few inches of suspension are countered by the air in the shock to prevent harsh bottoming out.
The low standover (30in), higher bottom bracket height (14.2in), shorter chain stays (16.5in) creates a nimble bike on technical terrain.
Overall Impression:
The Moto does what it is built to do. It will get you to the top of the hill without tiring you out so you are ready to start ripping down. It is a solid climber that rolls over technical terrain. It is plush on the descents, inspires confidence in the corners and chunder and responds predictably in all terrain tested. The fork is a great match for this bike and the specific tuning of the shock to the suspension creates a predictable plush ride. The parts keep the bike light and dependable.
The Ride
Unfortunately I was only able to have three days of riding on this bike since it had to get down to Inter Bike. The four rides I did were on a classic North Shore XC loop, a more technical old school North Shore trail, a few runs in the Whistler Bike Park and a classic Whistler XC loop. As mentioned the bike looks big and my first thought was that it would be cumbersome. These thoughts were removed once I sat on the bike and I settled into the cockpit. It almost felt small but it wasn’t. I found the bike climbed very well. Not an active climber since the bike would only go as far as I pushed it, rather then accelerating ahead like a snappy climber. Tires, weight and plush suspension all contribute to its steady climbing ability. Even on rocky technical climbs the bike would easily push over rocks and roots. On smooth trails or the road with the pro pedal on max or min it was comfortable to climb and pedal with minimal bob.
Descending on the technical trails of the North Shore I felt this bike in its element. These trails are slow and technical and it rewards a bike that can slow down to almost a stop then accelerate over and down obstacles and hope the front tire doesn’t suddenly stop. This bike responded well to these technical trails since it remained balanced when you had to quickly change speed and direction.
The intermediate trails in the Whistler Bike Park allowed assessment on fast smooth and technical trails. This bike corners well. I was confident diving into the corners on this bike knowing that it would hook up and rail, then when the trail changed to a roll or a drop it would charge down and soak it up. The suspension was truly tested on the more technical rocky trails where it would soak up the bumps on all but the biggest rocks when it was near the bottom of the suspension. Even when the trail got rough the shock didn’t bottom out. Riding down a smooth rock face while braking to see how the suspension responded the bike acted predictably. Pumping the bike resulted in easy acceleration around corners and over rolling terrain.
The only issues I had with the bike were the uncomfortable seat and on the fast descents the chain would fall from the middle to the granny ring no matter how much it was adjusted.
