A fork in the road

Has the Cannondale Slate changed me as cyclist?

By EAT MORE LARD

February 15^th, 2017

Any Road? Gravel? Adventure?

The bike industry loves to create new genres, new markets, new opportunities to sell kit and bikes. With gravel the new hot area, I decided to jump in and spend some time on the Cannondale Slate. Here's my long term review after 6 months and more than 2000 km on the bike.

The Cannondale Slate is a radical looking bike. Whether you buy into the whole gravel thing or nor, there's no doubt that this isn't just a cyclocross bike re-branded for gravel.

I've been a road rider pretty much my entire 20+ years as a (so called) serious cyclist. I'd never been a mountain biker but I have taken my road bike onto gravel roads and fire trails for years. I'd always enjoyed the wilder side of it and adding gravel roads into the equation opens up a heap more options, particularly here in Australia, and keeps you away from inattentive drivers. Much as I loved taking the road bike off piste, I knew that tyres were my limiting factor. I picked up a lovely sparkling red CAADX cyclocross on the cheap a number of years ago and was suitably impressed by the comfort and grip of wider tyres. The limiting factor, as I discovered on one wet Dirty Gran Fondo one year, was the almost placebo affect of the cantilever brakes in the mud and it wasn't the most agile on the pavement.

Fast forward a few years and I was still bouncing along gravel tracks on my CAADX. Cyclocross bike were hot but a new bike had arrived on the scene that seemed to blur the lines between road and cross - the Specialized Diverge. There were others but this was the first from a big brand. It looked cool and rode well but was it just a re-marketed cyclocross bike? The market bubbled, gravel was the thing but these bikes were getting longer and longer all in the name of fitting wider tyres. They were less road and more mountain bike than ever. Enter the Cannondale Slate. What was it? 650b wheels? Suspension fork? Was it a hard tail with drop bars? Was it Cannondale's attempt to re-create the Specialized Rock Combo, a bike about 20 years ahead of its time?

I was intrigued. The reviews were mixed. No-one really knew what to do with it so when I had the chance to get my hands on one, I took it.

On The Trail

For those that don't know, the Slate is marketed as an "any road" bike. It's designed around the smaller 650b (27.5" in old money) wheel standard that was popular amongst randonneurs (and now 650b is everywhere on adventure bikes thanks to the Slate). The trick with a 650b wheel is that with a large (42mm) tyre, it has roughly the same outside diameter as a standard road wheel (700c) with a 23mm tyre. Despite this, I found that on the road I tend to ride it in the next higher gear compared to my road bike. Cannondale's rationale for the smaller wheel size was to keep the wheelbase and chain stay in the range of a normal road bike, giving it the zippy acceleration of a road geometry. It certainly has met that particular mark.

The other defining feature is the Lefty suspension fork. It's a single sided fork that offers 30mm of suspension. Initially I was sceptical of the idea of suspension, particularly with fatter tyres, but, after a while (and many corrugations),I really felt the benefit and, despite it being just a push of a button, I now rarely even bother to lock it out, even when climbing.

Rounding out the spec is a lovely aluminium frame dressed in a full Ultegra hydraulic disc groupset with the exception of Cannondale's own magnificent Hollowgram cranks. The other notable item is the excellent Fabric Scoop saddle. I have it on two other bikes. It really is the best saddle I have even used (and I've sat on it for 24 hours and many other silly length rides).

It came with Schwalbe's G-One tyres which I set up tubeless (on both the original and the replacement wheels post recall!). They really are excellent tyres - fast rolling on the road but surprising grippy off it despite the low profile tread.

With everything setup I headed out for my first ride, a mixed terrain ride of a little over 100km. The first thing that struck me was how comfy it was. Yes, fat tyres help but the skinny seatpost and flattened seat stays were doing their job. It also handled well. The additional trail of the Slate is something you get used - it adds stability on the rough stuff but it can have a tendency to flop over through a sharp corner. The disc brakes were a revelation. Wow! On gravel in the wet I had the power to stop and the control to scrub off speed! I was bombing descents and diving down the gravel like never before. It's difficult to seperate whether it was because I was on a Slate or because I was on a disc bike with tubeless tyres. Either way, it was a heap of fun.

I was also a little unsure if I had the right size. It was an XL with a longer reach than I am used to but its a bike you tend to sit in not on and it came with a shorter stem than I usually ride so it actually fitted well. The geometry for the range is a little odd but I'll come to that later! One thing that did stand out is how long the Shimano Ultegra hydro levers are. They must be a full centimetre longer than the cable version.

After many mixed terrain days out, I really have no complaints about how it rides. The one observation I would make is that building the bike around 650b limits the tyre choice - knobbly tyres in the 40mm range are pretty rare with even the Road Plus "standard" too fat for the frame. Saying that, I never found the G-Ones to be a limiting factor and any terrain beyond their capabilities - this is a mixed terrain bike after all - is probably better suited to a mountain bike anyway!

My main gripe would be the gearing. Who thought it would be a good idea to spec a bike intended to be ridden off road with a 52/36 crank mated to an 11-28 cassette (with associated short cage derailleur)? I replaced the rear derailleur with a long cage to accommodate an 11-32 cassette pretty much straight away but ideally I'd like to replace the chainrings with a 50/34 or even better a 48/32, if Cannondale release such an option for their crankset. The Slate isn't the only culprit. The GT Grade, a similar bike, has the same gearing combination.

And On the ROAD

So what about this all road claim. I had used it as a pathway to newer gravel roads, to travel the road less ridden faster and further. Most of my rides on the bike were mixed terrain with a majority of the ride on gravel or dirt roads. How does it cope with the sealed stuff?

I took it on my Friday morning bunch ride and it happily rolled turns at 40km/h with the rest of the crew. It took a little more enthusiasm to keep it rolling compared to my pure road bike but that's probably more the 40mm than the 650b. I wanted a real test of its true worth on the road. Step forward the Audax Alpine Classic.

The Alpine Classic is an annual ride held in the Victorian Alps. It's a weekend of many riding options up to the legendary 320km (see last year's day of pain on the 320...), one of the hardest amateur single day road rides in the world. I was riding the original 200km with a first timer and couldn't think of a better test for the Slate on the road than the 200 with its 4000m of climbing.

I'll boil it down. The Slate weighs over 10kg but you wouldn't know it. I wasn't pushing myself into the red but it just climbed and climbed, ever eager to head skywards. It was on the descents that everything changed. No doubt it was the combination of the grip from the fatter rubber and the disc brakes, but I was descending like a mad man. Now, I'm not a bad descender but I'm no better than middle of the pack. But, here I was setting PRs and blasting past pretty much everyone. I couldn't stop laughing. Even the Lefty has a part to plan through some of the chopped up corners.

It turns out that the Slate isn't "slower and less responsive than any road bike on the market" after all.

My Next Road Bike?

Is the Slate my next road bike? Well no.

It actually could be. It's fast enough and comfy enough for the sort of riding I do (so no local crit then?). I love the look of it and riding it is a hoot but I like my road bike too (and I like all my other bikes) and I am fortunate enough to be in a position to have a bunch of bikes for a bunch of different purposes. It really is a bang on gravel bike and that's where it has slotted into my collection.

My experience on the road did tell me one thing. My next road bike will be one that can take bigger tyres (say 32mm) with disc brakes. The comfort and handling tell me there is really no reason not to go down that path. Heavier, less aero, blah, blah. Yep. For me, its the logical next step... but not one to be taken for a few years yet according to the financial controller!

The WRAP UP

So ultimately, would I recommend this bike? Absolutely. It's a hoot. It rides beautifully on and off road. It looks cracking although it you want to blend into the crowd, don't get a Slate. It's definitely a talking point and attracts a lot of attention amongst the roadies!

It's not perfect.

The gearing is problematic without investment. Tyre choice can be limited although the G-One is such a good all rounder, it's not really an issue. You can't fit mudguards on the front. You might not want to but if you do, sorry, no can do with the Lefty. The geometry is curious for the larger rider. Check out the different between the L and the XL, the largest model in the range. The stack height is almost identical so if you are long of limb you could end up with a frankly pro-like saddle to bar drop. Actually, for me it was perfect but then I seem to fit any Cannondale like a glove.

Can one bike do it all? Not quite but it can do a heap!

Has the Slate changed me as a cyclist? Well yes. I ride more off-road now. In fact over 50% of my longer weekend rides are off-road and I now have my first mountain bike, inspired by the new found confidence from the Slate. Finally, I've fallen squarely on the yes side of the road disc debate.