Cannondale Jekyll 1 Long Term Review - High Pivot Mountain Bike Test
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- čas přidán 3. 06. 2024
- The Full Review: theloamwolf.com/2022/04/06/re...
The Giveaway Survery: theloamwolf.com/2022/04/06/ca...
After months of testing on a variety of trails and conditions, we've formulated a strong opinion of the new 2022 Cannondale Jekyll high pivot enduro bike and where it excels. If you'd like to learn more about this mountain bike and check out the review with Cannondale staff, engineering team, and read our in-depth review, please visit theloamwolf.com
THE DIRT
If you read our “First Impressions of the Cannondale Jekyll 1” at the end of our Dissected Feature then you’ll recall we were impressed and looking forward to lots more miles aboard this enduro-ready mountain bike. Compared to other high pivot bikes like the recently reviewed Norco Range and GT Force, the Cannondale Jekyll is a strong contender. In some areas we’d say it’s better than the rest and then in others it’s not our favorite. Hopefully what you can take away from the following is what parts of the performance are most important to you and which areas you’re willing to compromise.
Climbing any of the high pivot bikes in our fleet requires some extra effort, and there’s no denying that they’re slower up the hill. At 35.5 pounds, it’s a few pounds lighter than the Range and arguably has a smoother feel while pedaling. It’s close in weight to the GT Force and climbs nearly as well. So, for a high pivot bike we’d say it’s average, which means for non-high pivot bikes it may be comparably sluggish.
On flatter, less challenging trails the Jekyll feels livelier than some rigs like the Range, but not quite as spritely as the Trek, YT or Canyon enduro offerings. It still moves around well and is far from cumbersome in the grand scheme of things, but you should be aware that Cannondale made this bike to navigate a specific type of terrain. If you’re not regularly charging that type of terrain, a shorter travel option is likely a better call.
We were quite surprised at how the Cannondale Jekyll performed on flow trails and jump trails. Pleasantly so. Yes, it has a lengthening wheelbase, albeit not as drastic as others, which can still be an issue for snaking tight berms at high speeds where you want to press and pop in and out of corners. However, on longer turns and bigger lips, the Jekyll did a very good job of maintaining speed and popping off the ground. It’s stable enough to inspire confidence, yet can also be whipped and moved, and made for some very fun play laps on our favorite jump lines. To put it shortly, the Jekyll is probably the best jumping high pivot bike we’ve ridden to date.
Once it came time to put this enduro bike in enduro terrain, it got even better. The Cannondale Jekyll is extremely comfortable at high speeds and while in a standing, attack position. All of our testers remarked on how quickly they felt comfortable aboard the Jekyll 1. When the trail pointed downhill, its ability to get up to speed and hold it wide open was impressive, especially when you factor in its reasonable agility on slower and tighter terrain. The mid-high pivot seems to be this crew’s favorite, as it doesn’t have quite as drastic compromises from the excessively growing rear end lengths, but still offers some of the benefits of a rearward axle path when it comes to tackling the chop.
If you’re a rider who’s regularly looking for speed on the trail but wants something with pleasant handling characteristics outside of the tape, the Jekyll could be a great machine for you. This mountain bike does a very good job of taking the sting off the big hits and smaller chatter and lets you look further down the trail with confidence. It’s a composed ride that offers stability and loves to rail bigger corners and float over chunder.
The spec on the Jekyll 1 was problem free as a whole, but that’s not to say it’s a perfect bike. The choice to spec EXO+ tires must have been driven by the overall bike weight figure, as they’re certainly not what we’d choose to spec for enduro racing. The shock cavity makes adjustment difficult and adds an extra step, as well as making it more difficult to clean after a sloppy ride. Otherwise, the bike ran relatively quiet aside from some minor idler “whirring” when the chain became a little dirty, and we had no issues or complaints with the remainder of the spec. The value proposition, at $6100 for this build tested, seems reasonable, if not mind-blowing.
This is just a snippet of the written review, read the rest of it on the site:
theloamwolf.com/2022/04/06/re...
Chapters
Intro - 0:00 - 2:00
Tech: 2:01- 6:04
Impressions: 6:05 - 12:21
Outro: 12:22 - 12:54
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Text “keep me informed” to 1 919 666 2872
Why do you use the plural “we” when referring to yourself? That’s kinda weird and makes you sound like a lawyer or a politician
Keep me informed
@@nl3712 what? he's talking about himself and "the loam wolf" as an organization. it's a completely normal thing to do
its my dream bike has been since i saw the bike and the the geo
nooooo im in australia it wont work!
Really a fan of what Cannondale did with the new Jekyll. If I already did not have my V3 Wreckoning for my squishy bike duty, it for sure would have been at the top of my list. Would for sure swap out those wheels on this build, but otherwise it is solid for the $$.
I love how in depth you guys go with your reviews!
Thank you.
Been waiting on the long term review
The best review I've seen of this beast of a bike.
Thank you very much.
Beautiful bike and great review!
Crossing my fingers.. This bike has been high on my wish list since it was released..
Thanks for your videos!
Awesome review as always. Thanks for the chance to Win this beast! 🤞
That is an amazing looking bike!!
Awesome review! I've had this bike on my wish list since it came. I really want a full squish bike for some of the more rowdy trails in my area! Thanks for the chance to win this beast!
Nice production. Looking to choose.
Nice bike! Would like to see the Spartan HP review too!
After seeing this I'd love to see a review on the new intense tracer 279, its another big travel enduro bike like this one (without a high pivot) but it sounds like it would ride simular to the Cannondale
I love that the geo on this isn’t too crazy, I have a GT Force 29 from 2021 that rocks the same chainstay length, a slightly steeper headtube angle at 64.6 degrees and a 450mm reach on a medium and it’s the perfect all rounder geo wise. I’d love to get my hands on a Jekyll at some point just to compare the two.
Awesome review! Can’t wait to throw a leg over it. Thnx!
Raddddd review! 🔥🔥🔥
Appreciate it!! Glad you enjoyed it.
Man that's a good looking bike
Would love this bike
Such a sick bike!!😍
waiting for the gt force review!!
Dropping on the website next week.
Had one in the early 90s…would love to win a new one!
i freakin love these bikes, so sick! dying to win this trail ripper!
This bike would be a ginormous upgrade over my Norco Fluid Ht 2 😱
Such a sick looking bike for sure in that beetle green color scheme. Does the guideler chain guide help keep tension on the chain minimizing chain slap? I haven't heard anything about that added tech
I have heard no chain slap and have had the bike for a couple months beware of pedaling noise is noticeable
Hell Amazing bike i am 1,77cm also 5 Foot 10 is size Large Good for me???
Keep me informed
Such a pretty location
Thanks
SOLID!!!
Would it be possible to put a DH fork on the front and use this bike as a DH bike? Or would that be to much of a geo change and make the bike ride poorly?
I believe a few of Cannondales athletes have done it. But they may have shorted the travel to 180/190 to keep it relatively close.
Been riding this bike for several months now (I have my own review up on CZcams) and found the rear suspension to be pretty harsh off the top no matter what, had the shock revealed and it was much be, did you have any issues?
Also the frame sizes are a little odd, I'm 5ft 9 and Cannondale recommend a medium, it was/is way too short in seated reach so I had to change for a large, not great when you shell out that much money.
Still after all the faffing around it's a great machine.
High Pivot Shoot Out ..... add the Devinci
i dont think you can say liveliest of fun HP bike without trying out the new spartan from devinci
Livliest one that we’ve ridden. Which is 3.
any bike is a great bike, but a free! bike is amazing.
I believe that the awkward position of the shock is probably stopping a lot of people to buy this bike.
I wanna win!!!
Nachooooo
me me me me!
Want it! 💖
Me want
🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽
I'd be curious to heard comparison with the Forbidden Dreadnought, seems like it fits perfectly in this categories as well.
We're curious too!
Bad review. Contradicting almost everything. Ambiguous information. This bike is a conservative sided geometry against other bikes this days. Maybe he did not set properly the sag. Also, rebound for this bike needs to be in the fastest spectrum. I feel that is a really good pedaler against the gt (heavy) and against the norco range a mean it is almost in other category for me. This long travel enduro bike feels very poppy i can say more of a trail bike feeling than the other enduro high pivot bikes. I don’t know why this guys keep making awful reviews.
Thanks for writing in Carlos. I believe we said this bike pedals better than both the Norco and GT and it's also more lively and playful than both of those bikes. It is definitely the most fun and playful high pivot bike we've ridden, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have the flaws of a high pivot bike, even if they are less than the others.
Why I always can't reach in to your site '' FORBIDDEN "
Y I like a garage upgrade...
Not for muddy conditions those slits on the side are gonna get clogged
We rode in some serious mud without any real issues presenting themselves.