The “ultra-secret” Cannondale Jekyll has finally launched! Did you avoid the spoilers?

In this day and age, it has become increasingly difficult to keep a bike launch a secret which is probably why you have already seen the new Cannondale Jekyll.

Unless you’re fortunate enough to live without an internet connection or have abstained from social media for the past year (perhaps more) then news of a new Jekyll will hardly be surprising. In fact, many Cannondale fans are screaming ‘finally’ at their mobile devices and laptops as they read this because the new Jekyll has been sighted more frequently than UFOs above a Naval ship.

For us, news of a new Jekyll began with Cannondale’s unique dual shock downhill bike which completed a season of Downhill World Cup Racing before a similar-looking enduro frame appeared in Instagram edits and at select enduro races much of last year.

I actually saw an early production bike over a year ago while riding with Josh Bryceland around Snowdonia and then earlier this year in Spain where I spotted Ella Connolly’s purple rig (see I can keep a secret), but even if you hadn’t seen one in the flesh chances are you’ve spotted images online.

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Anyway, the new Cannondale Jekyll is finally official and shares much of its design with the downhill bike previously mentioned, but with just one shock. Cannondale, when not making single-sided forks, has developed the new Jekyll with its shock located inside the downtube in what Cannondale likes to call the ‘Gravity Cavity’. This gives the new bike an uncomplicated and clean look, helps to keep the centre of gravity low and frees space up in the mainframe for a bottle. A guard beneath the frame protects the rear shock from rock strikes while the rebound, compression and air valve all appear below a link with ample space for on-trail adjustments.

Being based on a downhill frame, it’s not surprising to see a high-pivot design and a Guidler to reduce kick-back and help keep the chain from jumping off (guide+idler get it?). Though we haven’t tried the new Jekyll for ourselves the kinematics promise plenty of anti-squat to keep this Jekyll trail friendly and climb compatible while offering enough progression to soak up those really big hits. What’s more, the Jekyll uses a size-specific kinematic, something we’ve seen on previous Cannondale bikes, meaning no matter which size you ride the suspension performance hasn’t been compromised.

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As for the amount of travel, well the high-pivot 4 bar system produces 165mm of travel on the rear while the front wheel packs 170mm of travel either through a Fox 38 or RockShox Zeb depending on the level of spec you choose.

Other features of the carbon frame include a long, low, slack geometry, an offset rear end for greater mud clearance and internal cable routing. Two builds will be available and colour choices will include 2 flip-paint options and a couple of black models for riders wanting something a little less flashy.

More details can be had over on the Cannondale website.

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