I picked one up in the sales – early days but v happy with it thus far. The DYAD shock seems like an obv question for anyone but I’d say you can put your mind at rest over it – loads of threads on mbr on its performance and robustness and people are happy. I am happy. The dual setting really is superb, best thing I’ve seen on a MTB for a long time. Worked flawlessly – let it flow. Let it elevate.
The trails are in poor condition round my way this winter, so I can’t say I’ve really hammered the bike. Lot of mud and wet trails so I’ve had the HT out a fair bit and ridden less-technical stuff. Still, had the jekyll out on a few serious loops in the Peak and been impressed (including a 3 hr trailquest where the bike felt pretty agile – not weighty or cumbersome).
The one drawback to buying the jekyll 3 is you’re basically paying for the frame – the rest of the bike is OK but not top drawer. Stock wheelset is bobbins, Fox 34 fork is OK but is the base model etc etc. At the current sale prices this is less of a concern, but no doubt there are good, cheaper options out there.
The warranty is still something you’d want to see solidity on. My direct experience of Cannondale frame warranties is that they’re second to none – a frame is for life. However, this experience was all accrued before the company was sold to Dorel and moved their fabrication to Taiwan along with everyone else. It’s possible that things have changed.
I need to ride it more to give a more considered review of the ride, probably need a spring of (hopefully) drier trails to really get to grips with it. First couple of months have been great, though – it’s defo worth a close look, particularly if you can demo a ride.
