Cannondale Trigger? Bargain

Close mate of mine spied the Paul’s advert a few Sunday’s back after we got back from Glenlivet. Very handy given his 7 year old Giant died on the way down the red trail. He got a Trigger 4 & loves it. Absolute bargain. Not a fan of the tyres though.

The only issue he has had was Paul’s billing him for 2 bikes by mistake. Remember to check your Card statements folks, they were apparently a tad arsey when he brought the topic up with them.

Another of the other lads we know is just getting into the sport & has taken the opportunity to also buy a Trigger 4 as his first proper MTB.

Given the bargains on offer its just as well I already got a new bike at the start of the year.

Well I changed the Crossroc ROC Roams for Nobby NICs but left the tubes in for a couple of days to get any links out of the beads. I’m about to do the Tubeless thing but the tubeless ready Mavic rims are UST with no tape.
Should they work without tape?

The cross roc on mine had a rim strip fitted specific for tubeless. Just added the valves and jizz and away i went.

Ta. Couldn’t see a strip in there. Must be going blind. It shall be done.

Changed the CrossRoc tyres and got out with X kings this morning, totally different bike with decent tyres on. Really enjoyed riding it today.

Went out for a bit of mud plugging this morning following yesterday’s rain. Riding along minding my own business when I think “this brake lever seems in the wrong position.” It’s then that I realise that it’s because the bars are moving/twisting round!

Worth giving any bolts a tighten if you are a little lazy like me and don’t usually bother.

Well, band wagon jumped upon & here’s my Jekyll:

It’s pretty average value for money at full price but at the price Paul’s are selling them they’re astounding value. Truly amazing for the price..!

Long trail ride today and it felt great. I’m 511 or 510 on a bad day and in between sizes. Looking at inside leg length of 34″ Paul’s advised a large. On paper it’s longer and higher stack than my Medium Nicolai Helius AM but in reality it feels virtually identical.

Hans Dampf tyres felt like they’re made of non-stick Teflon, though they do dig in when pushing on into loamy Woodsy corners: they do drag a lot though – really feel like pedalling through treacle at time.

Bike geometry is very good; it’s long and, I suspect very stable on big wide open descents. There’s a long gravelly downhill near me that usually has small slabs stuck out that act as kickers, but the bike made it feel slightly boring. I should perhaps have gone for the Trigger but I couldn’t resist the Jekyll at this price, & I think with a tiny bit of tweaking it will be spot on (slightly wider bars, 1×10 NW chainring, lighter wheels & tyres, which I already have). It felt spot on on 1st sit. I know I’ll have this for some years now. Lovely bike.

Took the Trigger out on it’s first wettish ride today.
The Wolverine tyres do not inspire confidence – minimal mud, wet leaves etc the bloody bike was all over the place…they have to go. Haven’t binned it yet but it felt like a matter of time….High Rollers here I come (unless there are anything similar out there).

Also couldn’t live with the Wolverines, they are fine for a tow path maybe but not the usual riding I do. Went tubeless with some Specialized Purgatorys, much better!

I’ve been riding my Trigger 4 for a few weeks now and really enjoying it. But I’ve had a little niggle in the back of my mind. I’ve had to use much lower shock pressures than “book” to get into the right ballpark, yet folk are popping up on this thread and saying that the book pressures were spot on… hmmm, something didn’t quite gel. So I carried out the shock reset procedure this weekend and then reset the pressures. And just to be sure, I gave that pump a really hefty dose of tightening down… and there it was, a sudden increase in the indicated pressure when the pump was really cranked up that last little bit.

I’ve now found that I’ve had to substantially increase the shock pressures, funnily enough to precisely the book values for my weight in riding kit. These put me spot on into the target sag range. The ride has changed too, and all for the better. Long travel isn’t very different, but short travel is much snappier. The shock used to “nod” a bit when pedalling in short travel mode – now it’s much more stable. Still active on bumps, but not so influenced by pedal stroke.

So, if you’ve just acquired a bike with a Dyad RT2, you might like to:

Run the shock through the reset procedure straight out of the box. Discharge the negative pressure, max out the positive pressure (Fox quote max as 450psi, I went to 430psi), then set pressures according to chart.
Really, really tighten down that shock pump!

I might try a bit less pressure, not quite at the recommended sag. Might take the volume spacer out the lefty too.

My problem is not having enough knowledge of current similar bikes – this bike feels amazing, so how would I know if there’s anything i’m missing setup wise? Potential to unlock etc.

As for comparisons, how do people know unless they’re riding different bikes week in, week out?

Only medium Trigger 4’s left now at Pauls.

Looks like all of the Trigger 4’s have now sold – glad I bought mine a while ago, big thanks to the OP dbcooper!

Paul’s only have Trigger 3’s in small and Trigger 2’s in small and medium left now.

Still good offers on the Jekyll and in stock especially 2015 27.5’s

What are people doing with their two rebounds?

I’d just reached a ‘fast without being boingy’ for both. Seems like I should be being smarter!

Currently I’m 2 clicks back from fully open on both.

Oh, and I like to second the thanks to DBCooper, his post came at just the right time. I’m liking my Jekyll a lot.

How’s the weight on the Jekyll Eddiebaby? How does the lefty feel? are you getting full travel?

(I’m in a similar place click-wise)

Not fully plush yet. My 130 Supermax at 18 months old feels quite different. I’m certainly using the travel but I’m using the saggier end of the suss pressures.
Weight wise I have no idea. I’ll check it tomorrow as I’m about to go 1×11 with an Absolute Black oval ring and want to know the weight saving.
Personally for me the bigger change is the foray into 650b. I think I’m loving it.

yeah, the lefty on my f29 is buttery smooth, zero stiction – i guess they take a while to bed in. If you’re lightish, taking the volume spacer out the bottom might be worth a try, or replacing with a smaller one. You seem to utilise full travel more easily without going to low on pressure

Built my medium trigger 4 today.
No pedals weighed 14.05kg. Scales accurate with the airport this morning.
Just handlebars and front wheel to assemble. Oh and the rear sag measure thing was in the box.
No instructions on suspension setup. I released all the air and put in the recommended settings on the chart.
I went round the local trails on the trail setting and had a brilliant time. Even uphill I felt no bounce and great traction.
Changed it to downhill couple of times and it was super soft and useless for peddling. I can’t imagine using full travel much.
I felt smoother, faster and the bike stuck to me on jumps.
Most importantly. 4 out of ten strava personal bests without feeling like I was pushing myself.

Just weighed my Carbon Jekyll 2. With Superstar Deltas, Nobby nics and a Cateye light it weighs 32.18lb. 14.6kg. Not bad considering how solid it feels.

Has anyone converted their trigger 4 to 1×10. I’ve just set mine up 34×11-40 and hit the problem of the chain being too short when the suspension compresses. The question is do I keep the long cage rear mech and just buy a new longer chain or would swapping to a medium cage rear mech have added benefits?

crazymac680, there’s certainly a big difference between elevate and flow but I’m not sure there’s much point having a 140mm bike and only ever using 85mm! Maybe your pressures were a little low?

Although it depends where you’ve ridden it – down Jocobs ladder in the Peak, flow was essential!

Eddiebaby, sounds like you’re a couple lb heavier than the C2trigger – not bad for the extra beefiness!

Thanks pjbarton. My local trails where I ride only require the 85mm but my mate took me to a new place that was brutal. So I’ll use the 140 there.
We are also planning some mainland trips and may consider an enduro next year. So hoping to grow into my bikes abilities.
I tried to go tubeless for the first time today.
Disaster
Tyres off,tubes out, valves in, slime in.
Lol forgot I lent my mate the track pump.
Tried with the little emergency pump. No luck.
Drove to mates pumped madly and bang.
Pump hose burst.
Cleaned out the slime and back to tubes.

Wheteisthurso – I’ve set my Trigger 4 up 1×10, using 34 & 11/40. No problems at all. Given the triple that was on there to start with, and the original 11/36 cassette, you should have no chain length issues at all if it was set up correctly to start with.

Mttm what size is your bike? The chain was too short when going big ring to big ring when it was 3×10 but obviously I’d never use that gear anyway. Going 34 to 40 probably uses about the same length of chain and under compression gets worse. Perhaps they put the same length chain on all of the bikes and on my xl it’s a little too short to convert to 1×10.

So I guess the original question still stands. Would a short cage rear mech have any increased benefit over just getting a longer chain?

crazymac680, close to impossible without a compressor IMO. Even then, having a tube in and taking one bead off is fairly critical.

Hi,

I found this topic when I was looking for reviews of the Trigger 4 and have been reading it with interest.

I managed to snag one of the medium Trigger 4’s on the last day they had stock, I’d been hesitant because of my lack of knowledge & the cost.

This is my first mtb since owning a Carrera Vengeance about 4 years ago and how things have changed! Once I had put it all together I couldn’t get over how big it seems compared to the vengeance. The front end seems so tall & when the saddles at the right height I can hardly touch the floor. I suppose all bikes of this style are quite tall at the front due to the forks? The bars seem so wide too!! At 5ft 10 I thought it best to go for the medium, maybe it’ll just take getting used to.

When looking over the bike I was checking the rear shock and noticed 2 silver marks on the bridge between the 2 chambers, does anyone else’s shock have these marks (see pic)?

No marks like that on mine that I can see.

…but it is covered in shit.

No marks on mine either.
Does it feel like a crack?

Thanks for the replies.

I don’t think it’s a crack. Looks almost like a small gouge, exposing the silver of the aluminium underneath.

Just seems strange that they are there in identical places on either side. I’ll mail Paul’s Cycles and see what they say.

Cheers

pjbarton – should a compressor be used? When I swapped over most of the guides said not to bother, if you needed to make a running repair trail side you wouldn’t have a compressor (although wouldn’t most revert to a tube?)… Anyway, most said to use CO2, I managed it with few problems.

Whereisthurso – mine’s a medium, but I don’t think it is a sizing issue as the chainstay length is 17.2″ for all models. I’d just pop a slightly longer chain on there. The SLX mech as supplied has been absolutely fine on a 34t NW ring and a 11/40 cassette.

Have put a longer chain on and that has sorted it. Am having some trouble with the chain slipping on the expander cog but am having some success after screwing the B screw all the way in. Am going to take a few links out of the new chain too.

Here’s my trigger 4 set up 1×10. Loving the bike so far. Rear suspension is amazing but need to play with the air pressure in the fork to get it feeling equally plush. Not sure about 27.5 yet, the front end just seems so heavy but I’m sure I’ll get used to it.
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How are people with Trigger 4s getting on with the WTB Wolverine tyres?
Anyone else think they’re iffy in the wet and changed or persevering with them?
Either going to go for Hans Dampf or High Rollers…will get round to going tubeless too at some point.

How are people with Trigger 4s getting on with the WTB Wolverine tyres?

6 months / 1200 km on mine. Not dead yet. Number of loss of grip ass-twitches can be counted on one of Paul Daniels’ hands.

Front end has slid out twice, both times on very loose surfaces, so it may have gone whatever the tire. Recovered it both times.

Got my Trigger 4 about 2 weeks ago and have done about 100 miles or so. Although I’d read generally bad things about the Wolverine tyres I’d thought I’d give them a try…

After the first ride of scrubbing them in most of the miles have been in damp to very wet and muddy conditions and no major dramas yet.

I’ve been pushing hard on a few rides and they have held up well. Caught a nice unexpected drift last weekend in silly wet conditions! The expected rear slide on wet roots but much better than I’d expected given the general negative feedback.

I think most people just switch them for their favourite combo before trying them. Worth a punt in my opinion though.

Will be running them tubeless shortly.