WILTON, Conn. (BRAIN) — After months of teases in the media, Cannondale on Thursday released details of its Slate bike, a 650b road bike with a short travel Lefty fork.
The Slate will be available in October in three models, the company said.
It uses 650bx42 tires, which the company said has nearly the same outer diameter as 700x23 tires but offer improved cornering and comfort. The Lefty Oliver fork offers 30mm of travel, with a special MAP spring that prevents bobbing at the top of the travel. It has on-the-fly lockout and rebound adjustments for transitions from pavement to dirt.
The bike has aggressive road geometry, with 405mm chainstays and a longer top tube and slightly slacker head angle. The front suspension does not raise the geometry's stack compared to other Cannondale road bikes.
The aluminum frame has Cannondale's SAVE Plus+ Micro-Suspension, which includes flattened seat stays, for rear wheel compliance. The frame has a Syntace 142x12 through axle.
"Slate seemed like a natural evolution to us," said David Devine, Cannondale's senior product manager. "We started thinking about a bike that we would want to ride when we didn't know exactly what type of terrain we'd be getting into for the day. It was a case of bringing together all of the different things we love about riding to create something totally new."
A model equipped with Shimano 105 will retail for $2,980; an Ultegra model is $3,520 and a SRAM Force CX1-equipped model will retail at $4,260.
