The New Cannondale Jekyll Enduro Bike is Official!

by | Jun 22, 2021 | Gear, Reviews & First Looks, Bike, First Look

After months of seeing the occasional spy shot, making speculations, seeing another spy shot, dreaming, seeing a not-so-spy shot at Darkfest, and waiting in eager anticipation.. It is finally out! Cannondale have released their completely overhauled Jekyll enduro bike and it is a whopper!

The All-New Cannondale Jekyll

Taking cues from their prototype downhill bike that was tested a few years back, Cannondale have taken their Jekyll enduro platform and redesigned it from the ground up! 165mm of rear wheel travel, a 64 degree head angle, size-specific geometry and suspension kinematics, and generous reach numbers all add up to make a hot package.

“4-bar meets high pivot meets idler pulley meets size-specific kinematics. For real. If you’re not up for suspension buzzword bingo, just know that it grips, floats, and pedals like nothing else. It’s always up for getting down.“ – Cannondale

The New Cannondale Jekyll Enduro Bike Is Official!
Hiding the shock in the down tube has lowered the centre of gravity and it looks superb!

The Jekyll’s suspension is the new bike’s most eye catching feature. The high pivot point of the suspension allows the back wheel to move rearwards and out of the way of obstacles for dealing well with square edged features. This is a design increasing in popularity and for good reason! This is where that idler pulley wheel steps in. Because the rear wheel moves backwards during compression with a high pivot, the chain must be routed via the pivot point to prevent “chain growth” that pulls on the pedals. The precise location of this pulley also allows for fine tuning of the pedalling characteristics.

The New Cannondale Jekyll Enduro Bike Is Official!
The idler pulley reduces pedal kickback typically caused by the high-pivot design.

Cannondale have paired that high-pivot up with a four-bar linkage that is very tuneable to dial in the suspension characteristics that will make it respond predictably and pedal efficiently.

The shock, as you can (or can’t) see, is hidden away in the down tube. The logic here is that it lowers the bike’s centre of gravity making it more stable in rough terrain and corners.

Check out the video below for all the good stuff about this suspension design!

Cannondale Jekyll Suspension Explainer

When it comes to the frame geometry we have a 64 degree head angle, 475mm of reach in the large size, chain stay lengths to suit each size (442mm – Large), and suspension layouts that are adjusted for each size to suit different centres of gravity! They really have gone the extra mile here. Check out the geo chart below for more info.

The New Cannondale Jekyll Enduro Bike Is Official!
Cannondale Jekyll Geometry Chart

Those are some good looking numbers! Balanced and aggressive are the words that come to mind. This bike certainly means business, it looks stunning and will most likely do a great job of eating up whatever you point it towards!

The Jekyll will be available in 2 builds initially and unfortunately only landing in South Africa April 2022 but here are the spec details below.

It is sad that we will have to wait quite so long before seeing a few Jekylls out in the wilds of South Africa but we certainly look forward to the day!

Learn more at www.cannondale.com

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