Bike Check: Jerome Clementz's 2015 Cannondale Jekyll
BIKE CHECK:
Jerome Clementz's
Cannondale Jekyll
Cannondale Jekyll
BY: Mike Kazimer
Jerome Clementz began his 2014 season with a victory at the Andes Pacifico race aboard a prototype version of Cannondale's new Jekyll, and now with the first round of the Enduro World Series fast approaching he has been spending time getting acquainted with the actual bike he'll be racing on throughout the year. We caught up with Jerome in southern Spain to take a closer look at the setup of his carbon fiber race rig. The new Jekyll sees a number of changes over last year's model, the most obvious being the switch to 27.5” wheels, which will certainly be a talking point among those who attributed Clementz's winning ways to the 26” wheels he was running last season. The bike's travel has been bumped up to 160mm, and the geometry has also been altered slightly – the head angle now sits at 67 degrees, and the seat angle has been steepened to 74.9 degrees, changes meant to improve downhill stability and increase pedalling comfort. Longer top tubes are gaining in popularity, and the Jekyll follows this design trend, stretching the effective top tube length to 592mm on the size medium frame. As far as sizing goes, at 5'6”, Jerome could probably get away with riding a size small frame, but says he prefers the roomier feel of the medium, even with the longer top tube and slightly bigger wheel size of the 2015 model. | Clementz's Cannondale Jekyll Details • Rear wheel travel: 160mm or 95mm • Wheel size: 27.5" • Frame material: carbon fiber • Frame size: medium • RockShox BlackBox Pike • Fox Dyad 2 rear shock • SRAM XX1 drivetrain • Mavic Crossmax Enduro wheels and tires |
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Suspension
Jerome's impressive results on the enduro race circuit have earned him a spot on the RockShox BlackBox squad, giving him access to special tuning and prototypes before the rest of the world. The Pike front fork currently on his race bike is completely stock, save for the addition of one Bottomless Token to add a little more end stroke ramp up. That being said, Jerome's fork gets a full rebuild after each race, so even though it may have the same internals as the publicly available version, it's likely to feel better than the fork you've been thrashing about on all season without any service.
The Jekyll uses the unique Fox Dyad 2 pull shock, which has two separate air chambers that allow it to be switched between 160 or 95mm of travel. Different rebound speeds can be set for each travel mode, so if a rider wanted they could have a slow rebounding, short travel setting for more climbing traction, and a quicker rebound setting in the long travel mode for higher speed, rougher terrain. Jerome said he uses the 95mm Elevate mode for smoother climbs, but on more technical climbs he keeps the shock in the longer travel Flow setting due to the additional traction it provides. The 2015 Dyad 2 on this bike has a different compression tune and shim stack than the 2014 version, as well as an increased range of rebound adjustment.
Jerome's impressive results on the enduro race circuit have earned him a spot on the RockShox BlackBox squad, giving him access to special tuning and prototypes before the rest of the world. The Pike front fork currently on his race bike is completely stock, save for the addition of one Bottomless Token to add a little more end stroke ramp up. That being said, Jerome's fork gets a full rebuild after each race, so even though it may have the same internals as the publicly available version, it's likely to feel better than the fork you've been thrashing about on all season without any service.
The Jekyll uses the unique Fox Dyad 2 pull shock, which has two separate air chambers that allow it to be switched between 160 or 95mm of travel. Different rebound speeds can be set for each travel mode, so if a rider wanted they could have a slow rebounding, short travel setting for more climbing traction, and a quicker rebound setting in the long travel mode for higher speed, rougher terrain. Jerome said he uses the 95mm Elevate mode for smoother climbs, but on more technical climbs he keeps the shock in the longer travel Flow setting due to the additional traction it provides. The 2015 Dyad 2 on this bike has a different compression tune and shim stack than the 2014 version, as well as an increased range of rebound adjustment.
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Fresh out of the box, Jerome's mechanic had just finished installing a set of SRAM's new Guide brakes. The brakes feature a four piston caliper and a new lever body that has separately adjustable lever reach and free stroke, in addition to a more compact lever shape. Clementz was also running the new Centerline rotors, which are designed to dissipate heat and resist warping better than previous models.
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The Jekyll's Fox Dyad 2 rear shock can be adjusted between 95mm or 160mm of travel, an adjustment that is typically done with Cannondale's thumb remote, but running a 1x11 drivetrain creates the cockpit room necessary to use a GripShift twist shifter to switch between the two travel modes. A remote for the Reverb stealth dropper post is also located on the right side of Jerome's signature series 750mm Truvativ carbon handlebar. A 40mm Truvativ Holzfeller stem was installed on this bike, but Jerome said he wasn't sure whether he'd end up running a 50mm or 40mm length. Garmin's Edge GPS bike computer is mounted to the top cap of the stem to help record data for training and race analysis.
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Depending on the course, the bike is fitted with either a 36 or 38 tooth front chainring, a taller gear than most recreational cyclists would run on their 1x11 setups, but then again, Jerome is significantly more fit than the average rider. Even though the chain retention properties of thick-thin chainrings have been well proven, a Truvativ chainguide is in place for that extra bit of security. The bike is also equipped with a set of Shimano's standard XTR pedals that have had the company logo blacked out due to the fact that Jerome is a SRAM sponsored rider.
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The Jekyll rolls on Mavic's Crossmax Enduro wheelset with a 2.4" Crossmax Charge tire in the front and a 2.2" Crossmax Roam tire in the rear. The wider, more aggressive tread pattern of the front tire is designed for cornering traction and grip, while the rear is meant to be a quick accelerating, fast rolling tire with tall enough side knobs to keep it from sliding off the trail.
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 Jerome was looking comfortable aboard the new ride, and just a few days after this photo was taken won the first round of the Spanish Enduro Series in Ojen, Spain. The Enduro World Series kicks off in Chile on April 19th where Jerome will begin the task of defending his Enduro World Champion title. Photo: Ale di Lullo |
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At Least he took the stickers off. Guess there isn't much choice in a pull shock anyways.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WlRqcAQr2w&feature=share
I think the Claymore was dropped, due to weight and low sales. In most cases a 6" 27.5 wheeled bike is just as capable as a 7" 26" wheeled bike.
I loved my Claymore. It was a true jack of all trades. Where it really shone was at the bike park/ ski hill. However, I found myself looking for something lighter and more playful - as I rode like that 2% of the year. It is a sled that will take you anywhere as fast as you can pedal it... It was however heavy, and went uphill slow.
During our all mountain sessions, the Trigger 29 was much more beneficial though. I can ride longer, faster uphill, similar speed downhill in a much more playful bike based solely on weight. The Claymore opened my eyes to all mountain riding, the Trigger simply bettered the ride.
Thx again gor the feedback.
Now I chose the Carbon version Trigger, and set it up tubeless - it tips a scale at 23lbs with pedals. So I have a bike that (for my riding style) descends as well as the Claymore - but climbs like I have a Rocket Pack attached to my back. I ride overmountain, trails, weekend warrior - out to have fun... Never shuttle ride.
The only place i'm going to miss the Claymore is at the downhill park (ski hill), hitting gaps and drops. But even for that, I would have liked a single ring, chainguide and triple crown fork.. So it wasn't perfectly suited for that either. I wished the Claymore was more of a downhill bike, and I also wished it was more of an allmountain climber.
At the park the few times a year I go - I can rent/ borrow or demo a DH bike. For the other 95% of my year riding - it is effortless and enjoyable aboard the Trigger.
do you really claim that GT all mountain bikes with their decades long i drive evolving till now is worse than what the jekyll which resumed at around 2011 from 2003 halt has to offer? I mean you are serious right? Oh wait you are talking about proof, and engineering.
i don't know what your smoking but I want some of that
please define carbon before you go swing your epeen around like your other comments talking about your pride to be able to buy out new cannondales top models at full price. All you care about is OMG I bought a top end model name brand good for me. You obviously don't even appericate the basic merits about GT bikes and just use your undereducated knowledge of full suspension bikes to judge another brand against your impiritive choice of Cannondale. God knows what happens if I start to mention the myriads of other players on the market.
I have ridden 2 Cdales and 2 GT full sussers for years. I have tested them against Specialized, Trek's offer to name a few, I have no idea why you appear so self entitled about all things cannondale and all things full suspention and all things tech and engineering. A cannondale will never ride as fast as a GT for me at least up the hill. Cannondale bikes had the hint of overengineering back in the days, nowadays all I see is the same am enduro bike more or less from most if not all of the brands, they are in a group dumbing down act of character and distinctiveness-towards a bunch of standard high end components that you oh so hate yet bought, towards marketing gimmicks such as 650b, towards making the bike oh so light and stiff at the same time which is more or less as bs as enduro as a thing.
You talk about engineering, except you can only ride to really feel it. If you haven't ridden much GT why don't you tell yourself to stop talking and tell yourself you don't have any argument.
I've owned GT's w/idrive, Specialized, Norco's, Konas and Cannondales. Everything else is over priced, over hyped, and for lack of a better term - average.
Fact of the matter is; The top of the line current GT - is a Carbon frame with a traditional Kona/ Specialized FSR linkage design - using a Fox CTD rear shock. They banged another one out, with current geometry to sell bikes.
Let me remind you, I was in a generic department store sports store the other day.. It was a large chain... They offered GT's..... Is this why you are defending them?
Whew, you almost got to me.
Specialized Offers a carbon all mountain 29er - with a similar component spec - for a nice bottle of whiskey away from $10,000! What was my point in this? Thats $2g more than a similar Cannondale.
Let me lay it out for you. Two bikes in one. Two travel adjustments,Two spring rates, and rebound rates at the flick of a lever. Always high end parts specs, for a price which is on par with the best of the industry?
To me it seems like a no brainer... However - if it required NO BRAIN... You'd have one?
I am not over exaggerating anything. They over build, and over engineer everything! #overdoit.
This is a post about Cannondales.. and the revolutionary shit they are building. I'm pretty sure we're allowed to be pumped on them.
I didn't specifically slander any one brand, until you brought it up....
Just stop already, because you sound uneducated - and cheap.
It's funny how Jerome is a Sram/ Rockshox sponsored rider - and they peel the Fox stickers off of the rear shock..... Without that rear shock, he may not be as successful as he is? I only say this, because a few races ago - there were 4 Cannondale riders on the podium. 3 males and one female.
You can't say it was the fork that made the difference
cannondale already provides models of 2015???
WTF!!!!!!!!
Is he running a 26" fork? The clearance looks very slight...
Next question, is it cool to run a 27b or whatever, 650b, wheel in a 26 fork?
Obviously if he is then it must be and logically I see no reason why it wouldn't be.
Any thoughts/experience very welcome
On most forks it should work, especially if you use "regular" (understand not superfat) tyres, might be super tight for a marshguard though
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Off season testing and product development is evidently a different matter, whilst the shock is a compromise since making four or five shocks a year for Jerome would be Formula 1 levels of money burning.
Edit: mateo5 beat me to the grip shift explanation.