Interbike 2008 - Cannondale Moto Carbon 2

Sep 28, 2008 at 12:49
by Tyler Maine  
Cannondale's Moto Carbon 2 is their answer to the the aggressive All Mountain rider's needs. With 6 inches of front and rear wheel travel, the Moto is ready to take on any trail you take it too. Have a look at the all new Hatchet Drive suspension and listen to what Doug Dalton has to say about the bike inside.

Video, pictures and specs are all inside:
Doug Dalton tells us about the new Moto Carbon 2:


Hatchet Drive:
While the hatchet drive link may look like a small axe, it is doing a lot to give the moto it's distinct ride feel. The hatchet drive link aids in removing stress from the front triangle by creating a rotation that doesn't put direct stress on any one area of the front triangle. By having the rear shock mounted in a floating manner, you'll also get a feeling of bottomless travel out back.

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Hot Box:
The bottom bracket of the Moto Carbon frames has been torsionally re-enforced with 2 thin carbon fiber plates to create a sandwich around the BB. They call this the hot box.

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Diablo Headtube:

With an outer diameter of 66.6 mm, the carbon head tube on the Moto Carbon frames is over sized to say the least. There is a lot of extra strength and steering precision that comes with this new steerer tube.

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FrameCannondale Moto Carbon 2(Charcoal Grey)
•160mm of travel
•Sizes S, M, L and XL
Rear ShockFox DHX 4.0 Air
ForkFox 36 TALAS R
•20 mm axle
•100-130-160mm Travel adjust
•Rebound adjustment
HeadsetMoto 1.5" Integrated
CrankarmsShimano XT
ChainringsShimano 22/32/44T
Bottom BracketShimano Hollowtech II, 68/73mm
PedalsCrank Brothers Smarty Clipless
ChainShimano 9 speed
Cassette•Shimano XT 11-34 T, 9 Speed
Front DerailleurShimano LX
Rear DerailleurSRAM X.9
Shifter Cable/HousingStock
Shifter PodsSRAM X.9, 9 speed
HandlebarFSA XC-190AOS, 25 mm rise(31.8mm)
StemCannondale XC3 1.5"(31.8mm)
GripsCannondale GRIND Lock On
BrakesAvid Elixir CR with 7" rotors
Front WheelDT Swiss E2200 20mm
Rear WheelDT Swiss E2200 135x12mm - MAXLE option
TiresContinental Mountain King Supersonic, 26 x 2.4"
TubesStock
SaddleFi'zi:k Gobi XM w/MG rails
SeatpostThomson Elite

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The Cannondale Moto Carbon 2 is one step down from the flag ship model, but it is so well spec'd for the average rider that I can see this being their highest demand model. Every piece is chosen to last and hold up to all the abuse a true All Mountain machine could face.

To learn more about the Cannondale Moto Carbon 2 and the rest of the Cannondale bike line up, please visit:

www.cannondale.com

Author Info:
brule avatar

Member since Mar 27, 2001
3,581 articles
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54 Comments
  • 7 0
 I rode the Moto 1 at a demo and its not as ugly as it looks in the pictures. It rides really nice though. Soaks up everything.
  • 17 12
 soooo ugly. it might be an alright ride, but it looks like they didn't know what to do with the shock... it might give a good ride...but aesthetics does play some part, and that really looks terrible
  • 15 1
 The placement of a shock doesn't get put where they think it would look good. The whole bike is based around the engineering design.
  • 0 3
 i realize that and thats why i saw it may give a good ride...but the look of it doesn't apeal to me

i know cannondale has made some great performing bikes, but the look never did it for me(might be wise as they might acutally still concentrate on function over form)
  • 5 2
 I already cracked a moto 1 about a month ago, the design won't hold up to a 185lb plus rider, the lower main pivot cracked down to the BB. check my profile page and I have a few pics of it, but the cracks are hard to see due to my sh*tty camera. The Trek Remedy 9 is a pound lighter and it's made of aluminum instead of carbon, Cannondale dropped the ball on this hairbrained idea. Buy a remedy instead.
  • 2 0
 Hey Wintermatty, we had a issue with a few early released frames where the carbon plates were not properly cleaned before bonding. So what you observed is the carbon plate pulling away from the monocoque structure. This issue has been resolve for quite some time and should not be a problem for riders of any weight. I hope you will reconsider Cannodale in the future. -The Kid
  • 0 0
 I'm pretty sure cannondale is a little reluctant in letting me test another moto for a little while. I would test one again, but i'm not sold on the use of Carbon on any bike more than 4 inches of travel. I'm mean in this case if i paid 6,500 for a Moto 1 Carbon I would expect cannondale had conducted enough R&D to make sure it wouldn't fail. I didn't even ride it as hard as I do my trail bike and it sounded like I was breaking celery stalks everytime i hopped a log. I only speaking in respect to the experiance I had, not an opinion. I would give cannondale another chance. But let hope they bring their "A" game this time. I will.
  • 1 0
 Like I said the problem should be resolved now. Also I can assure you that a sh@t-ton of R&D goes into every bike we make and we stand behind our products. Maybe you can talk to the Rep in your area about riding another one?
  • 5 0
 I tried it on a local trail at a demo day, and all I can say is "fun".
it's super light, and the suspension feels like a cloud. I loved it
  • 14 8
 that looks like a super fun bike.
  • 4 1
 ya for sure. i like the design to
  • 0 0
 the hot box looks sweet! kinda like diamondbacks knucklebox but better aha
  • 0 0
 cannondale seems to try alot of weird designs on their bikes
  • 5 2
 It's too cluttered around the rear shock, if they used a simpler design they could of saved weight and made a much nice looking bike.
  • 1 11
flag nouser (Sep 29, 2008 at 5:38) (Below Threshold)
 i agree, that is the most complicated looking 4-link suspension i've ever seen. its like a cross between down pressure style suspension(kona) and a horst link.....really f*cked up
  • 3 0
 i think it looks pretty dam tight. if i ever need an all mountain bike ill definatley look this one up
  • 0 1
 Guys, has nothing to do with the meta, look closely at the shock and you will realize that it is not fixed to the front triangle at any point, the lower end is bolted to the swu¡ing arm and the top is bolted to the hachet linkage, the idea is to make it supper sensible at the begining of the travel and hard at the end to avoid bottom out.
  • 10 8
 Yea looks mint and bet it rides nice sounds good!!!
  • 1 3
 It looks much like the Diamondback and Commencal (as well as the transition siron as) mentionned - pretty much all single pivot bikes (even though some may have that extra pivot avove the rear wheel acle) with extra linkage to control leverage ratios and drive the shock. In no way is it a mix of horst or anything else, nor looks like it.

However, Cannondale seems to have gone a step above and created a floating shock design, and I would imagine this gives them the opportunity to do different things with the leverage ratios of this bike that you cannot do with the other bikes mentionned above.

So, it's a little more sophisticated...but still ugly as hell.
  • 0 0
 I'll stick to my Prophet till they get the bugs out.It looks good and probably rides real well but will accumulate lots of dirt and crap during a good AM ride.
  • 1 0
 Looks nice. Too complicated with the suspension design imo. Much prefer an Orange 5 pro.
  • 3 1
 Sick bike
  • 1 0
 you have to ride it to appreciate this bike
  • 1 1
 this is obviously a stupid question but....why has it got a rockshox skewer on the back wheel?!
  • 1 1
 maxle
  • 2 0
 Nice Bike !
  • 1 2
 fugly. AMB reviewed a lime green one in their mag, even uglier in a bright colour. Single pivot bikes often look clean and simple, this looks cluttered and overcooked.
  • 1 0
 These bike ride so well, no pedal bob and plush as hell
  • 1 0
 watch out scott ransom , there be another contender i tell yea
  • 1 0
 my moto carbon is still kicking, now why is that?
  • 0 0
 nice bike . to me its not too complicated
  • 1 3
 Looks like a knock off of the 'Knucklebox' suspension design Diamond Back uses. You'll see it for 2-3 years and then they'll move on to something else just as odd.
  • 1 1
 I think it's kinda cool but is a touch ugly.
  • 0 3
 Looks like an inverted the Commencal system
http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/2106098/
  • 2 3
 I think it looks OK, looks interesting to ride at least.
  • 0 2
 i want to see sumone sit on that to see how the suspension system works! may be complicated but looks amazing.
  • 0 1
 if anything it looks like treks new suspension design
  • 0 0
 30lbs!
  • 0 0
 yeah i know
  • 0 0
 looks incredibly light
  • 1 2
 can life get any better
  • 0 2
 this is just another dressed up version of single pivot... not impressed.
  • 1 0
 ya kinda but all the extra stuff helps all the forces to do there jobs more efficiently
  • 0 1
 warranty void if ridden
  • 0 3
 its the fuckin contact system from commencal. stupid crapondale
  • 1 4
 another carbon
  • 6 2
 Complicated is interesting to an interesting person. I think it looks sick and to a blank mind you would think it's good because it looks complex. I say props to to cannondale team i love it.
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