Bike Check: Josh Bryceland's Cannondale Jekyll - Red Bull Hardline 2023

Jul 17, 2023 at 10:12
by Ed Spratt  

Redbull Hardline 2023 Dinas Mawddwy Wales
BIKE CHECK
Josh Bryceland's
Cannondale Jekyll
Photography: Nathan Hughes

After a long hiatus from downhill racing, it was great to see Josh Bryceland briefly back between the tape at Red Bull Hardline last week. To tackle one of the toughest races on the calendar Josh opted for a modified Cannondale Jekyll with some choice components designed to make this bike ready for the big hits. Check out Josh's custom build below.

Redbull Hardline 2023 Dinas Mawddwy Wales
Cannondale Jekyll Details

Frame: Cannondale Jekyll // Size Large (Mullet link)
Fork: Formula Nero 190mm, 100psi with max volume spacers.
Shock: Formula Mod 500lb spring
Tyres: Front: Maxxis Shorty 30psi DH casing // Rear: Maxxis Shorty 32psi DH casing // No inserts
Pedals: Burgtec Penthouse Mk5.
Crankset: Hope Evo 155mm cranks with a 32t Burgtec chainring
Shifter: SRAM XO
Cassette: SRAM 7-Speed
Brakes: Formula Cura 4 // 220mm rotor on the front, 200mm on the rear
Seatpost: Truvativ Descendant seatpost with Burgtec's Cloud saddle.
Cockpit: Burgtec 50mm direct mount stem (5mm stack) with Byceland's signature 50mm high-rise bars.

bigquotesIt's been quite some time since I had a current downhill bike and geometry has come on that much; this feels way more capable than the last V10 I rode just because it's longer and 29er. I was on a 27, finally riding a bike that fits me, so yeah, it feels like twice the downhill bike I've ever had even though it isn't a downhill bike.— Josh Bryceland

Redbull Hardline 2023 Dinas Mawddwy Wales
Josh Bryceland has modified the Jekyll enduro bike into something fully capable of taking on the rowdy Hardline course. Josh says he never managed to bottom out the 190mm Formula fork.

Redbull Hardline 2023 Dinas Mawddwy Wales
Josh is running Hope's super short 155mm Evo cranks so he can pedal over anything. Although he says he doesn't really pedal that much anyway. While dropping a chainring size would help overcome some of the negatives from a shorter crank, Josh told us he stuck with his usual 32t chainring as you need the extra gearing when getting up to speed for the 90ft doubles.

Redbull Hardline 2023 Dinas Mawddwy Wales
Redbull Hardline 2023 Dinas Mawddwy Wales
Up front is a very high 50mm rise bar with Josh running the longest axle to crown allowed for this frame sitting at 581mm. The brakes are set up relatively flat with plenty of pull on the levers.

Redbull Hardline 2023 Dinas Mawddwy Wales
For the Hardline course Josh was using a 220mm front rotor paired with 200mm at the rear.

Redbull Hardline 2023 Dinas Mawddwy Wales
The mullet link delivers an extra 9mm of travel, allowing the Jekyll to come slightly closer to the DH bikes being ridden by the rest of the field.

Ratty Bryce floating the gap.


Author Info:
edspratt avatar

Member since Mar 16, 2017
3,069 articles
Must Read This Week
Bike Check: Evan Wall's Haro Greer Prototype Enduro Bike
45522 views
Pinkbike Poll: Riser Bar or Extra Spacers Under the Stem?
42510 views
First Ride: Canyon Neuron:ONfly - a Lighter 140mm eMTB
40881 views
Review: Zerode G3 - A Belt Driven, Gearbox Equipped DH Bike
37584 views
Sam Hill Says He's Not Done With Racing
31151 views
YT Industries Announces Vans Collaboration
28931 views
Amer Sports Sells ENVE to Utah-Based Private Investment Firm
22733 views
First Look: BikeYoke Revive Three Dropper Post
21599 views
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup

67 Comments
  • 126 1
 Who else heard ratboys voice in your head for the quote?
  • 9 0
 I do, I still can't understand it.
  • 1 0
 @megatryn: same.
  • 76 3
 Should have hacksawed the right fork leg off to make it authentic Cannondale.
  • 6 28
flag baca262 (Jul 18, 2023 at 3:05) (Below Threshold)
 it appears to be a chinese knockoff
  • 28 2
 @baca262: you’re a chinese knockoff
  • 4 6
 @baca262: The fork is more of an Italian knockoff. They didn't even stick too strictly to the original design of a Lefty.
  • 3 10
flag baca262 (Jul 18, 2023 at 7:08) (Below Threshold)
 @cuban-b: wrong. russian troll
  • 6 1
 @baca262: LOL troll got trolled. terrible comeback by the way lol
  • 3 15
flag baca262 (Jul 18, 2023 at 8:38) (Below Threshold)
 @cuban-b: i like it how you dimwit crowd are quick to say "wooosh" while it's the exact same scenario here. who the f*ck thought i didn't say that in jest? it's a knock off because no lefty fork, get it?
  • 5 3
 @baca262: no. Just seems like a dumb joke.
  • 3 2
 @baca262: you’re a terrible comedian. don’t quit your day job.
  • 4 1
 @cuban-b: he's commenting on pinkbike while at his day job.
  • 1 7
flag baca262 (Jul 19, 2023 at 6:21) (Below Threshold)
 @ThatOneGuyInTheComments: so you're the reality master sargeant around here? try not to injure yourself nose picking and all
  • 3 0
 @baca262: another banger. Keep ‘em coming! lol
  • 33 1
 Rad bike, Josh was the guy I was really looking out for at Hardline, yeah, I'm a fan.
  • 17 1
 Who isn’t?!

I rewatch old British Pie series every now and then, his segments go hard.
  • 4 0
 didn't realize he still rides competitively... sucks it got canceled
  • 4 0
 @dirtyburger: British pie is a guaranteed hyper-upper!
  • 24 4
 Curious about Josh’s head set levels. Preparing for a course like Hardline, does he smoke less than usual? More? Shift the balance more towards sativa? Keep it consistent?
  • 34 0
 He's not smoking any more. But he's not smoking any less either!
  • 28 0
 "I use to do drugs. I still do, but I used to too."
  • 3 1
 Hybrid? He’s jedi level, so I have a feeling taste/terps play more of a role than the often inaccurate indica/sativa %
  • 3 0
 @thustlewhumber: R.I.P Mitch.
  • 3 1
 I wonder why he does not run the 3 chamber fork. I have one installed on my enduro/fr bike and its brilliant, especially beeing able to tune the negativechamberpressure on its own is very helpful. The Formula dualcrowns have a really low ac btw so they dont mess with the geometry of an enduroframe.
  • 3 0
 I have the Formula air chamber in a modified Fox 36 (MORC 36 by Chris Porter) and have to say that I hate it. It's a PITA to setup. Every single change requires to remove all air from the negative, adding it to the positive, then negative again, then making sure it's the right amount and redo all over again....don't even see any benefits compared to a self equalising air chamber.
I also prefer coil on anything that is not a XC fork so I might be a bit biased as well, but from all the air forks I tried, the formula is by far the worst, especially when you travel and use the fork at different altitudes, temperatures, etc... it makes it so hard to adjust.
  • 1 0
 @dick-pound: Yes it is a nightmare to set up but if you just relax a bit and get a feeling for it, its not that bad. What i mean by that is that i stopped letting all the air out. I have a good basic setup and if something feels not spot on i remove / ad 5psi to the applicable chamber. Sure it changes everything else but if you do babysteps its neglectable. From time to time i check the pressure by the following routine: checking bronze -letting air out-checking silver letting air out -checking gold. So you dont have to start over again next time. Setting up negative is also simple, just hold a ruler to the fork and start pumping, as soon as it sinks in the first 2mm its good -at least for me.
  • 1 0
 @dick-pound: I have had coil only on my bikes for very long, but really struggle to set it up correctly. With forks they always seem to be too progressive for me (weirdly enough). With shocks its the other way around, even with a kinda progressive bike( 3.0 -2.35 ) i bottomout hard even with 27% sag. Pretty much as with all bikes i put a coil on before. I am too old to change so i stick to air with 3 chambers. (mattoc, formula and a wildly modified rs superdeluxe air which will be replaced by an aria)
  • 3 2
 @Vinnijussi: Ratboy is the kind of guy that does not care too much about his setup, doesnt puzzle.. so your comment is coming only because the brand he is using gave you the cue to plug your wisdom ; ). I bet he asked for the elst fancy version easier to set up etc etc haha
  • 2 0
 @Lagr1980: Not so sure, everything looks pretty dialed on that bike, he runs 155 mm cranks and even requestet Burgtec to make higher bars. I was curios howmuch psi he runs, just to find out he runs the more simple fork.
  • 5 0
 What travel was the frame with the mullet link? Quite a fundamental fun fact about a bike feature I would think?
  • 1 0
 About 174mm, since the stock bike has 165mm and the link increases it by 9mm.
  • 3 0
 Shame they didn't get to race, im sure the racer in the rat would bleed to the surface... I thoroughly enjoyed watching his rise in the syndicate and success back in the day, was quality viewing..
  • 3 0
 So he runs the mullet link to get more travel out of the frame, but with dual 29er wheels? That's a very interesting little hack!
  • 2 0
 I caught that too. 174mm travel if its in addition to the 165mm the stock Jekyll has got.

Also interesting is that Cannondale does not offer a MX build and that doesn't look like a Cascade part (which usually has milling lines and Cascade's logo.)

Did Ratboy have Cannondale develop him a special link?
  • 1 0
 Ratboy said it also raised the BB by about 10mm in a short video post, kind of odd its not mentioned here in the article
  • 3 0
 What are these grips - Burgtec branded but not in the catalogue? New fodder….?
  • 3 0
 This bike looks so good . Perfect color and the design and spec is wicked. Was rooting for Ratty
  • 3 0
 An extra 9mm travel but how much does it get? I know, I could look it up but......
  • 4 0
 165mm stock, so 190 front, 174 rear
  • 2 0
 @wburnes: Cheers
  • 5 1
 Good job, Pinkbike, on salvaging some content from this fiasco.
  • 1 0
 Was cannondale not having any DH bikes they had i think it was last year? Also why not mentioning that he, next to brendog is riding Flats?
  • 3 0
 Wot no rasta livery?
  • 1 1
 Not sponsored by Reserve rims anymore? I can see he's running them but not sponsor plug? Notice no Chris King Hubs either.. Grips look interesting. Prototype Burgtec?
  • 2 4
 Reserve is a sub brand of Santa Cruz but operates independently. Their team is strictly for the hoops, nothing to do with SC.
  • 1 1
 @nevertoofast: You're the only dude mentioning SC lol
  • 3 1
 Cannondale has been killing it lately with their full suspension bikes..
  • 2 0
 Wishing he would go for a World Champs.
  • 1 4
 Why would your drop chainring size with shorter cranks? I've Been riding 65mm SLX M7100 cranks with 34t ring, and I can confidently say that I'm faster, consistent over quick and rough variations on trail, without fatigue in my knees, while using higher hrať than before.
  • 20 0
 Come on, 65mm cranks and no knee fatigue?! Are yours made of asbestos? I think my knees would have caught fire!
  • 2 0
 Well, while physics obviously don't apply to faste rand consistenter riders, shorter cranks give a lower leverage, meaning more force is needed to turn the crank in the same gear, something that a smaller chainring counteracts.
  • 1 0
 @trippleacht: Do you happen to know about biomechanics? Or about higher speed low torque engines?
  • 7 0
 @carlitouk: My mistake, I meant 65 imperial miles and I turn the planet with those cranks.
  • 2 1
 Looks like a DHF in the back too, not a shorty.
  • 8 0
 It was a DHF when it was shot in the dry by Nathan but by the time I got to do the details with Josh he had swapped due to the weather.
  • 2 0
 @Mandownmedia: which is funny because in the Matt Jones video I watched he said he never messes with tires and always runs a shorty and dhr irregardless of conditions. Then he switches it for this event ahah.
  • 1 0
 @Ryan2949: to be honest by Sunday the mud was crazy Ad Brattain was on Maxxis Wetstreams. The Mud was a big issue.
  • 4 0
 @Ryan2949: Brayton Iphone autocorrect drives me mad
  • 2 0
 That bike is sooo nice!
  • 1 0
 Nice !
Below threshold threads are hidden







Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv56 0.038335
Mobile Version of Website