This is his carbon Jekyll for racing this year. Cannondale is very proud of the how stiff they have made the linkage, with big 15mm axles all round and that big piece of carbon over the top keeping everything in check. Mark describes it as the only bike he's ridden that is so stiff that it oversteers.
At the heart of the bike is the unique Dyad shock. Built in partnership with Fox, Cannondale has a raft of proprietary technology tucked in there. This one on Mark's bike is a prototype based on the slightly longer stroke shock found on the Jekyll's bigger, more descent-orientated brother, the Claymore. This gives his bike "slightly more" travel than the 150mm these bikes usually have. With the top-down view of the shock, you can see the separate rebound adjusters, as the shock has two modes: one for climbing and one for descending, that can be set separately.
Up-front Mark runs a big 180mm Fox 36 fork. Although it outmatches the rear travel by 30mm (with the stock shock, anyhow) he doesn't find that the bike feels unbalanced. Most important of all is the head angle. For the speeds that he likes to attain, the Jekyll is a little bit steep, so the big fork stretches it out nicely. Cannondale is currently working on an Angleset for the frame with Cane Creek, but it is not available yet, and he does say that if he could get the angle he wanted, he would prefer to run a shorter fork. Inside is a coil and the RC2 damper, weight doesn't bother him much, but damping out on the trail is everything. What you can't see is that his 36 has Fox's 2013 internals, the main difference being an air-assist in the spring leg.
After talking to Fabien Barel on the Trans Provence last year, Mark is trying out his idea of a bigger frame and a tiny stem to help him feel more inside the bike, rather than on it. Although when you meet him you kind of assume he's a big guy (he's got that kind of presence) he is actually only 5'9" tall. With this setup he has gone up from a medium to a large frame with a 40mm stem to keep the length down. He's not 100% yet, but it doesn't seem to have slowed him down...
One of the reasons Mark is so happy on Cannondale: that little metal plate there was added by Cannondale after Mark fedback to them that the cable rub there was causing problems with the frame.
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And, for the record, I run a larger frame with a shorter stem...definitely the way to go for aggressive riding.
Enjoy.
But 180mm for Enduro racing?? Wow man, and a 1x10. Imagine the climbs? Tough sledding, but then again, he's a pro.
I ride a Scott Genius which is a similar bike. I've tried the Jekyl. Nice ride too for sure. But I like the Genius Twinlock controls way better as they control the rear suspension 100% better than the Jekyl/fox shock. I too couldn't get it to work properly. Kind of a messy setup overall.
Scott Genius >>>>> Jekyl. No doubt. Oh burn!
I can't say that this would work for everyone. As I pointed out to some friends, I'm 200lbs and accustomed to riding aggressively at the controls. Left over from my motorcycle days I suppose. I bring it up because I don't know if it would work with some one that is more slight and less aggressive.
Did not like it at all, in the end i changed to a rz onetwenty and rode the pico del tauro 3000 vertical feet and pico de las nieves 4500 vertical feet trails faster and in better control.
The adjustable rear travel is meaningless, minimal impact on pedalling (sitting) performance. 32 mm talas is a waste of aluminum, impossible to hit the sweet spot between suitable LSC, and plushness, the 36 talas eats bumps much better, and it`s easier to adjust out brake dive without performance sacrifices. Spent a lot of time setting up the rear suspension, never got it to be plush for extended descents without being silly-soft for pedalling, nowhere near a Horst link, ABP, or VPP bike. The rear end always felt kinda "dead".
My 5cents: -Missed attempt at making a light DH-focused trailbike, an XC-racers alibi for being a mountain biker, looks good in the garage
But if you didn't get on with it, fair enough. Just seems to me like a setup issue.
I doubt that bike is muuuch better than my 2009 Specialized Enduro though
But as I'm not I'll agree that IF it did blow up, you're a little screwed. However technically both shocks would need to blow for you to be totally screwed. So there's always a spare?