Market: Gravel bikes are an ever-growing topic and are slowly but surely emancipating themselves from their niche existence. More and more of the big manufacturers are now including such bikes in their portfolio. With the new Canondale Slate, however, the US manufacturer is going its own way in many respects.
The first thing that catches the eye on the Slate is of course the Lefty suspension fork. For many years, Cannondale has trusted the self-developed fork in the MTB sector, which now has a considerable fan base - and rightly so: The unusual suspension forks are light, stiff and only very few competitors can match the Lefty in terms of performance are sufficient.
A new variant of the Lefty is now used on the Slate. This goes by the name of Lefty Oliver and primarily differs from the other forks in the series due to the significantly lower spring travel: While Lefties previously had at least 80mm of spring travel, the new Lefty Oliver only has 30mm. However, this should be sufficient for the intended area of application of the Slate: The playground of such gravel bikes are mostly (holey) gravel paths, forest highways, roads and even one or the other easy trail. The 30mm spring travel at the front of course offers an enormous plus in comfort compared to the rigid forks that are usually installed on the bikes of the competition.
Special feature number one was the built-in suspension fork with 30mm travel - but that's not all, because not far from the fork the next big surprise is waiting: The Cannondale Slate has 27,5″ wheels - extremely unusual for such a bike. Nevertheless, the decision in favor of the smaller wheel circumference - depending on the area of use - makes perfect sense: This makes the exotic gravel bike more manoeuvrable, more agile and, last but not least, lighter.
The disadvantages are limited - with the built-in, 42mm wide Maxxis Detonator tires, the total circumference of the wheel is exactly the same as that of a classic 28″ wheel with 23mm tires. Of course, the wide, large-volume tires definitely expand the range of use. Not only does comfort improve, but the larger contact surface also ensures that grip is not lost in difficult conditions.
However, there are fewer surprises when it comes to the features of the model that we looked at as part of the Eurobike Mediadays that are currently taking place. An Ultegra drive from Shimano is installed, along with hydraulic disc brakes and a Hollowgram SL crank - most of the attachments come from the company's own brand, Fabric. As with all three Slate models available from autumn this year, the frame is made of aluminum and, in the case of the Ultegra version, comes in a pleasantly subtle grey-blue.
The Cannondale Slate's approach is both innovative and bold. Whether the developers' and engineers' plan will work out will only become clear after you've spent a few hours on the bike - in any case, we're curious. You will be able to read a review of the slate in the coming months.
