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Cannondale Trigger 1...kind of

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sbc1cog

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
Finally finished my build of my Cannondale Trigger 1 that I swapped the bike over to XX1 with XO Trail brakes, put some proper trail wheels with some very sweet Michelin tubeless tires, Reverb post and some Syntace Vector bars. So not to much of this bike is left from the original except the XL frame and bada$$ Lefty MAX fork. As it sits it is 28 lbs so figure a touch over 29 lbs with my pedals.

Very excited to get this out on the trails and see what the bike and components are like. I have been riding a Rumblefish Pro for the past 3+ years in combination with my single speeds so certainly intrigued to see how it stacks up against the RF as a rugged trail bike. Also looking forward to taking less heat from my friends that I ride and race with from Cannondale for not riding the local company!

Put the XX1 on it to see what all of the hubbub is about and needed to put some XO Trail brakes to keep it all matchy. I am sure the drivetrain will be great but do have concerns with braking since I have been riding latest generation the XT/ XTR and they set the bar very, very high.

I will be using this bike for typical trail rides and hope to dabble in some enduro racing on it this upcoming season. Based upon ride quality and over all speed of the bike maybe even use it in technical XC races like the Bearscat 50 down in New Jersey.

If the trails melt a bit or firm up for the weekend then I am hoping to put it through its paces and dial in the suspension. If I do I will certainly get a proper ride report written up.

If you are local to southern CT and want to stop by and take a look at this beast it is sitting on the floor at Bethel Cycle in Bethel CT. If you are bigger guy or gal and ride an XL frame then you might be able to sweet talk me into taking it for a spin.
 

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#2 ·
sweet build!!! ride report on that lefty super max ASAP please.

i would love to build up a 2soulcycles QH or SJ with a super max!
 
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Discussion starter · #3 ·
Yeah, if all goes according to plan I will be putting one on my custom Ventana SS that currently runs a 90/120mm Fox Talas.

Really looking forward to the added precision that the MAX will bring to this bike, I am venturing a guess that the entire bike should be quit a bit more agile and torsionally stiff than my Rumblefish's. Time will tell that is for sure.
 
#8 ·
I am curious how is the left turning radius?
The Lefty Max is set back more than the other leftys and mine already touches my frame in very tight turning situations just messing around the house.

It seems like XL is the only size I have seen on the interweb. I bet Cdale would sell a lot of XXLs if they made them.

It looks like a very sweet bike. I wonder if the carbon version is coming out next year.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
Well life got in the way over the weekend so not ride report yet. I am going to bang around on it tomorrow unless we get a bunch of snow tonight and I can not track down some decent trails.

Yes, some interference with the frame but only the most extreme left hand switch backs would it rear its ugly head.
 
#10 ·
Finally got the bike out on some crispy snow covered trails today and just like I was suspecting it is a very sweet bike. The bike and new Lefty fork are super precise and much more stout and accurate steering than any FS 29er I have been on. I would certainly say I need to take a bit of time and effort to dial in the suspension but it was pretty close today, maybe set up a bit firm.

The fork is unreal in comparison to the 32 Fox fork I have been riding with pretty much no deflection. Going through rock gardens at speed is a whole new world on this, point, pedal and go. The handling characteristics make for a really agile feeling bike even though it such a large bike, the torsional stiffness plays a huge a bike role in this. Body english is directed to the tires better than just about any bike I have ridden even with the 130mm travel. It is very efficient and when the rear shock is flip to the short travel it really makes it go. I certainly believe that it could be race d in certain events, perfect for a enduro bike and marathon bike on super technical trails.

The Lefty MAX would be a great upgrade to a lot of bike with it stiffness and solid suspension performance. Certainly not a lot of bells and whistles like a Fox fork but I am more a set forget it guy. I hope to put one on my Ventana SS and add 10mm of travel and loads of stiffness and steering precision. Maybe the only drawback of this fork as an upgrade would be it will really create some serious imbalance between front end and rear end stiffness on many bikes. I also am not 100% sure that many bikes are structurally sound enough to handle the added leverage at the head tube this brings to the table, that being said I am certainly not an engineer.

I am very excited that I got this bike and very motivated to get some good rides on it on dry trails even though the snow was pretty fun and grippy today. Hopefully going to take advantage of a few of my friends over at CSG for proper fork and shock set-up and get that dialed in since they know a whole lot more than I do, great perk of being in Bethel CT. After my ride today I certainly would say that this is a better bike than the Trek Rumblefish bikes that I have had. As much fun and as good as those bike are the Trigger with the Lefty MAX raises the bar for a burly trail bike, very robust and perfect for tight and technical New England trails.

PS, The XX1 is really nice and user friendly perfect fit for a bike like this. The XO Trails brakes are not Shimano's that is for sure. Forgot how noisy they are when they are wet but expect them to get better over time, plenty of stopping power but would say I prefer the feel of XT's or XTR's.
 
Discussion starter · #13 ·
Now that I have about 5 good tough ride on this bike it is really good! Did a ride with 3500 feet of climbing in a little less than 3 hours on some burly trails in Ninham NY and the bike was nearly perfect for it. Maybe a touch heavy, but right now I am a little chubby as well, but with the "attitude adjust" flipped to short travel it climbs really well. I use that lever all the time and it really allows this bike ot keep up with more XC oriented bikes than you would think when the pace is high.
The thing is point and shoot, certainly opens the door to some bigger drops and steeping rollers than I have done in the past. The stiffness of the chasis really makes this bike more nimble than the geometry table would lead you to believe, maybe a little to much hype these days with geo and super short stays and relax headtubes. This bike is a great balance not to short and not to shallow.All I want to do is keep trying harder lines at more speed, this bike actually has lead me to my first pair of knee pads that I have ever bought.
If you are looking for a bike to take the most aggressive lines, ride fast and smash into stuff with confidence then this a awesome choice!!
 
#14 ·
how's the lefty??
super? :)
 
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Discussion starter · #15 ·
The Lefty Super MAX is definately Super! That thing is very, very stiff and very smooth, though I am not suspension guru. The fork,and the bike, are another level of stiffness that translates really well to the trail and body input.
 
#16 ·
I'm really glad to hear the good reports on this bike. I have one ordered and it should be here in a week or so. I'm replacing a Niner RIP 9 with the Fox 34 Talas 140 fork. I have really loved my Niner, but my buddy at Cannondale assures me that the trigger will be a big improvement. As soon as I9 starts making a lefty supermax hub I will be ordering a set of wheels like these.
 
Discussion starter · #17 ·
devojrx7 said:
I'm really glad to hear the good reports on this bike. I have one ordered and it should be here in a week or so. I'm replacing a Niner RIP 9 with the Fox 34 Talas 140 fork. I have really loved my Niner, but my buddy at Cannondale assures me that the trigger will be a big improvement. As soon as I9 starts making a lefty supermax hub I will be ordering a set of wheels like these.

View attachment 767581
Click to expand...
Cannondale does offer an adaptor for the Max it run with standard Lefty hubs, might be an option if they look like they will be not producing one for a while.

The I9 wheels with the Reynolds rims would be a great option for this bike to help it loose some rotationl mass and add more precision to an already stiff bike. Thinking of going that route but been happy with the bike thus far even with the heavier wheels.
 
#19 ·
I'm seriously considering getting the Trigger 1, but LBS is selling without remote dropper seat..saying that's how it comes from Cannondale. My question is, did you have to add yourself or did it come as spec'd per cannondale? Would like to know b4 I drop serious cash, don't want to spend extra money for dropper seat and some Flows (needed).
 
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