Original Cannondale Slate, question for Damon

[tarmackev]

Why didn’t Cannondale go with the original Slate?
I was blown away when I saw it and I needed one desperately, it looked so cool.
When the Slate was released with relaxed geometry and 650 wheels I was underwhelmed.
I wanted a fast, aggressive gravel bike that could hold its own on the road.
Was there a reason for taming the beast? Any chance of unleashing the original as fast gravel racing is catching on?
For now I’ll stick with my 2013 SuperX.


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[AZR3]

Same here, was really looking forward to the bike they showed off in the videos and then was confused when the actual production model showed up.....it was big disappointment. I would have bought one of those and not my Exploro had they released it.

[tarmackev]

Even if it has 650 wheels the original bike with slightly slimmer tyres is a beast.
I had a ride on the released 105 version and it was okay but not very racey.


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[CarlosFerreiro]

Cannondale Topstone for 2019?
http://off.road.cc/content/news/2019-ca ... cs-details

[tarmackev]

Hmmm, interesting. The silhouette looks the Slate but Im guessing it’s just generic.
If the Topstone is anything like a Caad12 frame with lefty then I’m all in.


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[AZR3]

So maybe add a modified ocho to the super x?

[DamonRinard]

Why didn’t Cannondale go with the original Slate?
I was blown away when I saw it and I needed one desperately, it looked so cool.
When the Slate was released with relaxed geometry and 650 wheels I was underwhelmed.
I wanted a fast, aggressive gravel bike that could hold its own on the road.
Was there a reason for taming the beast? Any chance of unleashing the original as fast gravel racing is catching on?
For now I’ll stick with my 2013 SuperX.


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Hi tarmackev,

Except for the level top tube, what's missing in the production Slate? The mule in the picture has the same 650B wheel size and geometry (including short 405 mm chainstays) as the production Slate. The Slate is certainly a fast, aggressive gravel bike and does hold its own on the road. Give it a try.

Cheers,
Damon

P.S. The Radavist sure does a good job with photography, eh? More photos of the Slate mule here: https://theradavist.com/2015/06/a-quick ... ad-bike/#1

[MichaelK]

What about the SuperX with a modified Lefty that J.Pows rode?

So maybe add a modified ocho to the super x?

I'm currently building up a Slate for the missus. Will be getting a Lauf Grit instead of the Ocho, but it did cross my mind.

[DamonRinard]

What about the SuperX with a modified Lefty that J.Pows rode?

Hi MichaelK,

Great minds think alike. In fact the SuperX head tube is specifically designed to work with the Lefty Oliver. A few Cannondale employees ride this combination.

SuperX bearing diameters are compatible, and the head tube lengths of sizes 51, 54 and 56 match the spacing of Lefty Oliver's double crowns. Right now, we don't make Olivers that would fit the other SuperX sizes.

Cheers,
Damon

[chunky666]

Snip....

Quick Thread Hijack so apologies.

Damon,

I have a Lefty Bad boy 2 which I use for commuting.

I've needed to get the front end lower and longer and its taken some creativity to acheive this using a quill adaptor, a 1'' to 1 1/8'' spacer plus some added ingenuity to actually manage to pull the top lefty yoke down onto the headset to get it tight all becuase the the steerer tube it too short to be able to get a stem on it properly.

Do you have any clue if there is any workaround thats a bit cleaner and less awkward to acheive the same result as i'm not 100% happy with weather the headset will stay tight and the hassle of stripping it down each time just to tighten it up.

If you havent ever considered it so have no idea no worries just thought i'd ask.

[DamonRinard]

I have a Lefty Bad boy 2 which I use for commuting.

Hi chunky666,

Sorry, I'm not fully picturing what you've got. If you can provide more details I bet I can find out. Model year? Maybe a photo or two?

Cheers,
Damon

[chunky666]

I have a Lefty Bad boy 2 which I use for commuting.

Hi chunky666,

Sorry, I'm not fully picturing what you've got. If you can provide more details I bet I can find out. Model year? Maybe a photo or two?

Cheers,
Damon

Not a problem

Okay so the original Stem was this..

Untitled by chunkytfg, on Flickr

It has the top fork clamp sandwiched between it. It's very short, very high and cant be flipped.

This is my solution

Using this

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/deda-quill-stem ... 5360422709

And this

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/stems/mpart ... ch-254-mm/

I was able to extend the steerer tube so it was long enough to take a normal stem

This is it as it stands at the moment

Untitled by chunkytfg, on Flickr

You can see in the cut out in the stem that the original steerer tube doesnt even come up halfway into the stem so it had to be extended to be safe.

The problem with this way of doing it is that the quill adaptor relies on the old style headset that screws together so doesnt need the top cap to pull down onto the bearings to make them tight. So to make this work I have to use normal headset spacers with no stem fitted and tighten it. then do up the top fork clamp on the steerer which then holds the headset tight. From there I remove the top cap and spacers, drive the star nut all the way through the steerer tube insert the stem adaptor tighten it up and fit the stem.

Not ideal as you can imagine.

I guess I was wondering if there was any way of using some of the various MTB parts on it to achieve the same result but have it look a bit more 'factory'.

I notice from looking at the various spares available there are 'opi' stems which see like they go into the steerer tube instead of the classic clamp round it approach. could any of them be made to work do you think?

THis kind of thing?

https://www.cannondalespares.com/Leonar ... il/3-42437

[DamonRinard]

Hi chunky666,

Thanks for the clear photos and explanation. I see what you mean.

I might be misunderstanding the adapter, is it possible you could add normal headset spacers above the stem, change to a normal (larger diameter) top cap and compress everything as usual?

Or install an Acros "The Clamp" or Problem Solvers "Micro Adjustable Spacer"?

I'm pretty sure the OPI stems won't fit because they're designed for the large diameter steerer, but your Bad Boy has a normal 1-1/8" steerer.

Let me also ask around the office to see what a few other people think.

Cheers,
Damon

[chunky666]

Hi chunky666,

Thanks for the clear photos and explanation. I see what you mean.

I might be misunderstanding the adapter, is it possible you could add normal headset spacers above the stem, change to a normal (larger diameter) top cap and compress everything as usual?

Or install an Acros "The Clamp" or Problem Solvers "Micro Adjustable Spacer"?

I'm pretty sure the OPI stems won't fit because they're designed for the large diameter steerer, but your Bad Boy has a normal 1-1/8" steerer.

Let me also ask around the office to see what a few other people think.

Cheers,
Damon

Basically the adaptor is held in place by the top cap being done up. You cant use it with spacers to compress as usual. On top of that the bolt itself in the top cap is not the usual M5 allen head hold its an M6/8(cant remember which) so wont fit on a normal larger diameter top cap.

Any help you could provide would be great.

Edit.... Just googled the Problem solver! Think that could work great. Going to order one and see if it works.