ENDURO

Like the GT, the Jekyll employs a medium-high pivot (with idler) and four-bar linkage to deliver its 165mm of rear-wheel travel. The axle path is rearward during the first 100mm of travel, with the wheel travelling 12mm back from its starting position. After that, it arcs upwards and forwards.

To keep the centre of mass as low as possible, the shock sits inside a cutaway within the down tube. There’s a removable plastic cover underneath to help protect it, but a rock still made its way into the shock cavity during testing. Cannondale tune the kinematics and alter the rear centre on each of the four sizes in a bid to provide the same ride characteristics, no matter the rider size.

The Jekyll’s geometry is in line with others on test. Our medium bike has a 450mm reach and 435mm rear centre. A slack 63.5-degree head angle helps to provide an 800mm front centre, while the 77.4-degree effective seat tube angle is decently steep. The BB is just under 340mm off the floor.

You might not expect Shimano Deore gearing on such a pricey bike, but you needn’t worry, as it works incredibly well, with slick, accurate shifts. Similarly, the M6120 brakes are light at the lever but seriously punchy. The 170mm RockShox ZEB fork is stout and controlled, while the Fox DPX2 shock feels smooth and active. It’s the wheels that are the main chink in the Jekyll’s armour. WTB STX i30 rims on Shimano hubs aren’t a bad choice on paper, but spokes started to loosen on our rear wheel and the freehub pickup isn’t particularly rapid.

Despite its high pivot and idler, the Cannondale feels more efficient on the climbs than a number of bikes here, including the GT. This is especially true on steeper gradients, where the comfy seated position and limited bob from the shock mean there’s no need to firm up the damping (no bad thing, as the shock’s lever isn’t easy to reach). Downhill, the Jekyll feels sprightlier, more urgent and racier than the Force, but doesn’t swallow bumps in quite the same way. It still smooths them out impressively and feels very active, but there’s a touch more feedback. While the GT lets you drop your heels, sit back and plough through, the Cannondale’s handling is a little more communicative.

That said, it remains calm-feeling when things get hectic, neither fidgeting nor pitching back and forth. Through the turns, weight feels well distributed, boosting predictability and confidence. It’s a shame the wheels aren’t tougher, as otherwise it would’ve been a top-three contender.

Composed-feeling, capable and a lot of fun to ride. Better wheels would make the high price tag easier to handle