Cannondale's new Lefty Ocho and F-Si hardtail

On the eve of the 2nd round of the 2018 World Cup in Albstadt, Germany, Cannondale have unveiled the new weapon for the Cannondale Factory Racing squad. On a course that sees just about every rider reaching for a hardtail given the amount of climbing, Cannondale have made sure their team will have the sharpest knife in the fight. Ok, that might work better if it was a new Scalpel, but they've already done that.

The Cannondale F-Si already breathed life into the hardtail when it was launched. Cannondale slackened the head angle and paired it with a Lefty with 55mm offset, and then sent the whole back triangle askew to allow better chain lines and a stiffer rear end. Basically, they made a hardtail that would be super competitive for the changing World Cup courses. That was in 2015.

Long live XCO.

The new F-Si is designed to be the fastest hardtail out there, both on climbs and descents. The frame has dropped 80g and is now 900g, and the Ai offset brings the chainstay length to 427mm. At this weight, and with a short back end the bike should climb like a rocket, and change lines with ease. Cannondale have also allowed for 2.35" tyre clearance, which will pair nicely with modern tyres and the move to greater internal rim widths.

The head angle is now at 69 degrees, and a medium has a reach of 420mm. Sizes S-XL are 29ers, and the XS is 27.5".

Cannondale claim to have tuned the ride even more, so we expect that means more vertical compliance when in the saddle and extra stiffness when out of it. There's a bit more going on with this though. Firstly, the Ai back end helps. The offset drivetrain means Cannondale Ai bikes need rear wheels with different dish. But that's a dish that is more equal, so the rear wheel is stiffer and stronger. 

Cannondale have also got a new drop out. It's reminiscent of 10mm through-axles that fitted in your regular QR frame. But only on the non-drive side. So imagine your wheel (or hub) and axle are together in the pits. You slot the wheel in and then drive the 148×12 axle into the drive side which is threaded as usual. Different – yes. Faster? Marginally so. But in a World Cup or other high stakes race this is a difference that counts.

The frame also uses flat mounts for disc brakes. Canyon have done the same with their new XC bike that has been spotted, and with access to bolts from underneath it's easier for set up and probably lighter. Who knows – there could be a new MTB brake mount standard coming soon. Well it's not that new, it's closer like the original!

Like many road bikes, Cannondale have hidden the seat clamp. Cannondale claim it leaves more seat post (which is 27.2mm) to flex for greater ride comfot. Good luck feeling this difference – but it does look good.

When are you going to talk about the new Lefty?

Now! Yes, it’s still a single-sided fork. Or more accurately, suspension device. But the engineers started afresh. The Lefty Ocho is brand new.

“In order to push performance further with Lefty, we had to start with a clean slate,” said Jeremiah Boobar, Cannondale’s Director of Suspension Technology. “We needed to bring Lefty back to its XC roots, and rethink the entire structure from the crown on down.”

And that meant chopping off the top crown and extended leg. This has cut a full 250g off even the previous Lefty Carbon. The Lefty Ocho is one of the lightest suspension forks in existence. 

While the Lefty, and HeadShok before it, ran on a four sided leg, the Ocho is now triangular, and the whole unit has been designed to aid in suspension suppleness and ride feel.

“When it comes to smoothness, Ocho stands alone,” added Boobar. The three-sided Delta Cage needle-bearings with fewer friction-causing seals and bushings plus a new damper mean Cannondale say the Ocho is the smoothest fork ever made. Running on bearings mean stiction and binding is almost non-existent, so their claims are likely valid.

Long-term Lefty lovers will like the side angled air valve, preventing rotor contamination, and the built in guide for the brake hose will keep things neat. Also, without a crown under your stem Cannondale owners can finally get their handlebars where they want them!

There’s remote lock out (not ELO, sorry), and the new Chamber Damper is self-bleeding and heat regulating. So we suspect that means easy maintenance when travelling to racing, and a damper that needs a little less frequent TLC than some race-focused products. There’s externally adjustable compression and rebound settings, which means if you tend to tune your suspension with a ShockWiz you can more easily do something about the suggestions the App makes. We also like an addition to the brake mount which lets it move out of the way for wheel removal – a time saver compared to recentreing your caliper all the time!

The Ocho comes in alloy or carbon, and on the majority 29 and 27.5″ F-SI bikes (the base model has a RockShox Reba RL). We’re looking forward to an opportunity to ride one. Cannondale will have seven models of the F-Si equipped with the Ocho, including a women’s model. With the Ocho and new frame, the weight drops 300g. So as Cannondale are saying, it’s for those with Series Issues (SI – get it?) and we agree, based on what we have seen. The integration of the new F-Si frame and Ocho fork delivers a seriously light package that promises the handling requirements for modern XCO. The proof will be in the pudding, or in the case of XCO the lack of pudding and intense dedication to performance.

We hope to ride one when they’re available. We hear they’ll be in Australia about July, so maybe go hassle your Cannondale dealer about specs and pricing if it sounds like the kind of bike you’re after.