Cannondale Slate review

The Cannondale Slate is one of the most radical bikes out there. We've tested the Ultegra spec to see how its on/off road credentials stack up

Cannondale Slate
Cycling Weekly Verdict

The Slate is a groundbreaking bike and many of Cannondale’s design features are finding their way into other brands’ gravel machines. It’s great fun to ride, you can cover longer distances and the extra tyre volume and large contact patch open up a lot of territory you couldn’t tackle as easily on a conventional road bike. The 3cm travel provided by the Lefty suspension fork is welcome on many back roads as well as on gravel. It makes for more comfortable and faster riding, although there’s some bobbing if you try to climb out of the saddle. It’s a shame there’s not more clearance at the chainstays though, as this would allow a lot more tyre choice to tackle UK conditions more effectively. And the gearing on the Ultegra specced bike is a bit high for steeper climbs, particularly off-road where grip may be limited. If you’re looking to buy a Slate, it would be worth spending the extra £200 for the wider range SRAM 1 variant.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Eye-catching, innovative design

  • +

    Suspension helps on most UK tarmac

  • +

    Ability to tackle a wide range of terrain

  • +

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Lack of tyre grip limits off-road performance

  • -

    Limited alternative tyre choice

  • -

    Some wooliness in fast turns

  • -

    A bit overgeared for off-road use

  • -

    Bobs on climbs even when locked out

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You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

I like to imagine that Cannondale’s bike designers have a thousand page manual of rules on how to design a bike. And that each time they develop a new bike they delight in ripping out as many pages as possible. The brand has a habit of turning conventional thinking on its head.

Well, that manual got a lot thinner when the Cannondale Slate came off the drawing board. It’s one of the most radical road bike designs out there.

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