shoota 

Ok so I'm a Cannondale fanboy, there I admitted it. After reading the news of DK I saw that for the second year in a row a Slate has finished first. Ted King last year (overall) and Alison Tetrick this year (women, also new women's course record). Now, where I was living (Tampa) the Cannondale dealers maybe had one or two CAADXs but no SuperXs and DEFINITELY no Slates. And with all the forums I'm on I rarely see mention of it. But here it is, two DKs in a row. Also, two victories for metal bikes in case ya didn't notice. Are we all missing out on something? I'd sure love to ride one sometime.

https://www.cxmagazine.com/2017-dirt...-amanda-nauman

TimothyH

Gravel Cyclist recently featured and 18 lb podium winning Slate.

Featured Bike: 18lb Cannondale Slate by Landspeed Human Powered Sports | Gravel Cyclist: The Gravel Cycling Experience


-Tim-

shoota 

Not sure how I missed that one, thanks. 18lbs isn't bad at all.

Marcus_Ti

Note that the winner of the women's 200 was a margin of 5 seconds.

Personally...Lefty forks strike the same as lots of manufacturer-exclusive parts....what are the odds in 2 or 5 years I can service that fork or find parts? I honestly don't know, but my gut guess given the history of manufacturer-exclusive parts is that "you're hosed" (granted I could be wrong).


Also...that is one fugly fork, sorry Cannondale. I'm a bit vain.

shoota 

Yeah it's definitely not going to win any fashion shows, and the long term serviceability is questionable, but, you could just lock it out I guess.

redlude97

I think all it says is that gravel racing is still too fringe to have fully worked out the kinks, and the athletes are still the determining factor. Men's was won on an "aero gravel" bike without any sort of suspension and aerobars but I suspect that won't become the norm either.

rickyk76

I think the Slate looks like a fantastic bike and was one of the ones in the running when I was looking to get an all-around bike. It's a solid build with a great company. I don't think fork serviceability will be an issue. So the Lefty looks a little weird? From the reviews it seems solid and it'll be a conversation starter. Yes, it's won 2 DK200s, but I attribute that more to the athletes than the bike. And, unless you're in the running for winning the DK200, I don't think you should make that the main part of your consideration.

vinuneuro

+1

I seriously considered the Slate when it was released. It's actually a really handsome bike in person. Few things deterred me:

-Had read terrible stories of Lefty needing service, Cannondale being the only one to do it and turn around time being months long
-Lefty is odd looking and foresaw it attracting attention and having to explain it to someone every ride
-No rack or fender mounts
-How much do you actually need a suspension fork on gravel when you've got 42c tires
-Not that many 650B 42C tires
-Pretty low stack height for what's supposed to be an adventure bike
-Non-standard steerer tube size and proprietary stem
-Number of reviews complaining about the steering handling

Ultimately, if you can get past the looks, the 2018 Diverge will be a far more well rounded and efficient execution of the concept without the eccentricities.

Marcus_Ti

I think it is kind of cool actually. It is such an old-school event with old-school rules ("You are responsible for you") that the racer can use the best tool they can plan for the job that works for them.


It really is old-school. "Old-school" as in the ridiculous stages you read about in races like the 1903 Tour de France level of "ridiculous". Where entrants had to ride whatever bike, but they had to carry tires/parts etc on their own....and were on their own to fix it.

shoota 

It's already the norm for the pros. Ted King won DK and attributed his time to the aerobars, the Panaracer pros use them and went 1-2 at this year's LandRun, and just about every major California race I read about features guys on aerobars..

50voltphantom

The Slate looks like an amazing bike from an engineering POV (also, Yay, metal bikes!) but like many others, I wouldn't be caught dead on that thing.

redlude97

I don't think gravel aerobars will become the norm for recreational riding however

shoota 

Agreed.

mstateglfr 

Its like the difference between RAAM and the Trans Am. Or the difference between the TdF and the Trans Am.
Fully supported vs on your own.

Zurichman2

The elite racers could win on any kind of bike. So IMHO the bike manufactures are trying to get the elite cyclists to ride their bikes. They also have very good pit crews to probably work on their bikes when they get to the rest stops that the average rider probably doesn't have. This is a guess of course on my part from the ride reports I have read and some pics as gravel riding is all new to me. I can't wait to get some under my belt. The Pony Express 120 will be my first.

Zman