Cannondale Trigger Carbon 2: Long-Term Test Update

As we said in our First Bite, this is one good looking bike, but looks aren’t everything. So to make sure the good looks are backed up by good manners, what better bike to lock in as one of our long term test fleet? The Trigger 2 has winged its way north from Flow HQ, to the dusty trails of Brisbane, where it’ll spend the next six or so months under Flow’s test pilot Pat Campbell.

Cannondale Trigger 4 — The unique DYAD shock is a key element of the Trigger’s personality.

The 140mm-travel Trigger sits comfortably in the all-mountain category, or as Cannondale like to call it ‘Overmountain’. In an era where all-mountain bikes are increasingly starting to have similar basic suspension architecture, the Trigger standouts out. With its chunky Lefty Max strut and customer FOX-made DYAD RT2 pull-shock, it’s something a little different. The bike’s cool on-the-fly rear travel adjust system is a bit of a standout too – it has two modes (Elevate and Flow) with 85 and 140mm of travel respectively.

We’re happy to report that none of the capabilities that we loved about 2014 Trigger 29er have not been lost in the with the 27.5″ wheel size. Overall, it’s a compact feeling bike, but it still provides ample space in the cockpit with no sense of being squished into the bike.

Cannondale Trigger 7 — For the time being, the Trigger is running a 2×10 drivetrain, but this will soon be converted to a 1×10 setup.

The Trigger is still settling into its new home on the dusty trails of Brissy, and we had some initial teething problems with the KS dropper post not returning smoothly. It turns out the problem had a very simple solution; the seat post clamp was just a smidgen tight. After backing off the torque by .2Nm all is good!

Cannondale Trigger 3 — The Bontrager XR3 tyres are a really good all-rounder. Unlike the Mavic rubber that came on the bike, which is all round, but far from good.

We have made one key change to the bike. Our uncertainty about the Mavic tyres proved to be quite justified – they proved difficult to seal up for tubeless, and the hard compound was too unpredictable for our liking. We’ve switched the rubber for some Bontrager XR3s in a 2.2, and we may even opt for something a bit bigger up front to get more bite again in the loose conditions.

Also in the pipeline is a conversion to a 1×10 drivetrain. We’ll be using the neat CB1 guide/ring from Aussie brand Noble Entities for this. Not only will this reduce complication and weight, but it’ll allow us to run the remote shock lever in a more accessible position which should encourage us to toggle between the ‘Elevate’ and ‘Flow’ modes more.

Cannondale Trigger 6 — Once we install the single ring up front, the shock remote lever will be flipped to the other side of the bar where it’ll take the place of the left-hand shifter. It’s cool that this lever can be flipped so easily.

Getting the suspension dialled has been more involved than usual, but we’ll delve into that a little more next time!