Cannondale Continues the Jacknife (R)evolution
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 09. 4.07
One of our most linked-to bike posts has been the prototype Cannondale Jacknife, conceived by a couple of design students in Barcelona. What excited people about that bike was not only its cool looks, futuristic drive train, but also that it was envisaged as a full sized folding bicycle designed for urban adventures. Alas their concept bike was only made of foam—it couldn’t be ridden.
However, Cannondale obviously picked up on the vigourous vibe the Jacknife generated and decided to see if they could make it fly. The work of their in-house R&D team suggest the answer might just be in the affirmative The ‘On’ is a still a concept bike and not available for sale. But it can be ridden, employs a custom made drive train that although not hydraulics-based like the Jacknife, is at least innovatively enclosed and fitted to a single rear fork (Mmm, can you call it a fork if it only have one tine?). Although the wheel can apparently still be readily detached. Their skunkworks website has bucketloads of images on the R&D process, though we observe none that show the main frame folded up. So we include a sketch of how that part is suppose to be achieved. If such evolution continues the days of the classic diamond frame bike might truly be numbered. ::Cannondale On ,via Boing Boing.
"If such evolution continues the days of the classic diamond frame bike might truly be numbered"
Seriously???? That thing is ugly at best, uniblade forks or chainstays in this case rarely work well for a long period of time, and it is really ugly. The double diamond will never die!
Double diamond is long gone in Full Sus mountain bikes :)
The cannondale 'lefty' fork is really good off-road, so I imgaine this 'righty' will be fine.
And ugly? you mentioned it twice but I have to disagree! If that central hinge is strong enough this is almost a folding hardtail, awesome!
We have too much space in N.America to bother with folding bikes. They don't save much space when folded. Europeans don't commute on flashy bikes.
Serious commuting, recreational, and enthusiast cyclists will stick with proper bicycles.
Double diamond probably isn't even the world's most common frame design, by the way. In Europe and Asia most people seem to ride around on 'girls'' frames with dropped top tubes.
This is what Cannondale does best. They take risks and bring bold ideas to market. Why should be limited by old engineering formats? I was never really impressed with the monoshock on the standard frames but this format is perfect for it. If cannondale pulls it off and produces the bike and brings the idea to mass market, it will change the way the mass market looks at bikes.
Why long for the demise of the classic diamond frame? A 30-year-old lugged steel bike, or 1-year-old TIG-welded frame is perfectly suitable for commuting or riding around the world and there is already at least 1 per capita languishing in basements and garages everywhere. Meanwhile, every "revolutionary" new design from Cannondale, Trek, Specialized et al has been discounted and abandoned in favor of something more fashionable with unnecessarily complex features, and copied as a hideous kluge for sale cheap at Mega-Low-Mart. Bikes have the potential to defy conventional notions of consumeristic obsolescence. A new one will transport you forever for the cost of a single car payment, consuming only a little lube and the occasional tire, and a perfectly serviceable old one can be had for close to free.
Ethics and philosophy aside, Cannondale's Jacknife doesn't fold small-enough to justify the extra monkey-motion, weight and cost.
Brennan - folding is handy for getting on trains, busses and in compact cars, not just for storage.
MY; thanks for the lesson on the frames. I didn' t realize that someone had manufactured some decent uni-blade designs, and I didn't even think of suspension bikes...I therefore stand corrected, my apologies.
I still think it is ugly though ;) I'll take a fixed gear or single speed double diamond anyday, at least for commuting.
I just think it's great to see innovation in bikes!! bring it on
If anyone had ridden a lefty monoshock they'd know how much better the ride is. It's far more responsive than a normal shock, and gives much greater variation in the set up as well.