Matt Simmonds Spotted on the New Cannondale Downhill Frame (We Think)

Mar 24, 2019
by James Smurthwaite  

Has the new Cannondale downhill bike has been spotted again? This time it's not a grainy Instagram story but some footage from Round 3 of the Portugal DH Cup, which is being held on the Lousa World Cup track this weekend.

Matt Simmonds is racing the bike and can be seen in the video above a number of times. He is wearing number 105 and we spotted him at 0:05, 5:26, 10:00, 10:52 and 14:24. Screengrabs of the new bike are below:

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We're a bit confused here as the shock seems to be in a different position to photos we've seen before. However we recognise the chainstays and downtube from other photos circulating the web. What we can tell is that the bike is using a 29" front wheel, and probably a 29 inch rear wheel too. It has also got a idler pulley on the chain and there seems to be something going on just above the bottom bracket (check out the red speck on the first screengrab).

It should be an interesting race with the new Atherton bike being raced for the first time as well as World Cup regulars such as Danny Hart, Phil Atwill, Jack Reading and the Commencal team all putting tyres to dirt. Stay tuned for the results after the weekend.

Update: Men’s podium



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Industry News Cannondale Matt Simmonds


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145 Comments
  • 194 1
 Take these photos to the police station and say, "Enhance."
  • 25 2
 youtu.be/IhRAJ4RUt74
  • 11 4
 That only works in Fast and the Furious Smile
  • 9 1
 youtu.be/KiqkclCJsZs
  • 14 0
 Horatio Caine "That's a 200x57 shock on a DH bike."
  • 2 12
flag heavyp FL (Mar 24, 2019 at 19:14) (Below Threshold)
 Dear Pinkbike please just post the pictures and let the puplic figure it out in the comments as your first look/spotted posts sound like they have been written by a 10 year old!
  • 2 3
 Has anyone noticed the other shock inside the frame over on another website ?
  • 1 0
 Damm! More hype than Treks Team release. #hypemachine
  • 1 0
 @mountainyj: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiqkclCJsZs
  • 2 0
 @chyu: *Puts on sunglasses*
  • 1 0
 Also search google for "great ways to get free press on new product launch" - Sea Otter is standing by...
  • 126 1
 Is this the same photographer taking pictures of big foot and the Loch Ness monster?
  • 32 0
 Thinking of hiring him for my passport pics, blurry flatters me.
  • 11 1
 It must be marketing - they're setting up to name their 29'r Big Foot!
  • 7 1
 Me thinks those are screenshots from the video?
  • 8 0
 @asboites: it’s in the article. Smile
  • 52 1
 @brianpark: Pinkbike is very much like Playboy... Nobody really reads the articles ;-)
  • 7 5
 Looks like Ratboy took the photo after he smoke one or ten
  • 1 0
 Maybe Cannondale is blurry just like Bigfoot.
  • 1 0
 No one has mentioned it has an idler pully !!!
  • 41 3
 I've got a digital camera from 1998 that takes 1.7 mega-pixel photos if you need to borrow it for clearer images next time.
  • 29 1
 Looks like a soccer ball
  • 27 1
 Nice to see Cannondale back in the DH scene.
  • 30 8
 Let’s wait for the official release before we Judge...
  • 56 1
 That’s no way to maximize prophets.
  • 15 1
 We shouldn't Rush with the conclusions. However, I don't think you're going to need a Scalpel to brake it in half
  • 13 6
 @pakleni: "brake" it in half? It's "break" - like in the song by Linkin Park "Breaking the Habit"
  • 3 0
 Mea culpa
  • 3 0
 @brianpark: Prophet 4x for the win
  • 4 0
 @WAKIdesigns: typical waki - always Jekyll and Hyde
  • 3 0
 ... dropping some troll bombs then gone in a Flash... makes you wonder some times if he's had a Headshok
  • 12 1
 That bike looks too small for him. Looks long and low though!
  • 1 0
 I was thinking the same thing. Even the height of the bars looks uncomfortably low for him. Is he very tall?
  • 7 1
 what´s wrong with the blacked censored guy at the podium picture? It was a naked spontaneous that came along there? Sorrry I found it disrespectfull, he´s still a human being. He is not as cool as those super pros but still deserves some respect if is there and probably done something for this competition being celebrated...,
  • 1 0
 Apparently he's the vice mayor of lousa
  • 1 1
 Gee didn't want the fat dude in the photo. Nothing wrong with that.
  • 1 1
 @leviatanouroboro: maybe the fat due will stop people racing at lousa?
  • 1 1
 Unbunch your panties mate. It's a facking photo.
  • 2 1
 @leviatanouroboro: panties are fully untwisted, thankyou for reminding me to do that. Now, run along, find yourself some nice dry lube and do one.
  • 7 1
 Any chance there's a second damper of some kind in the down tube. It looks like the protector plate is bowed out slightly to the front?
  • 17 0
 Its a hidden motor
  • 4 1
 Future proof for ebike version.
  • 7 0
 it looks like there's no piggyback on the shock, and it looks like there is a second damping shaft parallel to the downtube
  • 1 5
flag vinay FL (Mar 24, 2019 at 14:11) (Below Threshold)
 @bashhard: I see an orange coil. Considering the quality of the pictures, it was probably red. Which means, it was a Romic shock. From back when Cannondale was making DH bikes.

I expect there is room between that shock link for a piggyback shock. Or maybe a return of the remote piggyback.
  • 1 0
 @vinay: Definitely a fox spring, you can colour match the colour to the stickers on the fork also a Kashima damper shaft.
  • 4 0
 Ive seen pictures of the bike with the shock mounted in the downtube. My guess is there is 2 mounting positions. p.vitalmtb.com/photos/forums/2019/03/15/7846/s1200_cdale2.jpg
  • 1 0
 @pogan: nice shot.
  • 3 0
 Had to fit a Lefty somewhere!
  • 5 0
 Wildly uneducated guess- two separate suspension elements with the spring up top and rebound/damping in the downtube? Could their interaction with the frame in different locations change the dynamics of the suspension? Engineers, halp

Edit: saw more photos. Nevermind
  • 1 0
 @pogan: Yep that's right, saw this frame in Whistler and noticed the two mounting locations right away.
  • 1 1
 @special-jLeslie: I think the two positions gives the same suspension caracteristics.
The top one lets the rider tune the shock.
The bottom one lowers the center of gravity of the bike..

Or, this is not even the real bikes and this is just a diversion preventing us to find the truth.
  • 9 1
 Can’t wait for cannondale to jump into MX bikes
  • 4 4
 Theyve already been there.
  • 7 2
 They did, and it was an exercise in hubris:

motocrossactionmag.com/cannondales-first-ever-national

motocrossactionmag.com/the-worst-bikes-i-ever-raced-by-jody-weisel

motocrossactionmag.com/biggest-disaster-in-motocross-history-the-story-behind-the-cannondale
  • 1 0
 LOL, don't think DOREL will allow this to happen, again Wink
  • 10 0
 They also have the Cannondale Moto, which is a bicycle. I expect they'll release the Cannondale Bicycle at some point, which will be a motorcycle.
  • 1 0
 @aaronjb: thanks for that. Had no idea. Good read!
  • 1 0
 @vinay: you mean what killed them in the mid to late 2000s?
  • 3 0
 Don't worry bud, not everyone's sarcasm meter is broken
  • 5 0
 @won-sean-animal-chin: thank f*ck a few got it.
  • 11 3
 Don't believe the Hype..................who f*cking cares ?
  • 4 0
 Morrisgabriel posted this on Vital. You can see it with the shock in the lower mount.

p.vitalmtb.com/photos/forums/2019/03/15/7846/s1600_cdale2.jpg


www.vitalmtb.com/community/Morrisgabriel,33959/all
  • 6 0
 Nokia 3210 makes better pictures
  • 5 5
 You're sure? I'm using a five year old (I think) Nokia 108. Pictures are worse than what you see here. I've got amazing alien footage, yet still no one believes me (including myself).
  • 6 0
 Lets raise some money for better cameras for spy Photographers.
  • 3 0
 It seem to me that it has 2 front shock mounts' setups, one on the down tube, one on the upper tube, that way they can play with leverage ratio and travel when switching the front of the shock up and down when desired.
  • 1 0
 Seems to be a bracket that is between the two mounts and shock, changing the bracket should give even more room for experimenting
  • 1 0
 Yeah, late 2005 I saw a picture on the cover of New Zealand Mountainbike Rider of Nathan Rankin riding the 2Stage with the linkage and shocks wrapped in neoprene (so it took another while to learn that there were two shocks in there). Not sure what happened to them. When you check their website all you see is boats. Pinkbike actually seems to have reviewed the bike a couple of years later: www.pinkbike.com/news/2Stage-Elite-9-Test-2009.html
  • 1 0
 @vinay: how the f*ck do you remember 2005? I can't even remember 20.05 last night Frown
  • 1 0
 I was in New Zealand and I was missing my bike so I bought that magazine over there.
  • 6 1
 No Lefty/Headshok, no Cdale Wink
  • 5 1
 Lefty DH for 2020!
  • 2 0
 Also Dyad
  • 3 0
 The 4th guy on the podium picture is secret too. Maybe he has better pics of the bike?
  • 3 0
 Brycland has shared an insta post of him riding a downhill bike, I'm guessing a release will be coming shortly
  • 4 0
 High pivot Horst link with idler pulley like the GT?
  • 2 0
 Looks like the rocker is connected through a pull rod (in the down tube) to the chainstay?
  • 1 0
 Did that shock have a piggyback? I couldn't see it in the shots, and that's usually obvious when its a DHX2. It might be stuffed into the downtube.
  • 2 1
 If they just put a lefty on the right side also it would be the smoothest most rigid downhill fork on the planet. What am I missing? Price?
  • 1 0
 Rigid in all the right directions, of course.
  • 3 0
 They did, it was called the moto.
  • 1 0
 Would be way too heavy
  • 1 0
 Oh, I see now. Doubling a Lefty would put 2 pounds or like 1000 g on a Fox 40. I thought it might be much less. Just seems a shame they don't use that Lefty tech to make forks instead of tines.@gnarnaimo:
  • 1 0
 @Lugers: I actually love the idea of a double lefty, if it didn't weigh so much it could be the best fork on the market.
  • 2 0
 You need the magic "enhance" button that they always have in those crime shows to sharpen those photos up!
  • 3 0
 29idler
  • 1 0
 I’ve been waiting for these pics ever since I saw his name I competitions lists
  • 3 1
 Ahhhh....more Bigfoot quality pics!
  • 2 0
 Looks like they knocked off the specialized back end.
  • 1 0
 FSR patent has expired, so I would expect to see more FSR looking rear-ends in the future
  • 2 0
 Clearly a bunch of sooky cannondale owners down voting everyone here haha
  • 1 1
 Gee, Danny and Phil are still well off the pace in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. 5 seconds behind Amaury Pierron. In world cup terms that's like the difference of twenty/thirty places
  • 1 0
 Actually Danny was 2nd, 1.2 seconds behind Pierron, and Gee 3rd,7.8s.
Matt Simmonds was 15th.
Here's a link to the times (last line below the central picture) :
www.fpciclismo.pt/pagina.php?id_pagina_new=3037&id_modalidade_new=2
  • 4 0
 @nozes: 7.8s behind is well off the pace though in World cup terms
  • 1 0
 @enduroNZ: Yes it is, but 1.2 isn't.
  • 1 0
 At least gee can podium in smaller series. He's not entirely irrelevant, yet.
  • 2 0
 This video is too long... still manages to watch the whole thing.
  • 1 0
 Man Specialized is sure Pissed their horst-link patent expired last year.. how many four bar bikes you see now?!!!!??
  • 1 0
 With blurry ass pics like this, we are cool to just wait to see the proper release of the new shmannondale bro.......
  • 1 0
 Much more importantly, silent Starling Sturn at 4:37, 8:05, 9:13 and 14:14!
  • 1 0
 Everybody swapped Skinsuits for....... Skinsuits...
  • 1 0
 -Some say there is 2 shocks on that frame! Who knows?!
  • 1 0
 Looks like when you mixed a Saracen Myst with a Yt Tues ????????
  • 2 1
 It sounds familiar I feel like this will be a "Two Shocks One Bike" action
  • 3 0
 Yep, air shock in Down tube to control progressiveness. Tiny volume, high ramp up.
  • 2 0
 AREA 51 is REAL!
  • 3 2
 Slap a lefty on it and call it a day.
  • 6 5
 Let's be honest... who is going to actually buy a cannondale DH?
  • 1 0
 Make it sexy and it'll happen.
  • 1 0
 Cannondale couldn't buy hype like this, even with Walken money.
  • 1 0
 YEP! That's the bike I saw in Whistler last summer!
  • 1 0
 The coil is definitely a dummy!
  • 1 0
 Very interesting! Looks like the shock has no piggyback???
  • 2 1
 Thanks vital!
  • 4 5
 This best photos they got? This bike has been leaked all over Facebook for weeks! Just like the special-ed demo.
  • 6 0
 Source
  • 2 0
 link me to those fb posts
  • 4 4
 what no room for a water bottle
  • 2 1
 its probably a YT
  • 1 0
 uper link and 4 bar looks it
  • 1 0
 26 is not dead!
  • 1 0
 ho yeah....
  • 2 5
 It surprises me that nobody has picked up on the fact that is says "Cannondale" on the right sleeve of his jersey. I reckon this is the new DH bike.
  • 5 0
 No I'm pretty sure the fact this article exists is because Matt rides for Cannondale...
  • 1 1
 Looks like a YT to me...
  • 1 1
 Big Habbit
  • 1 3
 What do you all think about this?
  • 1 2
 Hortz Link.
  • 2 4
 No bottle mount... I'll pass...
  • 7 9
 Who cares it's a Cannondale haven't been relevant in years
  • 6 2
 Care to elaborate? I’m sure there are plenty who would disagree with that assessment.
  • 4 0
 So what? Should be in our interest to have more gravity teams, not less. CFR poster signed by Lopes, CG, Anne Caro and Martyn Ashton is still hanging on my wall. Wink
  • 1 0
 Chiiiillll
  • 3 5
 Looks like an ebike
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