Cannondale

After five years of development, Cannondale has unveiled a new proof-of-concept prototype that could revolutionize bicycle suspension. Called Simon, it’s the newest member of their offbeat Lefty line of one-legged shock forks. According to Cannondale, Simon’s onboard microprocessor will allow users to customize their ride like never before. If that isn’t enough, it can also send the fork from being fully-open to fully-closed in just six milliseconds. Read More

Already the dominant bike in cross-country racing, the Cannondale Scalpel has received some significant upgrades for this year's model. The most fascinating is the company's decision to do away with a chainstay pivot on the rear suspension – instead employing a unique bending carbon fiber unit that uses its designed-in flex to improve bump handling and stiffness while increasing rear suspension travel to 100mm. Combined with Cannondale's amazing single-sided Lefty fork and a host of other new developments that see the bike's overall weight drop by 10%, the new Scalpel is quite a stunning piece of engineering. Read More

Early forms of the bicycle emerged as early as 1791 when one Monsieur de Sirvac is said to have added a second wheel to a child's hobbyhorse. The “draisienne” – which was propelled by riders pushing their feet on the ground - was invented in Germany around 25 years later and the basic design platform we recognize today took shape at the end of the 1800’s with the addition of pneumatic tyres, derailleur gears and hand-operated cable-pull brakes, but if this radical prototype from urban solutions company Cannondale is any indication, the continuing evolution of the bicycle as we move into the 21st century might yield some very surprising results. Read More