Cannondale Foray 4 275 Womens Bike 2018 Review

Cannondale Trail SE iv Cannondale br_bikesMtb BR2260 ix/6/0/three/9603155f3e963f01d7812819f65cb99e6aae72e5_Cannondale_Trail_SE4_hardtail_mountain_bike_1.jpg xiv.19kg

Our review

A smooth-riding, future-proof frame with good trail manners and a solid spec every bit a starting point

Pros: Smooth-riding frame; reliable Deore drivetrain with good chain control; frame has upgrade potential

Cons: Fairly traditional Ninety shape could limit progression; fork spring rate isn't easily adaptable; rattly internal cable routing

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Although Cannondale says the Trail SE 4 is designed primarily for low-impact trails, gravel roads and leisure rides, its frame features and components – including Boost axle spacing, a 1x drivetrain and dropper post compatibility – hint that it's capable of greater things.

It'south gone up in cost since I started testing, only you do go a more refined package for the actress spend.

Cannondale Trail SE 4 frame and kit

Although there'due south a mount for a front derailleur, the SE4 is 1x only.

Ian Linton / Firsthand Media

Built from Cannondale's SmartForm C2 aluminium, the frame has sleek, butted tubes and shine welds. The gear cables and rear restriction hose are internally routed, entering near the head tube and exiting past the bottom bracket, assisting its make clean lines, but adding a bit of rattle.

There's no ignoring the hitting dropped seatstays, claimed to help meliorate ride quality in conjunction with Cannondale's SAVE 'micro-break' technology – basically, sections of the rear triangle are engineered to flex, to reduce trail fizz and better comfort.

A tapered head tube makes the frame compatible with almost all mod forks, and it has Boost axles both forepart and rear, giving plenty of pick if you ever want to bandy the wheels out.

This also means that if you lot later upgrade the fork, y'all won't need to change the front wheel to lucifer. Farther future-proofing is provided by an internal routing port for a dropper post. Having two canteen cage mounts within the front triangle is handy, too.

The big size I tested has a reasonably slack 66.5-degree head angle, and the 74-caste seat tube bending is slightly steeper than other similar bikes I had on test, which aids seated climbing.

This may be the virtually affordable model in the Trail SE range, but it still has a full Shimano Deore one×x drivetrain with 11-46t cassette.

The roll-sprung, 120mm-travel Suntour XCR fork has a xv×110mm Boost thru-axle. WTB STX i25 rims are laced to Shimano MT400 hubs and shod in WTB prophylactic. The cockpit and contact points are a mix of FSA and Cannondale-branded kit.

Cannondale Trail SE 4 geometry

Cannondale Trail SE 4 ride impressions

Truthful to Cannondale'south claims, the Trail SE has an overriding feeling of smoothness, its seatpost, seat tube and rear finish visibly flexing when manipulated.

Seated climbing is comfortable, and only a limited amount of vibration and trail buzz is transferred to the rider, helping yous to 'experience' the trail rather than become detached from it.

On the descents the Cannondale is as equally smooth, its flex stays helping to create the same grippy and planted feeling every bit a soft – but non underinflated – tyre. This means traction is abundant and it'south piece of cake to brand the wheel grip in the turns.

The polish-feeling chassis helped proceed fatigue at bay on longer rides, farther improving the riding experience.

While some of the bike's smoothness tin can be attributed to its fancy seatstays, information technology could be a product of its spec, likewise, with the roll-sprung Suntour fork feeling particularly supple.

Testers weighing over 73kg found it a little too soft, and beingness a coil fork, the spring rate isn't adaptable. This won't be such a trouble for lighter or less experienced riders, though.

The frame flex and undersprung fork hateful that the steering isn't perfectly accurate when the wheel is pushed hard in high-speed, trail-centre style turns, simply at slower speeds this is much less of an issue.

With a fairly traditional 90 shape, the Trail SE works best for bridleway bashing and blue-graded trail-centre loops. Cheers to its longish top tube and low-feeling front end, it has a fairly aggressive, low-downwardly riding position when seated, simply feels much more than upright when standing on the pedals, in part due to its brusk attain (440mm on the large).

The geometry never feels too extreme, though, nor compromises how it rides. On the climbs it takes a lot for the front wheel to wander, and on the descents I never felt like its handling was too quick to control.

The WTB Breakout/Trail Boss tyre philharmonic grips well on trail-center surfaces and fifty-fifty polished rock, but on very claggy terrain traction is limited.

The Deore drivetrain (that uses a SunRace cassette) has plenty gear range for the Trail SE iv to scale nigh climbs, and the Shimano Alivio brakes are solid-performers, contributing to how shine it feels on the trail.

How nosotros tested

Bike brands are forever striving to offering the most performance and best value they tin. While the pandemic and Brexit are clearly having a negative impact on prices, today'southward sub-£1k bikes announced to correspond a big leap forrard in terms of both parts and geometry, compared to their 3- or four-yr-old couterparts.

If these improvements interpret to improve performance on the trail, information technology's keen news for buyers on a budget.

We tested our four hardtails on a mix of the trails they're most likely to be ridden on, ranging from fireroads and bridleways through to more than technical trail-center loops and singletrack, to notice out exactly where they excel and where their limits are.

Also on test

• Carrera Fury
• Specialized Rockhopper Comp 29 2X
• Vitus Nucleus 29 VRS

Product Specifications

Product

Price	GBP £900.00 USD $1150.00
Weight	fourteen.19kg (50)
Brand	Cannondale

Features

Bachelor sizes	S, M, L, 40
Headset	Integrated
Tyres	WTB Breakout 29x2.3in (f), WTB Trail Boss 29x2.25in (r)
Stem	Cannondale 3, 65mm
Shifter	Shimano Deore M4100
Seatpost	Cannondale 3 rigid
Saddle	Cannondale Ergo Ninety
Rear derailleur	Shimano Deore M4100 (1x10)
Handlebar	FSA Alloy Riser, 760mm
Lesser subclass	Square-taper, sealed cartridge
Grips/Tape	Cannondale Dual-Density
Frame	SmartForm C2 aluminium alloy
Fork	SR Suntour XCR curlicue, 120mm (4.7in) travel
Cranks	FSA Alpha Drive, 30t
Chain	KMC X10
Cassette	Shimano Deore M4100, 11-46t
Brakes	Shimano MT200, 180/160mm rotors
Wheels	WTB STX i25 TCS alloy rims on Shimano MT400 hubs

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Source: https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes/mountain-bikes/cannondale-trail-se-4-review/

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