Prototype - Cannondale Dutchess

[fastmunny]

Interesting one piece frame. Hollow bottom bracket/crank look awesome. Belt driven inside the guard.
http://www.spoke.ie/2009/11/prototype-cannondale-dutchess/

 

[Devil's Toupe]

Cannondale Rules. Things like this are why I am glad that I own a Cannondale mountain bike. I may not be able to find a cheap stem to fit my 1 1/4 steerer tube but it doesn't look like any other mountain bike around. Same with the leftie shock. I thought those were a joke when I first saw them. And the head shock. It would be tough to put that bottom bracket (less?) into commercial usage but a very nice piece none the less. It is a concept after all.

 

[jerrykr]

I really like the design. The future holds some very significant changes for the bicycle world.

I can't tell, but did they actually build a prototype bike? All of these "pictures" look like CAD renderings to me.

Of course, I could be wrong.

 

[Devil's Toupe]

I am a graphics professional, and I could be wrong, but it appears to be a real bike shot very well on a corner-less wall. If you have ever seen one in a photography studio it is basically two walls and a floor with the seems smoothed in. You could shoot me standing in the middle of one and make a nice professional picture. But the keys to me are picture two, the chrome inside the crank is too detailed, I think you can see the ceiling grid for lights and such. Something a rendering program would have just smoothed over. In the third picture the LED tail light has a reflection and is presenting a spectral highlight (red streaks horizontal and vertical). If those are renderings they are of a level I haven't seen yet. The thing that looks fake is the ultra-satin finish on the paint. Nice, but not something we are used to seeing in practical use. We usually get high gloss clear coat or matte powder coat.

I think it is a real bike, but I have been wrong before. Once. :mrgreen:

Edit: Had to know for myself. http://bikereviews.com/2009/12/cannonda ... n-cyclist/