Cannondale Capo 2009: It’s Much Worse
September 5, 2008 – 9:41 pmThe ever-vigilant Bike Snob NYC has unofficially unveiled the 2009 Cannondale Capo; it can only be described as an affront to nature and all that is good and decent about cycling.
According to the ad blurb under the Capo 2009, “with the grit and mettle for counterculture acceptance, the Capo…bleeds the fixed-gear lifestyle.” I’m not really sure how the track bike became a symbol of the counterculture and I don’t really know what the so-called “fixed-gear (shouldn’t that be fixie?) lifestyle is, but this bike screams desperation and cookie-cutter fad more than any counterculture rebel cry.
The 2009 Capo certainly isn’t a track bike in the traditional sense of the word; it’s hard to envision this mutant bike being seen racing at a track. It’ll be seen outside of the Turkey’s Nest or being walked along Bedford Ave or careening out of control towards Brooklyn on the Williamsburg Bridge (but it would be called the Willy B). I guess that’s the fixed-gear lifestyle; the bike becomes a fashion accessory for a conforming subculture.
While the Capo 2009 isn’t even the worst example of assembly-line fixie cliche it’s especially horrifying for me because - God forbid - this could be the replacement frame that Cannondale sends me.
I ride a track bike because it’s essentially utilitarian and functional. It’s a very simple bike that can be disassembled and repaired with only a few tools; there are no cables and the ride itself is fluid and dynamic. In a word: simplicity.
This thing is function drowning in dross and excess. It’s like dipping an apple, simple and functional, into a vat of caramel and cotton candy and calling the finished product “the essence of an apple.”
Without further ado, the 2009 Cannondale Capo:
Horror of Horrors: Cannondale Capo 2009
I admit that the frame colors - grey and white - aren’t terrible; the paint job is overdone and unnecessarily messy but not horrifying.
It’s the ghastly and superfluous purple chain. How does that symbolize “gritty” and “the bare essence of a bicycle”? It essentially says, “yes we know you’ll never ride this on an actual track, even though it’s the same frame we’ve been using for 10 years designed specifically for track racing. It’s an accessory, we get it.”
The text accompanying the ad is dull and cliche; flat and repetitive, it tries to present the Capo as edgy and casual with (shockingly) a “visceral nature”. There’s nothing visceral about this bike. It’s every detail has been planned to appeal to the fixie counterculture and this offering seems so false that it’s hard to imagine this bike being a success.
The Cannondale track bike is a good bike. Strip away all the fluff and pomp and then you’ll have a “visceral” bike. If this is the frame I get, I’ll strip the paint before I ride it.
Go back to simple; go back to making just bikes.
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