Cannondale F-Si Ultimate Carbon XC Bike Is Heralded As Lightest They Ever Built

Folks, what you just read is a typical snippet of conversation between someone who rides cross-country bikes and someone who doesn’t. But if you’re one of the folks that love to get down and dirty while landing at the top of the podium, then you have to look at what Cannondale has in store.

It’s called the F-Si Hi-MOD Ultimate. Breaking the name down and you can very well figure out that this bike is full of goodies and the peak of what this lineup has to offer. If you’re unaware of the F-Si lineup and what it has to offer XC racers, it’s quite simple, peak materials, peak building techniques, and peak components are sure to offer nothing less than, you guessed it, a peak bike, and that’s what you have before you today.

The F-Si lineup prides itself on the creation of what Cannondale likes to call “the lightest MTB frame we’ve ever built.” At just 900 grams (1.98 pounds) a frame, I can believe it. How is this achieved? If you guessed carbon fiber, you guessed right. Hi-MOD BallisTec carbon is the stuff you’ll find strapped between your legs.

Now, the rear of the bike is a hardtail, however, Cannondale included specific carbon layering techniques to yield “flex zones" that help absorb shock, reduce vibrations, and minimize rider fatigue. As for the front of the bike, a Lefty Ocho Carbon fork with 100 mm (3.9 in) of travel, chamber damper with remote lockout, and 55 mm (2.16 in) offset should do wonders for control and stability.

One feature that riders may see as a bonus is a wheel sensor that records things like speed, distance, and times, helping you track your training progress. There's also an app that will display this information to you and goes as far as alerting you for your next scheduled maintenance.

Electronics won’t be what’s keeping you ahead of the pack in this sport unless it’s an electric division race, instead, a SRAM drivetrain is what you’ll find handling your demanding needs. Overall, the setup is tuned to 12 speeds and includes an XX1 Eagle chain, crank, and rear derailleur, while shifters are Eagle AXS. The cassette is an XG-1299 XX1 Eagle with 10-52T and should even help you get a bit of a downhill boost if you need it. Sounds like whatever that track is going to throw at you shouldn’t be a problem.

Since everything on this bike is tuned to be light and strong, don’t be surprised to find things like carbon fiber rims, handlebar, and seat post. Making sure you and the bike stick to the ground just right is a mixed set of tires with a Schwalbe Racing Ray EVO on the front, and a Racing Ralph Evo on the rear. If you don’t like the setup Cannondale offers stock, switch the tires out for something to your liking.

As for the brake kit, SRAM strikes again with Level Ultimate hydraulic disc brake levers and CenterLine X 160 mm (6.3 in) rotors on both the front and rear wheels.

Questions? Oh yeah, how silly of me, a price for this beast. Well, here’s the catch. Considering you’ll have to go through a dealership to get yourself one of these puppies, you may end up paying more than the MSRP of €12,000 ($13,905 at current exchange rates). Quite a hefty price for a podium-winning machine considering a bike is only as good as its rider.