Concept Stealth(from CANNONDALE)

Posted on September 18, 2008 2:24:07 PM

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For this year’s Eurobike Show in Germany, Cannondale launched a concept bike showcasing innovative design solutions that will inspire future production models.

Last year’s ON Concept provided a fresh take on what a cool, urban, folding bike could look like. This time the chosen segment was flat-bar road due to the lack of innovation in that segment.

The styling direction of the Cannondale Stealth Concept was, as the name reveals, inspired by Stealth fighter jets, which have a very distinctive edgy shape in order to be invisible on radar. Another source of inspiration was last year’s Lamborghini Reventón sports car, whose faceted surfaces and custom flat paint lend the car a unique and stealthy appearance.

"Unconventionally the best": In addition to a new form language dominated by hard edges and twisting surfaces, the bike features a single-sided fork, integrated disc brakes, integrated stem/handlebars, internal cable routing and integrated seat collar, many of which are unique features in this segment. This carries on Cannondale’s strong heritage of System Integration and long tradition of not allowing existing standards to constrain the development process and prevent innovation.

The bike was designed by Cannondale's in-house design team, and prototyped from Carbon fiber and aluminum at Cannondale's own factory in Bedford, PA. The frame was designed and manufactured as a monocoque carbon part making the front triangle including the chainstays in the mold, a first for Cannondale. The frame mold was machined from two 350lb blocks of aluminum and used seven bladders during the molding process. Using a similar molding process, the Stealth concept also showcases the first full carbon fiber rigid Lefty fork for a road bike including disc brakes. The dropouts, seatpost clamp, headset cups, Lefty road spindle, and fork mold were all machined from aluminum in our Bethel office in CT by our Engineers. The final bonding of the carbon and aluminum structure was completed in the Bedford facility as was final finishing, paint and assembly. The prototype is rideable and weighs in at 8,8kg.

The bike is not meant for production at this point, but several design elements will be seen on future Cannondale production models.

List of people involved:

Torgny Fjeldskaar (Design lead)
Erik Eagleman (Industrial Design + production)
Jeremy Mikesell (Engineering + production)
Steve Extance (Engineering + production)
David Smith (Graphic Design + production)
Curt Davis (Product Manager)