EWS Bike Check : Jérôme Clementz’s Cannondale Jekyll

Jérôme Clementz is a racer who needs no introduction. His flowing style and crushing speed are as distinctive as his racing pedigree, a threat to every podium. We stopped by the Cannondale Factory Racing pits to check out how he sets up his Cannondale Jekyll race bike.

The Cannondale Jekyll

The Jekyll is Cannondale’s all-out enduro bike, with 165 mm of rear travel and a highly aggressive geometry. The 65-degree head tube angle demonstrates the intent of the bike, while the steep seat tube angle and short 420mm chainstays provide the pop and agility that makes Jérôme’s style so distinctive. As standard, the Jekyll comes with a Fox Gemini shock that offers two modes, Hustle and Flow, but as Jérôme is partnered with SRAM, he runs a RockShox Super Deluxe air shock or coil in its place – complete with remote pro-pedal grip shift shifter.

Jérôme tyre choice

While we would love to delve into Jérôme’s tyres, we cannot really say much as he is running prototype rubber from Michelin – no names – just a very industrial sounding code. Jérôme is currently testing the different prototypes, each with an identical tread pattern but with a range of sidewalls to suit different applications. We can tell you his pressures though, 1.35 bar in the front and 1.7 – 1.75 bar in the rear. Matteo explains that they rarely change the tire pressures, if the terrain is rocky and punctures are expected then a stiffer sidewall is the preferred solution.

Brake Setup

Jérôme runs SRAM Guide Ultimate brakes, and has the bite point set quite far from the bar, unlike some riders he has no real peculiarities and the bite point seems like one that you would find on a standard bike. A 200 mm rotor on the front and a 180 mm in the rear provide powerful deceleration and Jérôme will change from sintered to organic depending on conditions. As an elite racer, Matteo will change Jérôme’s pads before each race, giving enough time for a few runs on the last day of practice to check all is well.

Quarx Shockwiz

Interestingly, Jérôme runs a Shockwiz most of the time at races, a man for the numbers he likes to record his settings and suspension performance. Matteo explains “The first time we received the Shockwiz, we knew it would be a big test. If it said we are wrong then I would have had to change my job. We ran it in New Zealand and it scored a 97.5% so we were happy. We followed the suggested adjustments and the app read 100% and you know what – Jérôme said that he liked it.” That’s a huge thumbs up for Shockwiz.

Suspension setup

Jérôme runs a balanced suspension setup, with 3 tokens in his Rockshox Lyric 170 mm fork, and 62 psi of pressure (Jerome weighs 62 kg). Being on the SRAM Blackbox testing program, Jerome is running a new charger damper inside the fork, plus a few other additions that we cannot talk about.
Jérôme started practice running an air shock pumped to 165 psi. However, after the first day – even though the stages are not super steep – Jérôme thought a coil would be faster over the high-frequency bumps. Jérôme has paired a grip shift remote to active a strong pro-pedal, Jérôme can simply slam the grip shift and get on the gas. Again, the Shock has a few secrets inside to push the boundaries a little.

The small details

Jérôme runs SRAM ROAM 60 wheels, but our eagle-eyes spotted that on the rear Jérôme is running an aluminum rim that we did not recognise, the graphics say ROAM 60 but it’s certainly different from the front, and looks around 25 mm internal to us. Inside the tyres there are no foam devices or clever inserts, as Matteo puts it “just sealant and love”.