Simple, Light, Lots of Travel

WHAT: Cannondale Prophet 2000 WHERE: www.cannondale.com HOW MUCH: $3,300

This test comes from our July issue, which is hitting newsstands now and includes a complete test of 15 All-mountain trail bikes. Just be warned, we were having so much fun testing these bikes that we overlooked two details. We accidentally listed this bike as a Prophet 4000 with a $5000 retail price. As you can see it's actually a Cannondale 2000, which costs $3300.

We also incorrectly listed the price of the Raleigh Phase 2. That bike costs $2,675. We apologize for the mix-up and promise to wear our helmets from now on. The full Prophet review is below. Enjoy.

Suspension: Cannondale Carbon Lefty fork, Manitou Swinger 3-way shock

Drivetrain: Shimano Deore XT shifters and derailleur

Brakes: Shimano XT

The hills of southern California rise from the ocean like giant whalebacks and within a few short miles they reach dizzying heights. Up and down these ridges lay hundreds of miles of thin slivers of trail-from tight and twisty singletracks to 10-mile-long fireroad descents. The terrain here, as in other parts of the country, is tailor made for lightweight, all-mountain bikes.

One of the most exotic bikes to hit these trails has been the Cannondale Prophet, which drew plenty of attention from other riders we met on the trail. With its web of aluminum frame tubes intersecting at odd angles, stout one-legged Lefty fork and burly swingarms, the bike looks unconventional. But just as one shouldn't judge a woman by the clothes she wears, one shouldn't jump to conclusions about the Prophet before taking her for a spin.

Although the bike looks burly, it's actually one of the lightest bikes in the test, weighing in at just over 27 pounds. Combine that low weight with a complement of SPV dampers, and you have a 5-inch travel bike that climbs incredibly well, especially over long sustained hills that you can push through in the middle chainring.

On the descents, the Lefty fork holds the front end true while the rear end follows nicely in line. With adjustable geometry that easily changes the headtube angle between 67.5 and 69.5 degrees, riders can fine-tune their geometry to best suit their riding style. In either setting, the Prophet performs well, although it seems better suited for the steeper head angle.

So how did Cannondale manage to create a high-performance 27-pound bike with 5-inches of travel? Good question. The answer lies in the Prophet's frame, an updated version of the company's Delta-V single-pivot design, used on the longer-travel Gemini. The frame on those bikes was pretty stiff, and the single-pivot system is one of the lightest on the market. To shave even more weight, engineers went to work manipulating the tubes, meticulously removing material from low-stress areas while adding it to other areas.

The bike, with all its SPV damping, low weight and balanced geometry, is a great climber. However, its longish 44-inch wheelbase, coupled with a tall fork that you can't reduce the travel on, makes steep, technical climbs challenging. The front end likes to wander and it takes a good bit of skill, and some unrelenting mental discipline, to keep the front wheel planted on the ground and the bike tracking straight.

Other flaws of the single-pivot design crept out while braking on steep stutter bumps. While few bikes perform tremendously well on such terrain, the Prophet's rear end seemed to stiffen up more than others. But when rolling through anything but the trickiest of terrain the bike performed like a rock star. It felt solid over most terrain and the weight savings and stiffness of the single-pivot design made this bike a blast to ride.