Articles | Review of the Cannondale Bad Boy range - performance bikes for the style-conscious urban rider

The Cannondale Bad Boy range of hybrid bikes could hardly be more iconic. But can they perform - can they deliver what the mean good looks promise?
The thinking behind hybrid bikes is more often than not to make use of ideas and components from the mountain bike world to turn a road bike into a go-anywhere machine just as at home on the journey to work and on towpaths and trails.
By starting with a mountain bike and making it more road-friendly, Cannondale have produced the Bad Boy. The giveaways are the 26" wheels, wide tyres and disc brakes.
How then do the various versions compare?
There are some general features throughout. All have hand-built 6061 aluminium frames. the finish is a smart matt black with reflective logos and details. The front forks are similarly all aluminium with lugs for disc brakes.
Both frame and forks are designed to take either 26" or 700mm wheels. It's one of Cannondale's design ideas that you can change the wheelsets on a Bad Boy to suit your riding needs.
All carry the same flat handlebars and run on black rims fitted with Schwalbe's custom Bad Boy tyres. The look is harmonized and beautifully distinctive right through the range.
The first model in the range is the Al V26. V-brakes are fitted, as you might guess. But the fork has lugs that will take disc brakes if you decide to fit them later. The drivetrain uses basic Shimano components, giving 27 gears. The semi-slick 50mm tyres are a good amalgamation of low rolling resistance and shock-absorbing for off-road. This bike should do anything a good hybrid ought to.
The Bad Boy Al is exactly the same with the exception of the brakes. Tektro discs give you the advantage of somewhat better stopping power and will keep the braking surfaces out of the mud when venturing off the beaten track. This upgrade seems good value for money.
The Bad Boy Deore is the next model up the range and features gear components upgraded to Shimano Deore. You should get smoother changing between the 27 gears with these mechanisms. This model has narrower rims and 35 mm tyres. Should be faster on the road, but still able to handle the grass and gravel. All the rest of the bike is the same as the Al 26.
Next up the Cannondale Bad Boy range is the R-SLX. Better gear performance should result from the upgrade to Shimano SLX components. Replacing the triple chainset with a double means that you now get only 18 gears. So this is perhaps a bike emphasising on-road speed, the move reinforced by the other major change with this model, from 26" to 700mm wheels with 28mm tyres. All the other aspects are unchanged.
The Bad Boy Ultra is the top of the range. The only change from the R-SLX is in the front fork. Rather than a conventional suspension fork, the Cannondale Headshock fork has just one suspension module, above the two fork legs. This is both simpler and lighter. It's fitted with a lockout which you can engage for stability at speed. Other than the fork, it's unchanged from the R-SLX. The Ultra looks to be the ultimate street machine.
So whatever you want from a hybrid bike, theCannondale Bad Boy range looks to have an option for you. Even at the more modest end of the range, the quality is apparent. However, the pricier models have features well worth finding the extra for.