Cannondale Trail SE 4 Review

The sub £1000 hardtail mountain bike segment is full of excellent choices, and the Cannondale Trail SE 4 is an excellent addition to the sub £1000 segment. It rides well on the trails and has solid specifications. In this post, we look at the bike in further detail.

Cannondale does not dress up the intentions of this bike; it’s been designed for low-impact use - fire roads, light trails and singletracks - even the daily commute. On further investigation, though, it’s clear to see that the Trail SE 4 frame and components hint at greater things - it has boost axle spacing, a 1 x drivetrain, and has also been designed to accommodate a dropper post.

The bike's frame is made from Cannondale’s own Smartform C2 aluminium - and the frame looks fantastic; it’s been designed to look sleek - the welds are all smooth, and the tubes are butted, giving this bike a fresh, modern style which looks incredibly capable. The clean appearance of the frame is increased by internal cable routing, with the cables entering near the head tube and leaving the frame at the bottom bracket.

The frame has also been designed for comfort - it boasts what Cannondale call SAVE ‘micro-suspension’, which means the rear triangle of the bike flexes - reducing buzz and vibrations from the trails, increasing comfort. Other features include dropped seat stays and there’s a tapered head tube - which means this bike will be able to accommodate most modern bike forks. There are also boost axles, meaning that if you want to swap the wheels over - you have plenty of choices. Boost axles mean that if you upgrade the front fork, you don’t have to change the front wheel to suit. There are also two bottle cage mounts, which are very handy!

Cannondale Trail SE Specification

Although this is the most affordable model in the complete Trail SE lineup - it remains well-kitted out. The drivetrain is a Shimano Deore 1x10, and this bike has an 11-46t cassette. As you would expect, the forks are coil-sprung, and there’s 120mm travel from the Suntour XCR forks. Rims are from WTB (STX i25), and there are MT400 Shimano hubs and WTB tyres.

Cannondale Trail SE 4 Ride

As already mentioned, the Trail Se is designed for light trails, but its design and features hint at greater capability - meaning we were excited to get out & ride it. One of the most noticeable things about this bike is how smooth it feels to ride. Seatpost, tube and rear end flex - and you can see them flex. Climbing on the bike is good. It’s comfortable and efficient - there’s plenty of grip when heading downhill.

Out on the trails, the fork feels great - it remains supple enough to ensure the ride remains comfortable - the bike has limitations, and we found it excelling on blue classified trail routes, fire roads and bridleways. We have ridden the WTB tyres found on this bike before, and they grip well on harder surfaces as you would expect - and the Shimano brakes also do a good job.