Cannondale Bad Boy

Industrial Design

Cycling

In the early 2000s Cannondale’s Head Of Product Management in Europe, Vincent Bourgeois, saw that sales of hardtail MTBs were slowing down and that many of them were used for urban commuting rather than trail riding. He decided to make an MTB with slick tires and a very stealthy matt black paint job with glossy black logos, calling it the Bad Boy. The bike turned out to be a massive success with style-conscious urbanites. Up until then, light and efficient bikes were mostly synonymous with flashy colours and large logos, and elegant, understated bikes were typically heavy and slow.

Photo Credit: Cannondale

For the second generation Bad Boy, the newly-established Swiss-based Urban Team developed a completely new and dedicated frame platform with integrated cables and lights for cleaner aesthetics. The success story continued and the Bad Boy was a major revenue maker for several years. Along with the other urban models from Cannondale, the brand made a mark on the urban bike market with plenty of competing products adopting a similar look. For MY2008 the Bad Boy got a 3D-forged single-sided fork.