There’s just something very wicked and alluring about a black bicycle that’s named Bad Boy. There have been countless debates over whether cycling in an Indian metropolitan city is safe or not, but you just don’t think about any of those arguments when you ride this hybrid from Cannondale.

Just black

Yes, heads turn when a flaming red Ducati bicycle or a milky white Trek passes by, but the Bad Boy 4 has a similar effect because of its dark paint scheme.

Every bit of this cycle has been painted matte black, right from the frame to the rims, spokes and the seat post.

The only non-black parts that you may find on the bike would be the reflectors, derailleurs or any other accessory that you may want to put on the bike. Even the Cannondale branding is discretely emblazoned in a gloss black on one of the fork arms.

The Bad Boy 4 is a hybrid – it’s made for road cycling as well as for occasional off-road shenanigans. It takes elements from fast and light road bikes, and that’s evident from its modest 12-kg weight, and skinny slick tyres.

It features a flat handlebar like a mountain bike, but unlike MTBs, it comes with a rigid fork and a hard tail (no suspensions). The overall fit and finish of each component is of the highest quality – from the frame to the brakes to the cables to the gear shifter and to the saddle. There’s not a single sore point with the build quality of the product.

Fast enough

All that hybridism comes together to form a bike that’s quite practical, on the whole. Thanks to its lightweight frame, we could easily carry the bike up and down three flights of stairs.

Once on the road, the Bad Boy is easy to get rolling – if you choose the right frame size, we don’t see why you won’t find this bike anything less than comfortable in terms of reach and posture. The saddle, though it looks very slim, is actually quite comfortable. However, for those who aren’t accustomed to these kinds of saddles, we recommend a gel pad.

The slick tyres are quite grippy and perfect for fast riding. The Bad Boy features an 8-speed (24 gears) Shimano Altus-Acera combination, and these shift quickly and smoothly without any problems. The mechanical disc brakes come with a rather sharp bite, giving you the braking power you need in mad Indian traffic.

Saddle sores

However, there’s a small problem with the tyres and the forks. Seeing as they’re road-cycle-inspired slicks, we weren’t very confident around small wet patches on the road. The complete lack of a tread also made us refrain from taking the bike out around our favourite place – by the sea.

This, however, can be solved by swapping the WTB Freedom Thickslicks for a set of wider and knobbly tyres.

The other sore point is the rigid frame. The fat front fork absorbs a lot of vibrations from not-so-great city roads, but go over a rough patch for too long and you’ll wish you had an MTB instead.

Bottomline

The Cannondale Bad Boy is priced at ₹ 47,800, positioning it in the mid-range hybrid segment (as compared to all other imported bicycles). We wouldn’t call the Bad Boy 4 an out-and-out hybrid – it’s just a very good urban bike. The cycle is available through Track and Trail outlets.

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