We’ve been hearing rumors about a Cannondale Lefty suspension fork for road and cyclocross bikes for a while. Now it is a reality. This past week, Cannondale posted a pair of teaser videos on YouTube featuring former U.S. cyclocross national champion Tim Johnson and senior product manager David Devine ripping around all manner of pavement and trail on drop-bar disc brake bikes equipped with Lefty forks.

While the first video was just a tease, the second revealed a host of key details, including the name of this new bike: Slate. Pertinent spec details on the bikes in the videos include SRAM mechanical disc brakes, a 30mm suspension fork with lockout called the Lefty Oliver, and 650b Stan’s ZTR Flow EX MTB wheels wrapped with 42mm tires pumped up to 40psi. That combination, claims Cannondale, produces a roll-out that’s equivalent to 700×22. Here’s the second video.

According to this post on The Radavist, the size 56cm model will have 405mm chainstays and a 71.5-degree head tube angle, which will net a 1015mm wheelbase. Trail is 66.3mm, which should keep handling snappy and fun.

“I wanted to create something that was more capable and not confining,” says Devine in the video.

“It’s a whole new style of bike,” adds Johnson. “You can put yourself on the edge but have a lot more room to play with.”

The video is punctuated by highlights of the pair riding 100 miles from Park City to Ogden via smooth tarmac, gravel roads and some backcountry singletrack in the Wasatch mountain range.

The spirit of the new bike is captured in the first video’s tagline, which reads in part:

“For those whose love for the road extends beyond just the road. For those whose thirst for fun and adventure cannot be quenched by mere road bikes or those dreary grinders of gravel. For all those who don’t necessarily want to road-ride, but who just want to ride the roads, and the verges, the trails, and whatever strikes their fancy, we proudly offer a road bike unlike anything you’ve ever seen.”

Our quick take is we love the idea of bikes with a wide range of capabilities. If Cannondale has found a way to build suspension into road/CX bike without adding too much weight or impacting pedaling efficiency and high speed handling, then why not? Add in those wide tires and disc brakes and you could literally have a machine that could handle your average steady-pace road group ride, line up at a ‘cross race, and wander into the woods for some singletrack shredding. Nothing wrong with that.

As for a release date, the video says Fall 2015. More details on availability and pricing to come as we get them.