The new SuperSix EVO is out now. Cannondale has made its lightweight race bike even lighter while adding to its aero capabilities. It has also put some effort into SL builds of the bike, which are lighter still, to honour the weight-weenie legacy of the older frames. You may have spotted the new frame being ridden by the EF Pro Cycling squads in some of the early season racing, where it’s taken a couple of wins so far. But now, with the bike officially launched, you can take in the fresh looks that result from the engineers at Cannondale making refinements to an already capable frame.
Starting from an already effective platform
The last big redesign of the SuperSix EVO, the Gen 3, was a shakeup. It took the super-light climbing bike often used in hill-climb racing to a more modern, well-rounded do-it-all race bike. This redesign was used to its full potential by the pros. It’s their feedback that helped improve the new version. Fan favourite Ben Healy’s ultra-trendy, narrow-bar setup actually inspired the new SystemBar Road cockpit, which comes in widths from 34 cm to 38 cm, all with 20 mm of flare in the drops. The company has also released a lighter option, the SystemBar Road SL, that forgoes the aero touches to save 110 g and is also available up to a more traditional 40-cm bar. This SL label extends to some other super-light builds of the bike that go back to the lightweight heritage of the frame.
SL models for the weight weenies
The lightest of these SL builds goes down to a ridiculous stock weight of 6.4 kg for the top-end option. Cannondale manages to achieve this mass through a series of spec choices that favour weight reduction instead of overall speed. There are also aero bottles and integrated computer mounts. Notably, these bottles stand up on their own and are a bit more universal, unlike some offerings from other brands. Cannondale has managed to shave off so much weight from the Gen 5 by continuing the idea of refining the bike system. This system includes the frame, fork, cockpit, aero bottle cages, computer mount and seatpost.
The savings across this system amount to 148 g for the race-oriented non-SL models and even more for the SL builds. The SL builds are for the diehard weight-weenies. While Cannondale admits SL bikes are not the fastest options for racing because of the less aerodynamic spec choices, the super-light variants do offer the ride quality and immediate acceleration that make a light…
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