It’s safe to say the Cannondale SuperSix Evo has a pretty decent heritage. Thanks to its well-rounded performance characteristics, in its decade-plus lifespan the platform has amassed plenty of pro wins and built a reputation as one of the best-riding race bikes on the market.
That said, four years has passed since its last update and at the performance end of the market that’s a long time. The brand’s main competitors have all launched new bikes since then, but Cannondale says it hasn’t been short of new ideas.
The recent launch of the newest SuperSix Evo is evidence of that, for the bike comes to market introducing plenty of novel design features and considerable claims of improved performance.
For the full introduction to the bike, be sure to check out our Cannondale SuperSix launch story and deep dive into the frameset development but in short, the new bike is said to be lighter and more aero than before, despite being just as stiff and comfortable.
Thankfully, the SuperSix Evo’s well-regarded geometry has been left untouched, so there is cause to hope that the additional ingredients said to have been added to the SuperSix’s recipe haven’t spoiled its flavour.
Cannondale SuperSix Evo frameset and build
The new SuperSix Evo frameset design contains a host of interesting features that we explore in depth in this dedicated feature. Despite its novel design, most the of the frameset’s features facilitate conventional interaction with auxiliary components, such as the fork’s Delta steerer, whose clamping zone is normal in diameter.
The Lab71 and Hi-Mod 1 frameset variants use Cannondale’s new carbon ‘SystemBar R-One’ integrated bar and stem, whereas the builds below use conventional bars (that only require a port at the rear of the stem clamping zone to allow cables through) and Cannondale’s new alloy Conceal stem.
The Hi-Mod 1, despite sitting below the Lab71 in terms of frame material, uses a top tier SRAM Red AXS groupset to rival the more expensive bike’s Shimano Dura-Ace Di2.
Groupset aside, the spec is largely similar – aside from the less premium Prologo Dimension Nack NDR saddle, (versus the Lab71’s Fizik Vento Argo 00) the Hi-Mod 1’s Cannondale SystemBar R-One cockpit and Cannondale C1 Aero 40 Carbon seatpost are the same, as are the Continental GP5000 tyres.
The two bikes share the new flagship HollowGram 50 R-SL wheels too. Developed by Cannondale, these use a rim shape with a 21mm internal width but a wide 32mm outer width. Together with their middling 50mm depth, they aim to offer a smooth transition from tyre to rim to improve aerodynamics.
The wheels are competitively light at a claimed 1,520g, and use a solid set of subcomponents too, such as DT Swiss’ Aerolite spokes and 240 hub internals.
The bike also makes use of ReGrip bottle cages and Gripper bottles. The cages are normal, but the bottles have the sides shaved-off, making them pseudo-rectangular in profile to correspond to the width of the SuperSix’s down tube.
Cannondale Super Six Evo geometry
Given the substantial changes almost everywhere else in the design, it’s both a surprise and a relief to see that Cannondale has carried over the SuperSix Evo’s geometry unchanged into the new model, as well as retained its generous 34mm tyre clearance.
Both the fit geometry and handling geometry are bang-on what you’d expect for a race bike. On a size 56cm, stack is a low-but-accessible 574mm and reach is a middling 390mm, while the 73° head angle paired with 45mm of fork offset and the specced 25mm tyre size creates a trail of 57mm.
Together with a 992mm wheelbase, that should provide responsive handling without being nervy at high speed.
A geometry point to note is that for the new SuperSix Evo Cannondale has consolidated the 60 and 62cm bikes into one 61cm size. The brand says it can achieve the same fit by varying componentry and given how comparatively few bikes it sells in those sizes, saw on opportunity to reduce its offering without affecting customers.
Hopefully the cost saving the move presumably created is passed on to customers.
Riding the Cannondale SuperSix Evo
I was given only a brief opportunity to ride the new SuperSix Evo, on unfamiliar roads, but it was immediately evident that the bike has retained the same handling characteristics as its predecessors. It wasn’t unexpected given the unchanged geometry, but despite the renovated frame features the new bike has the same eager response to turning input but assuredness over rough ground and at high speed.
I’d need to ride the Evo more on roads I know well, but the new bike’s seated comfort levels didn’t seem significantly different either, which was perhaps more surprising given the increased seat post depth, which I expected would make the bike a little harsher.
Cannondale’s aerodynamics design engineer, Nathan Barry, says the new bike achieves the same compliance levels but gets there in a more complex way than just the seatpost flex of the old bike.
‘We dropped the chainstays further away from the top tube junction on the seat tube and made the seat tube very thin in profile near the bottom bracket junction to encourage it to flex like a leaf spring,’ he says. ‘That flex can then be carried up into saddle to help with comfort. It’s a concept we learned from the development of the Kingpin suspension in our Topstone Carbon gravel bike.’
That isn’t the only cross-category inspiration either. Barry says tube shapes across the frame and fork are said to be informed by the aero performance of the SystemSix aero bike, but better optimised for lighter weight.
Consequently, the new bike is said to be 12 watts faster at 45kmh. I can’t vouch for that improvement but the bike’s ability to carry speed may perhaps become a little more evident when I get the opportunity to test the bike more thoroughly on home roads.
Stiffness is another area I’d need more time confidently determine, but initially the bike seems to have given up nothing under pedalling despite the narrow width of the BB junction mandated by the specced BSA (ISO) bottom bracket.
‘Our knowledge of frame construction is better than ever,’ says product manager Sam Ebert. ‘BSA mandates a narrower bottom bracket junction, but we can create performance at that junction similar to wider press-fit solutions, but with the added reliability and serviceability of threaded systems.’
Ok, but I still think it’s a shame a press-fit solution can’t be made to work by the brand or consumer. In my admittedly limited understanding of mechanical engineering, something like PF86 allows the frame to be structurally superior, and the system is lighter too.
The sleek, narrow front end plays an important role in the bike’s aero story, which has been made possible by the bike’s Delta steerer. Such an extreme shape (and the industry’s history of steerer tube liability) does make me wary of failure but equally, the concept’s chequered past could be said to play in Cannondale’s favour. With such a well documented risk of a design like this, you’d like to believe the brand has taken a belt and braces approach to guarantee its success here.
Cannondale certainly seems to have taken the necessary steps, for example, using Innegra fibres to toughen the tube up, as well as submitting it to extreme test protocols.
Assuming the tube is structurally sound over the long term, it seems like a good way to keep the bike’s frontal profile small because it retains almost all the adjustability and ease of maintenance of conventional front ends.
While the Hi-Mod bike I rode had the integrated cockpit, I’d sooner opt for Cannondale’s neat Conceal stem and run a two-piece cockpit for maximum adjustability and opportunity to streamline my fit. It’s great to have the option to do that, and the two-piece cockpits are more prevalent on the cheaper builds too, so that’s a win-win in my eyes.
Another win is the removal of the steering stopper that must have caused no end of warranty trouble in the old bike. This was a prong of metal embedded in the fork crown that physically prevented the bars turning past a certain point by butting up against a cavity in the top of the down tube. Too harsh an impact there, say, for example, like in almost any crash, could have caused the downtube to crack, so it is nice to see that risk removed in the latest bike.
It’s time to split some hairs
There are undoubtedly a lot of large-scale triumphs for the new bike, but I feel it has been let down a little by a few details. The Shimano Di2 battery relocation for starters – sticking electronics down in an area at risk of water and dirt ingress seems like a recipe for failure. I know the sleeve uses a rubber grommet for protection but that has a drain hole in it, which by nature can act as an access point too.
It isn’t unreasonable to suggest the grommet may be easily lost too. While Cannondale says the suggested wire length will prevent the battery from falling out, it is still able to slide out partially should the grommet come off. Were this to happen it would only be a matter of time before the Di2 system sprung a leak and the rider’s gearing fails.
A somewhat related missed-mark for me is the busyness of the inside face of the down tube. There’s a largely irrelevant hatch at it’s top, and a grommet covering a SmartSense access hole at the bottom too. It clutters up an otherwise very nicely integrated frame design, as evidenced by touches like the enclosed thru-axle thread on the non-driveside fork tip.
Given that the top hatch is primarily for gearing that is a generation out of date now (Dura-Ace Di2 R9100 and Ultegra Di2 R8000), and the lower one is for a system that only received a lukewarm reception on the Synapse platform it was designed for, I’d suggest these could have been omitted without any disadvantage.
The Gripper bottles are a nice idea from an aero perspective, but on the ride I had with the bike I quickly discovered a considerable disadvantage. Their rectangular cross section necessitates fairly precise bottle reinstallation after removal, otherwise they won’t fit in the cage and will fall on the ground.
I don’t doubt some practice would make the action easier, but at least for now I believe normal riders are definitely better off using conventional round bottles with the bike.
Sticking with the details, the top-spec builds in the Evo range come with excellent tyres, but the supplied Continental GP5000s are 25mm. I understand this is a race bike, and 25mm is still a common choice among racers, but in reality the bulk of everyone’s riding on this bike won’t be in a race.
As a prospective buyer, I’d rather receive 28mm tyres as standard. It’s a more practical size that I’d be less likely to want to swap out immediately. What’s more, amateur racers are notoriously individual and specific in their build, so Continental’s GP5000 might not be the 25mm tyre they’d use anyway.
Cannondale SuperSix Evo verdict
I would like to caveat the above 500 words or so with the qualifier that I’m nit-picking. Despite a few head-scratching details, broadly the new SuperSix Evo seems like an excellent all-round race bike that fuses new features with existing attributes to move that platform forward considerably.
If anything, the new bike might be too good. If Cannondale’s aero claims about the bike are to be believed, I’m struggling to see a case now for the brand’s SystemSix, which isn’t much faster and is over a kilo heavier. Could Cannondale be make a similar move to Specialized and kill off its aero genre? I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens.
I’d also like to touch upon the contentious topic of pricing. I know generally speaking all bikes are supremely expensive these days, but I’d like to applaud Cannondale for pricing the SuperSix Evo comparatively keenly.
The Lab71 spec might command a princely sum, but the Hi-Mod 1 model I got to ride is actually £1,000 cheaper than its predecessor equivalent, and those favourably priced upgrades are representative the entire way down the range.
I’ll hope for some running changes to iron out the wrinkles I found with the new bike, but even as it is, the new SuperSix Evo looks to be an exciting design that delivers on the difficult task of improving upon on already excellent bike.
Don’t miss our in-depth review of one of the new Cannondale SuperSix Evo’s main competitors, the Giant Propel Advanced SL 0
