The Team Barry DS fully approved of the SuperSix...
In preparation for my return to the world of sportives with the
Etape London, CSG (importers of Cannondale) were kind enough to
lend me a Cannondale SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod bike. We
sell a lot of them, and the fitters love them but I had never put
the miles in on one myself.
First impressions are very positive - I am a sucker for level top
tube bikes !
The thing was silly light - 7kgs with training wheels, in a 58 is
pretty crazy.
I took the stock wheels off, and replaced them with the demo set of Mavic Cosmic Carbon Pros we have. These wheels are new for 2016 and have been a huge success. I think our demo conversion rate is 95% from test ride to purchase!
Mavic missed the wide rim boat a number of years ago. Whilst
Bontrager, Zipp and especially Enve have popularised rims 25mm+
wide, the older Mavics were 19mm and looked very skinny. For 3 yrs
they never changed and you could hardly give them away, but for
2016 they came back with a bang
They roll beautifully and carry speed well. They also stop really
well - the braking surface is top notch.
I am old enough to remember when carbon wheels first came out and
the killer USP was how light they are. Now, seven years later,
carbon wheels are no lighter than before but they are more aero,
they brake better and the heat dissipation is in a different
world.
The Carbon Pros, like most of the Mavic wheels we sell, come with
their own tyres, which are okay. They don't feel nearly as supple
as something like a Vittoria Corsa Graphene + , or
roll as well as the Conti GP4000sII (probably our
favourite all round tyre).
A previous customer SuperSix build shown above, again with a Mavic upgrade. See more HERE.
Stiff but not harsh at all. One thing that was interesting was
that this bike had aluminium bars and stem. I know I am spoilt from
riding carbon cockpit all these years, but I did not like bars at
all. They were too skinny, and over rough roads it felt a lot of
vibration went through them.
Were I to make this bike my own I would put a
Parlee cockpit on. I am now truly a convert for
their 35mm over-sized bar system.
The bike had the mid-compact 52/36 cranks on; which I am a huge fan of. I also never left the big ring all day. OK, so it was Essex but still...
The 140g Fabric Alm, Barry's new favourite saddle.
The bike came with a Fabric saddle - the test reviews have all been very positive, but I had never tried one in the field. Saddle was great - so much so that I now have the £250 super light carbon Fabric Alm on my bike!
I think we will be offering a lot more Fabric saddles on our 'Bespoke builds'. They are just very, very comfy.
Apparel wise, I was rocking the Bespoke team edition kit made
for us by POC. Gemma got me to try the
Kask Protone helmet - which was a revelation. An
aero(ish) helmet that was comfortable and you don't look a twat
in….
Whats not to love?
Check out our Cannondale Demo Event on November 2nd.
"My Dad came 2nd to Chris Froome!"