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FEATURES: CANNONDALE 2012 SUPERSIX EVO
Zap
July 1, 2011
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BASSO IN FRANCE
Ivan Basso looks fit and trim and is quietly being picked by many as a definite podium finisher. But, before we consider his effort at the Tour, let's consider the new bike he'll be on....
On the night after the final stage of the Tour of California, Cannondale
and Team Liquigas held a little soiree at sweet casa up in the hills of
Simi Valley as a precursor to the following days U.S. roll-out of the
all new SuperSix Evo road bike. From the bikes perched alongside the infinity pool to the big screen
plasma TV showing a replay of the day's stage and the truckload of
BarBQ served up, the night was a stellar way to prep the crowd for what
was to come.
You learn quickly to watch your hands at an open buffet with a ProTour squad.
The parking lot at the Westlake Inn was taken over by Cannondale for the day.
AND HERE'S WHAT WE GATHERED FOR...
The Cannondale SuperSix Evo represents their latest high-end offering and features an all new frame.
Unlike plenty of other new race bikes that are running tall, box section
chainstays that mimic modern day motocross bikes, Cannondale engineers
chose a different path in shaping the rear end of the Evo. Besides an
overall smaller bottom bracket junction, the chainstays are as wide as
they are tall to provide even amounts of lateral stiffness and vertical
compliance. To provide additional compliance and traction, both the
chain and seat stays use their new Speed Save shaping which is basically
a more performance oriented version of the Save system used on the
comfort oriented Synapse.
Cannondale's version of internally routed cables works just fine for the
rear brake - very clean. To further aid in ride compliance, the new
seat tube has a redesigned shape and smaller seatpost (30.6 to27.2mm).
Unique to the market is Cannondale off-set rake fork dropouts. Like the
seatstays and chainstays, the fork also uses Cannondale's Speed Save
design. The Mavic Tracomp carbon spokes and white hub flanges look
pretty trick eh?
Always the right thinking type of Pro rider, after swapping out the
Mavic wheels for his (sponsored) Zipp hoops, 5000-time cyclocross champ
Tim Johnson showed up to take his first ride on the new Evo. Earlier in
the day Tim had left the less physically fit among the group pretty
dispirited by pushing one rider up the Rock Store climb while
maintaining a conversation with others. Worse still was the rumor that Peter Sagan's older brother rode the steep climb sitting up the whole way, in the big
ring...wait...with his hands behind his back! Now there's some Slovak
core strength.
Chris Peck has played a role in designing Cannondale road frames for the
last 16 years. Chris couldn't name one aspect of the Evo that he was
most impressed with, preferring instead to call-out their overall
achievement of the frames light weight and ride quality.
Cannondale will be offering five different models of the SuperSix Evo, all which share
the same frame. At the top of the heap sits the amazing 10.9 lb.
Ultimate which, even with its $11.700 price tag, could very well
establish a new standard in high-end production bikes. Next is the
stunning $9499 Team edition with matching livery and spec (except the
Mavic clincher wheels) as found on the Cannondale sponsored Liquigas
ProTour bikes. If you’re a Shimano Di2 fan, $10,699 is what it will take
to get an Evo with the electronic spec. A standard Shimano DuraAce
spec’d bike will sell for $7499 and the entry level bike, built with a
SRAM Red drivetrain will sell for $5499.
For more info: Cannondale Bicycles |
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