Cannondale has right now introduced the launch of the 2024 SuperX gravel race bike. It’s primarily based on the present fourth-generation SuperSix EVO street bike, as raced by the EF Education professional groups and obtainable in three specs primarily based on a regular carbon and a LAB71 frameset.
The LAB71 body weighs a claimed 900g, 100g lower than the SuperSix EVO SE, Cannondale’s earlier technology gravel race bike, which it replaces. It’s additionally 100g lighter than the usual carbon SuperX frameset.
That results in a 7.4kg claimed bike weight for the top-spec LAB71 SuperX in dimension 56. That bike comes geared up with a SRAM Red XPLR AXS 13-speed Full Mount groupset, making use of the brand new body’s UDH rear derailleur interface.
Other part highlights embrace a one-piece Cannondale SystemBar R-One bar/stem. Cannondale has adopted the Delta Steerer additionally discovered on the newest SuperSix EVO street bike, which permits inside cable routing whereas preserving the pinnacle tube slender.
The LAB71 bike is completed off with Reserve 40|44 GR wheels with DT Swiss 180 hubs and a Fizik Vento Antares 00 saddle.
As you’d count on, the LAB71 SuperX has a hefty price ticket connected: $15,000 or €14,999, with UK costs but to be introduced. You also can purchase the LAB71 frameset for $5,500 or €5,499 if you wish to construct it up your self. Despite the low weight, Cannondale provides a lifetime assure on its SuperX frames.
Choose your individual spec and you’ll match a 2x Shimano crankset with 50/34t rings or SRAM with 43/30t. Go 1x and the equal figures are 54t for Shimano and 46t for SRAM.
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Cannondale has already had the LAB71 SuperX out racing beneath a couple of of its EF Education males’s and girls’s professionals in a couple of extracurricular gravel races.
Aero at gravel race speeds
Cannondale has honed the SuperX’s aerodynamics for gravel racing utilizing CFD and wind tunnel research. It claims a 1.6 watt saving over the SuperSix EVO SE, measured at 35km/h slightly than the 45km/h or much more usually quoted for street bike aero measurements (though we wind tunnel examined 11 superbikes at 40km/h).
When Lachlan Morton received Unbound 200 in 2024, using a SuperSix EVO SE, he averaged nearly precisely 35km/h, finishing the 200-mile course in a brand new document time of 9:11:47. Cannondale says that common speeds for the entrance of gravel races are actually usually larger than 35km/h although, so there could also be larger aero beneficial properties on supply for the quickest riders on some programs.
Changes from the SuperSix EVO SE embrace a swap to a BSA threaded backside bracket from that bike’s Press Fit system. The SuperX frameset accepts a regular 700c rear wheel, slightly than the symmetrically dished wheels wanted for a few of its older bikes with Ai rear triangle geometry. It provides rear tyre clearance of 48mm, whereas the fork has 51mm clearance.
To accommodate the rear wheel, the SuperX has a slimmed-down and curved seat tube. Cannondale has additionally included flex zones into the rear triangle and vertically thinned out the rear of the highest tube. Together, it says that these options assist enhance body compliance.
As when it launched the SystemSix aero bike a couple of years in the past, Cannondale has reused a reputation from its previous for the SuperX. The authentic SuperX was a cyclocross race bike, however Cannondale has positioned the brand new SuperX squarely within the gravel race class, though nonetheless with a nod to cyclocrossers.
It reckons that the flattened prime tube, together with the large clearance and racy geometry, will fulfill riders seeking to journey the brand new SuperX behind the tape, in addition to opponents taking to gravel roads.
Two specs at launch primarily based on normal carbon body
At launch, in addition to the expensive LAB71 SuperX, there are two specs primarily based on the usual carbon frameset obtainable to European gravel riders.
The SuperX 2 is supplied with a Shimano GRX 825 Di2 12-speed groupset with 48/31 x 11-34t ratios and the identical Reserve 40|44 GR rims because the LAB71 bike, however on DT Swiss 370 hubs. There’s a two-piece bar and stem, with FSA SL-Okay carbon bars and alloy Cannondale C1 Conceal stem with inside cable routing. Cannondale says {that a} dimension 56 bike weighs 8.5kg and the bike is priced at $6,900 / €6,999, once more with UK costs TBC.
The base spec is the SuperX 3, geared up with 12-speed mechanical Shimano GRX 820 with 48/32 x 11-36t ratios and DT Swiss G1800 alloy rims on DT Swiss 370 hubs, together with an alloy Cannondale bar. Claimed weight for a dimension 56 bike is 9.1kg and the bike is priced at $4,200 / €4,499.