Cannondale’s new SuperSix is more Evo 4.5 than Evo 5

Ronan Mc Laughlin, courtesy Cannondale

Cannondale has a new SuperSix Evo, the brand's flagship road race model. Hardly a secret, the new fifth-generation Evo was leaked back in November and has been raced by the EF Education-Easypost and EF-Oatly men's and women's WorldTour teams since the beginning of 2026. But now it’s official.

Cannondale is touting the usual faster-lighter-stiffer claims for the new SuperSix as it rolls out three new frames and numerous build options, including an Evo LAB71 SL version with dedicated lighter handlebars and weighing in at 6.4 kg (14.01 lb) out of the box with everything except pedals.

An overview

In fact, Cannondale claims the new generation of the SuperSix is the lightest disc brake frame and fork it’s ever produced, with a painted size 56 cm Series 0 frame module roughly 140 g lighter than its predecessor.

The faster claim comes from a reworked front end and individually optimised tube shapes throughout. There’s also some minor tweaks to the geometry and the old size 51 makes way, replaced with two new size 50 cm and 52 cm options, said to offer more choice and better fit for more riders.

Gone are Cannondale’s own HollowGram wheels, with the new bikes now equipped with a mix of wheelsets from fellow Pon brand Reserve or DT Swiss, depending on the model. There’s 32 mm of tyre clearance, a BSA threaded bottom bracket, UDH compatibility, and either a 0 mm-setback seat post (44-54 cm sizes) or a 15 mm setback spec (56-61 cm).

Review: Cannondale’s SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod II balances reputation with modern performanceAero-lite and performance-heavy, the new Evo retains the SuperSix soul.Escape CollectiveRonan Mc Laughlin

The new frames are only compatible with electronic drivetrains. There is also, as you’d expect, internal brake hose routing only, and Cannondale’s Delta fork steerer design is also carried over from the Gen 4. I covered that steerer in detail in my review of the Gen 4 SuperSix Evo, so I won’t go over it again here, and I’ve only had one ride on the new Gen 5 Evo back in November, so my ride impressions here will be limited.

That said, truth be told, you could be forgiven for asking: What’s new? The latest SuperSix Evo is very much an evolution of the more comprehensive update the SuperSix platform underwent for the fourth-generation version three years ago. Sure, the SuperSix aficionado might point to the marginally deeper fork legs, or the deeper head tube, maybe even the slightly reprofiled chain and seat stays, but for most the new Evo would prove a challenging game of spot the difference. Even the aero claims, as we’ll get into in a bit, don’t exactly stack up. As such, it’s a familiar platform to me, and that one ride proved exceptionally insightful.

While that one ride was enough to remind me of how good the SuperSix Evo platform is and that the new SuperSix lives up to that illustrious history, it also left me with many questions. Like: Why does this new Evo exist, was it really needed, is the "old" one already out of date? All things I aim to answer below.

Faster everywhere

This isn’t the first time Cannondale has rolled out its “faster everywhere” slogan. Most recently, the brand leaned heavily on this design philosophy when it unveiled the previous generation Evo. That bike was faster, lighter, stiffer, and more user-friendly than the Gen 3, and now Cannondale is doubling down on that approach, promising more of the same with the Gen 5.

The headline claims are pretty simple, and likely compelling to many riders, chiefly that it's the lightest disc brake frame Cannondale has ever made. That said, the weight savings vary across the three available carbon layups.

Claimed frame weight for the top-tier LAB71 model is 728 g with a fork weight of 392 g. This represents a net saving of 72 g over the previous top-tier frameset. The second-tier Evo 1 frame with Hi-Mod layup is said to weigh 781 g, with the fork at 414 g, for a net saving of 37 g, while the base-level frame, used on the Evo 2 and below, weighs a claimed 910 g and the fork 427 g, for a net saving of 35 g.

Those three frame variants feature three distinct carbon layups, which, while differing in weight and specific composites, Cannondale claims there is no measurable variation in stiffness or ride characteristics. Just three frame tiers, each aimed to hit different price points.

The SystemBar Road SL on the Evo SL builds for those who prefer lower-weight over lower drag.

Beyond the frame itself, Cannondale focused on trimming weight across the bike. The SystemBar Road SL is a new one-piece integrated bar/stem designed with weight savings as the primary goal, eschewing the aero savings of profiled tops with traditional round tops, and it weighs 265 grams, 165 g lighter than the Gen 4 SystemBar. The SL bar is equipped as standard on the dedicated LAB71 SL and Evo 1 SL variants of the new bike. These “SL-spec” bike variants combine the Series 0 frame with the SL bar stem and DT Swiss ARC 1100 Spline 38 CS wheels, along with TPU tubes for a complete bike weighing 6.4 kg out of the box (cages included, but no pedals).

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