Rainbow Test Team

A special new bike naturally requires a very special kind of development journey. Luckily for us, we had some of gravel’s best test-pilots on hand to help thrash, throttle and give their honest-yet-expert feedback to help launch the super-new, super-fast SuperX.

Taking full-gas, road-race performance and then engineering it until it’s perfectly balanced for the full-on world of gravel is easier said than done. But thanks to Cannondale’s development and testing program, we’re able to ensure that each new bike that hits the road, track and trail is perfect for our riders and more than fit for purpose.

In this instance, invaluable rider feedback, combined with lab testing, wind tunnel time and real-world test sessions all came together to help get the SuperX dialed in and ready for elbows-out gravel action. We even took it to the World Champs in Flanders for the ultimate test ride – but more on that later.

ProjectX

The new SuperX is a full-on speed freak of a machine, built specifically with the ever-faster world of gravel racing in mind. As well as a laser focus on the top step of the podium. Wind tunnel sculpted aero gains and weighing in around 100 grams less than its predecessor, the SuperSix EVO SE and CX, mean this machine is made for going in one direction. Fast.

Naturally, rider feedback is crucial in every new bike that the Cannondale team develops. Iteration after iteration. Tweak after tweak. Trial, error and correction. Every aspect of the process is a series of incremental nudges, calculations and refinements in the right direction until everyone is 110% happy.

Rider Ready

Of course, the most important person to be happy with how a bike handles and performs is always going to be the person riding it. That’s our raison d’etre and why we’ve been doing what we’ve been doing for over half a century now.

Enter Roubaix-winning and EF-Education Oatly pro rider Alison Jackson, multi-Unbound-winning, not-really-retired pro Ted King, along with his other half, world champs-qualifying and Team USA rider, Laura King. A trio who have been instrumental in helping guide the evolution of the new SuperX design with invaluable feedback throughout the process.

Super-stiff but perfectly compliant where needed. Lightweight yet capable of running big rubber when the terrain calls for it (up to 48mm for the frame and 51mm for the fork since you asked). OutFront geometry for increased stability and control on the rough stuff. All these things have been dialed in to Goldilocks levels to create a machine that’s every bit as comfortable as it is fast.

World Champs Tested

Which was handy, because when the UCI Gravel World Championships came around last October, all three of our test riders got to throw their legs over the new design and really ride it in anger for the first time.

To mark the occasion, we furnished each Flanders frame with a very special custom paintjob, courtesy of Cannondale’s in-house artisan Rob Nicholas, aka Dr Bobby. These one-off works of art were designed to help the riders to express themselves out on course while showing their own true colors. Unsurprisingly they turned more than a few heads at the same time.

The Belgian weather was uncharacteristically sunny when race day came around, and through clouds of golden dust, each of the three special frames shone brightly and performed exceptionally in the Autumnal light.

On a course that combined high-speed, all-out segments with technical turns and narrower than narrow sections, the SuperX was more than capable of letting our riders hold their lines with confidence while keeping their feet on the gas and their fingers off the brakes.

Rolling home in the men’s event with a dusty grin for his efforts, Ted King reflected on his race, result and rig...
“Yeah, wow, the new bike really is something else and absolutely flies over the rough stuff... I just wish I had a set of wings to keep up with it and truly do it justice today...”

The new SuperX has been to hell and back to test, develop and get it ride-ready for a new season of gravel adventures. For the pros and the public alike. To learn more and consider piloting your own complete bike or frame yourself, hit the link and hit the trails.