Cannondale’s all new SuperX gravel bikes go aero and stripped back for speed

Cannondale has introduced a new SuperX, this new 2025 version of what was their range topping cyclo-cross bike returns as a stripped-back gravel race platform with the lowest frame weights below 900g. The design team says the new bike is 1.6 watts more efficient than the Cannondale SuperSix EVO SE gravel bike at 35 km/h (21.7mph), while comfort is delivered through ‘flex zones’ in the seat tube, rear triangle, and top tube. The bottom section of the seat tube is spectacularly skinny.

The new SuperX comes in three builds and two different carbon layups. Previous versions of the SuperX – starting from 2010 – were cyclocross bikes. That has changed with this new incarnation which Cannondale describes as “a pure gravel race machine”. It takes over from the SuperSix EVO SE gravel bike and SuperSix Evo CX cyclocross bike; they’re both discontinued. Cannondale felt the labelling was confusing, so it decided to return to the SuperX name which dropped out of their range as a complete bike in 2021. Cannondale still has its Topstone all-rounder gravel bikes, which are about due an update, while the SuperX is focused on speed.

Lachlan Morton, the Aussie gravel/road racer who rides for EF Education-EasyPost, won last year’s Unbound Gravel race on a Cannondale SuperSix EVO SE gravel bike. Cannondale says that the new SuperX is “a refinement of what was already a race-winning bike”.

“When designing the bike, the team focused on three main areas,” says Cannondale's engineering manager Steve Smith “The first of those was aerodynamics. We were able to use our dedicated in-house team, including Dr Nathan Barry, and we were able to take our years of knowledge that we've developed from doing road platforms such as the SystemSix and two generations of SuperSix EVO.

“This has allowed us to achieve new levels of aerodynamic performance on this bike. The team completed countless rounds of CFD [computational fluid dynamics] and multiple runs in the wind tunnel, and that's allowed us to shape the SuperX that you see.”

Cannondale says that it based its aero assessments of the SuperX on speeds of 35 km/h (21.7mph) because average speeds in gravel races are slower than on the road (it uses a speed of 45 km/h or 28mph for road bikes). It says that its notional rider could hold 35 km/h (21.7mph) on a SuperX while putting out less power than would be required to ride at the same speed on a Cannondale SuperSix EVO SE – lower by 1.6 watts.

“Secondly, the team focused on weight, and we’ve achieved a 900g LAB71 frame,” says Steve Smith (LAB71 is the name Cannondale gives to its premium tier of frames/bikes).

> Cannondale introduces “ultra-premium” LAB71 tier of bikes 

“We managed to achieve this by using our top-level materials, and also our latest manufacturing processes, and this has allowed us to take a whopping 100g out of the frame over its predecessor. On the rest of the lineup, our carbon construction achieves the same levels of stiffness and durability that we also have on our top-level LAB71 but with a little bit of extra weight and in a more affordable package.

“Then the third area that the team worked on was comfort and stiffness. We all know that comfort is speed in gravel racing, and so the team really focused on improving the seated comfort of the bike by specifically shaping areas such as the seat tube, top tube and seatstays, while still maintaining that important stiffness that you need at the bottom bracket and the head tube.”

Cannondale claims that “specially constructed flex zones in the seat tube, rear triangle, and top tube work as a system with the D-shaped seatpost to absorb shock and vibration, keeping your mind and body fresher longer.” The bottom section of the seat tube, in particular, is amazingly shallow from front to rear.

Cannondale also says that what it calls “Proportional Response carbon construction” means that ride characteristics are the same across all frame sizes.

“Fully customised by size, precisely oriented layers of different types and moduli of carbon fibres deliver an ideal balance of weight, stiffness and durability for every rider,” says Cannondale.

Steve Smith says, “When you’re sizing frames traditionally, you see that the larger the frame gets, the stiffness drops; as the frame gets smaller, it can become too stiff. We tune the tube proportions and the carbon layup per size, and this allows us to achieve that same great EVO-like ride feel for all sizes.”

Tyre clearance is an important issue in the gravel world, so what does the SuperX offer? Cannondale reckons you can use a 48mm tyre (measured) on a 700C wheel at the rear, and anything up to 51mm at the front (with at least 4mm clearance on each side).

As mentioned, Cannondale sees the SuperX as in many ways a development of the SuperSix EVO SE gravel bike, but it’s also keen to emphasise links with previous SuperX incarnations.

“It's for us the return of an iconic name within the Cannondale history,” says senior product manager Mart Otten. “Some people will remember it from back in the days of Tim Johnson at the Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld team. It was really all about cyclocross, right? It was a pure bike. It was clean, it was stripped of any unnecessary things, purely focused on racing, and that's part of the reason why we decided to bring that name back into the Cannondale product portfolio because that's the same approach that we take for 2025.

“The big, big difference, though, is that now the focus is 100% at gravel racing. It goes back to the approach that we take for high-performance bikes like a SuperSix Evo; it’s all about that combination between light and fast, removing all the unnecessary things, removing material where we can, and really optimising those two things altogether. And I think we can say that, yeah, the end result is the ultimate combination of light and fast.”

What about cyclocross? 

Cannondale says the SuperX is perfectly suited to the sport if you throw on some 30mm tyres, and the flat top tube is comfortable when you’re shouldering the bike.

Cannondale uses its existing OutFront Geometry which means you get a slack head angle – 71° on most sizes – with a longer-than-normal fork offset – 55mm. The idea is to increase stability and control on uneven and unpredictable surfaces “while maintaining the snappy handling you need for quick line changes and last-second corrections”.

Steve Smith says, “If it ain't broke, don't fix it. On the new Super X, we're utilising the same trusted geometry. It was controversial when it was first introduced to the cyclocross world, but we now feel this is perfectly suited to gravel racing, so it's the same geometry you know and love.”

The Delta steerer design is another feature that already exists in Cannondale’s range, having been first used on the 4th generation SuperSix EVO in 2023. The Delta steerer is V-shaped to create room for the cables to route internally from the handlebar to the frame without the need to use oversized bearings (Cannondale uses 1-1/8in at the top, 1-1/2in at the bottom) or increase the frontal area of the head tube.

The frame is specifically designed for use with a Delta steerer, so you can’t fit a front suspension fork to the new SuperX.

While we’re talking about bearings, the SuperX uses a 68mm BSA threaded bottom bracket, as used on the Topstone, for example. Cannondale suggests that this is something you can expect to see more of in its range as time goes on, intending to make its bikes easy to live with. It also uses a UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger) out back.

As a gravel race bike, the SuperX doesn’t have the mounts you’ll find on all-rounders like the Topstone and Topstone Carbon. There are top tube bag mounts, but that’s yer lot. A neat little cover means they’re virtually invisible when not in use. If you switch from 2x to 1x (single chainring) gearing, you can remove the front derailleur mount for a cleaner look.

How is the LAB71 SuperX different?

As mentioned, LAB71 is the name Cannondale gives to its posh, ultra-high-end stuff.

“A painted LAB71 SuperX frame in size 56 weighs under 900g,” says Cannondale. “When comparing the materials used in our limited-edition LAB71 models to the rest of the SuperX line-up, the LAB71 complete bike and frameset feature a higher proportion of high-tensile modulus fibres. These fibres allow us to use fewer overall fibres, as the desired stiffness is achieved more quickly.

“Additionally, we incorporate more high-tensile strength fibres, enabling us to use fewer fibres while still achieving the necessary strength. The result is a weight saving of over 100g for the LAB71 SuperX compared to the standard SuperX, without compromising stiffness or strength.”

Cannondale calls this its Series 0 carbon construction.

It’s available as a frameset (£4,950) or a complete bike (£12,500) with a SRAM Red XPLR AXS groupset and Reserve 40|44 GR gravel rims on DT Swiss 180 hubs. The complete bike claimed weight is 7.4kg (size 56, without cages/bottles, with sealant, slammed stem).

The standard (non-LAB71) SuperX is available in these builds:

SuperX Carbon 2 (£6,550)
Groupset Shimano GRX 825 Di2 2x
Wheels Reserve 40|44 GR rims on DT Swiss 370 hubs
Claimed weight 8.6kg (size 56, without cages, with sealant, 20mm headset spacer)

SuperX Carbon 3 (£4,250)
Groupset Shimano GRX 820 2x
Wheels DT Swiss G1800 rims on DT Swiss 370 hubs
Claimed weight 9.1kg (size 56, without cages, with sealant, 20mm headset spacer)

www.cannondale.com