Cannondale is a bike brand that makes high-quality machines for road and mountain biking. It sponsors WorldTour teams and also caters to amateur riders.
The company started in 1970 as a producer of precast concrete housing. It later ventured into bike accessories, making the ‘Bugger’ bike trailer in 1971. It launched its first bike, an aluminium touring frame, in 1983. It faced financial troubles in 2003 and was bought by Dorel Industries, a Canadian company that owns other bike brands like Mongoose and GT.
Cannondale is based in Wilton, Connecticut, and supports the Cylance women’s team and the EF Education First men’s team.
Cannondale’s innovations
Cannondale has developed many technologies for its bikes, some of which are widely used by other brands. Here are some of the key terms you will encounter when looking at Cannondale bikes:
In 2000, Cannondale introduced the BB30, a new standard for bottom brackets that uses a 30mm aluminium spindle instead of a steel one. This reduces weight and increases stiffness. Cannondale shared this design with the industry, and it became very popular. The BB30a is a variation of the BB30 that adds more material to the non-drive side for extra stiffness.
The BB30 was a game-changer for the bike industry
One of the main goals of bike design is to balance weight, stiffness, and comfort. SAVE (Synapse Active Vibration Elimination) is Cannondale’s solution for comfort. It means designing the fork, seat post and rear triangle to flex and absorb shocks, using carbon layup and tube shaping techniques.
There are four versions of SAVE: Plus, Speed, Aero and basic Save. They are used differently depending on the type and purpose of the bike.
Cannondale’s own carbon construction is called BallisTec. It focuses on strength and stiffness, but also keeps the weight low. The name comes from the military grade ultra-strong base fibres that are also used for bulletproof armour. The resins are similar to those used for making carbon baseball bats.
BallisTec carbon comes in different grades. BallisTec Hi-Mod is the strongest and lightest and is used for the top-end models.
This stands for ‘Cannondale Advanced Aluminum Design’ and is applied to all of the aluminium frames. The idea is that instead of using a standard tube shape, Cannondale designs each tube according to its specific function and performance requirements. Cannondale uses software to create and test virtual tubes until they achieve the desired characteristics.
The CAAD12 (which evolved from the CAAD10 and so on) road bike is an example of this approach. It offers a combination of low weight and high stiffness that makes it a favourite for criterium racing.
Cannondale also makes its own cranksets and wheels. The HollowGram cranksets are especially sought after because of their spider web design and ‘System Integration’ that minimises weight and maximises stiffness.
Cannondale uses its own Si cranksets with BB30a bottom brackets
Other terms you might see include ‘System Integration’, or Si, which simply means more integration to reduce weight and sometimes drag; and mountain bikers would also recognise the ‘Lefty’ fork as a signature feature of Cannondale.
Cannondale road bikes 2020
If you are interested in buying a Cannondale road bike, you have plenty of options to choose from. Here is a brief overview of each of the main models:
Cannondale SystemSix 2020 road bike
The SystemSix is Cannondale’s aero bike. It was launched in 2018 as part of the 2019 range.
Cannondale claims that drag becomes significant above 15kph (9mph) and that the SystemSix is faster than the SuperSix Evo on any gradient up to 6 per cent, thanks to its aerodynamic tubing and other features.
The ‘Knot’ bar and stem has internal cable routing that runs under the stem, inside a plastic cover down the head tube, with split spacers for easy adjustment. The bar/stem combo looks like one piece, but it is actually two pieces with eight degrees of adjustability.
The frame is only compatible with disc brakes, and can fit tyres up to 26mm wide, though it is optimised for 23mm tyres.
The prices start from £3,999.99 for a Shimano Ultegra model, and go up to £8,999.99 for a Hi-Mod model with Shimano Dura Ace Di2 and a Power2Max crank based power meter included.
Cannondale SuperSix EVO 2020 road bike
SuperSix gets an aero makeover
The Cannondale SuperSix EVO is Cannondale’s carbon race bike. The geometry is designed for a fast and aggressive riding position, with nimble handling and a low weight.
The model originated as the Six13 in 2004. The name referred to carbon’s number in the periodic table, as this was Cannondale’s first carbon bike. Over the years, the bike became lighter and lighter, reaching 665g for a size 56 at one point, but then gained some weight back to improve stiffness.
The frames of 2017 weighed 777g for a 56, but had more system integration that made the complete bikes lighter. With the growing demand for disc brakes, the range now includes disc brake models.
A completely revamped SuperSix EVO was unveiled in June 2019 with a new frame that has airfoil shaped tubes and dropped seat stays. It is more aerodynamic and more comfortable than previous versions, making it more versatile and appealing.
The most expensive SuperSix Evo model for 2020 is the Hi-Mod Disc Dura Ace Di2, for £8999.99 with Shimano Dura Ace Di2 and Cannondale’s new KNØT45 carbon wheels.
The Hi-Mod models start at £5,499.99 (with Shimano Dura Ace mechanical groupset), and the basic SuperSix Evo starts at £1,999.99 with Shimano 105 and rim brakes.
Cannondale also offers women’s specific models of their bikes. These have the same frames, but with a smaller size option – from a 44cm – and shorter stems, narrower handlebars, and women’s saddles. We chose the women’s SuperSix Evo as our women’s bike of the year in 2016.
At the time of writing, there are still some 2019 models available, and if you want to know more about them, we have a handy guide to the range.
Cannondale CAAD13 2020 road bike
Aluminium is still a popular choice for racing bikes. Even though it is heavier than the best carbon, it can often compete with cheap carbon – and it is more durable.
The Cannondale CAAD (Cannondale Advanced Aluminium Design) has gone through many versions, and the latest one is the CAAD13.
The CAAD12 was very well received – it got a 10/10 score and an Editor’s Choice award from Cycling Weekly in 2018. The new version is more aerodynamic and more comfortable.
The new CAAD13 has a more aerodynamic shape
The new shape of the CAAD13 divided opinions. It moved away from the traditional round tubes that the model was known for, and adopted truncated airfoil shapes to reduce drag – by up to 30 per cent according to Cannondale.
The comfort was improved by dropping the seat stays – a common technique, but one that might not please everyone’s eyes.
The geometry is not very different from the SuperSix, in fact the stack, reach, head tube angle and seat tube angle are the same, as well as the wheelbase.
CAAD13 models start from £1,599.99 with Shimano 105, while the top-end model comes with SRAM Force E-Tap AXS for £4799.99.
There are also some CAAD12 models still available, and Cannondale also has the CAAD Optimo model, an entry-level version with prices starting from £649.99 with a Shimano Claris groupset.
Cannondale Synapse 2020 road bike
Not everyone wants to race. The Synapse is Cannondale’s endurance bike. The Synapse has a more relaxed geometry, a greater focus on comfort and since 2018 it even has mounts for mudguards.
The Synapse is only available with disc brakes, and comes in aluminium or carbon versions.
Comfort is important for an endurance bike, and SAVE is used across the models. Cannondale also uses a special 25.4mm seat post that offers more compliance, and the seat stays and fork are designed to do the same.
The top-end models also have a ‘Power Pyramid’ bottom bracket that places material where it is most effective for power transfer. A test done at the Zedler Institute test lab showed that the bottom bracket and head tube of the Hi-Mod Synapse were stiffer than those of leading endurance bikes like the Specialized Roubaix Pro, Trek Domane SLR, BMC Roadmachine 01 and Canyon Endurace CF SLX.
Cannondale Synapse carbon models start from £1,699.99 with Shimano Tiagra groupset, and go up to £7,999.99 with Hi-Mod frame and SRAM Red E-Tap AXS groupset.
There are also aluminium models, from £849.99 with Shimano Sora groupset, up to £1199.99 with Shimano 105 groupset.
