How is green classic Cannondale? It's only since Liquigas team that there has been green everywhere. I'm not quite in TriSliceRS category but I had 8 Cannondales up until ~2008 when I switched to another C brand. None of which were green! A couple were red because of Saeco team, that was very much the theme for a while.

Of course, that little rant has nothing to do with the fact I think this bike package is awesome.

This green :)



Frankly, I love this bike. It might be my favorite bike (don't tell the others). It could almost be a proper 2-in-1 XC and gravel bike if you could get a bigger gear on the bike.

For full disclosure, this includes all C'dales that I've bought since coming state-side in 1994 and includes bikes purchased by me for myself or my family members. :-)


Funny thing is, my go-to bike color is white. It sometimes takes years to get a white c'dale to come back around.

Ironically, our Tri-kit is lime green and our local bike shop is fluro green. Just can't get away from it.

But... At this point I am gonna have to give it up and go Black.

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________________________________________________
Proud member of FISHTWITCH: beating you to T1 for over a decade, and working on beating you to T2...

Damon,

Nice work on this bike (included all components) and on the white paper !

One thing I'd like to ask you about in the White Paper, about tube shapes :

"The specific tube shapes used on SystemSix are also
dictated by the strict rules of the UCI. The critical one being
the collection of 80mm boxes that dictate the maximum
depth of the tubes. The UCI rule states that the main tubes
of a bicycle must be no less than 25mm and no deeper
than 80mm. To understand the implications, consider an
airfoil which is a slender body. Typically an airfoil has a
thickness that is < 30% of the length. For a 25mm wide
tube this would make the length 83mm. This means that
any true airfoil will need to be truncated in order to meet
the UCI rules."


--> Clear that 3:1 is gone so the limit are min width 25mm, max depth with cut view perpendicular to tube lenght is 80mm, so what you say is easy to understand for a head tube for example (which can be almost vertical), but now if we consider a down tube, if you cut it with horizontal views the section actually is much longer than 80mm while the perpendicular cut view can be 80mm (to satisfy UCI rule)... ok a downtube with 25mm width creates other problem in term of stiffness and there are bottles to "hide" behind it... but in general the NACA shape has to take into account the angle of the tube relative to horizontal, don't you think ?

So...that means on wheels alone, it adds MORE than 3W...

Now then, if all that other shaping was also done with an integrated rim brake setup, instead of slapping on standard calipers and exposed cabling... ;-)

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

Wait a minute...based on the Crr differences, that means the Rubino Pro Speed would need to be ~5W faster aerodynamically across the board in order to "out perform" it, on an overall system basis, no? Are you saying that's the case?

A couple things about the Rubino Pro Speed give me pause after looking at the BRR review. First, there's no puncture strip and the tread is thin. Secondly, the scores for tread puncture resistance, and especially sidewall puncture resistance, are among the lowest he's measured. If people think a Corsa Speed is "fragile", then this is even more so...and it's not even TLR. Thirdly, my past experiences with similar Vittoria models using that 220tpi nylon casing (Diamante Pro Light) tell me that these will probably suffer sidewall cuts just looking at them...just sayin'...




Well...according to Slowman, the GP4Ks don't actually have "consistently great aero performance"...so, I'm not sure that's saying much

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

BTW, the 3T Aeronova and Aerotundo bars also allow clip-ons to be mounted next to the stem...just another option.

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

I have no problem with pink on my women's bike; in fact, I own a pink, black and grey WSD roadie and love the heck out of it. Colour options are nice, but they're nice for everyone to have, not just women.

In Cannondale's defense - the women's version has mechanical DuraAce and the same-priced unisex version has Ultegra Di2. So there is an argument to be made that it's not a lesser groupset, just different. Why Cannondale would think that women would not want electronic shifting when men would though.... that's beyond me.

I do have a problem with the underspec'ing of women's bikes, and the fact that the range options are so much more limited. In fairness, this is not an exclusive issue to Cannondale, but if you're going to make women's bikes, don't just offer us one model with components that are inconsistent with the men's offerings at the same price point, or that miss out important parts of the range. (Look at Liv's single CX offering vs. Giant's CX fleet, as one example.) I'm just a hair under 5'4"; I don't always fit well - or at all - on men's bikes. It's nice that the SystemSix comes in the same size run for all models - but sure does raise the question of the difference in spec for the money.

(Women-specific be damned, I'm all in for the $6K version in obnoxious grellow if anyone's offering....)

Hi, Cannondale women's product manager finally chiming in here... here to tell you that spec and pricing decisions were in fact deliberate. Of course we would rather offer the very top of the line Dura Ace Di2 in a women's version, but instead saved the rider money and lightened the bike weight by giving her Dura Ace mechanical on a hi-mod frame. I don't actually see any instances of lesser spec on this bike: hi-mod frame, KNØT64 wheels, Dura Ace groupset, carbon saddle, Hollowgram cranks with power measurement are all pretty reasonable here.

Bar & stem was not a price-based decision; it was one of initial projected availability dates on our narrower-width handlebar. As it turns out our KNØT bar and stem will be available aftermarket very soon so it will be an option to swap it out, for no more hassle than on other road bikes. The women's bike comes spec'd with slightly narrower handlebars that will fit female riders better from the get-go. Other spec differences are the Fabric Line saddle, which has a shape preferred by our female testers and racers, and shorter 165mm cranks on the smallest sizes.

As for the different appearance of the photographed women's SystemSix, the shape of a size 51 frame is indeed different from a size 56. But the average height of a woman in North America is a little under 5'4", so we want a woman of average height to be able to see the bike we made for her. I personally apologize to approximately 50% of the female population who will need a bigger or smaller SystemSix, but if they contact me directly I will be happy to share some images and help guide their size choice should they have any difficulty deciding. That isn't sarcasm: based on my personal feelings for SystemSix I just want every female cyclist to get to see how rad this bike is!

And as for the color, we know it's personal, but when you see this bike in person you will wish you were the 6'3" dude in our office who went through the trouble to order a custom 62 in this paint. We keep having to wipe the drool off the sample Women's SystemSix we have on display in our hallway. Sure, plenty of male and female people don't want a pink bike but they haven't seen this one yet. And as noted elsewhere, we welcome anyone to pursue the color they like best, even if they can only do so by trying to hold the wheel of a woman on a fast acid strawberry bike...

Thanks for pointing out the Dura Ace / Ultegra hierarchy, UK2ME... agreed electronic is nice and we would have liked to have more women's options, but opted to go with the mechanical Dura Ace instead of taking the weight penalty for Ultegra Di2.

Thanks for the details. Personally, I'd like to see a non Hi-MOD, Ultegra spec women's version as an entry point to the line with those women-specific features you mentioned - considering that almost any bike I buy has to be custom ordered from the manufacturer anyway, I don't think it would be a huge burden to offer.

Hi pyf,

Yes, we call your horizontal section a "waterline section" and aerodynamic design in the SystemSix was done in planes parallel to the local flow all over the bike. So the effective aspect ratio is much more than 3:1, or even 80:25. In fact, if you could look in our CAD design, you'd see the elongated airfoils driving the surface contours, not the UCI's 80mm sections...

You're also right that 25mm is no longer the best performing width, either. But happily (at least for a road bike), a wider down tube works better (lower drag) with bottles, and of course really helps stiffness, so we can save weight as well.

Cheers,
Damon

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Damon Rinard
Engineering Manager,
CSG Road Engineering Department
Cannondale & GT Bicycles
(ex-Cervelo, ex-Trek, ex-Velomax, ex-Kestrel)

Hi TriSliceRS,

One reason white bikes are less common: the paint is heavier (weighs more). A smart product manager allows white usually only on a particular model which might be less weight sensitive, i.e. usually the carbon version, rarely the Hi-MOD version.

Cheers,
Damon

P.S. Thank you for paying my salary, LOL!

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Damon Rinard
Engineering Manager,
CSG Road Engineering Department
Cannondale & GT Bicycles
(ex-Cervelo, ex-Trek, ex-Velomax, ex-Kestrel)

Hi Tom,

Yes.



Yes, speed costs, how fast do you want to go? (j/k)

Actually, we've been riding the Rubino Pro Speed a lot and haven't suffered the punctures we though we might. But the Rubino Pro (not the Speed version) has the same great low-drag shape, with more puncture protection. And of course other tires (like the GP4ksII or Corsa series) also fit the KNOT 64 wheels. And the rims are tubeless ready so you also have that option.



LOL, "Show me the data" Ha ha.

Cheers,
Damon

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Damon Rinard
Engineering Manager,
CSG Road Engineering Department
Cannondale & GT Bicycles
(ex-Cervelo, ex-Trek, ex-Velomax, ex-Kestrel)

Can you let us know the top tubeless tire contender(s) with these wheels? Some of us just love spraying our riding buddy wheelsuckers with sealant when we get a puncture.

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Amateur recreational hobbyist cyclist
https://www.strava.com/athletes/337152
https://vimeo.com/user11846099

Hi Staer,

I hope you got to see Nina's (Cannondale women's product manager) response above.

Also, here's a photo of one of the SystemSixes of EF/Drapoac p/b Cannondale pro team, in a size 54 (might be a reasonable size for your GF?), with a moderately sloping top tube, looks pretty good (even pro men ride it!):



Source:
https://www.facebook.com/.../?type=3&theater

Cheers,
Damon

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Damon Rinard
Engineering Manager,
CSG Road Engineering Department
Cannondale & GT Bicycles
(ex-Cervelo, ex-Trek, ex-Velomax, ex-Kestrel)

Hi Robert,

Good question, but we've decided to mask the identities of the tires we've tested.

Cheers,
Damon

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Damon Rinard
Engineering Manager,
CSG Road Engineering Department
Cannondale & GT Bicycles
(ex-Cervelo, ex-Trek, ex-Velomax, ex-Kestrel)

I did see the reply. Thanks.

That paint job and setup looks fire.

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Group Eleven – Websites for Athletes / mikael.racing / @mstaer

Thanks for coming on here and addressing these questions.

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Group Eleven – Websites for Athletes / mikael.racing / @mstaer

Darn it. I was hoping to catch you on some post-surgery meds with your guard down. Hope you're feeling better, and thx for fielding all our questions. I'm sure there will be more.

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Amateur recreational hobbyist cyclist
https://www.strava.com/athletes/337152
https://vimeo.com/user11846099

Hi Robert,

LOL! Yeah, the drugs were good (too good?), but I got off them as soon as I realized they were a major factor in my inability to go #2... (Sorry if TMI)

Cheers,
Damon

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Damon Rinard
Engineering Manager,
CSG Road Engineering Department
Cannondale & GT Bicycles
(ex-Cervelo, ex-Trek, ex-Velomax, ex-Kestrel)

THANKS Cannondale for joining us here on the interwebs/Slowtwitch!!! Great to see / hear your participation. Love the work you do!!!

1) It seems Japan has been able to custom order C'dale bikes.... When's that coming State-side? :-) (I always feel C'dale coddles the market in Europe and now Asia (?) and forgets about us loyal "made-in-the-USA" (you know what I mean) fans here.) But, thanks Damon for the (white) paint weight enlightenment.

2) It's rare to see (a variety of) these high end C'dales in the stores. We end up special ordering, and then you are locked in. Let us (me? DM?) know if any store will have a selection of these SuperSixes in stock. I'd like to see Black and Volt side by side. I travel a fair amount, so might be able to stop by a bigger dealer.

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________________________________________________
Proud member of FISHTWITCH: beating you to T1 for over a decade, and working on beating you to T2...

Along those lines, it’s interesting how the Felt AR held its own quite well in this test. Given the OEM spec of the standard Dura-Ace caliper brake, I’d bet the gap would shrink a fair bit with something like a TriRig Omega instead. It’s close enough I wouldn’t be surprised if a different choice of bar/stem/wheel/tire/groupset/skewer could even put it ahead of the SystemSix. I also wouldn’t be shocked if it couldn’t; I have no data to say for sure.

Of course, I can’t say I love dealing with the BB mounted rear brake and there’s certainly no room to cram in a 30mm tire. Horses for courses, I guess.

Damnit, I need you guys to offer that color scheme to us mortals! ;)

Got to see the bike at ATOC a few weeks ago and it looked awesome. I'm in the market for a new road bike for road racing (but first bike with with Jim at ERO) and hopefully this will fit me. And I've started the process of convincing my wife why I need a new bike but that'll require quite a bit more work :-D .