Cyclist
Cannondale SuperSix Evo vs SystemSix vs Synapse: Which is the best Cannondale road bike for you?
Cannondale has a deserved reputation for the quality of its road race bikes. The original SuperSix was a classic round tubed road bike renowned for its ride quality and low weight and before that Cannondale’s alloy bikes were prominent in the pro peloton.
Cannondale introduced the SystemSix in 2019 to fill a gap for an aero road bike in its range. But in the intervening period since, the SuperSix Evo has had a radical makeover, sprouting its own aero features. The current fourth generation SuperSix Evo is raced by the EF Education pro teams and claimed to have aerodynamics close to those of the SystemSix.
Cannondale was also an early proponent of the endurance bike class. The Synapse was launched 15 years ago, designed to offer a more comfortable ride for those who were not competing, but also used to good effect by the pros during cobbled races.
The latest generation Synapse comes in both carbon and aluminium options, with the latter offering the most affordable entry into Cannondale’s disc brake road bike range. Cannondale continues to sell its CAAD alloy bikes too – we’ve more on the CAAD13 and CAAD Optimo below.
So how do the current generation Cannondale SuperSix Evo, SystemSix and Synapse ranges stack up, what specs are available and at what prices?
Read on for a complete breakdown of Cannondale’s UK road bike offering and our recommendations on how to choose the best Cannondale road bike for you.
Cannondale SuperSix Evo vs SystemSix vs Synapse: Key features at a glance
Cannondale SuperSix Evo
- Aero/lightweight race bike
- Three frame grades: Lab71, Hi-Mod, standard
- BSA threaded bottom bracket
- 30mm tyre clearance
Cannondale SystemSix
- Aggressively aero
- Two frame grades: Hi-Mod, standard
- PF30a bottom bracket
- More limited spec options than the SuperSix
- 30mm tyre clearance
Cannondale Synapse
- Endurance road bike
- Two frame materials: carbon, alloy
- RLE carbon bike specs with lights and radar powered by a central battery
- External cabling from handlebars into frame
- 35mm tyre clearance (carbon)/32mm (alloy)
Cannondale SuperSix vs SystemSix vs Synapse: aerodynamics
Cannondale says that the latest 2023 generation of the SuperSix Evo is 12 watts more efficient than its predecessor at 45kph, despite the visual similarities, and that it’s more aero than many of the best aero bikes.
The SuperSix Evo has Cannondale’s Delta Steerer design, which allows for internal cable routing and also results in a narrow head tube to reduce drag. The rear of the bike is skinny too, so much so that the Shimano Di2 battery has to be housed inside the down tube, as it won’t fit in the seat tube or seatpost. Cannondale offers aero bottles and cages on the bike, which it says actually make the SuperSix Evo more aero, although the cages can also accept a standard round bottle.
The SuperSix Evo has a one piece carbon bar and stem on higher specs, in contrast to the SystemSix, which has a separate proprietary HollowGram Knot bar and stem, allowing you to adjust the bar pitch through eight degrees.
The SystemSix has deep aero tube sections throughout. It’s a design feature that newer aero road bikes, such as the Giant Propel, are moving away from in favour of a thinner seat tube that’s potentially more compliant. When reviewed, we reckoned that the SystemSix’s ride comfort was adequate rather than class-leading, even back in 2019, and aero bike design has moved on since then.
Carbon Synapse bikes have aero tube profiles as well. The top spec Synapse has a separate handlebar and stem design called the Save bar that, like the SystemSix’s design, allows you to adjust the bar pitch. Cannondale says that it also helps absorb vibration. It doesn’t integrate the cables though and they run externally into the downtube. Other specs have a more standard separate alloy bar and stem.
Cannondale SuperSix vs SystemSix vs Synapse: standards
Cannondale isn’t a brand to stick with the status quo and has over time used a number of proprietary designs in its bikes, from the Ai rear triangle and symmetrically dished rear wheel on its original Topstone gravel bike to the 650b wheels and Lefty suspension fork on the Slate. Both of these are gravel bikes and Cannondale was an early adopter of the gravel genre too.
It developed the BB30 bottom bracket standard and was a big proponent of the advantages of a pressfit bottom bracket, making the BB30 standard openly available to its competitors, to help encourage its take-up.
So it’s something of a surprise that the fourth generation SuperSix Evo has reverted to a threaded BSA bottom bracket shell, which Cannondale says is both simple and reliable. It shouldn’t creak either.
The Synapse also has a BSA threaded bottom bracket. The SystemSix retains a pressfit bottom bracket though, following the PF30a standard.
Another area where Cannondale has played with a variant then reverted to a more standard design is thru-axles. The SystemSix has the Mavic Speed Release system, while both the SuperSix and Synapse now use a standard thru-axle design.
It also flirted with an ultra-narrow 25.4mm seatpost on the previous version of the Synapse, while the current design has a standard width 27.2mm post.
In general, the trend with the current generation of Cannondale bikes is to swap back to established industry standards, which improves interchangeability and increases the number of options if you want to change components.
Cannondale SuperSix vs SystemSix vs Synapse: weight
Cannondale doesn’t in general quote complete bike weights, except for the Synapse Carbon models, which we’ve noted below for each bike.
There are some claimed frame weights for the SuperSix Evo. Here, it claims a 770g weight for the SuperSix Evo Lab71 frame, 810g for the Hi-Mod frame and 915g for the standard modulus frameset, all fully painted and in size 56, giving you an idea of weight saving from the higher spec carbon fibre.
We’ve reviewed at least one spec of each Cannondale bike. We weighed the top spec SystemSix at 7.7kg back in 2019 and the SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod 1 at 7.2kg in 2023. The top spec Synapse, meanwhile, tipped our scales at 8.2kg, although around 500g of that is the SmartSense system – more on that later. So the weights of the bikes which we reviewed were competitive, although not class-leading.
Cannondale SuperSix vs SystemSix vs Synapse: geometry
There’s actually not much to differentiate the geometries of Cannondale’s three bike ranges.
The SystemSix’s reach is slightly longer across the range, by up to 9mm, than the SuperSix Evo’s. The stack is comparable between the two bikes though. As you’d expect for an endurance bike, the Synapse is taller, although its reach is not dissimilar to the other two bikes. There are slight differences between the alloy and carbon Synapse frames’ geometry too.
There are subtle differences in other measurements too, such as the wheelbase, although these don’t consistently point to a difference in ride characteristics. Instead, the Synapse’s endurance focus is likely to come more from its in-built compliance zones.
The differences in tyre clearance between Cannondale’s race and endurance bikes is more marked though.
The SuperSix Evo’s 30mm clearance is a little narrow by the standards of modern road race bikes. While some higher spec SuperSix Evo bikes make use of this with 28mm or 29mm tyres, many specs are equipped with 25mm tyres. All the SystemSix specs include 25mm tyres.
A few years ago, that would have been considered on the wide side, but many bikes are equipped with 28s now, while Canyon road race bikes, for example, have a mixed 25mm front/28mm rear set-up.
The Synapse Carbon goes wider, with 35mm tyre clearance and includes mudguard mounts, while the alloy Synapse’s tyre clearance is 32mm. Chainstay length is 5mm longer on the Synapse to accommodate the wider tyres and it should also give the bike a more planted ride feel than the SuperSix Evo and the SystemSix.
The Synapse range is equipped with 30mm tyres throughout. Giant fits 32mm tyres to its Defy, although the Canyon Endurace is equipped with 30mms.
Cannondale SuperSix vs SystemSix vs Synapse: frame grades
Cannondale offers three carbon frame grades, plus alloy, although not all carbon grades are available for each bike model.
The SuperSix Evo is the only Cannondale road bike to get the top Lab71 frame. This uses higher grade carbon fibre and resin to reduce weight. Below that, both the SuperSix Evo and the SystemSix can be bought either in Hi-Mod or standard modulus carbon. As noted above, the Hi-Mod frames offer lower weight than the standard modulus option.
With compliance its calling card, the Synapse frame is offered in one carbon grade, designed to provide ride smoothing rather than stiffness. The frame incorporates flex zones in the rear triangle, which increase vertical compliance and vibration damping.
Cannondale SuperSix vs SystemSix vs Synapse: sizing
The Cannondale SuperSix Evo Lab71 is available in six sizes: 48, 51, 54, 56, 58 and 61. The SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod adds a size 44.
There are just five sizes available in the UK for the SystemSix Hi-Mod aero bike: 51, 54, 56, 58 and 60, although the standard modulus frame adds 47 and 62 frame sizes.
The Synapse Carbon has even fewer sizes on offer: 51, 54, 56 and 58, while the Synapse alloy is available in sizes 44, 48, 51, 54, 56, 58 and 61.
Cannondale SuperSix vs SystemSix vs Synapse: groupsets
Cannondale’s UK specs are quite Shimano-heavy with relatively few SRAM specs sold. It offers the full range of Shimano groupsets from 12-speed electronic Dura-Ace right down to 9-speed mechanical Sora across its range.
There are SRAM Red specs available for the SuperSix Evo and SystemSix and a Force spec for the SuperSix Evo though. While many brands offer SRAM Rival as a lowest spec with electronic shifting, there are no Rival-equipped bikes in Cannondale’s UK line-up.
It’s increasingly common for bike makers to offer a power meter on their higher spec bikes. Power meters are trickling down to mid-spec bikes too, particularly since SRAM offers single sided power meters at Rival and Apex level which are comparatively inexpensive. But in Cannondale’s range it’s only the Lab71 grade SuperSix Evo that has power meter options, and only in the Team and SRAM Red builds.
Cannondale SmartSense system
The majority of bikes in the Cannondale Synapse Carbon range are sold equipped with SmartSense. This is Cannondale’s system that includes a front and rear light that adapt to the ambient light level. Most specs also include a rearview radar developed in association with Garmin. They’re all powered by a single battery, which is mounted towards the base of the down tube.
It’s fair to say that the jury is still out on SmartSense. On the one hand, it improves riders’ safety by making them more visible and providing an alert when vehicles approach from behind. On the other, it adds around 500g to the bike’s weight.
When he reviewed the Cannondale Synapse Carbon 1 RLE with SmartSense, tech editor Sam Challis said, ‘I couldn’t help feeling that the extra half a kilo neutered the bike uphill somewhat, toning down a ride feel that has always before felt pleasantly lively.’
If you like the idea of having an integrated light system, the SuperSix Evo and alloy Synapse frames are also compatible with SmartSense, although it’s not offered as standard.
Cannondale equips its bikes with its own front wheel sensor, which measures the bike’s speed and distance travelled independently from a cycling computer. It links to the Cannondale phone app to remind you of service intervals too. On SmartSense-equipped bikes, it also turns on the lights and radar automatically once you start to move.
Cannondale CAAD alloy bike range
Don’t discount Cannondale’s alloy CAAD bikes. Before carbon fibre took over as the material of choice for performance road bikes, Cannondale was an early mover from steel to alloy and its CAAD range was one of the foremost pro-level race bikes, ridden by sprinter Mario Cipollini.
Now incremented to CAAD13, Cannondale’s alloy bikes are still among the best aluminium road bikes available. With prices from £2,250 up to £3,400, the CAAD13 range has aero profiles and is competing with carbon on price as well as performance. There’s a more affordable rim brake CAAD Optimo range that sits below the CAAD13 and is priced from £900 to £1,300.
Cannondale SuperSix vs SystemSix vs Synapse: ranges compared
Cannondale’s road bikes are available in a good spread of specs. While you can pay over £10,000 for the highest spec road race bikes and the SystemSix aero bike doesn’t dip below £5,000, the SuperSix Evo costs £3,000 in its most affordable spec.
The Synapse endurance bike has even more affordable options, with the lowest spec carbon model priced at £2,400 and alloy bikes ranging in price from £1,900 to £1,100.
Cannondale SuperSix bike range
The SuperSix Evo is available with three grades of carbon frame: standard, Hi-Mod and the newest, lightest Lab71.
SuperSix Evo Lab71 Team
The Lab71 Team spec of the SuperSix Evo is an EF Pro Cycling team replica bike and equipped with the same components as the team rides, including an FSA power meter.
- Frame/fork: SuperSix Evo Lab71 Series 0 Carbon
- Handlebars: Cannondale SystemBar R-One one-piece
- Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace 12-speed/FSA Powerbox K-Force Team Edition, 52/36t, 11-30t
- Power meter: FSA Powerbox double sided
- Wheels: Vision Metron 60 SL carbon
- Saddle: Prologo Dimension Nack NDR carbon rail
- Price: £12,500
SuperSix Evo Lab71 (SRAM Red)
As well as the Team spec, the top spec SuperSix Evo is also available equipped with SRAM Red AXS or Shimano Dura-Ace, both at the same price.
- Frame/fork: SuperSix Evo Lab71 Series 0 Carbon
- Handlebars: Cannondale SystemBar R-One one-piece
- Groupset: SRAM Red AXS 12-speed, 48/34t, 10-28t
- Power meter: SRAM Red double sided
- Wheels: Reserve Turbulent Aero 42/49 carbon on DT Swiss 180 hubs
- Saddle: Fizik Vento Antares 00 carbon
- Price: £12,500
SuperSix Evo Lab71 (Shimano Dura-Ace)
The final Lab71 spec SuperSix Evo is equipped with Shimano Dura-Ace and Cannondale’s in-house HollowGram carbon wheels, but without a power meter.
- Frame/fork: SuperSix Evo Lab71 Series 0 Carbon
- Handlebars: Cannondale SystemBar R-One one-piece
- Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace 12-speed, 52/36t, 11-30t
- Power meter: No
- Wheels: HollowGram R-SL 50 carbon
- Saddle: Fizik Vento Argo 00 carbon
- Price: £12,500
SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod 1
Swap down to the Hi-Mod frameset and Cannondale still gives you a high spec, with a SRAM Red AXS groupset, although without a power meter.
- Frame/fork: SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod Carbon
- Handlebars: Cannondale SystemBar R-One one-piece
- Groupset: SRAM Red AXS 12-speed, 48/35t, 10-28t
- Power meter: No
- Wheels: HollowGram R-SL 50 carbon
- Saddle: Prologo Dimension Nack NDR carbon rail
- Price: £10,500
SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod 2
Alongside the current generation Hi-Mod 2, Cannondale also sells the previous year’s bike, with a slightly different spec, also equipped with Ultegra and priced at £7,250, although availability may be limited.
- Frame/fork: SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod
- Handlebars: Vision Trimax Carbon Aero on Cannondale C1 Conceal stem
- Groupset: Shimano Ultegra 12-speed, 52/36t, 11-30t
- Power meter: No
- Wheels: HollowGram R-SL 50 carbon
- Saddle: Prologo Dimension TiRox NDR titanium rail
- Price: £8,250
SuperSix Evo 1
Stepping down to the standard modulus carbon frame, the SuperSix Evo 1 has a SRAM Force groupset and slightly lower spec HollowGram wheels. Claimed frame weight increases to 915g.
- Frame/fork: SuperSix Evo
- Handlebars: Vision Trimax Carbon Aero on Cannondale C1 Conceal stem
- Groupset: SRAM Force AXS 12-speed, 48/35, 10-33t
- Power meter: No
- Wheels: HollowGram R-S 50 carbon
- Saddle: Prologo Dimension TiRox NDR titanium rail
- Price: £6,750
SuperSix Evo 2
There’s a small spec downgrade for the 2 spec from the 1 spec bike, with a wheelset change and Shimano Ultegra replacing SRAM Force AXS. There’s a run-off bike with a previous spec, priced at £5,500.
- Frame/fork: SuperSix Evo
- Handlebars: Vision Trimax Carbon Aero on Cannondale C1 Conceal stem
- Groupset: Shimano Ultegra 12-speed, 52/36, 11-30t
- Power meter: No
- Wheels: HollowGram R 45 carbon
- Saddle: Prologo Dimension TiRox NDR titanium rail
- Price: £6,250
SuperSix Evo 3
The 3 spec bike swaps to a Shimano 105 Di2 compact crankset with wider range 11-34t cassette, along with alloy bars and wheel rims and a stainless steel rail Prologo saddle.
- Frame/fork: SuperSix Evo
- Handlebars: Vision Trimax Aero on Cannondale C1 Conceal stem
- Groupset: Shimano 105 Di2 12-speed, 50/34, 11-34t
- Power meter: No
- Wheels: DT Swiss R470 alloy rims on Formula hubs
- Saddle: Prologo Nago RS STN steel rail
- Price: £4,000
SuperSix Evo 4
The final SuperSix Evo spec is the 4, which has mechanical Shimano 105 shifting with the 11-36t cassette option and another slight wheelset downgrade.
- Frame/fork: SuperSix Evo
- Handlebars: Vision Trimax Compact on Cannondale C1 Conceal stem
- Groupset: Shimano 105 12-speed, 50/34, 11-36t
- Power meter: No
- Wheels: Maddux 3.0 alloy rims on Formula hubs
- Saddle: Prologo Nago RS STN steel rail
- Price: £3,000
SuperSix Evo frameset
Cannondale also sells the SuperSix Evo as a frameset only. In Lab71 spec carbon, this is priced at £4,750 and offers five colourways including two team finishes, while in Hi-Mod carbon the price is £3,750, with two colour options.
Cannondale SystemSix bike range
The SystemSix aero bike range isn’t quite as deep as the SuperSix Evo, with just four specs, plus two previous year’s specs, available across standard modulus and hi-mod frames.
SystemSix Hi-Mod Dura-Ace Di2
The top SystemSix spec is equipped with Shimano Dura-Ace, along with Cannondale HollowGram Knot 64mm deep carbon wheels and HollowGram Knot bar and stem with integrated cabling. There’s also a run-off spec with 11-speed Dura-Ace, priced at £10,000.
- Frame/fork: SystemSix Hi-Mod
- Handlebars: HollowGram Knot SystemBar carbon on HollowGram Knot alloy stem
- Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace 12-speed, 52/36t, 11-30t
- Power meter: No
- Wheels: HollowGram 64 SL Knot carbon
- Saddle: Fizik Tempo Argo R3 Kium rail
- Price: £11,500
SystemSix Hi-Mod Red eTap AXS
Cannondale is currently showing the SRAM-equipped Hi-Mod bike with first generation SRAM Red eTap AXS, rather than the updated Red AXS groupset. A lower list price than the Dura-Ace bike reflects this.
- Frame/fork: SystemSix Hi-Mod
- Handlebars: HollowGram Knot SystemBar carbon on HollowGram Knot alloy stem
- Groupset: SRAM Red eTap AXS 12-speed, 48/35, 10-28t
- Power meter: No
- Wheels: HollowGram 64 SL Knot carbon
- Saddle: Fizik Tempo Argo R3 Kium rail
- Price: £10,500
SystemSix Hi-Mod Ultegra Di2
The final Hi-Mod spec has Shimano Ultegra electronic 12-speed shifting. As with the Dura-Ace bike, there’s a run-off spec with 11-speed Ultegra Di2, priced at £7,500.
- Frame/fork: SystemSix Hi-Mod
- Handlebars: HollowGram Knot SystemBar carbon on HollowGram Knot alloy stem
- Groupset: Shimano Ultegra 12-speed, 52/36t, 11-30t
- Power meter: No
- Wheels: HollowGram 64 Knot carbon
- Saddle: Fizik Tempo Argo R5 S-Alloy rail
- Price: £8,500
SystemSix Ultegra
Finally, you can purchase the SystemSix with a standard modulus frame and equipped with mechanical 11-speed Shimano Ultegra and Vision carbon wheels. There’s a wider range of bike sizes shown, which stretches from 47 up to 62.
- Frame/fork: SystemSix
- Handlebars: HollowGram Knot SystemBar carbon on HollowGram Knot alloy stem
- Groupset: Shimano Ultegra 11-speed, 52/36t, 11-30t
- Power meter: No
- Wheels: Vision SC55 carbon
- Saddle: Fizik Aliante Delta S-Alloy rail
- Price: £5,250
Cannondale Synapse bike range
Moving on to the Synapse endurance bike, there are carbon and alloy frame bikes sold. The higher spec carbon bikes include SmartSense, while lower spec bikes are compatible with the system. Both also provide mounting points for a top tube bag and a third under-downtube bottle cage.
Synapse Carbon 1 RLE
The flagship Synapse Carbon 1 spec is equipped with Shimano Dura-Ace 12-speed with a compact crankset. Wheels are carbon HollowGram 45 SL Knot and the spec includes the SmartSense system, complete with radar.
- Frame/fork: Synapse Carbon
- Handlebars: HollowGram Save SystemBar carbon on HollowGram Save alloy stem
- Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace 12-speed, 50/34t, 11-34t
- Power meter: No
- Wheels: HollowGram 45 SL Knot carbon
- Saddle: Fizik Tempo Argo R3 Kium rail
- Claimed weight: 8.3kg
- Price: £9,000
Synapse Carbon 2 RLE
The Synapse Carbon 2 has a Shimano Ultegra electronic groupset, while it swaps the carbon bars and wheels for alloy. It includes the full SmartSense system though, including the radar.
- Frame/fork: Synapse Carbon
- Handlebars: FSA Gossamer alloy on Cannondale 2 alloy stem
- Groupset: Shimano Ultegra 12-speed, 50/34t, 11-34t
- Power meter: No
- Wheels: Fulcrum Rapid Red 500 alloy
- Saddle: Fizik Tempo Argo R5 S-Alloy rail
- Claimed weight: 8.9kg
- Price: £5,800
Synapse Carbon 3 L
The Synapse Carbon 3 spec currently shows an 11-speed Shimano 105 groupset in the UK, but 12-speed in the US and Europe. It too incorporates the SmartSense lights and central battery, but omits the rearview radar.
- Frame/fork: Synapse Carbon
- Handlebars: Cannondale 3 alloy on Cannondale 3 alloy stem
- Groupset: Shimano 105 11-speed, 50/34t, 11-34t
- Power meter: No
- Wheels: RD2.1 alloy on Formula hubs
- Saddle: Fizik Aliante Delta S-Alloy rail
- Claimed weight: 9.6kg
- Price: £3,200
Synapse Carbon 4
The final Synapse Carbon spec is not equipped with SmartSense, although it is compatible with the system. Without the battery and lights, Cannondale claims a slightly lower weight than for the 3 spec.
- Frame/fork: Synapse Carbon
- Handlebars: Cannondale 3 alloy on Cannondale 3 alloy stem
- Groupset: Shimano Tiagra 10-speed, 50/34t, 11-34t
- Power meter: No
- Wheels: RD3.1 alloy on Formula hubs
- Saddle: Fizik Aliante Delta S-Alloy rail
- Claimed weight: 9.5kg
- Price: £2,400
Synapse 1
Moving on to the alloy Synapse bikes, the 1 spec is shown in the UK with 11-speed Shimano 105, while the US spec shows 12-speed 105. SmartSense isn’t included, although the frame is compatible. There is a top tube bag sold with the bike though.
- Frame/fork: SmartForm C2 alloy frame/Synapse Carbon fork
- Handlebars: Cannondale 3 alloy on Cannondale 3 alloy stem
- Groupset: Shimano 105 11-speed, 50/34t, 11-34t
- Power meter: No
- Wheels: DT Swiss R470 DB alloy
- Saddle: Fizik Aliante Delta S-Alloy rail
- Price: £1,900
Synapse 2
The Synapse alloy 2 spec is similar to the 1 spec, except for a change to 10-speed Shimano Tiagra shifting. The top tube bag is also included.
- Frame/fork: SmartForm C2 alloy frame/Synapse Carbon fork
- Handlebars: Cannondale 3 alloy on Cannondale 3 alloy stem
- Groupset: Shimano Tiagra 10-speed, 50/34t, 11-34t
- Power meter: No
- Wheels: DT Swiss R470 DB alloy
- Saddle: Fizik Aliante Delta S-Alloy rail
- Price: £1,650
Synapse 3
The swap to 9-speed Shimano Sora on the Synapse 3 is accompanied by a change to Promax mechanical disc brakes rather than hydraulic, as there’s no Sora in-series hydraulic option. There’s no top tube bag included.
- Frame/fork: SmartForm C2 alloy frame/Synapse Carbon fork
- Handlebars: Cannondale 4 alloy on Cannondale 3 alloy stem
- Groupset: Shimano Sora 9-speed/FSA Vero Compact crankset, 50/34t, 11-34t
- Power meter: No
- Wheels: RD3.1 alloy on Formula hubs
- Saddle: Cannondale Stage CX
- Price: £1,100
Cannondale SuperSix vs SystemSix vs Synapse: which should you choose?
If you want to look fast, there’s really only one choice: the SystemSix. If you want to go fast, the SuperSix Evo rivals Cannondale’s aero bike though and makes fewer compromises to achieve its speed.
As Sam Challis said in his SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod 1 review: “If Cannondale’s aero claims about the bike are to be believed, I’m struggling to see a case now for the brand’s SystemSix, which isn’t much faster and is over a kilo heavier.”
The SystemSix is showing its age too, while the SuperSix Evo’s recent refresh has kept it reasonably up to date, although not cutting-edge in design.
For the majority of riders on UK roads, the Synapse makes a good claim to be the Cannondale bike of choice though. It’s smoother and is more likely to suit the average non-racer. The 35mm tyre clearance gives the bike all-road capabilities. The SmartSense system does add weight, but if you ride with lights that’s extra mass that you’ll probably be clamping to your bike in any case.
Read our full reviews of the Cannondale SuperSix Evo, SystemSix and Synapse Carbon to help you choose, and check out the full range at cannondale.com
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