supersix evo 2 red - Kenda

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“The huge tubes and junctions make the Trigon extremely stiff under load. There’s a real spark to the acceleration when you dig in” Mavics on the Cannondale and the Stevens, so acceleration is noticeably sharper and they help the Trigon to climb damn near as well as the lighter SuperSix Evo. The rim depth gives a real aero benefit too. Don’t expect them to be as fast as Zipp 404s just because they’re 58mm, or as stable in crosswinds – the profile isn’t that advanced – but they definitely carry speed better than basic aluminium rims. Of the four bikes here, the Trigon is the best equipped to do without a wheel upgrade. That said, we had a chance to ride the Trigon on some super-light and aero Enve 3.4s and it was amazing. With so much rigidity in the front end of the frame and the fork, tackling descents and corners at speed is big fun and never less than confident. The braking is strong too. Like the Scott, the Trigon takes a bit of the sting out of poor road surfaces but it can’t absorb them like the Stevens or Cannondale. You sense that nothing was going to stand in the way of the RQC-29 being the stiffest, meanest and most aggressive race bike possible. If that sounds like the sort of bike you want then you won’t care about a few bumps either. The cockpit manages to be both vibration dampening and stiff, and the wing-shape tops give a large area to rest your palms. Various bends are available to order. If you’re hung up on brand image, you’ll have to pay a lot more for something this good. conS proS VerdicT Stiff, rewarding frame feels better and better the harder you ride it No corners cut in the spec, full carbon clinchers save on upgrades Does the bare minimum to smooth out the road for you Colour scheme is starting to look outdated Performance Value oVerall by any other name this is a £6,000 superbike. the trigon delivers an exciting and focused ride from a very thorough package february 2012 119
The BIke TEST cannondale supersix evo 2 red £3,99 5 cannondale.com a cutting-edge frame with a great drivetrain and worthy wheels makes the cannondale a bargain, even at this price W e’re not forgetting for one moment that £4,000 is a lot of money but this bike is very good value. The only frame you can buy that’s lighter – Cervélo’s r5ca – costs twice as much as this whole bike. rather than keep their special frame as an ultra-exclusive halo product, Cannondale have built up this one to a price that’s in reach for many more buyers. FRAmE AND FORKS Efficiency is the buzzword for the SuperSix Evo. Cannondale pursued it by targeting weight, stiffness, compliance and drag. A few years ago, not AngleS 6 1 2 head angle seat angle lengThS 120 february 2012 2 7 5 9 many people thought frames could ever get this light – a real 710g. According to Cannondale, their new internal moulding process is the key to making such a light frame as it allows tight control of fibre placing. The fork, seat stays and seat tube all feature ‘Speed Save flex zones’ which provide some vertical compliance for comfort. Cannondale also claim that they reduce rolling resistance and actually make you faster. To improve aerodynamics Cannondale simply reduced the frontal area by using smaller diameter tubes. The head tube is down to 1 1/4” for the lower race, and the fork and down tube have been slimmed down by 20 and 11 per cent respectively. This 4 3 8 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 top tube length cockpit length seat tube length standover chainstay height length bb height 73° 73.5° 56cm 39.5cm 54cm 80.4 cm 40.5cm 26.8cm 99.1cm 10.8cm 15.5cm 1 10 Size tested: 56cm wheel- base head tube neatly avoids the compromises that affect every aero road bike bar the Scott Foil. Cannondale say that the Evo frame has achieved a record stiffness-to-weight (STW) score of 142.3Nm/deg/kg in an independent test. However, we’d always like to see an outright stiffness figure too because STW ratios favour very light frames yet when you’re riding you feel the stiffness more than the weight. In short, it’s no substitute for road testing. ThE KIT The Evo 2 Red has been built down to a price point but there really isn’t anything bolted to it that disappoints. The groupset is SRAM’s top-of-therange Red and it’s complete except for the Force chain and cassette. The saddle is a high quality Fizik Antares and FSA supply their lightweight carbon SL-K seat post and stem along with their 7075 alloy Wing Pro Compact handlebar. All of the above, and even the Schwalbe Ultremo ZX tyres, feature small green flashes that create a smart finish. It’s understated without being dull. As usual, you can choose between standard or compact gearing. This bike came with the latter and an 11-26 cassette, so no matter how spectacularly you blow up on a ride you’ll have a gear with which to drag yourself home. The most obvious cost saving in the spec is the Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels, the same ones as fitted to the much less expensive Stevens. Nevertheless, they are good quality, reasonably light wheels that should be a bearable trade-off if the frame delivers on its promises. ThE RIDE The SuperSix Evo 2 is instantly and emphatically impressive. It feels fast straight away, wherever you’re riding. It’s so light that the response to any extra effort is electric. If we didn’t know better, we’d The Evo is peppered with details in Cannondale’s corporate green, including on the Fizik Antares saddle Ksyrium Elites wheels are a highlight on the £3K Stevens, more of an acceptable compromise against the frame here The cranks are actually SRAM Red with Cannondale graphics. BB30 is used, of course, as Cannondale invented it guess the Ksyrium Elites are ultra-light, pro-issue race wheels. The frame really flatters them because there’s no way that a mid-range wheel should feel this responsive. It’s to their great credit that the wheels don’t feel like a ball and chain on this bike. An upgrade to something like Mavic’s R-Sys SLR, let alone Zipp 303s, would unleash another level of performance again but you’ll never resent refitting these wheels. Uphill sprint efforts confirm
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Page 7: The BIke TEST Trigon rqc-29 £3,849
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supersix evo 2 red - Kenda

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