Cannondale is launching an e-bike version of its flagship SuperSix EVO race bike. The SuperSix EVO Neo uses a Mahle ebikemotion hub motor and a hidden battery to achieve a total claimed weight of just 11.3kg in its top spec.
- Cannondale Synapse Neo SE e-road bike review
- Aero is (sort of) everything with Cannondale’s new SuperSix EVO
This isn't Cannondale's first e-road bike — the Synapse received the Neo treatment earlier this year — but the SuperSix EVO Neo is a very different machine.
While the Synapse has an aluminium frame and uses a chunky Bosch motor unit housed in the bottom bracket, the EVO Neo gets a carbon frame much like that of its unpowered counterpart, and a weight that's much closer to that of a conventional bike.
Cannondale is aiming at a slightly different market with its latest e-bike. Where the Synapse Neo is geared towards the more casual rider (one who "doesn't necessarily identify as a 'cyclist'"), the SuperSix EVO Neo is targeted at enthusiasts who might be "seeking to enhance their riding experience with a discreet boost" and who is more performance-oriented.
Like a regular SuperSix, but powered
The EVO's ebikemotion rear hub motor is the same one used on the Colnago E64, the Orbea Gain and the incredibly light Wilier Cento10 Hybrid. Like its competitors, the new Cannondale does a good job of disguising its electrickery.
That hub aside, the SuperSix EVO Neo is virtually indistinguishable from the regular race bike, with a battery that's entirely hidden from view inside the frame and an unobtrusive 'iWoc' controller on the top tube, which acts as a power switch and battery indicator.
The bike has all the same aero tube profiles and the Neo 1 and Neo 2 get that unusually wide and flat aero stem that debuted on the new standard EVO.
Brake hoses are routed through the aero cockpit and into the front of the head tube for a clean overall appearance and Cannondale says that the bike accepts 28mm tyres with plenty of room to spare.
While the standard SuperSix EVO comes in eight sizes ranging from 44cm to 62cm, the SuperSix EVO Neo will be available in just three — small, medium and large — with geometry that aligns closely with the standard bike's 51cm, 54cm, and 56cm sizes, offering a similarly aggressive riding position.
Cannondale claims that the top-spec SuperSix EVO Neo 1 weighs 11.3kg, which is more than 7kg less than the Synapse Neo SE we reviewed in July. That's thanks to the ebikemotion system, which is claimed to weigh just 3.5kg, offering an estimated range of 75km from its 250Wh battery.
There's the option to mount a range extender battery in the rear bottle cage, which apparently adds 208Wh of battery capacity and weighs 1.64kg.
As you'd expect, power assistance is limited to 25km/h (15.5mph) in Europe, while North American riders get a heady 20mph (32km/h) ceiling.
The new bike will be available imminently in three models:
SuperSix EVO Neo 1
- Drivetrain: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
- Wheels: Hollowgram Knot 45 SL
- Claimed weight: 11.3kg / 24.9lbs
- Price: £7,999.99 / $10,000
SuperSix EVO Neo 2
- Drivetrain: Shimano Ultegra
- Wheels: FSA Team Clincher Disc
- Claimed weight: 12.4kg / 27.4lbs
- Price: £4,999.99 / $6,500
SuperSix EVO Neo 3
- Drivetrain: Shimano 105
- Wheels: FSA Team Clincher Disc
- Claimed weight: 12.4kg / 27.3lbs
- Price: £3,599.99 / $4,500
