Halo LAB71 bike comes with a claimed 7.4kg weight and SRAM Red XPLR AXS groupset
(Image credit: Cannondale)
Cannondale has today announced the launch of the 2024 SuperX gravel race bike. It’s based on the current fourth-generation SuperSix EVO road bike, as raced by the EF Education pro teams and available in three specs based on a standard carbon and a LAB71 frameset.
The LAB71 frame weighs a claimed 900g, 100g less than the SuperSix EVO SE, Cannondale’s previous generation gravel race bike, which it replaces. It’s also 100g lighter than the standard carbon SuperX frameset.
That leads to a 7.4kg claimed bike weight for the top-spec LAB71 SuperX in size 56. That bike comes equipped with a SRAM Red XPLR AXS 13-speed Full Mount groupset, making use of the new frame’s UDH rear derailleur interface.
Other component highlights include a one-piece Cannondale SystemBar R-One bar/stem. Cannondale has adopted the Delta Steerer also found on the latest SuperSix EVO road bike, which allows internal cable routing while keeping the head tube slender.
The LAB71 bike is finished off with Reserve 40|44 GR wheels with DT Swiss 180 hubs and a Fizik Vento Antares 00 saddle.
As you’d expect, the LAB71 SuperX has a hefty price tag attached: $15,000 or €14,999, with UK prices yet to be announced. You can also buy the LAB71 frameset for $5,500 or €5,499 if you want to build it up yourself. Despite the low weight, Cannondale offers a lifetime guarantee on its SuperX frames.
Choose your own spec and you can fit a 2x Shimano crankset with 50/34t rings or SRAM with 43/30t. Go 1x and the equivalent figures are 54t for Shimano and 46t for SRAM.
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Cannondale has already had the LAB71 SuperX out racing under a few of its EF Education men’s and women’s pros in a few extracurricular gravel races.
Aero at gravel race speeds
The SuperX clears a 48mm rear and 51mm front tyre and the UDH mech interface allows SRAM Full Mount derailleurs to be fitted (Image credit: Cannondale)
Cannondale has honed the SuperX’s aerodynamics for gravel racing using CFD and wind tunnel studies. It claims a 1.6 watt saving over the SuperSix EVO SE, measured at 35km/h rather than the 45km/h or even more often quoted for road bike aero measurements (although we wind tunnel tested 11 superbikes at 40km/h).
When Lachlan Morton won Unbound 200 in 2024, riding a SuperSix EVO SE, he averaged almost exactly 35km/h, completing the 200-mile course in a new record time of 9:11:47. Cannondale says that average speeds for the front of gravel races are now typically greater than 35km/h though, so there may be greater aero gains on offer for the fastest riders on some courses.
The slim, curved seat tube adds tyre clearance and compliance to the rear of the SuperX (Image credit: Cannondale)
Changes from the SuperSix EVO SE include a swap to a BSA threaded bottom bracket from that bike’s Press Fit system. The SuperX frameset accepts a standard 700c rear wheel, rather than the symmetrically dished wheels needed for some of its older bikes with Ai rear triangle geometry. It offers rear tyre clearance of 48mm, while the fork has 51mm clearance.
To accommodate the rear wheel, the SuperX has a slimmed-down and curved seat tube. Cannondale has also included flex zones into the rear triangle and vertically thinned out the rear of the top tube. Together, it says that these features help increase frame compliance.
Cannondale reckons that the broad top tube will satisfy cyclocross racers (Image credit: Cannondale)
As when it launched the SystemSix aero bike a few years ago, Cannondale has reused a name from its past for the SuperX. The original SuperX was a cyclocross race bike, but Cannondale has positioned the new SuperX squarely in the gravel race category, although still with a nod to cyclocrossers.
It reckons that the flattened top tube, along with the wide clearance and racy geometry, will satisfy riders looking to ride the new SuperX behind the tape, as well as competitors taking to gravel roads.
Two specs at launch based on standard carbon frame
All specs are fitted with 40mm Vittoria Terreno T50 tyres, designed for mixed condition riding (Image credit: Cannondale)
At launch, as well as the pricey LAB71 SuperX, there are two specs based on the standard carbon frameset available to European gravel riders.
The SuperX 2 is equipped with a Shimano GRX 825 Di2 12-speed groupset with 48/31 x 11-34t ratios and the same Reserve 40|44 GR rims as the LAB71 bike, but on DT Swiss 370 hubs. There’s a two-piece bar and stem, with FSA SL-K carbon bars and alloy Cannondale C1 Conceal stem with internal cable routing. Cannondale says that a size 56 bike weighs 8.5kg and the bike is priced at $6,900 / €6,999, again with UK prices TBC.
The base spec is the SuperX 3, equipped with 12-speed mechanical Shimano GRX 820 with 48/32 x 11-36t ratios and DT Swiss G1800 alloy rims on DT Swiss 370 hubs, along with an alloy Cannondale bar. Claimed weight for a size 56 bike is 9.1kg and the bike is priced at $4,200 / €4,499.
Paul has been on two wheels since he was in his teens and he's spent much of the time since writing about bikes and the associated tech. He's a road cyclist at heart but his adventurous curiosity means Paul has been riding gravel since well before it was cool, adapting his cyclo-cross bike to ride all-day off-road epics and putting road kit to the ultimate test along the way. Paul has contributed to Cyclingnews' tech coverage for a few years, helping to maintain the freshness of our buying guides and deals content, as well as writing a number of our voucher code pages.
