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The Cannondale SuperX Disc 105 features a traditional, flat top tube, which is good for dismounts(Image credit: Jason Sumner)
I loved racing the Cannondale SuperX 105 frameset with Shimano's hydraulic brakes and 105 drivetrain, but I swapped out the wheels for better, lighter, tubeless options(Image credit: Jason Sumner)
Cannondale's Fabric saddle is easy to clean — always a plus on a 'cross bike(Image credit: Jason Sumner)
External routing leaves cables exposed to muck (Image credit: Jason Sumner)
Cannondale employs its own compact cranks with the 'cross-standard 46/36 rings(Image credit: Jason Sumner)
The front derailleur cable gets a double sleeve, but is still exposed in an area prone to getting filthy(Image credit: Jason Sumner)
Schwalbe's Rapid Rons shod the Cannondale(Image credit: Jason Sumner)
'Are my tyres losing air?' The first few minutes on a Cannondale SuperX is an almost surreal experience, as the carbon frame soaks up rough vibrations to the point that something feels out of place. I checked my tyres twice the first time I rode this bike on a cyclocross course.
Highs: Superb frameset smoothes out chatter; dependable hydraulic Shimano brakes and drivetrain
Lows: Clunky quick-release wheels that aren't tubeless-ready
Buy if: You want an excellent race bike and are prepared to upgrade the wheels
Brilliantly designed and damped frameset
Cannondale engineers have done an admirable job with carbon road frames recently; the Synapse is perhaps the plushest endurance bike I've ridden recently, and the SuperSix is a coiled spring of a race machine. The SuperX feels like a bit of both. Yes, it embodies that tired bike industry saying: laterally stiff yet vertically compliant. But it's true!
What's impressive about the SuperX is that the frame provides the suspension, not the seatpost. On the Synapse, for example, the very long and very narrow (25.4mm) post flexes visibly under load. Here, it's the flattened seat- and chainstays that mop up the chatter.
Cannondale employs its own compact cranks with the 'cross-standard 46/36 rings
In this age of compact frames, the SuperX sports a relatively tall seat tube. Also, the traditional horizontal top tube combines with the extended seat tube collar to leaves very little seatpost exposed – at least for riders like me with relatively short legs. The bike shown here is a 56cm with a 76cm saddle height. I'm 6ft/183cm.
The high and level top tube is great for dismounts, and the flat underside shoulders easily, with that aforementioned high top tube opening up the front triangle for plenty of room to manoeuvre.
Like many of the bikes at this price point, the SuperX 105 has Shimano R685 shifters paired with BR785 hydraulic calipers, 160mm rotors and 105 mechanical derailleurs. Also similar to most 'cross bikes, the gearing is 46/36 and 11-28. There is a good reason for this: it all works very well.
While 1x remains en vogue for 'cross – SRAM is certainly pushing hard marketing it – I'm a fan of the front derailleur for quick jumps in gearing, such as sharp downhill-to-uphill transitions. Why push one lever four times and pedal to move the chain across the cassette when you can just push a lever once and pedal a single rotation?
The 785 calipers on 160mm rotors proved flawless. Hard, last-second braking into corners is easy, and you can only really lock up the brakes with intentional effort, such as when you want to slide the rear around a corner.
External routing leaves cables exposed to muck
Combining the solid braking with this frameset – which tenaciously holds traction as the stays flex with the choppiness of the course – translates to heaps of confidence.
While the front end is hyper-stiff laterally, the bottom bracket area isn't quite as road-race-bike stiff. There is a bit of side-to-side give, perhaps because of the absorbent 425mm chainstays. However, the feeling that this bike wants to stay glued to ground more than makes up for this; a hyper-stiff frame doesn't do you any good if your rear tyre is skittering across the ground.
Rolling stock niggles
I have two small gripes with the bike. The quick-release wheels are heavy and non-tubeless, and the cable routing is external.
Although virtually all cyclocross bikes come set up as clinchers, the more progressive brands sell them with tubeless wheels so you're only looking at tyres (and perhaps rim strips and valve stems) before you have a race-ready machine. Yes, you can race clinchers, but you have to overinflate your tyres to avoid pinchflatting, sacrificing suspension and traction in the process. I switched to other tubeless wheels for racing. (The frame's setup for quick releases instead of thru axles attests to its age; the SuperX was launched with rim brakes back in 2010.)
The external cable routing is a smaller issue. I like internal routing because it generally keeps the cables clean and smooth-running, and it removes them from your gripping surfaces when dismounting and shouldering the bike. Truth be told, though, when racing, I didn't notice the cables or the rear brake line on the top tube at all.
I loved racing the Cannondale SuperX 105 frameset, but I swapped out the wheels for better, lighter, tubeless options
Back to the wheels. Yes, you can race the Formula CX20/Maddux CX 2.0 wheels as is with the beefy 35mm wire-bead Schwalbe Rapid Rob tyres. You'll just have to add about 15-30psi over what you could get away with using tubeless.
Also, you can do a ghetto tubeless job with the wheels using Gorilla Tape. I could get one Bontrager CX01 tubeless tyre to mount using a floor pump and Schwalbe Easy Fit. The other one required an air compressor. I had decent results when riding at 35psi. Below that though I could burp the rear. But bottom line is that they are cheap, heavy clinchers that I knocked out of true pretty easily.
I like the Fabric Spoon Shallow Elite saddle. It fits well enough and it's simple to clean – always a plus on a 'cross bike.
The rest of the cockpit is unremarkable, with alloy house-brand stem, bar and seatpost doing their respective jobs without distinction, positive or negative.
To sum it up, the star of the show is the frameset, which basically acts like a soft tail, complemented handily by Shimano's hydraulic brakes and dependable 105 drivetrain. If it came with good tubeless wheels it would be a five-star machine.
Specification Name: SuperX 105 (16) Built by: Cannondale Price: £2,199.00 / US$ $2,980.00 / AUS$ N/A Brakes: Shimano BR785 hydraulic disc, 160/160mm Cassette: Shimano 105 5800, 11-28, 11-speed Chain: KMC X11, 11-speed Cranks: Cannondale Si, BB30, FSA rings Fork: SuperX Disc, BallisTec Carbon Front Derailleur: Shimano 105 5800, braze-on Front Hub: Formula CX20 Front Tyre: Schwalbe Rapid Rob Front Tyre Size: 700x35C Handlebar: Cannondale C3, butted 6061 Alloy, Compact Head Angle: 72.5 Rear Derailleur: Shimano 105 5800 SS Rear Hub: Formula CX 22 rear Rear Tyre: Schwalbe Rapid Rob Rear Tyre Size: 700x35C Rims: Maddux CX 2.0 Disc, 32-hole Saddle: Fabric Spoon Shallow Elite, Cromo Rail Seat Angle: 73 Seatpost: Cannondale C3, 6061 Alloy, 27.2mmx300mm Shifters: Shimano R685 Weight (kg): 8.73 Year: 2016 Chainring Size (No of Teeth): 36 46 Weight (lb): 19.25 Brake Levers: Shimano R685 Chainstays (cm): 435 Seat Tube (cm): 56 Top Tube (cm): 57 Wheelbase (cm): 1026 Frame size tested: 56cm
