EF Pro Cycling’s athletes have been the subjects of 2026’s most creative photoshoots so far. To mark their new collaboration with Assos – “a match made in the fabric of space and time… a mission to find the future of speed” – they donned silver spacesuits and flew off in a rocket. Now they’re working in a chic, upmarket restaurant. Magdeleine Vallieres is in the kitchen wielding a whisk in an EF-coloured apron while Ben Healy waits in a white tuxedo to serve up something exclusive, expensive and tasty... it can only be the highly anticipated new Cannondale SuperSix EVO gen 5.
As is the way with the launch of a new pro race bike, the team has been racing on it this season before the official launch. But now we’re allowed to reveal all and, to play along with Cannondale’s kitchen campaign, to find out whether the recipe has changed or whether the US brand is sticking with the special sauce that has made the SuperSix Evo such an outstandingly good bike since the first generation back in 2011.
Perhaps the most striking thing about the new bike is that it’s visually not strikingly different from the previous version.
“The problem is that we’re comparing it against something that is already a really excellent bike, so it does become a large challenge to take a step forward,” says senior design engineer Nathan Barry. “If you see some similarities in the profiles of the new bike and the fourth gen that’s not by accident. We’re applying a similar formula… chasing the ultimate blend of aerodynamic performance and low weight. The fourth-gen bike we were really proud of, it really did meet its initial goal of matching the aerodynamic efficiency of some of the dedicated aero bikes without the weight penalty. So what we see in the EVO 5 is a refinement of that formula.”
According to Barry, reducing the weight yet further was his team’s original goal: “To refine every piece of the bike so that we could reduce weight across the board without any penalty in aerodynamic drag. We hit the goal but we also exceeded it."
He continues: "Across the yaw spectrum the new bike is faster than the old one. We are confident that it will be very difficult to find a faster bike than the EVO in the peloton.”
This is a big claim, especially considering the SuperSix EVO isn’t, and never has been, a dedicated aero bike. Whereas it is becoming common practice for riders to choose the aero bike over the lightweight one almost all the time – most obviously Tadej Pogačar and the Colnago Y1Rs instead of the V5Rs – Cannondale appeared to to in the other direction, retiring the aero SystemSix and instead focusing on making the lightweight SuperSix more aero.
There’s no denying that the weight savings are impressive. In a painted size 56, the top-tier Series 0 frame weighs a claimed 728g, with a 392g fork. Hi-Mod and 'standard' Carbon options follow at 781g/414g and 910g/427g respectively. Cannondale says stiffness targets remain constant across the three layups. Although weight and cost vary, ride feel does not.
Compared to the previous generation, the claimed net savings are 72g for the Series 0 frameset, 37g for Hi-Mod and 35g for Carbon. With the new cockpit and detail parts factored in, the total saving over the EVO 4 climbs to 148g for the frameset, fork and bar. In the marginal gains era, that’s not insignificant. In its lightest build, the new SL spec with the SystemBar Road SL one-piece cockpit and a shallower, lighter wheelset, the top LAB71 SL bike comes in at claimed sub-6.4 kg out of the box.
For the aerodynamics, engineering manager Steve Smith says: “We went though the gen 4 with a fine-tooth comb, analysing the design and each step of the manufacturing process to really maximise the performance – I think the fork is a good example of this. “You can see how we refined the shape of the legs and the crown to allow us to maintain the aerodynamic performance whilst optimising for structural efficiency, light weight and aesthetics. We took that same approach and applied it to the whole bike – every area. We’ve cleaned up the frame to technical and visually save weight, removing all the ports and hardware that were not required any more. With engineering and industrial design working hand in hand and constantly iterating, we really pushed the limits. The outcome of this careful shaping of every surface was to maximise performance while emphasising quality.”
Each tube of the EVO 5 is derived from a true NACA aerofoil, according to Smith, but the shape is heavily truncated at the rear, and sometimes also the front, and replaced with new curvature. Carefully executing the truncation for each tube allowed Cannondale to manage air flow without adding any more mass than necessary. A strong geometry foundation for each tube results in less material reinforcement in the composite layup, meaning less added weight to recover stiffness – as can be the case with very slim, high aspect ratio wing profiles.
The new SystemBar Road Cockpit is an essential element in the aerodynamic performance of the new bike, Cannondale says. Due to its position at the front of the bike, the cockpit sees clean, high-speed air flow. Classic round handlebars represent a significant drag penalty and are now a rarity in elite racing, but Cannondale says its new cockpit delivers a low drag package that’s also lighter than a conventional two-piece setup. Coming in widths of 340mm to 380mm, according to Smith, “We think this offers the perfect balance of aerodynamics and ergonomics.”
Beyond the headline components, refinements and weight losses have been taking place via a recessed dust cover, integrated seatpost grommet, redesigned Di2 battery holder, titanium seatpost hardware on select models, a sculpted computer mount and even a lighter carbon bottle cage. Thirty-six grams disappear in what Cannondale terms “small parts” alone.
In line with its paring back as a pure race bike, the new SuperSix has 10mm sliced off the stack height across the size spectrum. This is partly, Cannondale explains, due to the latest Synapse getting some of its performance back. At the presentation, senior product manager Mart Otten referred to the Synapse as “the bike most of us should ride in terms of versatility, bigger tyre clearance, SmartSense, internal storage” thereby paving the way for the SuperSix to double down on its elite-racing designation.
And the SuperSix was of course developed in collaboration with the EF Pro Cycling athletes – so an uncompromising race bike is exactly what you’d expect. What was the reaction when they were presented with the finished SuperSix EVO gen 5? “There were only smiles,” says Otten. Chef’s kiss.
Visit Cannondale’s website for all the prices and specs.
