Eurobike 2012 tech: 2013 Cannondale highlights for road and MTB

This article originally published on BikeRadar

Cannondale unleashed a wide berth of fantastic new bikes at this year's Eurobike show, covering the gamut from women's road bikes, time trial and triathlon, cyclo-cross, and even the ultra-competitive trail bike category. While it'll be a little while before the new bikes will be available, 2013 is looking like a good year.

The "ugly fast" Slice RS hits the road – plus a new women's-specific EVO

Cannondale's new Slice RS time trial/triathlon bike has been under the riders of the Liquigas-Cannondale team for some time now but it's only at Eurobike that the company has finally revealed details. While other companies have recently focused on truncated airfoils and wider cross-sections, Cannondale has instead adopted a 'narrow is aero' philosophy – and the new RS is certainly narrow.

Starting up front, Cannondale has fitted the new Slice RS with hidden linear-pull brakes and an external-steerer fork that provides the stiffness and steering precision of a tapered design but with much slimmer dimensions on account of what is effectively a dual-crown layout. The level top tube sits directly behind the stem – further reducing frontal area – and the down tube and seat tube are both slab-sided from top to bottom so as to present minimal surface area to the wind.

Out back, chain stay-mounted linear-pull brakes afford sleeker seat stay shaping while the chain stays themselves hug tightly to the frame's centerline before kicking out to the dropouts. The seat tube closely follows the outline of the rear wheel as is standard practice for the genre but Cannondale has also carved a channel out of the inner surface so as to relieve pressure turbulence from the spinning tire.

And what about that weird looking seatpost? Well, the UCI's current 3:1 rule places strict limitations on section profiles and given the seat tube's very narrow width, Cannondale had few options on seatpost shaping.

Washburn admits that the Slice RS isn't necessarily the prettiest bike to look at but that its performance on the road should speak for itself.

As he puts it, "it's ugly fast".

In other road-related news, Cannondale's SuperSix EVO road bike will spawn a women's-specific variant for 2013 for riders that need a slightly altered geometry for a better fit. Key changes include slightly longer head tubes, shorter and more drastically sloping top tubes, and increased fork rakes to reduce the chance of toe overlap.

Cannondale will offer the new women's-specific SuperSix EVO in standard modulus and high-modulus frame variants. Cannondale isn't going small on the spec, either, with the top-end model boasting a new SRAM Red group, Mavic Ksyrium SLS aluminum clincher wheels, FSA and fi'zi:k cockpit components, and Cannondale's own Hollowgram SiSL2 crankset for what should be a fantastic all-purpose road racer.

New big-wheeled Trigger 29'er

Cannondale's enduro-friendly Jekyll with its 90-150mm of on-the-fly adjustable travel will have a new little brother for 2013 called Trigger. While the already announced 26" version will sport 70-120mm of adjustable travel, Cannondale also launched a new 29" version at Eurobike with a more all-mountain feel and 80-130mm of travel.

While the 26" Trigger will come with a carbon fiber frame, the new Trigger 29'er will be built around an all-aluminum frame exclusively – at least for now. Key design features are shared throughout, however, including clamped large-diameter axles at the main pivot and upper shock link pivot plus twin cartridge bearings elsewhere for rigidity, a 142x12mm rear thru-axle, and a custom dual-mode Fox DYAD RT2 twin-chamber rear pull shock with a tidy cable actuated handlebar remote.

Only the top model will get the awesome looking new SuperMax fork, though – essentially an extra-burly version of Cannondale's remarkably capable Lefty. Whereas the current version's trump card is light weight, however, the SuperMax instead capitalizes on stiffness. Upper tube diameter grows from 38 mm to 42mm, the lower leg balloons from 32mm to 36mm, and there's even a new axle stub that allows for a wider hub shell for extra wheel strength under load.

The new SuperMax fork goes for all-out stiffness

Cannondale has also shifted the SuperMax's single leg rearward and reduced the profile of the upper section to allow riders to use shorter stems than before. According to Washburn, the new SuperMax can now be fitted with stems as stubby as 50mm.

Disc brakes rule the roost for new 'cross range

As yet another sign of things to come, Cannondale has outfitted its top-end SuperX carbon 'cross model with disc brakes for 2013. As compared to the standard rim brake version, the disc bike gets a strengthened non-driveside fork leg with specific shaping and lay-up schedules plus altered shaping on the non-driveside seat stay to accommodate the caliper out back.

Tire clearance is improved slightly at both ends – mostly by virtue of removing all that rim brake clutter – but according to Washburn, the disc bike is also more comfortable since the seat stays no longer have to deal with the same stresses up high and can now be thinner and softer.

The top-end SuperX Hi-Mod Disc will come with a SRAM Red transmission, FSA SL-K carbon cranks with CX-specific chainrings, Stan's NoTubes ZTR Alpha 340 rims, and Schwalbe Racing Ralph clinchers. Unfortunately, SRAM still doesn't have its hydraulic disc brakes ready for market but Cannondale's spec sheet suggests a new high-end Avid BB7 Ultimate cable-actuated disc is at least on its way for the coming season.

In yet another cutting-edge move, the second-tier rim brake-equipped SuperX Hi-Mod will come with a Shimano Ultegra Di2 electronic transmission and matching Ultegra tubeless wheels.

Finally, Cannondale has revamped the aluminum CAADX frames as well for 2013 with tube shapes borrowed from the CAAD10 and SuperX, slightly flattened stays to improve ride comfort, and just like with the SuperX, the top offering will come exclusively with disc brakes.

The Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com team will be using disc brakes across the board

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