Despite the UCI’s suspension of disc brakes in competition still standing, we’re still seeing race level frames and groupsets appear. Cannondale is the latest manufacturer to have its plans revealed slightly early, in this case by brand ambassador Ted King. King posted the photo to Twitter (although it has now been removed) and it proves the existence of numerous items believed to be in development.
The most obvious thing is the new Cannondale SuperSix Evo frame, which is clearly disc-brake compatible. Most manufacturers work on models three years in advance, so it comes as no surprise to see Cannondale pressing ahead with this release despite current resistance amongst some professionals. Interestingly enough, King’s tweet suggested that he was delighted to finally have disc brakes on a pro level frameset. The front skewer looks to be some sort of bolt-thru axle, although it’s unclear, while the rear appears to be a standard 9mm QR skewer.
Also new is the SRAM Red eTap hydraulic groupset. The hoods are clearly larger to accommodate the hydraulic reservoir and master cylinder, although they appear to be significantly smaller than the current hydraulic levers. Interestingly the calipers appear to be Post Mount, rather than the new FlatMount that most manufacturers are opting for.
King is a Speedplay athlete also, and the Speedplays fitted to this bike look a little more svelte than standard models. It’s hard to tell due to the quality of the photo, but they appear to be more cut away – like the Pave pedals.
At the moment neither Cannondale, SRAM nor Speedplay has made any announcements or indications of new models although with the Tour just around the corner we expect launches imminently.