When Cannondale released its new SuperSix, it landed in a very hotly contested market, that being the ultimate all round race bike. The aim is that a bike like this can perform well in the mountains but still be fast on the flats. So, out of these two titans of the cycling industry, which on paper really is best? Sam Gupta plays a game of top trumps to try and work out which really is better based on a list of different categories.
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00:00 As you will have hopefully seen in a previous video, Cannondale has released the fourth
00:03 generation of its Super 6 Evo platform.
00:07 One of the most exciting models within this new line-up is the top of the range Lab 71
00:12 model.
00:13 And the reason why it does sit at the top of the range is because it's built using
00:16 a brand new lay-up of carbon fibre, which Cannondale claims is lighter than anything
00:21 they've ever used before.
00:23 Of course, as you would expect from a range-topping bike, it is shod in all of the trappings one
00:27 would expect to see on a bike that costs £12,500.
00:30 But, this bike also boasts of a couple of features which means it lines itself up directly
00:38 against one of the titans of the industry, the Giant Propel.
00:42 So let's jump into this little game of top trumps to see which one comes out on top.
00:52 First off, let's start with those similarities. Both weigh 6.8kg in matching sizes. Cannondale
00:58 achieved this by changing the carbon fibre lay-up, while Giant achieved the same result
01:03 by slimming down the tubes and fitting some pretty swanky wheels.
01:07 Both bikes were created with the same vision, to be do-it-all race bikes.
01:13 These bikes should feel at home on both the hilly days and the flat ones.
01:16 It's true to say that the Super 6 has a history of being a climbing bike, and the
01:20 Giant Propel as an aero machine, but they've both certainly evolved from being specialists.
01:27 The final similarity which I'll highlight is that both bikes have aero water bottles
01:31 designed specifically for them.
01:34 Of course, being top of the range bikes, both have Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 group sets fitted,
01:39 but that's where it ends.
01:41 So now it's time to pull these bikes apart and delve into the nuances between them, and
01:46 try and work out on paper at least, which really is best.
01:52 We'll start off with a nice and easy one. Price. The stone cold cash. The Cannondale
02:00 here in the UK comes in at £12,500, while the Propel comes in at £11,999, a difference
02:09 of £501.
02:10 Sure, that is a fair bit of cash, and it could be used to buy yourself a lovely Garmin head
02:16 unit. However, a customer who's actually looking at either of these bikes probably
02:20 isn't going to care too much about that amount of price difference, and arguably, just cares
02:26 about having the best. So, let's continue with the comparisons.
02:34 This is a big one. The wheels are without a doubt the single biggest differentiating
02:39 factor between these two bikes, and the differences are quite stark.
02:45 In the Giant corner, we have the Kadex Ultra 50 wheels, which feature a 22.4mm internal
02:51 width rim, with aero carbon bladed straight pull spokes.
02:56 To top off all of this plushness, the hubs have ceramic bearings for maximum smoothness.
03:01 The wheels come in at a featherlight 1349g, which is remarkable for wheels that are 50mm
03:09 deep.
03:10 Over in the Cannondale corner, we have the brand new RSL 50 wheels, which are made up
03:15 of a hooked 50mm deep, 21mm internal rim width rim, and those are then laced onto a hologram
03:22 hub with DT Swiss 240 internals, using DT Swiss aero light straight pull spokes.
03:29 Currently, Cannondale have not made a claim for the weight of the wheels, but purely looking
03:33 at the spec sheets, it's hard to imagine that the holograms would be significantly
03:37 lighter than the Kadex's.
03:40 By simply looking at the details of the rim, I would certainly opt for the wider, hookless
03:44 Kadex's.
03:45 They'll have a lower rolling resistance when set up at the right pressure, and they'll
03:50 be more comfortable and provide more grip.
03:53 In my eyes, they embody what one should come to expect from a range-topping bike.
04:02 A lot of the bikes that are being offered today do seem to be coming out with a threaded
04:06 bottom bracket, but clearly there are still some that are hanging onto the press fit system,
04:11 the Propel being one of them.
04:13 I don't want this conversation to turn into a press fit vs threaded argument.
04:17 If you are a regular viewer of the channel, you will know which side of the fence I sit
04:21 on.
04:22 The key difference on this occasion is that the Propel utilises a standard Shimano push
04:26 fit unit, while the Cannondale enjoys the plushness of a silky smooth ceramic speed
04:31 bottom bracket.
04:33 It really is an easy win for the Super 6 here, as this represents a clear upgrade and something
04:38 which one should expect from a range-topping bike.
04:46 Giant is the biggest bicycle manufacturer in the world.
04:49 The vast swathe of power that the biggest brands enjoy gives them the ability to spec
04:54 all of their bikes with in-house finishing kit, saddles included.
04:59 This is why you'll find a fleet SLR carbon rail saddle on the Propel.
05:03 Not a bad offering by any means.
05:06 The Super 6 spins a slightly different web.
05:09 It offers a Vizik Vento Argo 00 saddle, and I can tell you first hand from riding this
05:15 very saddle on my own bike just how good it is.
05:18 The padding is very comfortable, the saddle itself is very light, and the surface grip
05:23 is tremendous.
05:24 And personally, the cutout works very well for me, and it doesn't create any undue
05:29 pressure.
05:30 The fleet SLR saddle offers a pretty similar list of features.
05:34 It too is a shorter nose saddle, has a generous pressure relief channel, and is pretty light.
05:40 But the attribute which clinches victory in favour of the Vizik is the grip.
05:46 You may disagree with me here, but I do very much enjoy being able to find my comfortable
05:49 spot on the saddle and then not slide around, a trait which is common with saddles that
05:55 use the same material that the SLR uses.
05:58 So that's another round to the Super 6, but it was very close.
06:06 Cannondale announced at the launch of the Super 6 that they would be getting rid of
06:10 their 60cm frame size and their 62cm frame size, instead combining them into a 61cm frame
06:18 size to simplify production while still catering to their taller customers.
06:23 This has meant that the number of sizes that the Super 6 will be offered in has shrunk
06:27 down to 7, ranging from 44cm to 61cm.
06:32 These 7 sizes are actually 3 more than what the Propel is offered in.
06:36 The Propel is offered in just 4 sizes, small, medium, medium-large, and large.
06:43 When you look at the geometry charts between both bikes, the Propel is essentially missing
06:47 the two smallest and largest sizes that the Super 6 is offered in.
06:52 While Giant may point to their live range of bikes, those being ones specifically for
06:56 females, I'm not sure you'll find too many short men that would opt for this as a viable
07:02 option.
07:03 For the tall men out there, the Propel leaves them with no choice at all.
07:07 Once again, the Super 6 takes the win.
07:13 The type of customer who is looking to spend in excess of £12,000 also tends to be the
07:18 type of customer who likes to obsess over their specification, and rightly so.
07:23 If you're spending that much money, the bike should certainly be exactly what you want
07:28 with zero compromise.
07:29 That's why it's great when a manufacturer offers their top-end bike as a frame-only
07:34 option, enabling you to build it however you wish.
07:37 At the moment, you can go and buy a Lab 71 Super 6 frame set.
07:42 You cannot do the same for the Propel.
07:44 Well, not right now at least.
07:46 They are expecting frame sets to be available later this year or early next, so I'll declare
07:51 this one a draw.
07:57 Even though both bikes claim to only accept 30mm wide tyres, Cannondale does also claim
08:02 that there would be 6mm of space on either side of the tyre.
08:07 So to my mind, that means that you could potentially fit 34mm wide rubber.
08:12 Granted, I'm not too sure many people would actually do this, but in theory, it does mean
08:17 that you could take the bike on some light gravel or some all-road rides, with pretty
08:22 minimal bother.
08:24 The Propel on the other hand would only have 4mm of space either side, so a 32 tyre is
08:30 potentially a possibility.
08:32 Given the nature of these bikes and their intended use, I don't think that the difference
08:36 between maybe being able to run a 32 or a 34 warrants declaring one a winner and one
08:42 a loser.
08:43 So again, I'm going to call a tie, but you may disagree.
08:51 There are a few other details which I believe fall into the realms of just being a matter
08:55 of opinion, and things which you need to make your own mind up about.
08:59 Firstly, the seatposts.
09:01 The Cannondale uses a typical seatpost set-up, which can slide up and down within the frame
09:05 to set the saddle height.
09:07 The Propel has an integrated seatpost, with the idea being you cut it to size with the
09:11 benefit resulting in saved weight and improved aero-efficiency.
09:16 The good thing is, you can add up to 40mm of spaces to really fine-tune the saddle height
09:22 so you can make changes later down the line, or future owners can do the same.
09:26 Personally, I prefer the conventional set-up.
09:30 The tyres on the Propel are the Kadex Aero tyres, which were specifically designed to
09:35 be used alongside the Kadex Aero wheels, that the Propel Advanced SL0 is built with.
09:41 The Cannondale, on the other hand, opts for a pair of some home favourite Continental
09:45 GP5000s.
09:46 Myself and my colleagues are yet to test the Kadex tyres, so it's hard to pass judgement
09:52 on something we don't have any meaningful experience with.
09:55 However, the GP5000s represent themselves as being a real fan favourite, and leave little
10:01 to be desired in terms of rolling resistance, comfort and grip.
10:05 Lastly, the cockpits themselves do slightly differ.
10:09 Both are carbon and both are integrated, meaning they house all of the hoses inside them.
10:14 But the bars on the Propel are a separate two-piece set-up, while the bars on the Super
10:19 Six are a more typical one-piece set-up.
10:22 Personally, if I'm going to go down the route of carbon integrated bars, I think I'd just
10:27 go for the all-in-one for maximum visual impact.
10:31 Obviously, I want it to look cool, and I do think the new bars on the Lab 71 Super Six
10:36 do look especially cool.
10:39 What's the takeaway here then?
10:40 Clearly, on the face of it, if you took the full Lab 71 Super Six build and then switched
10:45 in the Kadex wheels, you'd have an absolute belter of a bike.
10:50 That really would be something quite remarkable.
10:53 The Kadex Ultra 50 wheels, which are found on the Propel, were designed and created alongside
10:58 it, so they should perform best within that frame set.
11:01 But I'm sure you'd still get the same benefits in the Lab 71.
11:06 From a shallow aesthetic point of view, I think the Kadex wheels also do just look better
11:11 than the Holograms.
11:12 And Giant has done a pretty decent job of giving Kadex its own brand identity, meaning
11:18 they don't look out of place when they're fitted to anything other than a Giant.
11:23 While on paper, the Lab 71 may have won this little head-to-head, in my eyes, you may disagree.
11:29 I think the real winner is us, the customers.
11:32 The fact that we have such great options available is a real privilege.
11:36 And as mentioned, we can go out and purchase these bikes as frame sets and then build them
11:41 up as we wish and absolutely nail the specification as we like.
11:46 One key metric that I stayed away from was what the bikes are like to ride.
11:50 That too will be a matter of opinion.
11:52 We're yet to test both bikes, so I'll reserve judgement on that side of things for a future
11:57 video.
11:58 Do let me know down below which bike won in your eyes and which would you go for?
12:03 If you enjoyed the video, then please do drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for more
12:06 content and I'll see you again very soon.
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