Lachlan Morton is some 2,400 km into his lap of Australia (although according to the map he’s only gone four inches). He’s already roughly 17% done on his anti-clockwise ride around the sixth-largest country on the planet. You could say he’s ridden 1/6 of the way around the country in the wrong direction before we noticed he was on an unidentified new Cannondale frame we haven’t seen before … I’m unsure if I feel dumb or dumber, but here we are.
At first glance, Morton appears to be riding a SuperSix EVO 4. That would have been the expected choice from Cannondale’s current range for such a lengthy road ride, especially as the aero-focused SystemSix appears to be falling out of favour. But on closer inspection, this is clearly a new Cannondale frame, albeit one that heavily uses the SuperSix EVO design language.
Cannondale remains tight-lipped on what exactly the new frame is, stating only that its “athletes, including Lachlan, are crucial to product development and testing.” More specifically, a Cannondale representative told Escape Collective that “one of Lachlan’s key roles is to develop and test product, tech, and next-gen designs at the extreme limits of performance, speed, and control in different riding conditions (from racing to lab testing applications) that provide essential data to our engineering teams.”
While Cannondale wouldn’t confirm it, it certainly seems like something new is cooking. Here’s what we can tell from photos.
I knew it started with an ‘S!’
In fact, the front half of the new frame almost looks like a carbon copy of the popular SuperSix, although Morton’s positional setup may offer some clues to some hidden tweaks that we’ll come to in a moment. Otherwise, the fork also appears pretty similar to the SuperSix, with the same aero profile tapering along its length from the wide shoulders just below the crown all the way down to the hidden dropout.
The head tube does appear much deeper than a Morton-sized SuperSix would have, but it’s also quite possible Morton has sized down on this frame. So, just as with smaller-sized SuperSixes, the top tube and down tube on his bike effectively merge behind the head tube, giving it a much deeper profile.
It seems Morton is using Cannondale’s Conceal stem as spec’d on some SuperSix EVO Hi-Mod II models, as reviewed by yours truly last year. That stem, along with the internal hose routing and a similar-looking fork would all suggest whatever bike this is, it features the same delta steerer spec’d on the latest SuperSix.
So far, so SuperSix, and that theme continues into the tapering top tube and the aggressively Kamm Tailed down tube. This is a new bike, though, and it’s out back that the differences are most noticeable.
Pullover? No, it’s a cardigan
Specifically, the seat post has a much shallower and D-shaped profile than the more aero-focused SuperSix variant. It’s not just the post; the seat tube, too, is shallower in depth than the SuperSix.
The seat stays seem new also, with a new and more profiled interface to the seat tube and a distinctive curvature down by the brake rotor before running more steeply into the rear drop out than those on the SuperSix which flow straight as an arrow from seat tube to drop out.
The chain stays are much more tapered also, getting progressively thinner as they run towards the rear dropout with seemingly a little bow-shaped curvature to them also.
If all these updates to the rear end say anything, they practically scream “compliance!”
All those thinner profiles and curved designs are almost certainly designed to offer a little more flex and a dose more compliance for an overall smoother ride, which would be important on a ride of more than 14,000 km. Getting back to the idea that Morton is seemingly riding a smaller frame – as evidenced by the exceptionally lengthy amount of exposed seat post and what appears to be a 130 mm stem – he still has said stem slammed right down on the head tube on a bike that is seemingly designed for comfort and long miles. That suggests to me this frame features a taller stack figure (vertical height from the bottom bracket to the top of the head tube). As such, Morton may have sized down to get his preferred saddle to bar drop.
Of course, I could be entirely wrong, and Morton’s fit is anything but regular as explained by Morton himself on a recent episode of Performance Process. Assuming I am correct, though, all those fit clues tell me this is likely a new Synapse, Cannondale’s road-going, endurance-focused offering.
The timeline doesn’t quite fit; Cannondale only just unveiled a new Synapse barely over two years ago. That said, if you were planning a new endurance frame, and your star endurance rider was attempting his longest ride yet … you’d probably want him on said new endurance frame.
The current Synapse, we’d note, was met with a mixed response mainly due to Cannondale’s decision to integrate lights and a radar plus a central battery in a system it called “SmartSense.” On the new frame, perhaps to shed weight, there’s no evidence of any SmartSense battery or even space for one (the SmartSense battery is externally mounted on the down tube on the existing Synapse frame).
Perhaps Cannondale is adding a lighter, pared-back option to its endurance lineage. Indeed, Morton’s bike carries the Lab71 logo denoting bikes made with Cannondale’s premium-grade carbon, which almost confirms as much. Furthermore, if we assume that the two-piece Conceal stem and handlebar setup will be a stock configuration on a Lab71-level frame, that itself could be seen as another positive for a bike in this segment, where the integrated bar and stem found on the SuperSix Lab71 builds might not offer the fit adjustment or compliance a rider who errs on the side of comfort may desire.
There are, of course, internally routed hoses, which, on the face of it, may fly in the face of an otherwise more everyday-rider-friendly rig. But that’s exactly the point. Plenty of everyday riders want the pro look, but in the much more accommodating package an endurance-focused bike offers. As discussed on the Geek Warning podcast when Pinarello announced the Dogma X almost exactly a year ago, a lightweight, nimble, race-looking bike with a more forgiving ride and geometry is something we’d like to see more of.
So you’re telling me there’s a chance
Morton hasn’t exactly been trying to hide the new bike. it’s appeared in nine posts on his Instagram, with some 182,000 followers, and in regular updates on the EF Pro Cycling website donation page since he officially announced the 14,200 km challenge last week. Nor, clearly, is Cannondale trying to hide it, letting the popular Australian ride a new bike in what is sure to be a much-publicised and attention-grabbing fundraiser and record attempt.
But again, Cannondale won’t confirm there’s a new bike coming. But they don’t exactly deny it either. “The equipment Lachlan is on now is fulfilling this role with the product feedback, technologies and/or designs that will improve everyone’s ride and to ultimately show up at your local retailer in the future,” the company representative told Escape. Stay tuned.
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