Calling all Aethos and SuperSix Evo (Gen 4) owners

Equipment
1

Looking at a new bike and would love to hear from owners who have had either of these for a while.

  • Aethos Expert (Ultegra Di2) - size 51
  • SuperSix Evo 2 (Ultegra Di2) - size 54

Looking for something relatively light and fast. Absolutely live for climbs but around me it is more rolling.

Don’t race. My big events will be Mallorca 312, Fred Whitton type events. Mostly ride on my own, occasional group ride.

Aethos Concerns: Flexy, looks super dated, still overpriced for a bike launched in 2020.

SSE Concerns: Uncomfortable, can’t buy narrower bars at the moment, PITA maintenance due to integration

FWIW wheels on either would be spares as would put Zipp 404s on.

2

Can’t speak to the Aethos but have a SuperSix Evo 1 since March this year. I live on the south edge of the Lake District and have done the Fred 6 times and Audax’s up to 1,000km.

My recent previous bikes have been a Cipollini NK1K and a Bond. The SuperSix Evo is a much comfier ride than both of those though they are renowned for stiffness rather than comfort. I did downsize to try and match the stack/reach of my other bikes so I’m on a 51 and I’m about 175cm tall.

I have GP5000 25mm tyres on the SuperSix which inflate to around 27mm so that definitely helps. Plan to fit 28mm tyres next spring which should inflate to 30mm which is still narrower than the 32mm external rim width.

I swapped the bar out for a Pro Vibe Alloy Pursuit 36cm bar which was about £80. There is a 4cm flare on them which means the hoods are 30cm centre to centre. I also swapped the stem for a 10mm longer unit (same cannondale conceal stem) brakes over to euro style at the same time. Did it all at home with no issues.

Love the bike, rides great, is decently aero and comfortable. Plan to take it round the Fred and a 1,000km Audax next year :+1:

3

I’ve had both, for a long enough time to evaluate (more than 6 months), and also been riding both of them extensively on climbs.

Aethos - feels more lively
SuperSix Gen 4 - Fast as hell, super stable, less lively

General thoughts:

  • Both feel just as flexy, I didn’t feel that the SuperSix was noticeably stiffer, mostly due to the lack of stiffness in the frontend.
  • The SSE is insanely comfortable. I would say that it for sure is as comfy as the Aethos, if not more comfy. They really nailed it with the comfort.

One thing that really stands out for the SSE is that downhill its a blast, and incredibly stable. The Aethos is a bit more nervous.

I vote for the Cannondale SSE :slight_smile: If you like going up, both work fine, but going downhill and rolling, the SSE does this notably better.

And in terms of handlebars, you can get whatever ones you feel. For example Pro Vibe Aero SL 38cm would fit the SSE perfectly.

Here are some photos of the respective bikes:

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3 Likes
4

I’ve lucked out finding you haven’t I! Great to get this perspective, appreciate it.

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5

Appreciate the insight - really useful.

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6

i believe nominal size for shimano handlebars is center to center at the hoods. so the bars would be 36 at the hoods and wider at the drops?

7

I have an SSE4 and don’t have these issues. It’s a very comfortable bike, in both ride quality and fit. I built mine from the frameset with an Enve Aero bar (37 hoods, 42 drops) and Conceal C1 stem. It was easy to build, been easy to make adjustments, and goes in my Scicon Aerotech Evolution X hard case.

I’ve been thinking about building up an Aethos too…

8

The drops aren’t vertical so when the brakes are mounted in line with drops they are naturally angled towards each other at the top.

So the tips of the brake levers are about 42cm apart, the mounting point on the bars is about 36cm and the centre of the tops is 30cm apart.

1 Like
9

I bought a SuperSix Evo frameset to replace my old frameset. The main reason for this is because I wanted a frame that can do it all, climbing and aero. A lot of frame manufacturers have moved away from making a separate climbing bike and an aero bike now because they found that the two were moulding together, Cannondale included. I was looking at the Cannondale, a Specialized Tarmac and a Trek Madone. The Madone was a bit too ostentatious for me. The Tarmac is lighter than the SuperSix, but there were two reasons I went for the SuperSix. Everyone and I mean everyone comments on the handling of the SuperSix. One review I read about the frame highlighted that the fork weight of the SuperSix is not light, but that this helps with the stiffness and handling. The other reason, I thought the SuperSix looked the best by far.

Ride handling is incredible. I have Hunt carbon rims with carbon spokes with the frame and I can throw it into any corner and not worry about it slipping out from under me. Comfort I found is good, better than my last frame. One thing that I think helps this is the seat stem is narrow and has a small amount of flex in it, so helps slightly going over bumps. I also run tubeless tyres which I have always thought made the biggest difference to comfort. Because I bought a frameset I was able to set the reach and stack to suit me though. I use it with a single 10mm spacer in the head and a 400x100mm handlebar.

As for aero, my old frame was a Vitus ZX-1 EVO which is very aero. With this frame I was only really expecting the frame to be lighter, I wasn’t expecting aero gains. However, on my first ride on the new frame I set a personal best on one of my segments that has an average speed of about 40kmph. When I looked at the average power over the segment, my new time had a lower power than my previous best. Thinking this was a fluke, I decided to try another segment on my next ride and got the same result. I estimate that the SuperSix is about 3% faster than the Vitus was.

After I bought the frame, I read an article on cycling news where they tested the drag of a number of world tour bikes both with and without the rider. Interestingly they also tested the drag at different wind angles. Their results showed that the SuperSix, with the rider on, basically has the same aero drag from 0-15 degree wind angle whereas some of the other bikes increased in drag as the wind angle increased. I must say, if you are cycling in light wind you don’t really notice if you are in a headwind, tailwind or sidewind as it doesn’t really affect the bike.

Weight of the frame is not the absolute lightest on the market. I use it with the Hunt wheels and a SRAM Red groupset. Total bike weight is about 7.5kg.

If you are worried about the handlebars, I too had the same issue when I got the frame. At the time, the systembar r-one wasn’t available. I was using a FSA integrated handlebar with the Vitus frame and I was able to use this at first with the SuperSix. There are FSA to SuperSix headset pieces available online. I have now got the systembar r-one on the bike.

All in all, I would say it is a fantastic frame.

2 Likes
10

I also have both (SSE since February / Aethos since September). I really like both, and don’t think that you can go wrong. That said, the SSE is my N and the Aethos is my +1. My Aethos is external cable routed, to make it an easier “travel” bike than the SSE.

I believe I said it somewhere else on this forum, but I have more confidence on the SSE because it doesn’t feel as fast… but it seriously is. I also find the SSE to be more comfortable. That said, I haven’t ridden the Aethos outdoors much, since I’ve only had it for about 8 weeks and I trend toward my SSE. One thing I don’t love with the Aethos is the toe overlap, which is not an issue with the SSE (for me).

I assume that you have your sizes dialed, but I ride a 54 in the SSE, and I don’t think I would fit on a 51 of the Aethos. My Aethos is also a 54, and it feels slightly tighter for me than the SSE.

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11

If you look at the numbers of the two bikes, the SSE is almost a size larger than equivalent Specialised, for the same “size”.

I ride 56 on Specialized. but had to size down to a 54 on Cannondale.