9 Secret Road Bikes We're Hoping To See In 2024 | Cycling Weekly
2023 has been a great year for new road bike releases with some popular models seeing a refresh, however, it feels as though last year has been the year of the endurance bike with many other categories not seeing many updates. Sam Gupta has done some research and has pulled together a number of different models which he believes will be updated on this year and it looks like we're set for a year of light weight climbing bikes.
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00:00 I've done some digging online and I've pulled together a number of models which I think could
00:04 be due for an update, as well as some bikes which personally I would just love to see hit the market.
00:10 Now, before we go any further, you may have noticed that my face is looking a little bit funny,
00:15 and that's because I was in a fight. Not with a person, but with a wasp. I was out riding and it
00:21 stung me on my face. Not ideal. So, if you can excuse the swelling, then let's jump into the video.
00:30 We'll start with a bike which, to my mind, has to be a bit of a no-brainer, and that's because I
00:37 kind of expected it to actually come this year. In March, we saw the launch of the new Cannondale
00:42 Super 6, the brand's do-it-all road race bike. At the same time, it also launched the Lab 71 Monaca,
00:49 which stands to be the brand's top-of-the-range bikes, utilising a higher grade of carbon fibre.
00:55 After the Super 6 was launched, it also released a gravel-going Lab 71 Topstone. Clearly, it's
01:02 fairly easy to put the new carbon fibre into existing moulds, so a Lab 71 System 6 should be
01:10 on the cards. However, the System 6 in its current guise is a bike that has been around for quite a
01:17 while. In fact, it's been around since 2018, so it's well overdue an update. The change in UCI
01:25 rules mean Cannondale could potentially have something really wacky in the works. Perhaps
01:30 the brand will lean into the elongated headtube like the Specialised SL8, or it may just leave
01:36 the System 6 behind altogether. It's not out of the question that the brand could just let the
01:41 System 6 fade away and halt production of the model. The lack of an aero bike could then be
01:47 countered by making the next generation of the Super 6 even more aero, and take on more of a
01:52 Specialised SL8 design ethos, with more aero features at the front, and more lightweight
01:58 features at the rear. One bike I'm very confident will be coming next year is an update to the CAD
02:08 13, and logic dictates that it be called the CAD 14. This is a bike that I am really excited about.
02:15 I've not hidden the fact that I love a premium aluminium frame, I love how they feel to ride,
02:21 and the fact that with the right specification, they are just as light as their carbon counterparts,
02:26 but for a fraction of the cost. My hope for the CAD 14 is that Cannondale do something similar to
02:32 Trek, who revamped its Émonda ALR by giving it a slightly more aggressive frame geometry,
02:38 stripping out a load of weight from the frame, and also really refining the tube shapes. It also
02:44 maintained a classic looking frame shape, with no drop seat stays, which from an aesthetic point of
02:49 view, I really enjoy. I'd love for Cannondale to go back to a classic looking frame, much like the
02:55 CAD 12, and also work on making the frame a lot lighter, ideally around the 1000g mark.
03:02 My second hope for a potential CAD 14 is that the brand also releases a Lab 71 model of the bike.
03:09 Now, in my mind, it would have the Lab 71 paint job, the Momo design bars with the top end RSL
03:16 wheels, with the same fork as found on the Lab 71 Super 6, a Dura-Ace groupset, and of course,
03:24 a ceramic speed bottom bracket. Would it be overkill? Absolutely. Would it make much sense?
03:30 Not really. But would I absolutely want it and be prepared to pay for it? 100%. Quite frankly,
03:38 it would be one of the coolest bikes out there. So, if anyone from Cannondale is watching,
03:42 please make it happen.
03:44 Quite recently, Giant updated its endurance bike, the Defy. It made the bike a whole lot lighter,
03:55 made it slightly more performance orientated, and supposedly, made it more comfortable.
04:00 What struck me most was the former though, that big reduction in weight. It demonstrated what
04:06 Giant is capable of when it sets its sights on making something light. To bring a Defy frame
04:12 weight in at a claimed 785g really shows just how light a new TCR could be. It's highly likely that
04:20 a potential new TCR could come in at the low 600g region. The weight saving could also go further
04:27 than just the frame. With the brand's own components and Kadex wheels, it has the ability to
04:32 strip out weight from every part of the bike. And, full builds could be landing in the region of the
04:38 low to mid 6kg. The current top end TCR comes in at a claimed 6.7kg, so seeing this drop by a few
04:46 hundred grams is certainly a possibility. One question looms though, that being,
04:52 would it really make any difference? Probably not. Having a reliable and versatile bike is
04:59 certainly more valuable, but if Giant were able to combine all of these attributes,
05:04 then that would be a pretty exciting proposition.
05:12 After Trek launched the new Madone back in 2022, it's safe to say that it turned a lot of heads
05:18 with the Isoflow hole in the seat tube. Now though, I think most riders are pretty well
05:23 accustomed to the look of it, and I believe it's been pretty well accepted into cycling design.
05:28 Isoflow to one side, the Madone itself is a wicked bike to ride. It's incredibly fast,
05:34 and we love the care and attention that Trek put into the bike as a whole to keep the rider going
05:39 as quickly as possible. And it's for these reasons that I'm getting pretty excited about
05:44 a potential new Émonda. As the Émonda sits in Trek's range as a do-it-all climbing race bike,
05:51 I do not think it would be out of the question to see an Émonda also get an Isoflow hole. It
05:57 would aid in the bike's aero performance, and since Trek also claimed that it helped save weight,
06:02 then that very much matches the Émonda's ethos. I see the new Émonda as potentially becoming
06:09 a baby Madone. A bike which perhaps has a slightly less aggressive position,
06:14 but is still race-orientated, naturally it would be lighter and would perhaps try to get close to
06:20 the specialised SL8 in terms of weight. Since the Madone does require a decent level of flexibility
06:27 and skill to deal with the fast steering feel, a slightly softer version of the bike in the form
06:32 of an Émonda could be the perfect road race bike for a much larger segment of the market.
06:38 Pinarello has been mighty active in the past year with its launch of two brand new ranges of bikes,
06:49 that being the X-Series and the F-Series, which replace the Prince and the Paris respectively.
06:56 We also saw the new Dogma X quite recently, which now sits as the top of the range model
07:01 in the X-Series range. However, the brand's flagship race bike, the range-topping Dogma F,
07:08 was last updated in 2021, so perhaps we could have a 2025 bike launched next year.
07:16 I'm not sure what Pinarello would aim to do with the bike. It would likely be a very iterative
07:21 update rather than being something drastically new. So, I'd expect to see these updates along
07:26 the lines of a bike being slightly lighter, stiffer and more aero, as per usual.
07:32 Launched back in 2020 was the Cervelo Caledonia, the brand's road-going endurance/all-road bike.
07:44 It's a category of bike that has really hotted up in the past few months, since Canyon's Endurace
07:50 and Specialized Roubaix have also taken to the same space. Cervelo, though, does have the
07:55 opportunity to bring an updated version of the bike to the market that really rivals that of
08:00 the market leaders. We gave the bike 4.5 stars when we reviewed it, with our only Quam being
08:06 tied up in the price compared to competitors. So, if Cervelo can come in alongside the other
08:12 options on the market, it could land as a fantastic option for the customers.
08:17 I'm guessing Cervelo would likely increase tyre clearance from the current 34mm and perhaps
08:23 build in a greater amount of frame storage. But in terms of rideability
08:27 and current geometry, we are already big fans of what it's created.
08:32 Sticking with Cervelo for one more bike, and the R5 is also potentially coming to the end of its
08:42 product cycle. The R5 does sit along the S5, so you either have your climbing bike or your aero
08:50 bike, and the brand has previously said that it doesn't want to dilute either of them.
08:55 The R5 is already pretty light, as the frame comes in at a claimed 700g, which is very good.
09:02 So, perhaps, if it were to be updated, we may only see a marginal improvement in the weight.
09:08 However, refining the frame shape to potentially become a little bit more aerodynamic without
09:13 stepping on the toes of the S5 could net a greater improvement while also making it a little bit
09:19 stiffer. Again, I think that this would be an iterative update, but it will be a very exciting
09:25 one when it's underneath Team Jumbo-Visma. Last on my list is the Scott Addict. Scott
09:36 launched the incredibly aerodynamic foil less than 18 months ago, and so it's clear that the
09:41 brand has no intention of creating a do-it-all road race bike, which means we could be in for
09:47 yet another stripped-back, specialist climbing bike. I've always thought that the Addict looked
09:52 great, and previous generations of the bike have been a pleasure to ride as well. So,
09:57 if the current model were to be replaced with something that's even lighter and stiffer than
10:01 before, then in my eyes, that is only a recipe for success. So, there we have it. This year turned
10:10 out to be the year of the new endurance bike, and perhaps next year could be the year of the super
10:16 lightweight climbing bike. Let me know down below which bike are you most excited for to come next
10:21 year. If you enjoyed the video, then please do drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for more
10:25 content, and I will see you again very soon.