00:00How does your dream bike compare to the one that you can actually afford, the bike that
00:05embodies the same spirit but is more realistically priced?
00:09The question is, if you go for the better value option, will you be disappointed?
00:14I'm going to put these two bikes head to head to tease out the nuances and explain
00:19what these two very different price points mean for the everyday rider.
00:23The bikes in question are these two Super 6s from Cannondale.
00:27We have the Super 6 Evo 3 which comes in at £4,000 or $4,200.
00:34And we also have the range-topping Lab 71 model which comes in at £12,500 or $16,000.
00:48The first thing many of us will jump to as a very obvious point of comparison is weight.
00:54There is no doubt that a bike using Cannondale's most sophisticated carbon fiber layup along
00:59with carbon finishing kit, lightweight wheels and the best components SRAM has to offer will
01:04be lighter than a bike with box section alloy rims and Shimano's third tier groupset.
01:10But the question is, by how much?
01:13Well, according to these scales, the Lab 71 tips the scales at 6.95 kilos and the Super 6
01:20Evo 3 comes in at 8.49 kilos.
01:24That's a difference of around 1.5 kilos.
01:27That means you're paying about £5.52 per gram of weight saved over and above the Evo 3.
01:35If we put that weight difference into the context of overall rider and bike weight,
01:39you're looking at roughly a difference of 1-2%.
01:43The reality is, if your main concern is weight, then opting for a heavier bike,
01:48which also saves you a fair chunk of cash, but in turn may require you to work slightly harder
01:54resulting in more calories being burnt, then I'm confident that's going to net a far greater return.
02:02That being said, between the two bikes, there is a clear weight difference.
02:06It's up to you to decide how much value you can attribute to saving the equivalent
02:11of two 500ml bottles of water.
02:18I'm sure you've heard myself and many others bang on about the fact that upgrading a bike's wheels
02:25should be the first thing you consider changing.
02:27And this advice is especially apparent when looking at these two bikes.
02:32The Evo 3 comes with some reliable, but not flashy, alloy wheels from DT Swiss.
02:37And the Lab 71 comes with a 2.5 grand set of wheels from Reserve,
02:42featuring aerodynamically optimised lightweight carbon rims and spokes with ceramic bearings.
02:49The wheels on the Lab 71 are really very nice.
02:53They're a great example of wheels that manage to combine lightweight and impressive stability,
02:58especially in crosswinds.
03:00They're a thought-after choice for a cyclist to enjoy riding a variety of parkours,
03:04fast on the flat, fast on the climbs, and stable on the descents.
03:08And it's not just the weight and the profile of these wheels which impresses,
03:12but they also feature a semi-hooked rim for good tyre compatibility,
03:17along with a wide internal rim width, making them a great pairing with the very on-trend 28
03:23and 30C road bike tyres that we often see today.
03:27These wheels really are a highlight of the Lab 71 build.
03:31However, the Evo 3's box-section alloy rims really aren't anything to write home about.
03:37Sure, they are strong, reliable wheels from a brand with a great reputation,
03:42of course being DT Swiss, but they aren't the most inspiring things to ride on.
03:47However, this is where I will put it to you.
03:51While the wheels on the Lab 71 are a great choice, they're still not your choice.
03:58Would you instead prefer to purchase a better value bike, which is in need of a wheel upgrade,
04:03allowing you to find the pair which is right for you?
04:06Perhaps you want to go deeper or shallower. At least then you have a set of wheels which matches
04:12the riding you do, with the bonus being that you then have a spare set of alloy wheels at home
04:18for either winter riding or, as a fullback, for when your fancy ones are being serviced.
04:23In that same vein of thinking, if you were to buy the better value bike and then upgrade the wheels
04:29and tyres, due to the huge improvement in ride feel, performance and saved weight,
04:34you're going to take a quantum leap forwards towards the kind of performance one would experience
04:39on the Lab 71, but for a much smaller cost.
04:44You can buy the reserve wheels found on the Lab 71 for around two and a half grand,
04:48which would mean you could buy the Evo 3 and the wheels and have thousands left over.
04:55But for a bike like the Evo 3, I think a set of wheels from Hunt would be a better match-up.
05:01I will put this to you now though, we actually swapped the wheels from the Lab 71 into the Evo 3
05:06to see what the weight difference would be, and it almost knocked off a kilo.
05:15Wheels are not the only thing that you may want to play around with. All too often we see brands
05:21releasing bikes with handlebars which we believe are far too wide for the riders for which they're
05:27intended. And Cannondale is not innocent in this regard. These quite frankly beautiful integrated
05:35carbon bars that come on the Lab 71 are a full 42cm wide, and the Evo 3's coming at 40cm. The
05:43difference here though is that the bars on the Evo 3 are not part of a one-piece cockpit and instead
05:49can fairly easily be changed for an alternative. You could either go for the same specification of bar,
05:56but in the correct width or you could opt for an upgrade. It's your choice. The key here being
06:03is that they would not be nearly as expensive as replacing and fitting the right size of bar on the
06:09Lab 71, which Cannondale is currently listing for £450 or $650. We've tested the effect narrow handlebars have
06:20in the wind tunnel on what's saved. And even by sizing down from a 42cm bar to a modest 38cm bar,
06:28there are savings to be had in the realms of 17 to 35 watts. That's a huge amount and would go a long way
06:37to making you tangibly faster. One of the common buzzwords that we're peppered with by marketing
06:48departments is ceramic, or ceramic bearings. These silky smooth bearings are pretty mesmerising by how
06:55freely they spin. And if you've got the cash, you can expect a full suite of them on the Lab 71 bike,
07:01in both the bottom bracket and the wheels. However, I'm confident that in a blind test, your everyday
07:08rider would never be able to tell the difference. Still bearings, when well maintained and manufactured
07:14by a good brand, will perform at a level so incomprehensibly close to ceramic ones,
07:20and will also save you a fair bit of cash in the long run. So, while it is nice to know that they're
07:26there, I don't think this is something you're going to be missing out on by opting for a better value bike.
07:37Until now, I have talked a lot about what makes these bikes so different, but it's important to
07:43look at what makes them so similar. Of course, they share the same name, and that means they share the
07:48same frame mould, just with different carbon fibre and layups. They do, though, share the same geometry,
07:55and the same engineering quirks such as a triangular shaped steerer tube.
08:00Even parts of the specification are similar. Both have hydraulic disc brakes, and both have
08:05wireless 12 speed group sets. These are the things that as riders we interact with most when cycling.
08:12So, for these parts of the bike to be so similar, brings me back to my original question. Would you be
08:19disappointed with the better value bike? I think that question will always be completely
08:25subjective. It entirely depends on what your point of reference is. If you've never had a carbon road
08:31bike with electronic gears and disc brakes, then no, you absolutely will not be disappointed with the
08:38Evo 3. Unless, of course, you're in love with the beauty of old bikes and nothing will ever change that.
08:44However, if you already own a swish bike with all of these same features and more, then, yes,
08:51it may feel like a downgrade. In which case, the need to buy a bike like this would become questionable
08:57unless you really wanted something to race on or take on holiday.
09:01If you want consumer advice, then I'm sure you can see where I'm going. Buy the better value bike,
09:08upgrade the wheels and tyres, and make sure you have the right width of handlebars. You'll be golden.
09:14But if you have the cash and you just want it, then buy the range topper. It won't disappoint you
09:21and you will have loads of fun on it. Loving your bike is important because that plays a big role in
09:27your desire to want to ride it. Bikes like these are an emotional purchase. We all know that if you
09:33want to ride on the road, you can do that for a much lower price than either of these bikes.
09:38The twelve and a half grand option is just an even more emotional one.
09:43Nobody buying the Lab 71 build can claim to need it for the marginal gains because those that need
09:50marginal gains aren't buying bikes. They're being paid to be on them. We buy bikes because we want
09:56them and because we like them. We like how they look, how they make us feel and the enjoyment they
10:01enable of propelling ourselves down the tarmac. So while I'm sure we'd all love to have a beast like this
10:08sat in our garage, we all know that we'd be just as quick on something costing much less.
10:14For most of us, speed isn't the biggest factor. It's about something far more intangible.
10:20Let's not forget, if it is speed you're after, it's about you, not the bike.
10:25Let's wait.
10:34Let's wait for the carer.
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