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.
00:33And we also have the range-topping Lab 71 model, which comes in at £12,500 or $16,000.
00:47The first thing many of us will jump to as a very obvious point of comparison is weight.
00:53There 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.
01:09But 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 Evo
01:203 comes
01:21in at 8.49 kilos. That's a difference of around 1.5 kilos. That means you're paying about £5.52
01:30per gram of weight saved over and above the Evo 3.
01:34If 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%. The reality is, if your main concern is weight,
01:46then opting for a heavier bike, which also saves you a fair chunk of cash, but in turn may require
01:53you to work slightly harder, resulting in more calories being burnt, then I'm confident that's
01:59going to net a far greater return. That being said, between the two bikes,
02:04there is a clear weight difference. It's up to you to decide how much value you can
02:09attribute to saving the equivalent of 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
02:24should be the first thing you consider changing, and this advice is especially apparent when looking
02:30at these two bikes. The Evo 3 comes with some reliable, but not flashy, alloy wheels from DT
02:37Swiss, and the Lab 71 comes with a 2.5 grand set of wheels from Reserve, featuring aerodynamically
02:44optimised lightweight carbon rims and spokes with ceramic bearings. The wheels on the Lab 71 are really
02:51very nice. They're a great example of wheels that manage to combine lightweight and impressive
02:57stability, especially in crosswinds. They're a thought-after choice for a cyclist who enjoys
03:02riding a variety of parkours, fast 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, but they also feature
03:14a semi-hooked rim for good tyre compatibility, along with a wide internal rim width, making them a great
03:20pairing with the very on-trend 28 and 30c road bike tyres that we often see today.
03:27These wheels really are a highlight of the Lab 71 build. However, the Evo 3's box section alloy rims
03:34really aren't anything to write home about. Sure, they are strong, reliable wheels from a brand with
03:41a great reputation, of 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. While the wheels on the Lab 71 are a great
03:54choice,
03:55they're still not your choice. Would you instead prefer to purchase a better value bike which is in
04:01need of a wheel upgrade, allowing you to find the pair which is right for you? Perhaps you want to
04:07go
04:07deeper or shallower. At least then you have a set of wheels which matches the riding you do,
04:13with the bonus being that you then have a spare set of alloy wheels at home for either winter riding
04:19or as a fallback for when your fancy ones are being serviced. In that same vein of thinking,
04:25if you were to buy the better value bike and then upgrade the wheels and tyres, due to the huge
04:31improvement in ride feel, performance and saved weight, you're going to take a quantum leap forwards
04:37towards the kind of performance one would experience on 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, which would
04:49mean
04:49you could buy the Evo 3 and the wheels and have thousands left over. But for a bike like the
04:56Evo 3,
04:57I think a set of wheels from Hunt would be a better matchup. I will put this to you now
05:02though,
05:02we actually swapped the wheels from the Lab 71 into the Evo 3 to see what the weight difference would
05:08be and it almost knocked off a kilo. Wheels are not the only thing that you may want to play
05:19around
05:19with. All too often we see brands releasing bikes with handlebars which we believe are far too wide
05:25for the riders for which they're intended and Cannondale is not innocent in this regard.
05:32These quite frankly beautiful integrated carbon bars that come on the Lab 71 are a full 42cm wide
05:40and the Evo 3's coming at 40cm. The difference here though is that the bars on the Evo 3 are
05:46not
05:47part of a one-piece cockpit and instead can fairly easily be changed for an alternative.
05:53You could either go for the same specification of bar but in the correct width or you could opt
05:59for an upgrade. It's your choice. The key here being is that they would not be nearly as expensive
06:05as replacing and fitting the right size of bar on the Lab 71 which Cannondale is currently listing
06:12for £450 or $650. We've tested the effect narrow handlebars have in the wind tunnel on what's saved.
06:22And even by sizing down from a 42cm bar to a modest 38cm bar there are savings to be had
06:30in the realms
06:31of 17 to 35 watts. That's a huge amount and would go a long way to making you tangibly faster.
06:44One of the common buzzwords that we're peppered with by marketing departments
06:48is ceramic or ceramic bearings. These silky smooth bearings are pretty mesmerising by how freely they
06:56spin and if you've got the cash you can expect a full suite of them on the Lab 71 bike
07:01in both the
07:02bottom bracket and the wheels. However, I'm confident that in a blind test your everyday rider would never
07:09be able to tell the difference. Still bearings, when well maintained and manufactured by a good brand,
07:15will perform at a level so incomprehensibly close to ceramic ones and will also save you a fair bit
07:22of cash in the long run. So, while it is nice to know that they're there, I don't think this
07:27is
07:28something 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. Even parts of the specification are
08:02similar. Both have hydraulic disc brakes and both have wireless 12 speed group sets. These are the
08:09things that as riders we interact with most when cycling. So, for these parts of the bike to be so
08:14similar brings me back to my original question. Would you be disappointed with the better value bike?
08:22I think that question will always be completely subjective. It entirely depends on what your point
08:28of reference is. If you've never had a carbon road bike with electronic gears and disc brakes,
08:34then no, you absolutely will not be disappointed with the EVO 3. Unless, of course, you're in love with
08:41the beauty of old bikes and nothing will ever change that. However, if you already own a swish bike with
08:47all of these same features and more, then yes, it may feel like a downgrade. In which case, the need
08:54to buy
08:55a bike like this would become questionable, unless you really wanted something to race on or take on
09:00holiday. If 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
09:20and
09:21you will have loads of fun on it. Loving your bike is important because that plays a big role in
09:27your
09:27desire to want to ride it. Bikes like these are an emotional purchase. We all know that if you want
09:34to ride on the road, you can do that for a much lower price than either of these bikes. The
09:3912 and a
09:39half grand option is just an even more emotional one. Nobody buying the Lab 71 build can claim to need
09:46it for the marginal gains. Because those that need marginal gains aren't buying bikes. They're being
09:53paid to be on them. We buy bikes because we want them and because we like them. We like how
09:58they
09:58look, how they make us feel and the enjoyment they enable of propelling ourselves down the tarmac.
10:04So, while I'm sure we'd all love to have a beast like this sat in our garage, we all know
10:10that we'd be
10:11just as quick on something costing much less. For most of us, speed isn't the biggest factor. It's
10:17about something far more intangible. Let's not forget, if it is speed you're after, it's about you, not the bike.
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