Cannondale System Six review

[dilbert]

Cannondale System Six ? American muscle!<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

Like the C40 I tested before, this bike has a history. It was Ryan Cox?s 2006 team bike. An SRM had been added to the hollowgram cranks, and the bar & stem changed to ITM k-sword. The bits & pieces look very nice, but Im afraid the frame will never win a beauty contest. The plain black colour scheme in a world full of plain black bikes does not stand out much, and the head tube is BIG, almost the size of a coke can.

http://www.tcsn.co.za/downloads/System6Bora.jpg

The frame:

First riding impressions were favorable; the geometry fitted me very well. The frame is slightly compact, with a 55cm top & 54 cm seat tube. The fit felt perfect, and reminded me very much of the C40, but with the frame angles resulting in perhaps a slightly sharper handling ride. Like the C40, it felt more like a Euro stage racer than a criterium machine. In contrast to the slender, shapely looks of the C40, the top & down tubes of the System6 are massive, and the chainstays are pretty big as well.

 

So how does it ride? Let me first say what it is not:

It is not an easy, relaxed cruising bike. It is not easy on the body, it is not a sweet girl you ask out to church on a Sunday:

No, this frame is strong, stiff, responsive, and demands to be ridden hard! I said it is no beauty queen, but this is a girl you can take to Loftus on a Saturday if you are a Cheetas supporter!

Jokes aside, the frame and cranks combine to give what must be one of the stiffest, feeling frames available. The fork matches the frame perfectly, handling is focused and precise. If you are looking for a fight, this is the weapon. On long, less intense rides, it is definitely harder on the body, especially compared to the smooth magic carpet ride of the C40, but to kick ass with, this is da machine!! 

 

The Equipment:

 

Firstly, the SRM: I like the display more than the Powertap. More info is presented simultaneously, and there is much less pressing of buttons needed when riding, and the higher sampling rate (200 Hz?) & averaging works perfectly. I do not think it is more accurate than a powertap, and I can?t see a reason why it should cost more than a powertap, especially the wireless SL2.4. I also recorded some error spikes in the region of 1500 watt. When I first saw it, I thought ?cool, I pushed 1500w? but scanning through the data, this was clearly spike or measurement error. It happened on all the rides so far, each time to around 1500w.

 

As for the cockpit, my ass felt instantly at home on the Arione carbon saddle, it provides a slightly softer ride than a normal Arione. The K-Sword bars has lots of places to rest hands on, but I found the FSA k-wing more comfortable. I also bumped my knees lightly on the back of the broad top of the bar once or twice when standing, even though the stem was a 130mm, so this must be due to the width of the bar. Like the FSA K-wing, I found the drops a bit too deep and my forearms touched the bar when sprinting in the drops. To my surprise, the bars also felt flexible when powering with hands on the hoods. It may not flex much, but on this bike, any flex is glaringly obvious. They do look very nice, though, and are certainly not cheap.

 

The Record gruppo rocks, and is still my favorite. Special mention has to be made of the bike?s ZeroG brakes. Much lighter than Record, they look a bit more industrial than the stylish looking D-skeletons. I wondered how much different they could feel? Brakes are brakes, right? WRONG! The combination of brake pads & brakes resulted in wonderful modulation and a feeling of precise control, though perhaps not as powerful as DuraAce or Record brakes.

 

In conclusion, I loved charging around on the System6, the responsiveness, the awesome feeling of unyielding stiffness. The frame felt a bit harsh on rough roads, and the ergonomics & stiffness of the handlebar was less than ideal. dilbert2008-08-21 11:53:22

[turtlek]

dilbert did you ride this bike and write this review????

[dilbert]

Rode it for 2 weeks , wrote the review for our club newsletter.

[turtlek]

ah ok cool stuff what is your overall verdict???

[dilbert]

Its a great frame for race day, not ideal for long rides at a lower pace. I would not go for the K-sword bars. 

[turtlek]

ok thanks for the tip i was going to be upgrading my ritchey bars and stem to the k-sword bars and stem what other ideas would you have for bars and stem combo and is the cinnelli ram bar overrated

[Racer X]

Last two lines Dude

[dilbert]

My vote for a hbar would go to the Zipp SL, the light 3T one or Easton EC90SLX, in that order.

Im not a fan of carbon stems, the difference between aluminium and carbon stems is price only - carbon offers no performance gain. If it must be carbon for the purpose of bling, I would match the stem to the bar, Zipp stem with Zipp bars, etc.

As far as integrated bars go, they dont offer any advantage other than looks over a seperate bar/stem. I like the look of Cinelli Ram. 

[dilbert]

3T has got a couple of nice bars, the LTD rotundo & ergosum both weigh a claimed 169g, and the LTD ergonova is 180g - nice!

The matching LTD & team stems look good, too.

[turtlek]

Last two lines Dude

 

 

 

his big words were scary racer X

[Spinnekop]

ok thanks for the tip i was going to be upgrading my ritchey bars and stem to the k-sword bars and stem what other ideas would you have for bars and stem combo and is the cinnelli ram bar overrated

 

I have the FSA K-wing handlebars which is surprisingly good and the KCNC stem (97g for the 100mm).

 

 

[turtlek]

ok thanks for the tip i was going to be upgrading my ritchey bars and stem to the k-sword bars and stem what other ideas would you have for bars and stem combo and is the cinnelli ram bar overrated

 

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I have the FSA K-wing handlebars which is surprisingly good and the KCNC stem (97g for the 100mm).

 

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i have seen your setup and it looks great but dont think it will go well with my bianchi