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TECH NEWS
Just in: Cannondale CAAD12 Disc - latest generation aluminium road bike with disc brakes
Is this the brightest bike we’ve ever had in the road.cc office? Probably. It's certainly one of the most eagerly anticipated new bikes in a while. It's the new Cannondale CAAD12 disc, of course. Tony took it up and down some mountains at the worldwide launch last summer, now we can review it properly.
The new CAAD12 is the latest in a long series of aluminium road bikes from the US company and succeeds the hugely popular CAAD10. No CAAD11? Cannondale says that because it has packed so much technology into this new frame that it felt it had to skip a number. Some might speculate it was to avoid Spinal Tap references. The only CAAD10 you can now buy is the CAAD10 Track.
Regardless of the name, this new CAAD12 Disc has a frame that has been manipulated and shaped using a proprietary computer modelling programmed called True Flow Modelling. The result is a frame that is 206g lighter than the CAAD10 Disc, and it’s actually 4g lighter than the non-disc version. That's an impressive weight saving and shows there is still plenty of potential gains to be had from aluminium.
- 11 of the best 2016 aluminium road bikes
Not only has weight been saved, but Cannondale makes some big claims for improved stiffness and compliance. It says the frame is 10% stiffer at the head tube and 13% at the bottom bracket, and the frame is 50% more compliant due to changes in the rear triangle and the use of a 25.4mm seatpost, borrowed from the Synapse.
The new frame features a lot of tube shaping, it really is very impressive to look at how much the individual tubes have been shaped and pushed. There’s full internal cable routing, and it’s been designed for the latest Flat Mount disc calipers.
There’s a wider BB30a bottom bracket borrowed from the SuperSix Evo. Though the bike is specced with 25mm tyres, there is space for 28mm tyres. There are no thru-axles, instead, Cannondale has stuck with conventional quick releases.
We’ve got the top-of-the-range model in for a test. It costs £2,499 and is equipped with a Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 mechanical drivetrain with a Cannondale HollowGram Si chainset. The 52/36 chainrings are matched with an 11-28t cassette.
- Review: Cannondale CAAD10 Ultegra
The wheels are the new Mavic Ksyrium disc-specific wheels with Yksion Elite 25mm tyres. Brakes are Shimano RS785 Flat Mount calipers with 140mm disc rotors at both ends. Cannondale has dipped into its own parts bin for the handlebars, stem and seatpost, and finished it all off with a Fizik Arione saddle. The 56cm bike pictured weighs 8.03kg (17.7lb).
There’s also a CAAD12 Dic Ultegra (£1,999) and CAAD12 Disc 105 (£1,499) in the range which uses the same frame and fork. More at www.cannondale.com/en/ and a full review coming soon.
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
Latest Comments
- eburtthebike 3 sec ago
Thank you for photoshopping out all the dead pedestrians.
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Did they think it was a drive thru?
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Reportedly a 26year old as well, so that's 18points per annum since they could have passed assuming none have lapsed......
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I thought wide rims and tires were marketing hype until I bought a bike in 2019 that had both... 700x32C tires on a 25mm internal width rim. Now I...
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This doesn't actually look ridiculous (seems to be the normal way to judge what's "safe" for cyclists)!...
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I have an Altura jacket that I use for commuting that has pit-zips which I keep open on all but the coldest days. Not sure what model it is but the...
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But I've seen scooters with seats about - why not just get one? Looking online "illegal no barrier" as usual...
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24 comments
Wish Cannondale would just use a BB shell that you could fit a standard Shim crank too, it's a bit annoying having to use FSA ones all the time.
The 105 Disc model is my current front runner for next bike though - any ideas what the Scales Of Truth say for the Ultegra version?
The frames are designed around Cannondales System Integrated chainsets which is where performance is optimised. Shimano cranks will fit but they will add weight and not be as stiff in most cases.
At last, a rear triangle that isn't a dog's breakfast of cast/welded sections to accommodate the disk mount.
This sets a the bar to a new height for well-resolved detail in this area:
And a great colour.
Wish they sold a frame only with that paintwork.
Still have my Caad10 but not for long...
QR? Why no thru axel.
Doesn't need a thru axle, thru axle is needed to stiffen up a back end that can't cope with the disc brake forces and this one copes just fine.
Agree that this colour would be nice as a frameset option...
I won't be buying any disc brake bike unless it has the flat-mounted disc brake. Makes it look so much cleaner.
The Kona Roadhouse already uses flat-mounts.
Not much of a 'proper' review. More a list of the specs!
That's because it's not a review. It's labelled as a 'just in', which is our name for a first look article. It's just a first look at the bikes when they arrive in the office. Once it's been thoroughly tested, we then follow it up with a full, in-depth review. That's coming soon.
I think it looks ace and would love one as my summers day bike. Excellent value IMHO, but then so is the carbon Integral Synapse. Decisions, decisions.
One other thought - this appears to be the first disc-braked bike that is truely worthy of being raced in crits, etc. It's not a piece of exotica that would leave your bank manger crying the first time you went over in a race (when spec'd with 105) and its still aggresive enough in fit whilst light enough.
@markovich : Good spot on the post mount front brake @cdamian : there are true flat mounts available on a number of bikes - I think what you are seeing is that their standard fitting has a flat plate to allow adjustment - the plate goes between the hydraulic unit and the fork leg - no posts .
I agonised over buying this because it is a beautiful bike and the price is very good for a hydraulic disc. In the end I went with the Synapse because the reach was a little too long for me. Both ends are post mount though which is not a major for me.
For those who might worry about it, I wouldn't not buy a bike because it has a 25.4mm post unless the standard one needed to be upgraded. However the Synapse post (used above) is a quality lightweight carbon one able to take a Di battery so its good for the life of the frame
I was agonizing over CAAD10 (frame + build) now or wait for CAAD12 (complete). I went for CAAD10 and it will be finished soon and it will be under 8kg and under £1700 (Ultegra + R685 + carbon bars, stem, post), so no regrets yet...
Obviously CAAD12 looks like big improvement, if everything above is true. But... CAAAD10 still looks like a better choice for me.
First of all BB30a will not take Shimano cranksets. I like Ultegra 4-arm BCD 110 system because you can swap 50/34 for 39/53 chainrings without disassembling crankset, just undo 4 bolts.
Secondly, I could find only three 25.4mm seatposts for road bikes. That is not a lot.
rix, did you get the frame from Evans for £370?
And which wheelset have you gone for to get the build under 8Kg?
Yes! I love that black paint job!
I have my wheels built with ZTR Grail (24H), Novatech hubs, DT-Swiss Aero spokes. Should be 1550-1590g. Cost around £320 + work. If my calculations are correct, bike will be 7,9kg w/o pedals and bottle cages.
..but how do you ride a bike without pedals?!
Mine is 6kg without a crankset! ; )
That is how manufacturers weigh their bikes w/o pedals, bottle cages, bells, lights, mudguards, racks.
Wheels mfg makes a BB30a adaptor for Shimano cranks. But ya, Cannondale should just include a seatpost in with all CAAD12/SuperSix Evo/Synapse Frames
looks a little strange that the rear is a flat mount but the front appears to be a more conventional style?
that is what I thought too, but all the bikes using flat-mount in the front need an adaptor.
I haven't seen a fork that works directly with flat-mount.
So it makes sense to use the post-mount here and avoid the adaptor.
A bit annoying that it is using 140mm discs, you probably want to upgrade that, even if the small ones look a bit cleaner.
I think that there is less complicated explanation...
I would bet that they are using same old forks, surplus from CAAD10
I've got the new Slate CX1 and that's the same, flat mount rear, post mount front
that's probably the fork of CAAD10 Disc. Old fork, new frame, QR, CAAD12 is a transitional design.
But I still bought it regardless. Couldn't resist. The CAAD12 Disc tracks really well when going down hill (when you have the proper center of gravity)
Yep. Does rather look a bit loose!
Am I imagining it or is one of the bolts holding the rear brake caliper on loose? If so you might want to fix that before riding it!