GlennR

Cannondale SuperX Rival CX1

The plan was for a beefed up road bike that I can ride in foul weather and when road conditions are less than optimal. Like early Spring when there's a lot of sand, gravel, debris and potholes. I can also do some trail and fire roads with it.

I made a few changes, I wanted a a wider range so I swapped out the 11-28 for a 11-32 cassette. That required the short cage RD to be swapped for a mid cage. I also purchased a set of 32mm tubeless tires but they are are on backorder so i'll use the 35mm knobby for now. Also I replaced the stock (white) saddle for a Bontrager Paradigm RL (black) that I had. Finally the white bar tape was replaced with black Bontrager cork.

Unfortunately I broke the ratchet on my MTB shoes and hope to have a replacement today so I can take it for a ride. It's 52* and wet outside... perfect.

OldsCOOL

Sharp bike!

Oldguyonoldbike

Nice! Looking forward to a ride report on the 1x.

RonH

Good looking bike.

GlennR

I took it for it's maiden voyage... 13.8 miles with a 20mph wind.

The bike is "lively" which is surprising since it's 20# and my Emonda is 14#. It's very smooth and dead silent. It does have offroad tires on it and they soak up the bumps really well. I was running 65/70psi and need to dial it in. I set the "fit" up similar to the Emonda and i'll make some adjustments as I ride. The bike feels "thick", like a branch, meaning the hoods are bigger, the tubes are bigger and the tires are bigger compared to the Emonda, which feels like a twig. But it doesn't feel heavy, like my MTB which is a Trek 8.5 Dual Sport which is 27#.

The 1X is nice, it's Sram Rival and my previous road bike had Rival so it was second nature. The 32 rear combines with the 40T chainring is really low and easily close enough to the 28 rear with a compact crank that i'm used to. Dropping it into the 11 get me going 24mpg in a straight away. I did find the gears spaced more than i'm used to causing me to pick a lower gear, but I just raised my cadence. The drivetrain is silent, all i could hear is tire noise. I'm sure when i get the 32mm road tires it will be silent.

The disc brakes are awesome and stop on a dime.

The only issue I have is i'm using Shimano XT M780 XC pedals and they just don't feel as solid as my Look Blade 2 road pedals or Shimano A530 pedals on my MTB. There seems to be a lot of float, so i'll try to increase the tension.

Overall, i'm very please with it and after the ride I noticed some mud on the bottom bracket and seat tube.... that's what I bought it for. For wet days, for poor road conditions, for some light offroad use and just when i want something a bit beefier.

Wildwood 

What are those smokestacks on the handlebars?

GlennR

Hydro disc brakes.... they are kinda HUGE. But they give me a 4th position for my hands.

Wildwood 

I know all the marketing says everyone needs disc, but da*n they could have found a more attractive/integrated way to handle hydraulic.

GlennR

I don't know about marketing, but my road bike has rim brakes and they work just fine for me. I wanted hydro disc because I plan on riding it in the rain. You have to put the reservoirs somewhere and there seems to be the best location.

The hoods on my Emonda eTap are tiny and feel great. But then they don't have as much stuff inside of them.

Wildwood 

If the hydraulic has to be at the point of lever initiation then the current designs (at least the few I've seen) are probably a good first revision; plus given all the mtn bike experience it isn't really a prototype. But,for a purely road application (not cyclocross racing or trail rider), it would seem that the system could be made smaller. Maybe my mis-logic but that's the direction where i'd look for innovation.

edit = love your bikes. the right tools for the right applications. HOT STUFF!

Slowhead

Nice ride, enjoy.
The bike came with 35's. Do you think there is room on the frame to run 40's ?

GlennR

40mm will definitely fit. I'll be installed 32mm tubeless road tires when they are in stock.

TCR Rider

Nice! Ride her hard and get her dirty.

ColonelSanders

More pics please, especially a downward view of your top tube, as I am interested to see what they have done with the graphics where they break up the orange.

Also your pic looks so much better than the Cannondale site, where the pic they use looks very overexposed.

GlennR

ColonelSanders

Thank you, very nice.

Cannondale seem to have really upped their game in the last year or so.

freedomrider1

OH MAMA!

Kindaslow

OP.... Your new bike looks great. And, it sounds like it meets your wants and needs!

GlennR

Mission accomplished.

TCR Rider

That's what I'm talkin' 'bout.

Where was that taken?

GlennR

Bethpage State Park... they have some nice single track trails and this time of year, they can be a bit overgrown.

TCR Rider

I thought it looked familiar I used to do some running there with a friend who lived out that way.

GlennR

I was going to do a loop at Stillwell, but it was getting late.

I did find a large gap in gears when cruising at 16mph. I ran the numbers and a 11-32 11 speed has the Sam gears as a 11-28 10 speed with the addition of the 32.

GlennR

I moved the SuperX to get to the Emonda and found the rear tire flat... damn thorn. That's what I get for going offroad