Cannondale Super Six Hi-Mod Disc
Moderators: MrCurrieinahurry, maxim809, Moderator Team
Hey all, long time since I shared any of my bikes but I just picked this thing up and I absolutely love it!!
I've been on a 2008 Cannondale System Six with Di2 for the past 4 years, absolutely loved the bike. Every time I looked into upgrading I realized that nothing really offered a significant upgrade (in my opinion) to the System Six. But I'd been eyeing discs for a while since I do a lot of descending and road bike singletracking. Most of my rides work out to ~100' of climbing per mile and I'd never found carbon wheels that I loved the braking on.
I'd had my eye on a SuperSix for a while and finally my local shop got the 2018 colors on sale! I jumped on the System Six Evo Hi-Mod Dura Ace Disc with the intention of swapping over to Ultegra Di2 since it's about an even swap.
Here's the bike after swapping over and building with the new 6870 groupset. I absolutely love the bike, the handling has everything thing I loved about the SystemSix with a little quicker line change (but not twitchy) and the comfort is a huge upgrade. Not quite the huge front end stiffness of the SuperSix but it's plenty stiff.
Weight is 7.8kg which is a little more portly than I hoped but that's disc&di2 for ya.
I know it's a hotly contested topic but I do feel more confident with the disc brakes, not quite as much initial bite but more power once you grab a fist of them.
One negative/general comment on the bike is that the front/rear ride stiffness is a little unbalanced. A crack or bump in the road is definitely more severe up front than in the back. I've been careful to match pressure in the tires. I'm sure the Pro Vibe Bars and Thomson stem don't help with this and I think that 25.4 Save post helps in the back a lot. Not really a complaint but others might find the feedback interesting.
A couple notes about converting the mechanical frame to Di2:
-You need a new rear derailleur hanger. I was able to drill/file the mechanical one so I could ride while I waited for shipping
-The seatpost doesn't have the battery interface. I wrapped the battery in bar tape and it's a very tight friction fit.
-You'll need some grommets to fill the screw holes for the cable stops
Also, some notes about routing the Di2 internally with the RS910 Junction A.
-I milled a slot in the ends of the bars, along the flats. I couldn't bring myself to put a hole any higher up without being worried about things breaking down the line
-Because I wanted the climbers switch on the right side and the wire to the derailleurs to follow my rear brake I needed to use a Junction B in the bar for an extra port.
-I ran a 1400mm e-tube wire from the right side junction box to the left side junction box inside the bar. A 1200mm may have worked but that's what I had.
-Wiring diagram below
-The wireless transmitter is located in the seat tube, in line with the battery connection.
A couple weight weenie notes:
-The mechanical cable stops/guides weigh ~13g
-Cannondale uses some super heavy bar end plugs, 30g for the pair!
-The seatpost is really long, 400mm. Most people will be able to remove a small amount of weight here by cutting it
Future upgrades:
-Cutting steering tube and seatpost
-BBInfinite or WheelsMFG 24mm bottom bracket
-New rear skewer, potentially a DT Swiss thru bolt?
-New frame pump, current one rattles all over the place
-New stem, TBD. Mostly a shallow aesthetic motivation
-Tubeless tires once the current ones wear out
-New bottle cages, again mostly a shallow motivation
I've been on a 2008 Cannondale System Six with Di2 for the past 4 years, absolutely loved the bike. Every time I looked into upgrading I realized that nothing really offered a significant upgrade (in my opinion) to the System Six. But I'd been eyeing discs for a while since I do a lot of descending and road bike singletracking. Most of my rides work out to ~100' of climbing per mile and I'd never found carbon wheels that I loved the braking on.
I'd had my eye on a SuperSix for a while and finally my local shop got the 2018 colors on sale! I jumped on the System Six Evo Hi-Mod Dura Ace Disc with the intention of swapping over to Ultegra Di2 since it's about an even swap.
Here's the bike after swapping over and building with the new 6870 groupset. I absolutely love the bike, the handling has everything thing I loved about the SystemSix with a little quicker line change (but not twitchy) and the comfort is a huge upgrade. Not quite the huge front end stiffness of the SuperSix but it's plenty stiff.
Weight is 7.8kg which is a little more portly than I hoped but that's disc&di2 for ya.
I know it's a hotly contested topic but I do feel more confident with the disc brakes, not quite as much initial bite but more power once you grab a fist of them.
One negative/general comment on the bike is that the front/rear ride stiffness is a little unbalanced. A crack or bump in the road is definitely more severe up front than in the back. I've been careful to match pressure in the tires. I'm sure the Pro Vibe Bars and Thomson stem don't help with this and I think that 25.4 Save post helps in the back a lot. Not really a complaint but others might find the feedback interesting.
A couple notes about converting the mechanical frame to Di2:
-You need a new rear derailleur hanger. I was able to drill/file the mechanical one so I could ride while I waited for shipping
-The seatpost doesn't have the battery interface. I wrapped the battery in bar tape and it's a very tight friction fit.
-You'll need some grommets to fill the screw holes for the cable stops
Also, some notes about routing the Di2 internally with the RS910 Junction A.
-I milled a slot in the ends of the bars, along the flats. I couldn't bring myself to put a hole any higher up without being worried about things breaking down the line
-Because I wanted the climbers switch on the right side and the wire to the derailleurs to follow my rear brake I needed to use a Junction B in the bar for an extra port.
-I ran a 1400mm e-tube wire from the right side junction box to the left side junction box inside the bar. A 1200mm may have worked but that's what I had.
-Wiring diagram below
-The wireless transmitter is located in the seat tube, in line with the battery connection.
A couple weight weenie notes:
-The mechanical cable stops/guides weigh ~13g
-Cannondale uses some super heavy bar end plugs, 30g for the pair!
-The seatpost is really long, 400mm. Most people will be able to remove a small amount of weight here by cutting it
Future upgrades:
-Cutting steering tube and seatpost
-BBInfinite or WheelsMFG 24mm bottom bracket
-New rear skewer, potentially a DT Swiss thru bolt?
-New frame pump, current one rattles all over the place
-New stem, TBD. Mostly a shallow aesthetic motivation
-Tubeless tires once the current ones wear out
-New bottle cages, again mostly a shallow motivation
Last edited by seahuston on Fri Sep 14, 2018 3:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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I used the stock PF30a BB cups with the wheels manufacturing BB30a->24mm adapters. They seem fine, I'm planning to replace with either wheels mfg threaded BB or BBinfinite one piece once I have the motivation or the bearings wear out.
Some updates:
Swapped Thomson Stem for Bontrager XXX stem, -23g
Swapped Rear QR to 40g one I had in the parts bin, -20g
Cut steerer and seatpost: -44g
Added Lezyne pump bracket: +13g
Future work:
Tubeless tires
Carbon cages
Bolt front axle
Carbon bars (on the hunt for the perfect bar)
After this I don't really see any major weight savings without big outlay or major changes like getting rid of power meter.
Last edited by seahuston on Fri Sep 14, 2018 3:40 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Quick Update:
Swapped cages for bontrager RXL cages -39g
Swapped front QR axle for Sram Maxle -24g
I wish I'd researched the axle options a bit more. The maxle weights 32g which seems a little high
Bike is now at 16.8lbs / 7.62kg.
Future upgrade plans:
change to Ritchey Carbon Streem Bars (~60g).
Change to tubeless, tires TBD (~150g).
I've still got the stock hollowgram crank, that would drop around 300g but I'd loose power meter. I'll probably sell it
Dissapointingly the BB has already started to creak. Wheels MFG has an angular contact thread together solution coming in October that I'll wait for.
Swapped cages for bontrager RXL cages -39g
Swapped front QR axle for Sram Maxle -24g
I wish I'd researched the axle options a bit more. The maxle weights 32g which seems a little high
Bike is now at 16.8lbs / 7.62kg.
Future upgrade plans:
change to Ritchey Carbon Streem Bars (~60g).
Change to tubeless, tires TBD (~150g).
I've still got the stock hollowgram crank, that would drop around 300g but I'd loose power meter. I'll probably sell it
Dissapointingly the BB has already started to creak. Wheels MFG has an angular contact thread together solution coming in October that I'll wait for.
Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓ Broad Selection ✓ Worldwide Delivery ✓
www.starbike.com
The Di2 specific mech hanger weighs 2 grams less than the mechanical one FYI
I've never had an issue with either bar tape, foam padding or electrical tape. Pretty sure they're lighter than any plastic holder solution out there.