I'd spent years with a trusty Wilier GTR with Tiagra in fetching green and black, and he (yes he's a he) served me extremely well while I discovered I quite liked this cycling business.
Unfortunately for him I also discovered window shopping and craved an upgrade after 4 years or so. Luckily for me, I was able to get a discount on Cannondales, and I knew the new Supersix was coming out that summer. Reading on here I knew how highly rated the previous one was, and pinned my hopes on that. I have to admit; when it first came out I was instantly sure I didn't prefer the looks over the traditional tubing and lines of the old 'Six, and vowed to get one of those instead. Marketing got me though. I soon came around and when I saw my new frame in 'Agave' green (the fancy name does make me chuckle
) out of the box, with some lovely deep carbon wheels, I was over the moon. It looked stunning. 
I had plumped for the Dura Ace mechanical offering, coming with a Hi-Mod frame and the slightly deeper HollowGram 45 wheelset. I had initially looked at the Force AXS option, fancying a white bike and electronic shifting (and if I'm being honest, something different to the crowds of Shimano bikes). A bit more research put me off the heavy AXS gruppo though, and the price jump was not that big to the DA offering, plus I got better wheels and a lighter frame. Better paint if you ask me too! Also felt electronic shifting should be left as something to look forward to, and Dura Ace bling was more than compensation.
Being far too excited I did forget to weigh things individually, but made sure I got a total weight at least by taking the wheels off for my kitchen scale (5kg limit):
Don't try this at home kids.
All that plus skewers (30+40 each) gave a total weight out of the box of 8.0kg when I threw my Assioma Duos and a bottle cage I had lying around on. I knew it would be a tad porky from reviews and indeed this forum, so no shock there.
I swapped out the Rubinos Pros after a few hundred kms. I didn't have much time for these, cut up pretty badly in the wet Oxfordshire winter and weren't the most confidence-inspiring ride. Vittoria Corsa on the front and Control on the rear in 25c went on, with Michelin Ultralight tubes. I also got a couple of Bontrager Bat cages to replace the shoddy one I had thrown on.
I rode on like that for a good 3000km, which happened to coincide with the British winter as previously mentioned... perhaps unwise, but the early months were uncharacteristically dry, and I couldn't help myself! Rain and muck did eventually come, but a deep clean of the rear mech was all the was really required come Spring. I admit not being a mechanic, there may be other attention needed and I simply haven't realised, but all is going like clockwork still. I love how it ticks along on the flat, it feels fast here, noticeably over my old Wilier. Where it surprised me a bit was on the steeper grades, where standing on the pedals feels slightly less natural, but once I sit back down and get my cadence, all feels well again. I think this is partly due to going from 42cm bars to 38s, having done a fit before getting the Evo (I am on the smaller side). It has taken me on 100 mile epics, sprinty club runs, and even a muddy towpath or two. It's put a massive smile on my face even when the ride shouldn't warrant one, and I can't help admire it every time I pull it out of the shed.
Now onto the fun part... upgrades! I have finally managed to source some of the parts I've been wanting in my search for grams. Stem and bar were high up the priority list, with the semi-integrated Systembar weighing nearly 600g in all, as was the chainset with NGeco PM that came pre installed but not activated...
Saddle had been before I got the bike too, however after riding the prologue Dimension I'm pretty impressed, but it's still not safe from future replacement... Anyway, this is the shelf of bits waiting to go on all in one go (a bit less painful that way with the integrated routing):
Zipp SL Sprint Stem 120mm - 181g
Zipp SL70 Aero Bars 38cm - 232g
Zipp Carbon Cages - 18g each
Dura Ace 140mm Rotors - 94g each
Veloflex Masters 25c - 225g each
Conti Race Light tubes - 80g each
Finally either Fizik Vento Microtex Tacky Tape or Guee Tape that matches the bike
Hoping to get a 10 arm Spidering to go on too, but still working on that. Will probably get a Raceware stem faceplate mount for my wahoo, as I like the idea of a cleaner cockpit. All in all it should bring the weight down to around 7.45kg according to my spreadsheet. I'll post again once this is all on or there's anything else changing, the goal is to eventually have this thing at 7 flat or under, but realistically that'll take a wheelset change, which isn't on the agenda just yet, not for less weight anyway... And I fully intend on this bike being an all rounder, so while it would be nice to hit that target, it won't be at the cost of my day-to-day riding.
Hope you enjoy the read, build sheet probably to appear after these changes
