The SystemSix has recently caught my eye as a potential alternative to a custom build I am planning to pull the trigger on. In general, Cannondale has never appealed to me as a bike brand, not saying they make anything bad or anything, just it never tickled me the right way. Except for the SystemSix, it potentially ticks all the boxes but I am curious to hear from people who actually went and got one, especially versions with the integrated cockpit and 64mm wheels.
Is the bike as fast as they say? Can you actually feel a difference? Is it a good of a race bike as they claim? What is problematic? What quirks and drawbacks have you found?
Any and all feedback from actual users would be golden
I heard there is a steering block mounted as standard, have you had any issues with it? i.e. Have you had any dangerous situations where the block prevented you from turning as sharply as you would have wanted?
Edit: what have you been riding prior that the change is so noticable?
So I see that with FTP gains comes the hunger for the new bike? (honestly I am currently in the same situation - looking for replacement for my ALR emonda)
Indeed, I have the power, but I lack an adequate bike I’m still riding an old heavy 8 speed aluminum round tubed bike which basically has the aerodynamics of a barn. Having something modern and a bit more advanced would be a nice change
I think you need to look at physics of turning bikes and motorbikes at speed - you’re supposed to lean into the corner and maybe even counter steer, not turn the wheel.
I’m pretty sure Cannondale would not have installed something that was deliberately dangerous to users.
I have only ever noticed this twice. Once when when i took a wrong turn and had to do a U-turn on a narrow lane at low speed… and secondly, when i took the front wheel off to put it in my car; you can’t lie it flat.
This is an important question. I was riding a 10yr old giant defy which cost me £1k 10yrs ago. I had only only ever upgraded the wheels to some mavics.
With the Giant, i was losing a significant amount of power through the drivetrain. The difference in reading from my favero assioma pedals to the taxc was like 10%. So at 400w at the pedals was only 360 at the taxc.
The cannondale just wants to go fast. On the flats (with good road) i’m cruising at 40km +.
In the group rides i’m leading off the front and breaking away at cruising pace. I feel like i need to find a faster group to go out with.
I have the 2019 Ultegra di2 model - so both the integrated cockpit and the knot wheels. The only change I’ve made to the bike is a different chainring and swapped to GP5000 TL tires.
Overall the bike is awesome, I use it as my primary road bike, which means it sees road races, the occasional crit, and a bunch of outdoor training miles. No complaints about the speed, fit, or function of the bike.
I don’t know if they’ve resolved this in the 2020 model, but in 2019 there were issues with chainring flex allowing you to throw the chain in severe power situations (my replacement was paid for by Cannondale). This isn’t an issue for most folks, who can ride the bike without ever being in those situations, but is worth noting.
I haven’t had any bottom bracket issues with mine but have seen others (both here and other online forums) mention creaky bottom brackets - but mine has been totally fine.
Yeah I’m pretty sure too they wouldn’t do it deliberately, however engineers do make mistakes and design oversight errors do happen. Not sure but I saw something similar that the new cervelo has had problems with a similar locking pin potentially damaging the frame? Not sure
Out of curiosity I also looked up the warranty terms for the systemsix and if the locking bolt breaks the frame then that is not covered by set warranty… whaaat?!
From the manual: “NOTICE
To prevent damaging the brake hoses or Di2 wires,
the steering stop pin (3) limits steering to 50 degrees
left and 50 degrees right. This is more than enough
steering for normal riding. This high-strength pin is
permanently anchored in the frame. Overload (due
to e.g. crash, etc.) may damage frame, fork or pin and
is not covered by the limited warranty.”
Thanks for the heads up. I did check but there are currently no sizes available. Will keep an eye out
This is something I think I am suffering from now too. Given that my bike is even more basic then your previous Defy, then I wouldn’t be surprised if the power losses are even greater. Which makes it a bummer as it just pure waste. If I could go down from 400 to 350 and still have the same speed that would be ridiculous, basically going down from a mild VO2 to a nice sub threshold pull.
What do you mean by that? Did you break the chainring? Was it the frame’s fault or the chainrings’? If I would to get one I would fit it with a Sram 1x setup, so not sure If this issue you are mentioning would still apply. More info needed
How are you finding the wheels? Are they rock solid or more on the made from bubble gum side? Did your wheels ever take a beating on pot holes etc? If yes how did they cope?
It is an issue with the proprietary Cannondale chainrings, nothing to do with the frame. I believe you can have this issue on just about any bike that you put them on - as I mentioned it is not a common thing and you have to be putting out some very specific power and cadence numbers to even have it as a possibility
I like them, although haven’t swapped any other wheels onto the bike for a true apples to apples comparison. They ride rough with the default tires on them - switching to the GP5000TL in 25s made a world of difference. I’d say definitely swap the tires out and you’ll have a nice mix of stiffness and comfort.
I absolutely love my systemsix. I’ve got the mechanical dura ace model but had the cables routed internally. I also changed the bar and stem but that was due to personal preference. If I could only keep one of my current bikes it would have to be the systemsix.
I have the power, but I lack an adequate bike 
I’m still riding an old heavy 8 speed aluminum round tubed bike which basically has the aerodynamics of a barn. Having something modern and a bit more advanced would be a nice change 
