Cannondale SuperX Hi-Mod Disc

Its powerful and highly controllable disc brakes let us enter the corners hotter and more consistently, its incredibly silky ride quality is easier on the body, so you can stay on the gas longer and feel less beat up at the end of the hour, and it's impressively efficient and enviably lightweight. 

By far the Cannondale SuperX Hi-Mod Disc's defining characteristic is its smoothness. It's a positively creamy ride on rough courses that might rattle your hands numb aboard a less forgiving machine, especially when you run the tires at suitably low pressures. While it's arguable whether that comfort even matters for a race lasting only an hour, it's undeniable that the SuperX Hi-Mod Disc's cushy demeanor also lets you stay on the gas more consistently and simply go faster than racers that might be forced to stand up and coast.

According to Cannondale, our disc-specific SuperX tester is actually even softer in terms of ride quality than the rim brake-equipped version we sampled two years ago.

The SuperX Hi-Mod Disc's fantastic ability to soak up the bumps pays dividends in tricky corners, too. In addition to cushioning your body up top, the soft frame helps keep the tires' contact patches more firmly affixed to the ground. Instead of skittering through a turn, the Cannondale's more planted personality helps you hold your desired line – which, again, helps you go faster.

That awesome ride out back doesn't translate quite as fully up front, however – something we've noted on some road bikes with similarly silky ride characteristics. That said, the stock tapered SuperX Hi-Mod Disc fork is admirably comfortable overall, especially compared to other forks with larger lower steerer diameters and enormously oversized crowns and legs.

More importantly, that stout fork is connected to an awesomely stiff front triangle for fantastically precise handling that seems especially suited to American-style courses. 

Together with the smart frame geometry – including a relatively low 67mm bottom bracket drop, 71.5-degree head tube angle, and reasonably tidy 430mm chain stays on our 52cm tester – the result is excellent agility through tight and slow 180-degree hairpins. We also experienced quick transitions from edge to edge when linking corners together, and the ability to confidently drift the whole bike through slippery, high-speed sweepers.

The comfort-tuned rear end doesn't seem as tremendously stiff as the front triangle. Nevertheless, the SuperX Hi-Mod Disc is efficient when you apply the power, surging forward with each mad stab at the pedals but in a curiously 'quiet' way – almost as if the flattened chain stays are damping vibrations but rounding the peaks of your power output, too. 

Make no mistake – this bike will certainly go when asked, and there's lots of pop. But the feedback in this department isn't as visceral as from bikes that are more unyieldingly rigid.

Cyclocross-specific features abound on the SuperX Hi-Mod Disc, and it's clear that Cannondale has done its homework. Mud clearance is excellent all round, the slightly sloping top tube leaves an open triangle for easier run-ups, and while the top tube itself isn't flattened underneath, its huge diameter is surprisingly comfortable to rest on your bony shoulder.