Colnago C59 Disc

The C59 Disc looks clean, with hydraulic cylinders tucked seamlessly into the hoods and internal routing for both the Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 wiring and the rear brake hose. The absence of brake calipers at the fork crown and seatstay bridge is striking. On the road, the system worked okay, but there are still some glitches that will likely be worked out by the time production rolls around in late summer.

As any mountain biker who's made the switch from rim brakes to disc brakes knows, discs work better. Surprise, surprise. Vezzoli lent us his bike with a sheepish apology about the rear brake not being properly adjusted. The first hard pull on the rear lever went all the way to the handlebar, then subsequent pumps required less pull. After a few minutes without braking, the situation would repeat. The front brake, however, perhaps because of better bleeding, worked much better, with less throw required to activate full hydraulic pressure.

Lack of proper adjustment aside, the brakes lived up to the promise of hydraulic discs – hard, fast stopping from high speeds was safe and easy. We took the bike up and down the steep hills surrounding the Laguna Seca Recreation Area where Sea Otter is held, and repeatedly stopped as quickly as possible. Modulation was good enough to rapidly slow down at the bottom of hills without locking up the wheels, although the power was certainly strong enough to lock the rear if desired.

Colnago are specifying their Artemis wheels with carbon fiber rims on the C59. Our test ride took place on a sunny day, but braking in wet conditions should be markedly better than on a bike with full-carbon wheels and standard rim brakes.

However, while slapping disc brakes on a carbon-rimmed wheel might immediately improve some things, it also introduces new dynamics to frame and fork construction. The braking forces generated by a disc brake at the bottom of the fork leg require a fundamentally different fork design than that required by a rim brake at the crown. Vezzoli found that out the hard way when forks on early samples of the C59 quickly broke under the braking load of the 140mm discs.

Colnago addressed the situation by heavily reinforcing the fork legs and also the rear triangle of the frame. In addition, the dropouts on the fork face slightly forward, to counteract the torsional forces from the hub under braking load.

Formula’s levers are so new they don't yet have a name. The working title is RR1. As with the name, the functionality of the levers is a work in progress. Ergonomically, the hoods and levers on the whole are good. The absence of mechanical innards frees up the design considerably. The hoods are slightly thinner – and on the underside, longer – than SRAM or Shimano mechanical systems. We were able to wrap four fingers around the hood between the lever and the bar.

The shifting, however, doesn't work well. The two parallel and slightly overlapping shift levers are far too thin, which resulted in misshift after misshift. A wider surface area for each, or a redesign with paddles, would help greatly. When riding on rough chip-seal roads, the levers also vibrated noisily when our hands weren't wrapped around them. Their pronounced curve back towards the handlebar made for good braking ergonomics while in the drops, but the upper protrusion away from the hoods limited leverage when riding on the hoods.

Colnago may have been the first major manufacturer out of the gate with hydraulic disc brakes on a road bike, but they certainly won't be the last. With SRAM’s hydraulic systemjust around the corner, Colnago expect to see multiple competitors with such bikes by the time the Eurobike trade show opens in the fall. By then, the Italians expect to have final versions of their C59 Disc out on the road under customers. They haven't yet set pricing.

BMC Gran Fondo GF01

BMC have taken their ‘tuned compliance concept’ (TCC) – the process of optimising the carbon layup in each part of the chassis, adding flex and stiffness where each is needed – to new levels here.

The head tube is oversized and tapered – and taller than the race RM01 as the GF01 has BMC’s ‘endurance fit’ – the down tube is massive, and there’s a burly BB86 press-fit bottom bracket shell, complete with integrated chain catcher, and huge chainstays. 

The top tube is radically slim in comparison, and BMC’s signature low-set seatstays have a noticeable kink to the brake bridge; this ‘angle compliance’ is evident at the top of the chainstays too, and effectively lengthens both, resulting in a rear end that’s as supple as anything that we’ve tried.

The seatpost is similarly kinked, with a carbon layup that allows it to flex forward and back under your weight over broken surfaces. It works remarkably well; we even had to move our saddle up a little to take into account the flex when seated.

Up front, BMC have radically redesigned the fork. The steerer tube still tapers to its massive 1 1/2in lower diameter, and retains the broad and deep crown, but the legs slim down towards the dropout, with the final couple of inches of the forward facing ‘angle compliance’ even slimmer still. The effect is a fork that’s strong and stiff at the top but flexes at the dropouts to take the sting out of bumps and cobbles.

We could wax lyrical about the benefits of the drivetrain from Ultegra’s Di2 electronic groupset, but that’s really just the icing on a very smooth cake. Faultless gear changing and compact gearing make the moving parts the perfect companion to the GF01’s exceptional frameset.

It all adds up to a ride that’s so far beyond the currently considered benchmarks of comfort/endurance orientated road bikes that the GF01 sets a whole new standard. But there’s more to the BMC story: the whole concept is designed around running 28mm tyres.

The tyres look huge, absolutely dwarfing standard 23mm tyres. Plenty have already expressed their doubts about running such a fat tyre on a race machine, but after putting a few hundred miles into riding them we’ve been impressed. 

BMC and tyre manufacturer Continental recommend running the 28s at 80-90psi, which is much lower than we’re used to, and this lower pressure combined with Easton’s new RT wheelset with its wide 17.5mm rim makes for a ride that’s beautifully cushioned and smooth rolling.

That’s kind of what you’d expect in such a high volume tyre, but what is surprising is the cornering ability they offer: throw the GF01 downhill and the levels of grip are way beyond anything we’ve experienced before, and we mean anything. You can simply descend as quickly as your nerve will allow.

The downside is that there is a bit more weight at the rim, meaning an increase in inertia when setting off, and it’s hampering on climbs where the gradient starts to get towards double figures, but aside from on some serious Alpine climbs, where we would revert back to skinnier tyres, this is something we could live with for the rolling benefits, comfort and grip.

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.

BMC TeamMachine SLR01

BMC’s TeamMachine SLR01 is one of the best ProTour inspired bikes we’ve ever ridden. It hits the UCI weight limit of 6.8kg and is comfortable enough for any level of rider to enjoy, so long as they can handle its pro-inspired angles.

Ride & handling: A dreamy ride with a good balance of weight, pedaling efficiency and comfort

The SLR01 is far from the stiffest professional-level bike we’ve ridden, but it’s one of the best at balancing all of the coveted features of a top-level carbon fiber bike – stiffness, low weight and a degree of comfort.

In fact, it's one of the lightest bikes we’ve ridden lately – our 53cm test frame weights 905g with all of its hardware including titanium water bottle cage bolts, and the complete bike as pictured weighs just 6.812kg (15.01lb) – and it offers an incredibly forgiving ride.

It was the perfect ride for our tester, a 150lb all-rounder who enjoys climbing and descending the twisty, elevation-intensive roads around Boulder, Colorado.

Despite the TeamMachine's smooth ride – which is similar to that of Specialized’s 2011 Roubaix SL3 – it offers stiff and confidence-inspiring steering precision. This is rooted in the large down tube, tapered head tube (1-1/8 to 1-1/4in) and the way the top tube gently tapers towards the seat tube. It means that subtle shifts of bodyweight aren't muted by the frame's built-in flex.

The well designed front triangle is mated to a rear end punctuated by notably svelte seatstays. Because of BMC’s focus on producing a relatively comfortable ride, the TeamMachine feels noticeably softer to pedal than other bikes in the category. Nonetheless, pedaling efficiency was adequate for our test rider, who was happy to sacrifice a little stiffness for lighter weight and improved comfort. The TeamMachine may not be the highest performing machine on paper or on the test bench, but it's stronger than the sum of its parts. Companies that focus too much on one attribute – such as weight or stiffness – often fail in producing a bike that rides well. That's certainly not a mistake BMC have made here.

In the past we’ve ridden bikes with ultra-rigid front-ends and super-comfy rear-ends that have a sort of disconnect between the two halves; Cannondale’s half-carbon, half-aluminum System Six bike is an infamous example of this. The TeamMachine, however, feels very much like a complete package.