“Not carbon, not sorry” is the statement that accompanies the launch of the Cannondale CAAD14, a bike designed unapologetically to celebrate the US brand’s unique aluminium legacy that goes back four decades.
“CAAD14 is not only a product moment,” says Cannondale’s Andreas Krajewski, “it’s also an opportunity to look back at who we are as a brand. Few product names in cycling carry the kind of legacy that CAAD does for us.”
Originally used in its F-series hardtails, Cannondale’s oversized aluminium tubing – 'CAAD' stands for Cannondale Advanced Aluminum Design – took the skinny steel-riding pro peloton by storm when it was first used by the Saeco team in 1997 and won the Giro d’Italia in that same year. Six years later, the last two aluminium bikes to win Grand Tours were Cannondales – Gilberto Simoni’s Giro victory in 2003 on the CAAD7 and Damiano Cunego’s on the CAAD8 in 2004. Carbon fibre had arrived by this point, and Cannondale jumped on board with its Six13, SystemSix and then SuperSix. It now found itself at a crossroads with aluminium, as marketing director Murray Washburn, in his 30th year with Cannondale, explains: “The rest of the industry had pretty much given up on innovating in the aluminum space. We were still making phenomenal aluminium frames. But we, like everybody else, felt that there was a price ceiling for aluminum at this point.”
Cannondale continued with the CAAD10 and CAAD12 (there was no CAAD11), but Washburn admits that the CAAD13, launched in 2019 was “where we lost sight of what makes CAAD CAAD”. He continues: “It was a great bike. Anybody who rode it knows. It was incredibly smooth. It was light. It did everything you wanted it to do. But in a change of heart we designed the CAAD13 to look like the gen-three SuperSix EVO.” It had the dropped seatsays, the same tube shapes and frame silhouette."
”Rather than allowing aluminium to do what aluminium does best,” says Washburn, “we were trying to make aluminium look like carbon to make a nice, easy price-point jump from aluminium up to carbon. And despite the fact that it was a great bike, got great reviews, and sold really well, it kind of lost something in the process. It failed to stir the soul of the ‘aluminati’.”
Enter the CAAD14, a bike that Cannondale is framing as a return to form, a statement of intent… here to reclaim the throne and bring back the thrill of high-performance alloy road bikes. “CAAD14 is CAAD as CAAD was meant to be,” Washburn says. “Oversized tubes, smooth welds, classic shape – a silhouette that just screams CAAD.”
Tanner Van De Veer, senior industrial designer, explains how that was accomplished: “We took a step back and asked ourselves, how do you rebuild an icon? What made CAAD a CAAD was the classic silhouette – the horizontal top tube, high stays, the double-diamond shape. But it’s more than just that racy line. It’s the smoothness and attention to the joints and welds, the way everything comes together.”
However, Van De Veer emphasises that the new bike is not simply a nostalgia exercise aimed at recapturing the affections of the so-called aluminati: “It’s not a retro throwback – it’s taking what worked and bringing it into the world of today’s best bikes.”
Cannondale didn’t completely turn its back on all the learnings from the new SuperSix EVO, launched last month. The bike has a carbon fork which was specifically designed for the CAAD14, and here Van De Veer says there are “carbon techniques, airfoil truncation methods, fluid transitions between the head tube and crown.”
There are modern details throughout that conform to the latest common standards: Universal Derailleur Hanger (UDH), a 27.2mm seatpost with a concealed clamp, a 68mm threaded BB and Cannondale’s Delta Steerer internal routing system – the same system used on its carbon race bikes – that's also compatible with a standard 1 1/8in stem. It has clearance for 32mm tyres. “It’s all about making the bike easy to live with while delivering great performance,” says product manager Will Gleason.
The geometry follows the classic Cannondale race formula: long and low. Compared with the SuperSix EVO, the CAAD14’s geometry is even slightly more aggressive. “This allows us to get this beautiful silhouette,” says Gleason. “It also allows us to hit the steering geometry that is super agile, super playful, very reactive, things that CAADs have always been known for.”
It’s clear that in the 22 years since that last Grand Tour win on an alloy frame, the context for aluminium race bikes has changed significantly. “In the road space right now, carbon spaceships rule the roost,” Gleason says. “Everything is optimised and it’s airfoil this, low drag that.” Cannondale’s own SuperSix EVO embodies that exactly. “But not everybody is concerned about saving three watts and thirty grams. Some people just want a beautiful stylish bike that stands out, rides really well, makes a statement. And that's who we want CAAD14 to appeal to, that customer who wants something different than everybody else. They want a piece that pops in a sea of marginal-gains spaceships, and that's where CAAD14 is.”
The top build, the CAAD14 1, certainly pops. In a raw finish that saves weight over the painted version (1,280g compared with 1,410 for a size 56) it comes with a SRAM Force AXS XPLR build with a 1x aero chainring and Reserve 57|64 Turbulent Aero wheels. The claimed weight is 7.9kg for the size 56. It’s priced at £7,500/$7,499.
The CAAD14 2 has a SRAM Rival AXS setup, a weight of 8.8kg (size 56) and an RRP of £4,250/$3,999 while the ‘entry-level’ build is the CAAD14 3 with a mechanical Shimano 105 build. Claimed weight is 9.3kg (size 56) and the RRP £2,995/$2,499.
There’s a Saeco-inspired 'team' paintjob for the frameset-only – this is one for the purists, the true aluminati (£1,750/$1,799).
Van De Veer concludes: “It's emotional. It's desirable. It's CAAD. And all that brought us to CAAD14, a classic, a love letter to its heritage, unapologetically CAAD, but wholly modern too. It’s not trying to be some price point imitation of carbon. Well executed, but not overdone. No frills, no fluff, but thoughtful and sophisticated. A design honest to its material and its intent. We've taken a classic and brought it forward into the modern age.”
Visit Cannondale's website for the full specs and prices.
