Pro bike: Richard Carapaz’s Cannondale Supersix Evo

The latest team to reveal their livery for 2024 is EF Education-EasyPost and alongside their new kit, a new look team bike was announced. They have been known for their outlandish and visually striking kits for a few years now but this year steps that trend up to 11. The bikes they will be using are the most colourful in the peloton and will be hard to miss even from the most distant helicopter shots once the season gets underway.

• Read more: EF Pro Cycling reveal new Rapha kit for 2024

The frameset

The chassis of the bike under the striking paint scheme remains unchanged from last year. The latest generation Cannondale SuperSix Evo Lab 71, which is the brand's lightweight all-rounder offering, sits alongside the SystemSix which is a fully aero-optimised bike.

Something that cannot be seen on the frame is what Cannondale call the ‘delta steerer.’ This is a D-shaped steerer tube that allows room on either side of it for the brake hoses to run. Not only does this routing keep the hoses entirely out of the wind but it also allows for the frontal area of the head tube to be reduced.

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The use of a D-shaped steerer tube allows for the frontal area of the head tube to be reduced to increase the bikes aerodynamic efficiency

It is hard to argue with the credentials of the Lab 71 as one of the best all-round road bikes in the peloton. The frameset balances the demands of aerodynamic optimisation with an overall lightweight package. The current Lab 71 frameset is reportedly 12 watts faster than the previous generation at 45km/h as well as tipping the scales at only 770 grams for a fully painted size 56cm.

Fresh Vision hoops

Although this might be the bike of 2019 Giro d’Itailia champion Richard Carapaz the bike is certainly configured for flat-out speed rather than steep mountain climbs. The bike is rolling on the newly released Vision Metron SL60 carbon wheels which measure in at a dizzyingly wide 32mm externally, with a 21mm internal width.

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The new Vision Metron SL60 wheels feature a very wide 32mm external rim width

The hubs at the centre of the Metron SL60 wheels are dripping in new technology, the rear hub utilises a helical clutch ratchet with a five-degree engagement angle to provide drive from the rider to the road. What this means is an oversized ratchet ring is used to provide more surface area engagement at any time, this should result in better performance and longer life from the hub internals themselves.

• Read more: EF Education-EasyPost Team Talk: A year of two halves but certain progress all the same

Big chainrings and an equally big cassette

Since the advent of 12-speed cassettes, the ratios a cassette can cover have increased. What this has allowed for is for riders to use chainring combinations they would not have been able to in the past. Carapaz has a rather untypical set-up on his bike, using a 54/40 tooth crankset that is larger than most riders are choosing to use in the modern era with riders tending to downsize their chainrings a little to give better climbing gears.

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FSA provide the crankset with an integrated Power 2 Max spider-based power meter

Fitted to the bottom bracket of Carapaz’s bike is a set of FSA Powerbox K-Force team edition cranks with 54/40 tooth chainrings. These cranks feature a spider-based power meter from Power 2 Max to capture Carapaz’s total output at the chainrings.

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An 11-34 cassette is paired with the 52/36 chainrings up front to provide an almost 1:1 ratio climbing gear

Carapaz has also decided to pair the chainrings with the wider ratio of two offerings from Shimano. Although the brand does offer an 11-30 tooth cassette, the wider 11-34 tooth version is fitted to this bike giving him a bottom gear ratio ideal for training rides in the mountains where spinning the legs at lower powers will be on the menu.

• Read more: Can easier gears actually help you ride faster?

Finishing Kit

The team is sponsored by Wahoo who bring with them the head units for recording all data from training and racing. It also means that the brand is using Wahoo-Speedplay pedals with Carapaz opting to use the single-sided aero version instead of the more typical double-sided pedals.

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Carapaz will be using Cannondale's own in-house bar and stem with the Wahoo head unit and Prologo bar tape fitted to it

On top of the seat post is a Prologo Scratch M5 CPC saddle with the brand also supplying the black bar tape that the one-piece bar and stem are wrapped in. Rounding off the build is a set of Elite T-Race Carbon bottle cages that weigh just 15 grams each.

What do you make of this 2024 EF Education-Easy Post Pro bike, do you think it is one of the best-looking bikes in the peloton or do you think it is just a bit much? Let us know in the comments section below.

Bike Specification