Cannondale CAADX Ultegra | £1,699 | 9.38kg

The CAADX shares similar aluminium tubing material and profiles with the superlative roadgoing CAAD12 but blends this together with the geometry and fit of Cannondale carbon-framed Superx crosser. And as the name suggests, the CAADX Ultegra comes bedecked with an almost full outfit of Shimano’s second-tier road groupset with Cannondale’s own Hollowgram Si chainset replacing the Ultegra unit.

The standout feature of this design is Cannondale’s Outfront steering geometry. The typical approach of providing a cross frame with slightly slacker than normal road geometry might work for your standard course but can be a bit terrifying on steeper terrain. Outfront seeks to pair a slacker head angle with a longer raked fork to really stabilise the handling on techier stuff.

The riding position seems well balanced between a pure cross racer and a do-it-all commuter. A quick swap of spacers and you can push it more one way than the other.

Just like its roadgoing CAAD stablemate, the CAADX has a ruthlessly efficient ability to translate pedal mashing into forward momentum. As with the Cube, a swap of tyres and you could quite happily ride it full time on the road.

Also as with the Cube, its effective ability to transfer power does translate into a somewhat harsh ride when covering the hard, compacted ground you might find on a typical cross course at the dry start of the season or at frozen mid-winter races. The relentless pounding does begin to fatigue the lower back and makes the rear break traction as it skips about.

The Cannondale/formula CX 2.0 wheels lack an inspired, lively ride performance, feeling sluggish and a bit dead. If you want to race more on the CAADX then this is one area that would need to be upgraded sooner rather than later.

It wasn’t as confident descending as we found the Vitus to be, but the CAADX eclipses many other cross machines in its ability to handle the rough stuff.

score 8

specification

Frame Cannondale CAADX Disc, Smartform C2 Alloy

Fork Cannondale CAADX Disc, full carbon

Groupset Shimano Ultegra R8000/ Cannondale Si chainset Wheels Cannondale/formula CX2.0 Tyres Vittoria Terreno Mix, 700x33c Contact www.cyclingsportsgroup.com

GEARING 46/36 rings paired with 11-34 gives a good spread of ratios Chainset Cannondale’s own Si chainset replaces Ultegra but is every bit as good head tube Outfront steering geometry makes the CAADX more stable than some cross bikes