Hey All, I’m thinking about building up a new bike in the next few months and I wanted to gather some collective opinions. I ride all kids of bikes, but I probably spend the most time riding my CX/Gravel rig. I love riding gravel in the summer and/or using a gravel bike for chill (or not so chill) rides on city bike paths. In the fall I’m a full-on CX nut…. I typically race 16-18 races a year, and while I’m not as fast as I used to be anymore, I still give it a good shot and love it.
I’ve had a number of great and versatile bikes over the years: a Giant TCX (~’16), a Cannondale SuperX (2019) and a Cannondale SuperSix Evo CX (‘22 and ‘24). I’ve really loved the SuperX and the SuperSix Evo CXs that I’ve owned. Super versitile bike… great for gravel riding and racing, great geometry for CX… even holds its own on the occasional group road ride. My only complaint has been the proprietary bits (Super wide BB Shell and 6mm rear wheel offset). I actually ended up with 2 SuperSix Evo CX’s (its a long story), so I set one up as a CX Rig Sram AXS 1x12 10-36) and One as a Gravel racer (Eagle Group). They’ve been great bikes - I love how they ride, look, and handle…. but I’m ready for a change.
I also have realized that I might actually want ‘N-1’… it seems silly for me to have a CX bike that doesn’t get ridden all summer, then a gravel bike that doesn’t get ridden all fall. I’d like to have one bike to do both.
I rode my brother-in-law’s Lauf and loved the 50mm tires he had on it…so cushy! I’d like to have ~50mm tire clearance if possible.
I want the geometry to be good for CX…not just something you can live with. Most new gravel bikes seem to have too much BB drop.
I’ve been looking at the NEW (2025+ model year) Cannondale SuperX. I love that its got the same geometry that I’m used to, but that its dropped the proprietary bits and added more tire clearance. I just wish it could take 50+mm tires (the 48mm claimed seems like barely a change from the 45s I run now). I can get a SuperX relatively cheap though - a shop I’m ‘tight’ with is dropping Cannondale, so I could buy one a few thousand less than MSRP…although none have the build I want, so I’d end up doing a lot of part swaps and likely loose some $$ in the process.
Enter the Seka Exaero GR.
I saw the coverage from one of the big bike shoes where the Seka Exaero GR was unveiled. I’d never even heard of the brand before that point…. but it looks super nice. It clears 52mm tires out back and 56mm up front. the BB Drop is only 2-3 mm lower than the SuperX (in line with others like the Crux), so it seems OK for CX. It has a cool downtube storage box. The geometry looks to be almost identical to my beloved Cannondales….save for some minor differences in HT Angle and 5mm shorter Front-Center. Its unique, stylish, and interesting but its from a relatively new Eastern brand with few references from Western cycling mags. The frames are expensive, but I’ve snagged a discount through some contacts if I decide to go this route - admittedly though, doing the math on a frame build up it seems like it would be cheaper for me than buying a complete Cannondale anyways.
What would you do - buy the tried and true (Cannondale) and accept that I don’t need 50mm tire clearance - accept that it might be a bit more $$ by the time I do my part swaps …..or roll the dice and take a risk on the Seka?
