Found One! - 2016 Supersix Evo Hi Mod

[ridethecliche]

NHAero, thanks for your feedback so far. I really did not love the ride of my caad9 and imagine the 10 wasn't significantly better.

I did pick up the genesis equilibrium on the classifieds to build up as long day bike after selling my strael, so I'm looking forward to getting that built for the days when I set out by myself.

Originally Posted by nmrt

Take the reviews you receive with a grain of salt. Why, because you will find opposing reviews on the ride quality.

My HiMod was a delight to ride for rides of 2 - 2.5 hours. After that, I would start feeling every chip and seal of the asphalt. It was a sufferfest. I could not wait to get back home. Then, I would need to detox for a few days before I took the HiMod out again. Yep, it was that harsh riding.

I used to have a Caad 4 (or 5?) long time back. But I do not remember that bike beating me up as bad as the HiMod. Yet, if I were to do it again, I would still buy the HiMod in the heartbeat. Why? It was an absolute delight to ride for 2.5 hours rides. And for rides under 2.5 hours, the HiMod (and my current Emonda SLR) simply cannot be beat. It is a joy to ride it for short rides. Telepathic handling, descends-on-rails, floats up hills like a feather, and all that jazzz....yadayadayada

But then again, there are forumites on this very thread who have professed their love for the ride quality of the HiMod no matter the duration of their ride.

Does it come down to the wight of the rider? Does it come down to what else they have ridden prior? Does it come down to the road conditions where they ride? Could be be something innate in their genes that makes them prefer one bike over the other? Who knows. But the way I see it is that the price of the 2016 era Himod has come down enough to spend the dough and find out for yourself. Just rememeber, it is a pure race bike. One ought to build it and ride it to really experience what Denk had in mind when designing this bike.

Did you have one of the latter ones with wider tires?

Most of my riding is under the 2.5-3 hr timeline. I ride with a bunch of tri-folks and those long weekend rides are over the 3hr mark for me but I'd like to ride my 'fast' bike for those days because I'm slow. I know the bike will hardly make the biggest difference but dang I'll take what I can get to make my brain think that I'm fast!

I'm not opposed to messing with latex tubes for 28's if it meant better ride quality. The bike will likely see a lot of trainer time as well though, which is why I likely won't run tubeless tires on it but could see that being a little better for ride quality than latex tubes... just harder to deal with when something runs out of air.

[TunaAndBikes]

I get the itch to find one every year
To my eyes, later models are peak production rim brake bikes.

Decent tire clearance, lightweight, good looking...

Am I missing out?

(if I am and someone's open to a trade for a Salsa El Primero, let me know)

[Pelican]

Having owned 2 (or 3?) of these, yes, it is that good. And I've got a new SSE HiMod to build up this month.

NHAero got a smoking deal on one of the best colorways. You probably don't need to go 1x to hit 15lbs, but I definitely did to go sub 5kg.

I will go on the record to state that this is the best rim-brake road race bike of all time. I also have a Tarmac SL6 which is a bit more aero/comfy. But the second gen Evo HiMod is as good as anything, even $5k custom carbon frames.

[Baron Blubba]

Originally Posted by Pelican

Having owned 2 (or 3?) of these, yes, it is that good. And I've got a new SSE HiMod to build up this month.

NHAero got a smoking deal on one of the best colorways. You probably don't need to go 1x to hit 15lbs, but I definitely did to go sub 5kg.

I will go on the record to state that this is the best rim-brake road race bike of all time. I also have a Tarmac SL6 which is a bit more aero/comfy. But the second gen Evo HiMod is as good as anything, even $5k custom carbon frames.

I think this little known gem from as recently as 2022 takes the peak rim brake crown, but there's already a topic for that so never mind, carry on...
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/tc...-frameset-2022

[ridethecliche]

Originally Posted by Baron Blubba

I think this little known gem from as recently as 2022 takes the peak rim brake crown, but there's already a topic for that so never mind, carry on...
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/tc...-frameset-2022

Does it do the 28mm tire clearance as well? Interesting that Giant didn't go direct mount brake at all. I guess it's actually for the best from what I've seen re tire clearance with direct mount vs not.
I'm curious how this compares in weight to the SSEVOHM and in aero to something like the caad13... I'm guessing it's a little heavier than the Evo and more aero than the caad.

Cool frame though.

Originally Posted by Pelican

Having owned 2 (or 3?) of these, yes, it is that good. And I've got a new SSE HiMod to build up this month.

NHAero got a smoking deal on one of the best colorways. You probably don't need to go 1x to hit 15lbs, but I definitely did to go sub 5kg.

I will go on the record to state that this is the best rim-brake road race bike of all time. I also have a Tarmac SL6 which is a bit more aero/comfy. But the second gen Evo HiMod is as good as anything, even $5k custom carbon frames.

Yeah, he really did. Prices for the SS-EVO HM are much higher than I'd anticipated. If I see a deal similar to NHAero's come up in my size... jeez. I'm going to have to pounce and deal with selling my CAAD later.

[deluz]

Mine is not a Hi-Mod but I think the ride is supposed to similar.
I can only fit a 25mm max tire in the rear.
I have never found the bike to be harsh no matter what the duration of the ride was. One thing I do notice is the short wheelbase which tends to make certain bumps more noticeable but it is a great climber. On my custom steel I purposely went with longer chain stays and wheel base and it feels more tame. It is slower up hills but I really enjoy riding it.

[ridethecliche]

Originally Posted by deluz

Mine is not a Hi-Mod but I think the ride is supposed to similar.
I can only fit a 25mm max tire in the rear.
I have never found the bike to be harsh no matter what the duration of the ride was. One thing I do notice is the short wheelbase which tends to make certain bumps more noticeable but it is a great climber. On my custom steel I purposely went with longer chain stays and wheel base and it feels more tame. It is slower up hills but I really enjoy riding it.

What year is yours?

[deluz]

Originally Posted by ridethecliche

What year is yours?

I think it is 2014.

[Baron Blubba]

Originally Posted by ridethecliche

Does it do the 28mm tire clearance as well? Interesting that Giant didn't go direct mount brake at all. I guess it's actually for the best from what I've seen re tire clearance with direct mount vs not.
I'm curious how this compares in weight to the SSEVOHM and in aero to something like the caad13... I'm guessing it's a little heavier than the Evo and more aero than the caad.

Cool frame though.

Definitely more aero than either, probably lighter, too. Frame with the ISP uncut is around 800g, so it figures to a ~650g frame if one had to add an ultralight post and hardware.
Claimed 28mm clearance, could get 30's in there with no trouble.

[ridethecliche]

Originally Posted by Baron Blubba

Definitely more aero than either, probably lighter, too. Frame with the ISP uncut is around 800g, so it figures to a ~650g frame if one had to add an ultralight post and hardware.
Claimed 28mm clearance, could get 30's in there with no trouble.

Got dang!

[NHAero]

Switched it to a 2X with the 46-30 Spiderring so as to be able to ride it in places with real hills - 44 x 11-36 is fine for Martha's Vineyard but I need lower on the mainland.

Of course now it weighs 0.4 lb more and I can barely lift it back up to the hook...