Canondale Bicycles officially launched their new carbon fibre and aluminium road bike at the Saeco Training Camp held in Italy.

The new bike is dubbed the six13, which denoted the atomic numbers for carbon and aluminium respectively.

The six13 is made from custom carbon fibre tubes and bridge welded aluminium lugs. While this may not sound very revolutionary, Cannondale claim their design has advantages over more conventional systems employing similar materials.

Firstly, the carbon fibre tubes are formed in situ within the aluminium lugs, which creates a mechanical bond, as opposed to the adhesive bond used in other similar systems. This results in a more reliable joint and a stiffer frame.

Secondly, the carbon fibre tubed employed by Cannondale are braided rather then woven, which allows greater freedom in design in areas such as wall thickness and tube shape.

All these light materials and processing technologies contribute to a bike frame that is claimed to weigh just 1150grams. For those interested, Cannondale says the six13 will be on sale in April in 12 different sizes.