The Stevens Super Prestige has already shown itself capable of racing at the top-level of cyclocross. Mathieu van der Poel rode the previous version to a World Championship win in Tábor in 2015 where we got a closer look at his camo bike (before two years of 2nd places) & Sanne Cant raced the newest bike to the 2017 World Championship win in Bieles. We already reviewed the bike back in 2015, and in a year and a half since, we saw the bike get updates in finish and then the latest brake & axle standards. Now Stevens is back one more time with a complete frame overhaul that promises even more comfort and better mud clearance, while also dropping a lot of weight…
Stevens Super Prestige Disc cyclocross bike
Looking at the new Super Prestige compared to the current bike, it’s not so easy to spot the differences. With a very similar black & red paint job the framesets look quite similar, but a closer look reveals almost entirely revised tubing shapes, especially in the rear end. And a lot of the updating is hidden inside with completely new carbon material make-up & layups, and new construction processes. The result claims to deliver the same highly efficient power transfer, while taking out a lot of the harshness at the saddle on rougher cross courses.
But the biggest difference for sure is the drop in weight. Now a size 58cm comes in under 1000g; that’s about a 200g drop over the previous generation. And that gets paired with a new fork that weighs 435g uncut. Beside the higher spec carbon on what is now called an SL frame, Stevens saved weight with both slimmer top & seattubes and lighter Black Ink paint.
The new bike was developed directly with Stevens’ sponsored Belgian pros an retains the same race-focused geometry, with a relatively long wheelbase but steep angles that make for a mix of stability & maneuverability. Even with the weight savings the Super Prestige – which is disc only now – claims a 30% boost in stiffness at the steerer tube while BB stiffness is unchanged and vertical compliance at the rear end is improved by 12% (all tested by the independent Zedler Institute.)
The shaping of the seat & chainstay get a big overhaul, with vertically teardrop shapes that are said to significantly reduce mud & snow build-up on the frame, while keeping both overall tire clearance and power transfer efficiency.
There are several detail updates to the new bike as well. A new integrated composite chain guide is bolted directly to the frame to prevent any possibility for dropped chains, and can be adjusted for a few different chain ring sizes & adapted to work with 1x or double setups.
Already incorporating flat mounts and 12mm thru-axles in the last iteration, the new bike gets redesigned internal routing for easier maintenance. New adaptable modular cable ports make the switch from mechanical to electronic setups more smooth, and a removable front derailleur tab makes clean 1x setups possible.
The Super Prestige Disc will be available in Ultegra mechanical builds for 3100€ in either Ltd team matte black with red decals or a Fire Orange paint job as well. Super Prestige Disc Di2 & Ltd Di2 bike builds get the same black/red or orange/black framesets but swap to an Ultegra Di2 groupset with the price rising to 4000€.
All bikes come setup for 160mm rotors front & rear (with 140mm compatibility thanks to flat mounts) and are available in five frame sizes from 50-58cm. Stevens assures us that they will be available in the coming weeks, in time to prep for this race season.
Vapor, Gavere & Tabor
Moving down through the cross line-up there are minor changes for 2018. The 2000€ aluminum framed, Ultegra-equipped Vapor gets a new full carbon fork with eyelets to mount fenders for better year round road training. The alloy Prestiges just get color and spec updates. But the aluminum frame & fork Gavere at 1300€ & Tabor at 1000€ both bump up to 42mm tire clearance for more off-road exploration & adventures.
