Which road bike?

[TSCfree]

I'm torn between the Cannondale Caad 10 105 2013 or the Scott Speedster 10. Has anyone an opinion /experience on either. Budget £1500 and prefer an aluminium frame. The Cannondale has the more aggressive geometry, so fit will probably be the decider. Booked in for a fit on the Cannondale tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes first.

[andySC]

Hi, the Cannondale is probably the pinnacle of aluminium frame design & manufacture at the moment. They are very light & stiff. As you say the geo is "racy" but if that doesn't suit you can dial that out with headset spacers etc. They've been evolving the CAAD range since the 90's & they are very well regarded & carry a fair degree of kudos. Shimano 105 is workman like, very effective & looks pretty good. I'm a fan of Shimano although I ride a bike with SRAM also.

The Scott is a few pegs down the evolutionary scale but will be a competent all rounder none the less (this may well be a plus) & should perform perfectly. I'm on my 3rd Scott frame now (albeit carbon ones) & find them very good.

The only way to decide us to throw a leg over each one & see what your arse & back think. I reckon the CAAD is a better looking machine but that means zilch as it's not my £££.

[jfdi]

Hmmm, i shall watch with interest as i'm hovering over the order button on a canyon al 9.0 (only slightly over your budget, budgets are there to be broken)

http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=30...

I have a canyon hardtail mountain bike and have been very impressed.

[Rouleur]

That Canyon is just stupidly good value - full Ultegra, Ksyrium Elites, Ritchey WCS... The frames are meant to be great too, better than a lot of carbon ones.

If I were the OP I'd have a go on the Cannondale and the Scott to see which felt the best and then see if the Canyon's geo was similar to it.

[TKF]

The Canyon DI2 version is road.cc's BOTY

http://road.cc/content/news/72588-roadcc-bikes-yea...

I'm planning on getting the 9.0 ES

[TSCfree]

jfdi said:

Hmmm, i shall watch with interest as i'm hovering over the order button on a canyon al 9.0 (only slightly over your budget, budgets are there to be broken)

http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=30...

I have a canyon hardtail mountain bike and have been very impressed.

Wow, that does look amazing value. Unfortunately I'm really at the top end of my budget and there doesn't look to be any UK distributors for a bike fit either.

[andySC]

How about a Planet X Superlight Team? There you have a lightweight aluminium frame & smattering of SRAM Force components...you could upgrade the wheels within your budget (Shimano RS80's are good value from PX) & while I was at it I'd spend a few quid on changing the brakeset to Force. These custom options are available thru the website.

I've had mine for about a year & really like it. I bought it to ride thru the winter, I raced on it in the summer too when my Scott got snapped in half.

....just a thought.

[MadDad]

Just to add to the confusion I would throw the Felt F75 into the mix. Well within your budget, full 105 groupo, very stiff ride, quite aggressive geo.....I have been riding one for 3 years now and rate it very highly.

Ultimately you need to ride each bike you are considering, what is a comfortable fit for one person is a bad fit for the next and if your lbs is any good they will let you take each bike out for an hours test ride.

[TSCfree]

Thanks for that!

The planet X is a bit retro for me, but undeniably well equipped. The felt F75 was a bike I'd overlooked....why so cheap? makes the dale seem expensive. Hmm decisions, decisions

Edited by TSCfree on Friday 1st February 22:47

[MadDad]

No idea why the Felt is so cheap - I have a 2010 version, full 105, carbon seat stays and post, reasonable wheels (a tad on the heavy side) and felt finishing kit, I paid £850 for it! (discounted down from £1,150 at the time) - about £300 cheaper than its closest rival at the time!

Phenomenal value for money, their F range carbon bikes are even better! Take one for a spin and see what you think, I love it but others would hate the way it rides!

[Gizmoish]

Disclaimer: I have a Caad8.

Remark: Although the CAAD10 may be one of the best alu frames ever made, you can get a Cannondale Supersix 2012 with 105 for ~£1300...

Edit: e.g. http://www.westbrookcycles.co.uk/bikes-c5/road-bik...

Edited by Gizmoish on Friday 1st February 23:38

[Potatoes]

What about the BMC SR01 105, very aggressive geometry and some real stiffness in the rear end. Putting the power down is a very direct experience.

I'm always amazed I don't see more of these on the roads, great bike!

if you can extend the budget by £100 - £200 you can get it with the Ultegra groupset.

[TSCfree]

Gizmoish said:

Disclaimer: I have a Caad8.

Remark: Although the CAAD10 may be one of the best alu frames ever made, you can get a Cannondale Supersix 2012 with 105 for ~£1300...

Edit: e.g. http://www.westbrookcycles.co.uk/bikes-c5/road-bik...

Edited by Gizmoish on Friday 1st February 23:38

Great spot, none in my size. Without getting into a carbon/aluminium bunfight I'd pretty much discounted quality carbon at my price range.

[TSCfree]

Potatoes said:

What about the BMC SR01 105, very aggressive geometry and some real stiffness in the rear end. Putting the power down is a very direct experience.

I'm always amazed I don't see more of these on the roads, great bike!

if you can extend the budget by £100 - £200 you can get it with the Ultegra groupset.

Umm'd and arrh'd over the BMC, and discounted it on its looks. Probably shouldn't, don't judge a book and all that but..... Thanks for the option though

[Potatoes]

TSCfree said:

Potatoes said:

What about the BMC SR01 105, very aggressive geometry and some real stiffness in the rear end. Putting the power down is a very direct experience.

I'm always amazed I don't see more of these on the roads, great bike!

if you can extend the budget by £100 - £200 you can get it with the Ultegra groupset.

Umm'd and arrh'd over the BMC, and discounted it on its looks. Probably shouldn't, don't judge a book and all that but..... Thanks for the option though

I'd originally ridden the BMC and did the same, test-rode loads more bikes before coming back to it. I couldn't find another one that fitted me better and it just had the best geometry and the right stiffness for how I ride.

The looks have grown on me since...

[mcelliott]

Another one here for the Felt F75, bought mine in October of last year as a winter training bike - brilliant piece of kit. Had it on a big discount through Wiggle and various other vouchers and ended up paying £680! The only things I've chopped are the wheels, Mavic CXPs to Shimano Ultegras. I've done a full winter sportive series on it and the bike's ridden beautifully. One of the magazines (I can't remember which) pitched it against its more expensive stable mate the F4 Carbon, which is at least twice as expensive, and the F75 almost pipped it.

[Gizmoish]

TSCfree said:

Great spot, none in my size. Without getting into a carbon/aluminium bunfight I'd pretty much discounted quality carbon at my price range.

And justifiably: but lots of people have Supersixes here and everyone seems to love them.

[TSCfree]

Visited the LBS and hopped on the Caad 10 today. A real quality piece of bike engineering. Light enough but has a quality feeling of robustness. The positioning was not as bad as I was expecting. Looks a lot better in the flesh however I was surprised about the width of the top tube, quite a contrast to my old Dolan. Also didn't realize the frame is guaranteed for life. I'll see the Felt and the Scott next weekend, but it's going to take quite a bit to sway me from the 'dale now.

[DeanR32]

Out of the few bikes I tested, I went CAAD 10, and it's a real nice bike.

I'd heard of people saying this bike is fast, responsive etc and I thought it must be rubbish. I still wouldn't say my bike is fast because I don't allow it to be, but it's unbelievably responsive in handling and power transmission. It accelerates so well (although that's partly down to me).

And from what I've read about it, the CAAD 10 is quite a light bike. I'm not sure how light compared to other alu and carbon bikes but it's certainly comparable.

Infact, I'd like to find out once and for all how much my bike weighs. I think it's about 8.5 for mine (54cm 105 set)

[jfdi]

jfdi said:

Hmmm, i shall watch with interest as i'm hovering over the order button on a canyon al 9.0 (only slightly over your budget, budgets are there to be broken)

http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=30...

I have a canyon hardtail mountain bike and have been very impressed.

Opps! finger slipped and pressed the order button, then lots of more slips to enter the credit card details
No-one suggested anything to talk me out of it. Just waiting for the postman now.......

DeanR32 said:

Out of the few bikes I tested, I went CAAD 10, and it's a real nice bike.
....

Infact, I'd like to find out once and for all how much my bike weighs. I think it's about 8.5 for mine (54cm 105 set)

Err 7.3kg according to Canyon , weight or lack of was one of the things that first attracted me to the canyon hardtail I've got.