Calling CAAD owners - opinions please....?

[MadDad]

I am planning on finally getting my arse into gear and racing this winter (with a view to gaining my Cat3 before next years summer season kicks off).

I would like a dedicated 'race' bike, and like the look of rhte Cannondale CAAD10's (don't want to race carbon - I know quite a few people who have had to bin frames after a couple of races thanks to a tumble or two). Can anyone on here provide real world feedback on the CAAD10?, and is anyone able to provide a comparison between the CAAD8 and CAAD10 - I can't see any discernible differences on the majority of shop web-sites and the CAAD10 no longer exists on the Cannondale site.....

[SixPotBelly]

I believe the geo of the CAAD8 is a meant to be a tad more relaxed than that of the CAAD10.

Anyway, by getting inventive with the URL, I found specifications and geometries are still available here:

http://www.cannondale.com/uk_gb/2015/bikes/road

[anonymous-user]

Just bought a CAAD10 Ultegra from westbrook at the weekend!, its getting delivered tomorrow... I too wanted something a bit racier as far as geo goes so I'll see how it feels, I had test rides on a 54 and 56, the 54 felt nice and compact but its going to take some core work to get comfy!! the 56 just felt too similar to the RS though and was a little stretched though both had stacks of spacers underneath. I looked at the Canyon, Bowman Palace and Kenesis Aithein too but kept going back to the CAAD10 based on its reputation.

Its getting replaced by the CAAD12 but I see no real reason to go for that rather than the CAAD10 which you can know get at a great price. The CAAD12 has disc mounts on some models and I guess they have made it lighter and stiffer but again, the 10 appears to be so well loved that I just thought 30% off the ultegra model was a steal. Pauls Cycles still have some 2013 CAAD10s for 850, given the frameset is still going for £650ish, thats a bargain.

The 10 and Super6 share the same geo, the 8 has a taller headtube but the same horizontal top tube. Its going to be heavier and most likely different material.

Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 28th September 20:09

[TSCfree]

I can't add anything more than Pablo has, other than it crashes really well! Raced on it for two years, great geo and handling and now a solid winter bike.

[pattyg]

My CAAD8 is a very decent frame. I was not so keen on the FSA crank/bottom bracket or Cannondale finishing kit which I have mostly replaced.

[AyBee]

pablo said:

Pauls Cycles still have some 2013 CAAD10s for 850, given the frameset is still going for £650ish, thats a bargain.

Will there be much difference between a 2013 model and 2015? I'm in the same position as MadDad (tempted to start racing but fancy something that'll handle a crash or 2 given the reputation of cat 4 racing) and need a 10 speed in order to be able to use the carbon wheels I have on both bikes so needs to be a 2013 or 2014 model but I can't find any 2014 CAAD10s in size 52

[okgo]

Those prices are on Pauls Cycles are pretty decent, got me even considering a pig metal CAAD!

I'd probably be tempted by the Supersix for not much more though.

My advice would be that you should wait until summer, or start racing now, there are quite a few races left, if you don't want to crash then avoid people that do winter series

[AyBee]

Unfortunately the supersix isn't available in 52 (2014 or earlier model) otherwise I'd have been very tempted. It's my intention to wait until next summer to race and do some useful training over winter, but having another bike means I could leave one road bike attached to the turbo over winter (n+1 justification and all that ).

[jamiebae]

I'm not a racer, but bought a CAAD 10 recently to replace a (cracked) lower end carbon bike. I love the stiffness, and the way it doesn't rattle over bumps, and I don't think it loses anything in smoothness either.

As above, the CAAD 10 has been replaced by the 12 but is broadly similar really (the disc version has more changes than the rim brake one).

An alternative though, how about a Bowman Palace frame built up with either new Tiagra or old 105 bits (Ribble have both available) which also gets you a normal press fit BB rather than the more restrictive BB30. If I hadn't found the CAAD so cheap and they had a 56 in stock when I was buying then I'd have bought one (but not a 10 speed group).

[lynus2004]

I've recently started racing a Caad 10, had a frame failure just before a big race and needed a bike asap, saw the Caad 10 with 105 groupset for £800 which I thought was a good price.

I’d previously ridden a mates Giant Propel and really wanted one of those as it felt noticeably faster than my old race bike, nowhere could get one to me in time so I went with the Caad 10 on next day delivery. I’m very pleased to with it, feels fast and responsive, no noticeable difference in speed against the Propel as far as I could tell. Certainly isn’t going to be a limiting factor in any E/1/2 races that I do.

However, I’m not sure that I buy into the frame being any more durable than carbon, the tubes are fairly thin and I'd imagine an impact that would crack carbon would cause damage to the Caad10 frame.

[AyBee]

lynus2004 said:

However, I’m not sure that I buy into the frame being any more durable than carbon, the tubes are fairly thin and I'd imagine an impact that would crack carbon would cause damage to the Caad10 frame.

For me at least, it's the ability to show damage that attracts me to the CAAD over something carbon. If carbon takes a hit, it can look perfect from the outside but be structurally unsafe, that's less likely to happen with a CAAD in my opinion.

[MadDad]

Thanks all for the feedback and opinions, the only thing I really don't like on the CAAD10 is the press-fit BB - I have always preferred external cups, much easier to change/service yourself!

I didn't appreciate that the geometry between the CAAD8 and CAAD10 was different, also seems the CAAD10 has a higher grade of alu. I had noticed the CAAD12 but am not worried about buying the latest, I prefer value for money over vanity and don't forget, things are only 'new' on the day you buy them! Thinking about it I have only ever bought past season bikes - as far as I can tell riding the previous years model has never put me at a disadvantage!

I can't argue that the Supersix is fantastic value but my only concern is the carbon frame, I appreciate that a catastrophic crash would bugger most frames but it's the minor dinks that would worry me - I saw a Dogma written off a few weeks ago through a fairly minor crash during a chaingang cock-up - handlebar into/through the top-tube! (I wasn't riding but saw the results of it the following day).

okgo - I have been putting it off for far too long, I am going to have to jump in with both feet soon! I might try to catch a few of this seasons races if I get the chance, but am hoping to race with a few other guys from my club - we are all booked on the 'obligatory' Surrey League training on the 8th November so hopefully can start to enter races straight afterwards.










Off to look down the back of the sofa for £850..............

[Mr Will]

MadDad said:

Thanks all for the feedback and opinions, the only thing I really don't like on the CAAD10 is the press-fit BB - I have always preferred external cups, much easier to change/service yourself!

I didn't appreciate that the geometry between the CAAD8 and CAAD10 was different

It's easy enough to downgrade them to external cups if you want to - there is a simple threaded adapter that just presses in. I personally wouldn't though, my BB30 setup has been far less hassle than the preceding Shimano kit was.

The geometry and build is very different between the two. The CAAD 9/10/12 are bikes that gave the name it's reputation. The recent CAAD8 is just a regular entry level aluminium frame.

[TSCfree]

lynus2004 said:

However, I’m not sure that I buy into the frame being any more durable than carbon, the tubes are fairly thin and I'd imagine an impact that would crack carbon would cause damage to the Caad10 frame.

This impact would have killed any carbon tube.


So far it's completed 1 race season and a winter

[lynus2004]

TSCfree said:

This impact would have killed any carbon tube.


So far it's completed 1 race season and a winter

That looks pretty battered, I'd have had that straight in the bin.

[TSCfree]

lynus2004 said:

That looks pretty battered, I'd have had that straight in the bin.

Well you'd be pretty wasteful in my opinion. And if it was carbon it would be in the bin, more to the point....

[lynus2004]

TSCfree said:

Well you'd be pretty wasteful in my opinion. And if it was carbon it would be in the bin, more to the point....

That's fair enough, it's your bike and you can see the damage better than I can from that picture. My view is that any bike could be written off racing, I've seen carbon bikes that have shattered and alu bikes bent beyond repair, race what you are happy with. I didn't buy the Caad 10 assuming it would bounce any better than my carbon bikes, if it does then that's a bonus.

[okgo]

lynus2004 said:

That looks pretty battered, I'd have had that straight in the bin.

+1 - you'd be asking for trouble riding that.

Wait till it fails at 30mph see who's wasteful then perhaps?

[anonymous-user]

thinking about how we ride (body position, power and stress through the frame etc) and given its a seat stay I dont think it would "fail" per se, there is no crease or crack, sure it could suffer undue stress and fail but I doubt it. I've seen aircraft pull 9g with far bigger dents in their mainplane...

[TSCfree]

ADF'd on 50 hrs OOPS