Adding a speedy bike to the stable

[madsciencenow]

Originally Posted by Pastashop

Comfy Wheels:

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=164445

plus:

http://www.yellowjersey.org/tt.html

or:

https://www.merlincycles.com/vittori...yre-93479.html



you can also improve the sound the frame makes by spraying a bit of plasti-dip or zip-tieing a thin rubber sheet on the underside of the downtube. (Which is essentially what the engineers do with the aluminum-bodied Ford F150 to reduce the noise from the lighter panels.)

Thanks! Already rocking some H+ son alchemys from OP and do agree that this helps. I was previously riding some cheaper vredestein 25s on these rims and didn't find them to be great. I currently have a pair of campy shamals on the bike w veloflex tires and while I like how they roll can't imagine a more punishing ride unless I get rid of the tires altogether.

I had some tubulars in the past and the ride was ok but I'm too lazy to be glueing tires. If that's what it takes to make my caad10 tolerable I'm out.


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[Pastashop]

Originally Posted by madsciencenow

I had some tubulars in the past and the ride was ok but I'm too lazy to be glueing tires. If that's what it takes to make my caad10 tolerable I'm out.

In the vertical plane, most frames from most materials are pretty much as stiff as it gets. Maybe a Ti seatpost and a low-profile rim can help, with the fattest tire the frame can comfortably fit. Maybe these?..



https://www.compasscycle.com/shop/co...6-cayuse-pass/



The high frequency vibration dampening by gluing or otherwise mounting an elastomer on the tubes could help with the feel of it.

[madsciencenow]

Originally Posted by Pastashop

In the vertical plane, most frames from most materials are pretty much as stiff as it gets. Laterally, maybe a Ti seatpost and a low-profile rim can help, with the fattest tire the frame can comfortably fit. Maybe these?..



https://www.compasscycle.com/shop/co...6-cayuse-pass/



The high frequency vibration dampening by gluing or otherwise mounting an elastomer on the tubes could help with the feel of it.

Thx! Appreciate the options. I've prolly put 10k on the bike so it's functional but having some recent chronic neck pain and recently taking the plunge over to a ti frame on another bike have both highlighted the lack of smoothness this bike affords. I'll keep playing with the tires as long as I have the bike and some of your other suggestions too.


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[duck]

FWIW I've never had a better bicycling experience than on my CAAD10, but maybe there's some rose tinted glasses / salad days action going on. Set up with a selle italia SLR, a carbon post and wide rims with 25s I never had any comfort problems. Rode a few doubles on it, never found it to be 'jarring.'

[lavi]

Buy it. Great bike, great price. It's REI. If you hate it, you can return for a full refund with zero issues. No risk.

[Frikki]

Not to knock the Cannondale, but is your heart set on getting a new bike?
I'm sure you could find something from a few years ago if you keep an eye on the PSAs on the marketplace.

[shovelhd]

The CAAD10 is from a few years ago.

[vqdriver]

Originally Posted by NHAero

I haven't owned anything considered a race bike and my clear trend has been to wider tires, but having a hankering to try a bike built for speed. Noticed REI has women-specific (shorter reach, better fit for me) CAAD10 Ultegra for $1250. Good idea?

yes

[NHAero]

Watching auctions on eBay...
- what do people feel about the carbon Specialized Roubaix/Ruby line vs. the aluminum CAAD10s, assuming similar equipment?
- how much more is Ultegra worth vs. 105, functionally? I'm only looking at Shimano (no need to try SRAM and Campy is out of the budget, in terms of it not appearing on bikes in the range I'm willing to spend)
- how much difference in a Specialized Roubaix from a few years ago (say 2008) and a 2016 model?
- how much should I care about whether the bike is 10 or 11 speed?

Thanks very much for any intelligence - I'm a complete noob in this sector of the bike world - I own eight bikes and none have integrated brake/shifters, and the only one with more than a 9 speed set-up is the FS Pivot 1x11.

[Bentley]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

They are stiff and will "feel" fast, but if you're looking for a "fast" bike, I think the experts would say go with an aero setup, which the CAAD10 is not meant to be. I've owned a couple and enjoyed them at the time. Not my jam anymore though.

Check your local Cannondale dealer and the "big dealers" in your state too - they often run crazy discounts at random times and you could get lucky with a CAAD12 or similar at a really good price. For example: http://www.trekbicyclesuperstore.com...5-237283-1.htm

Another bike to check out that would be considered on the faster side and "aero", would be the Specialized Allez Sprint DSW. You'll pay a few hundred more to get one even with 105, but it's a frameset you could hang nice parts on over time for sure.

Not sure I agree with this. I know a lot of people that ride CAAD 10's and 12's and other late model aluminum bikes as a crit bike (racing) and in fact just a lot of folks who race aluminum for fear of what might happen to the CF bike if there is an incident. I am not totally sure that an aero bike is the answer, other than for TT's most of the riders on the GC are riding traditional road bikes. I think a CAAD 10, a Specialized Allez E5 or a Trek Emonda ALR are all good "racing" bikes, cheaper than CF and in some cases almost as good.

Ray

[shovelhd]

Originally Posted by NHAero

Watching auctions on eBay...
- what do people feel about the carbon Specialized Roubaix/Ruby line vs. the aluminum CAAD10s, assuming similar equipment?
- how much more is Ultegra worth vs. 105, functionally? I'm only looking at Shimano (no need to try SRAM and Campy is out of the budget, in terms of it not appearing on bikes in the range I'm willing to spend)
- how much difference in a Specialized Roubaix from a few years ago (say 2008) and a 2016 model?
- how much should I care about whether the bike is 10 or 11 speed?

The Roubaix and the CAAD10 are completely different bikes. CAAD, short head tube, race geometry. Roubaix, tall head tube, comfort geometry. If you have to use a 17* stem flipped up with spacers underneath to fit the CAAD, you're better off with the Roubaix.

If you race, you should choose 11 speed.

The rest of the questions are open ended and could go a number of ways.

[NHAero]

Thanks very much.
I don't race, in fact, I'm slow. This is a non-necessary purchase being contemplate, driven by never having owned a really light bike designed to go fast. The CAAD10 women-specific design is surprisingly close in terms of reach and stack to the Roubaix, and the Ruby Comp is also a WSD so similar. I'm definitely the guy with the 17 degree stem flipped up on the CAAD10.

Thanks for indulging my questions. Any thoughts about the year of manufacture, and 105 vs. Ultegra?

Originally Posted by shovelhd

The Roubaix and the CAAD10 are completely different bikes. CAAD, short head tube, race geometry. Roubaix, tall head tube, comfort geometry. If you have to use a 17* stem flipped up with spacers underneath to fit the CAAD, you're better off with the Roubaix.

If you race, you should choose 11 speed.

The rest of the questions are open ended and could go a number of ways.

[NHAero]

Anyone else have two cents on these questions?

[benb]

I love the idea of getting the Women's CAAD10 if that fits you.

Huge credit to Cannondale for not making it pink.

I am a little too big to fit the largest size AFAICT but the general fit of those is about the right proportion for me and based on the looks I'd be plenty happy riding one.

I would ride one, and go ride the Roubaix, Domane, etc.. since those effectively have similar proportional sizing but come in bigger sizes in the men's models. Your nickname makes me think you might live in NH, if you do, the road quality there will make you appreciate the endurance bikes and they'll fit the way you want.

If you're not getting low definitely ignore the aero stuff. The way to think about that is at a given position your body is generating X drag. The bike is generating Y drag. X is way larger than Y, until you're so low that you've minimized X it isn't really a big deal to worry about Y, despite what marketing folks would have you believe.

I also don't really buy at all that the "endurance" bikes aren't "speedy" if you are fitting yourself to them in an aggressive manner. Even in the midrange models they can be built to UCI weight limits and again if they fit you right they handle plenty fast even for crit usage. They are generally fine on all the other nonsense like drivetrain stiffness and torsional/fork lateral stiffness. They won't work for a rider with short legs/long torso for that application but if you are a long legs/short torso body type they will work. My Domane would work great for crits for me if it wasn't for the fact that I spent too much on it to be comfortable entering a crit.. if I was feeling stupid and was going to enter a crit I'd want a bike like the CAAD10 that was less expensive.

[colker]

Originally Posted by icepick_trotsky

CAAD10 offers the best performance to price ratio on the market. No contest. You can spend a lot more without getting a lot more for it.

Buy it.

That thing is good looking...