What is the greatest of the CAAD road frames?

[Pegoready]

Originally Posted by kppolich

No love for MUSA RWB?

Yes. This build featured in the Radavist is an all time favorite of mine:

https://theradavist.com/2017/03/dann...le-caad5-road/

[kppolich]

Originally Posted by azrider

I think it had more to do with frame size.

My 58 and bigger sizes (60,62) fit 28's and 30's easily. Not so much on 56cm frames and smaller...........

my 56cm CAAD10 with non-aerolink SRAM Red Brakes cleared actual 29mm wide schwalbe pro ones (700x25) on hed belgium plus rims. It was the actual caliper bridge that prevented larger tires. Probably could have run 28's (31mm actual width) with Aerolinks.

[jtbadge]

My early 56 CAAD10 wouldn't fit measured 28s in the rear, even with no calipers mounted.

[p nut]

Originally Posted by kppolich

my 56cm CAAD10 with non-aerolink SRAM Red Brakes cleared actual 29mm wide schwalbe pro ones (700x25) on hed belgium plus rims. It was the actual caliper bridge that prevented larger tires. Probably could have run 28's (31mm actual width) with Aerolinks.

What year was your Caad10?

[pasadena]

stunner!
Man, this thread has me pining hard for my old CAAD!

Originally Posted by Pegoready

Yes. This build featured in the Radavist is an all time favorite of mine:

https://theradavist.com/2017/03/dann...le-caad5-road/

[barnabyjones]

Originally Posted by jtbadge

My early 56 CAAD10 wouldn't fit measured 28s in the rear, even with no calipers mounted.

This CAAD10 has 30s with room for more.

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showp...39&postcount=7

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showt...28#post2389128

[dziekiel]

the black out CAADs of any vintage always turn my head. Still haven't owned one, but looking out for a deal on a 60...

[DfCas]

Last week I drove a good distance to look at/buy a 2020 Optimo bike in the cool acid green color. It was a complete bike with 8speed Claris for $875 (Retail). I was going to take the parts off and put my Campy on it.

It had tons of clearance in the fork- I'd say maybe a 30 would fit, certainly a fat 28. Alas, the rear was tight with even the stock 25. The brake bridge was positioned so the pads were in the middle of the slots. I didn't buy it.

From the posts here it seems that tire clearance is just random in the rear on Cannondale aluminum road frames. Guess I'll try to buy used and check clearance.

Thats why I asked about the difference between the Optimo and Caad numbered frames.

I also seem to remember that when Cannondale offered custom/and other frame build choices you could choose between 2 bottom bracket heights. Almost nobody wanted the high BB and after that Cannondale changed from their crit geometry to the more current style with a lower BB. This was maybe in 94 or 95?

[Gpmrntz]

I know guys that swear by the CAAD 9, the last US made, by hand, frame. They hunt them on eBay et al, and buy them whenever they can.

[mhespenheide]

Originally Posted by DfCas

From the posts here it seems that tire clearance is just random in the rear on Cannondale aluminum road frames. Guess I'll try to buy used and check clearance.

I found the same thing. Beeatnik's CAAD10 fits 28's with room to spare (as shown in the photos above). I looked at four used CAAD10's before finding one that fits 28's with just enough room; the first three that I checked out didn't.

[oliver1850]

Originally Posted by DfCas

I also seem to remember that when Cannondale offered custom/and other frame build choices you could choose between 2 bottom bracket heights. Almost nobody wanted the high BB and after that Cannondale changed from their crit geometry to the more current style with a lower BB. This was maybe in 94 or 95?

I'm not aware of the higher BB option. I haven't been able to find mention of custom geometry in the old catalogs but they may have offered it. The Crit frames had the same BB height as the road racing frames. The main difference between the two was the head tube angle, but the early 3.0 series 50 and 53 cm Crit frames also had shorter top tubes. The last Crit frame was the 1992 3.0 series C600 which differed from the road frames by having shorter stays and (on sizes 54.5 and larger) steeper head tube angles. The geometry didn't change from crit to road at the end of crit frame production, it was more a case of crit geometry fading away. In 1987 the top four frames were all Crit geometry, with only the two bottom models having road geometry. In 1988 all frames had crit geometry. By 1992 only the C600 had crit geometry. In 1993 all frames had the same geometry as the 1992 2.8 series, whether 2.8 or 3.0.

[54ny77]

Well dang they missed mine, which was pretty much perfect. New 6700 group, flawless paint, the frame itself barely ridden (I had bought the frame and fork from another fellow Paceliner who barely rode it as well)! I think I sold the whole shebang for several hundred bucks.

I'd totally buy that CAAD frame in USA colors if I could find a nice one in a 54. Love the paint. There's a full bike on eBay with Sram kit but they want 3 grand or so. Nah.

Originally Posted by Gpmrntz

I know guys that swear by the CAAD 9, the last US made, by hand, frame. They hunt them on eBay et al, and buy them whenever they can.

[oliver1850]

Originally Posted by robt57

If you are talking the GP4000 28s, that is more like a 31mm tire.
The GP5K TL 28s I just installed are more normal 28. The 28mm GP4Ks I have will only fit on my Team Domane Classics road bike wise. They are fatties on 19C rims.


Cannondale wise, my friend had an old CAAD 3 62CM, it would only fit a 23mm tire. I never could understand how it rode so nice for fat alloy pipes and 23s at pressure...

I will have to measure the tires. They are on relatively narrow rims (Protons) so that may make them taller than they would be on wide rims. Still interesting (any annoying) that in the rear the pads are at or near the bottom of the slot while being about in the middle at the front. I'm not sure who was making the forks circa 2010. Earlier forks had been made by Advanced Composites and Time.

Funny you should mention CAAD3, as I have a 1998 CAAD3 R4000 on which I have 28 mm Super Sport 100s. They may measure narrow, as they are a pretty old tire. They are on narrow rims that measure 2 mm narrower than Protons at the brake track.

[oliver1850]

Originally Posted by mtechnica

Here's a blast from the past for you all:



I used to ride this back when I was a hipster

1987 SR600 with the custom graphics. I have a pink one and another repainted red, as well as a 1987 SR800. I've had the red one for nearly 30 years. Love the 600EX group that came on the SR600.

[paredown]

When I started back looking at bikes in retail stores (after we were back in NYC so 2006ish) I remember seeing Cannondales pretty cheap. I was a snob, and didn't get it apparently...

I loved the Saeco colors--and I found this CAAD 6 on eBay--former team bike:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cannondale-...0AAOSwAS1elvz~