The Cannondale CAADX enigma

[shoota]

I stupidly sold my 2019 CAADX to a buddy and have always since regretted it. It was the closest thing I'd ever ridden to the perfect all around bike. It had hydro 105, tubeless wheels, perfect geo for me, cheap, metal, beautiful paint...lots going for it. But for the life of me I never see one for sale. Even on ebay. Nada. What else is out there that is similar that I could look into? Would love just a frameset to build up.
2019 CAADX.jpg

[AngryScientist]

Why not try a WTB ad in the classifieds with what you are looking for specifically. You never know what will turn up?

Off the top of my head, I dont see anything about that particular bike that stands out from the sea of current all-road bikes, practically every manufacturer out there has a bike in this genre now. I bet with some direction from the forum members who are wiser in this area than me, you can find something nice to suit your needs.

OR

Beg your buddy to sell it back to you

[Pelican]

What size do you ride?

I think the closest thing is a Topstone alloy, from last year before they did the whole dropped seatstay design. I've got a brand new one in the classic Alpine Blue. It was a relatively affordable bike, and worthy of some upgrades.

[lavi]

Ya. The Cdale Topstone is pretty good. Depending on your size, I may have something for ya.

I have the "4". It's the lowest end. HOWEVER, the Microshift bits are really pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised. But the wheels, ya, stock crappola (that likely work just fine).

[GregL]

If you can find one, the current model CAADX is (IMO) a good value at $1,875. It has a thru-axle rear wheel mount where IIRC the 2019 version still used a skewer.

Greg

[Bob Ross]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Off the top of my head, I dont see anything about that particular bike that stands out from the sea of current all-road bikes, practically every manufacturer out there has a bike in this genre now.

You would think, right?
But when I was shopping for an all-road/gravel bike circa 2017-18, I did a ****-ton of research and had put together a huge spreadsheet of all the possible contenders, must've been over 20 different makes/model bikes on that list...and the CAADX wound up being the only one that checked off all my boxes.

Admittedly there are almost certainly even more options now in 2023. But a CAADX is quite possibly an outlier in that it can be so perfect for so many riders and yet isn't rare or hard to find.

[shoota]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Why not try a WTB ad in the classifieds with what you are looking for specifically. You never know what will turn up?

Off the top of my head, I dont see anything about that particular bike that stands out from the sea of current all-road bikes, practically every manufacturer out there has a bike in this genre now. I bet with some direction from the forum members who are wiser in this area than me, you can find something nice to suit your needs.

OR

Beg your buddy to sell it back to you

I think begging might have to be the route I go.

Originally Posted by Pelican

What size do you ride?

I think the closest thing is a Topstone alloy, from last year before they did the whole dropped seatstay design. I've got a brand new one in the classic Alpine Blue. It was a relatively affordable bike, and worthy of some upgrades.

Originally Posted by lavi

Ya. The Cdale Topstone is pretty good. Depending on your size, I may have something for ya.

I have the "4". It's the lowest end. HOWEVER, the Microshift bits are really pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised. But the wheels, ya, stock crappola (that likely work just fine).

I actually had an alloy Topstone. Hated it. It was an absolute dog. For whatever reason the CAADX was a completely different ride experience.

Originally Posted by GregL

If you can find one, the current model CAADX is (IMO) a good value at $1,875. It has a thru-axle rear wheel mount where IIRC the 2019 version still used a skewer.

Thanks, yep rear wheel skewer. That and the PF30 bb were the two reasons I used to convince myself to sell it. Dumb dumb dumb. I wish I liked the current Cannondale colorways but I honestly hate them.

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

You would think, right?
But when I was shopping for an all-road/gravel bike circa 2017-18, I did a ****-ton of research and had put together a huge spreadsheet of all the possible contenders, must've been over 20 different makes/model bikes on that list...and the CAADX wound up being the only one that checked off all my boxes.

Admittedly there are almost certainly even more options now in 2023. But a CAADX is quite possibly an outlier in that it can be so perfect for so many riders and yet isn't rare or hard to find.

Yep, you get it. It's one of those bikes whose sum is more than its parts. Hard to explain. But I would disagree on saying they're not rare. I can't seem to find them used anywhere. ebay has none in the current for sale listings, and ONE in the sold listings and it was the purple version.

[AngryScientist]

When asked about modern disc brake bikes, my first thought is to look at what Canyon has on offer.

Is a Canyon AL very much different? They certainly look affordable?


https://www.canyon.com/en-us/gravel-...road/grail/al/

[BobbyJones]

Ahhh… The old Cannondale CAAD dilemma:

You can spend more, but you won’t get more!

Hope you find what you’re looking for.

[rice rocket]

That's weird about the CAADX availability, maybe they just didn't sell many?

I have an open search out for a Slate, and eBay hits me with a few results every couple days.

Speaking of, have you thought about a Slate?

They built it specifically as an all-road bike before gravel was a "thing", which means it has chainstays shorter than some road bikes (405mm). It's almost guaranteed not to be a dog (not sure what breed is your yardstick), only real challenge is tires but options are continually improving.

I have mine down to 19 lb w/ a Lefty fork, friend of mine runs his with a rigid 3T fork and he's about 18 lbs and change, 16 lb if he used my wheels.

[texbike]

There's a 54 cm in the Houston area -

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...5-e61e5fe65111

Texbike

[shoota]

Originally Posted by texbike

There's a 54 cm in the Houston area -

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...5-e61e5fe65111

Texbike

Thx! Need a 56

[Quadzilla_Jr]

Originally Posted by shoota

Thx! Need a 56

I'll check my local C'dale dealer the next time I'm there; They routinely have 2-3 year old inventory in the basement. I scored a CAAD12 rim-brake there two years ago.

Alternatively, have you thought about a Super X of the same vintage? The geometries are almost identical, per GeometryGeeks.

[shoota]

Originally Posted by Quadzilla_Jr

I'll check my local C'dale dealer the next time I'm there; They routinely have 2-3 year old inventory in the basement. I scored a CAAD12 rim-brake there two years ago.

Alternatively, have you thought about a Super X of the same vintage? The geometries are almost identical, per GeometryGeeks.

Thanks for checking. I was hoping to avoid the AI offset thing with the SuperX, and I sorta have a hankering for metal on this one.

[Quadzilla_Jr]

Originally Posted by shoota

Thanks for checking. I was hoping to avoid the AI offset thing with the SuperX, and I sorta have a hankering for metal on this one.

Totally understand that. I’m currently looking for a new CX rig and the Super X is off the list due to that non-standard rear wheel. I’m getting rid of a Specialized with SCS rear wheels, and it drastically reduced wheel options.