Cannondale CAAD9 - Ultegra worth the extra?

Sean1504

Hi All,

I've been looking at the Cannondale CAAD9 and was wondering if people think the Ultegra spec is worth the extra £300 over the 105?

Thanks,

Sean

Soni

Sean1504 wrote:

Hi All,

I've been looking at the Cannondale CAAD9 and was wondering if people think the Ultegra spec is worth the extra £300 over the 105?

Thanks,

Sean

I test rode the Spesh Tarmac with 105 last week and the gears were snappy and immediate, i then test rode the Caad9 Ultegra last weekend and the gears were equally as snappy and I couldn't tell the difference, but then test rode the Spesh Tarmac Roubix last night which has 105 and the gears were terrible, obviously depends on whether they are set-up correctly or not.

Apparently from what i've read on the forums you can't tell much difference between the two from riding around a carpark, the changing efficiency is noticeable on longer rides...

Sean1504

Thanks for the speedy reply Soni. I was just reading your thread on bike fitting at Evans :? I'll be getting mine from Evans as it's going to be part funded by my works ride2work scheme.

I'd like a compact and i'd also like the liquigas team colours but they only come in the 105 triple and Ultegra!

Sammyw23

I am looking at the same bike - on the Ultegra model you also get a full carbon fork (105 has alloy steerer), better wheels and better FSA chainset so on balance I think its worth the extra cash.....especially if it means getting a compact in the liquigas colours!!

bendertherobot

My mate's 105 set has been suffering from the 105 breaking problem (gone through two sets of shifters in a week).

On that basis I'd say Ultegra. Shame they don't do SRAM though.

kingrollo

My bike cost an extra £90 to have ultegra over 105 - an extra £300 seems expensive to me.

Soni

Sean1504 wrote:

Thanks for the speedy reply Soni. I was just reading your thread on bike fitting at Evans :? I'll be getting mine from Evans as it's going to be part funded by my works ride2work scheme.

I'd like a compact and i'd also like the liquigas team colours but they only come in the 105 triple and Ultegra!

Bike Fitting? :? What bike fitting!

And i am also doing the Cycle to Work, and as you've read my other thread you will be aware that another guy was buying the 2.3 whilst i was waiting around for an hour whilst the Evans chap was licking his shoes clean etc., and he said to him 'would you like a cycle computer sir?', the guy said 'whats one of those for', he said 'so you know how fast you are going', he said 'are you going to chuck it in', the guy said 'yes sir', he then made his way over to the wall and picked up a £45.00 computer!!

After waiting an hour and finally getting served by him, we made our way out towards the bikes, and i mentioned that i'm doing the cycle to work and trust i'll be getting a free computer thrown in - he said 'no sir because you are doing the cycle to work', i said 'i may well be but i'll also be spending £1800.00 on a bike and accessories and not just £1199.00 on a 2.3!!!!

Why is it that they won't do a deal on these vouchers? Its not as though they are loosing out by doing it, the reason they are trying to duck out is because they allready know they have 1K of your money!

Soni

Sammyw23 wrote:

I am looking at the same bike - on the Ultegra model you also get a full carbon fork (105 has alloy steerer), better wheels and better FSA chainset so on balance I think its worth the extra cash.....especially if it means getting a compact in the liquigas colours!!

I was considering getting the 105 over the Ultegra and saving £300, but like you i realised as soon as i looked at the spec that its not just the groupset that you miss out on its the other things like the wheels and forks etc.,

ScottieP

If you have the money - I would go for the Ultegra version for the Premium fork and better wheels etc - It's a better package overall and would save you on later upgrade costs.... Just my opinion - but it's what I would do. Good luck!

skellator3

the reason shops dont do deals on the cycle to work scheme is that they lose minimum of 10% of the voucher as admin charges to cycle scheme, ie £1000 voucher shop only receives £900 so the shops are actually paying for the admin of the scheme and all cycle schemes wages,

nomoreexcuses

While you at it. I have a smilar question on the CAAD9.

Is the 105 worth the extra £300 over the Tiagra? Weight difference marginal?

My thinking is get the Tiagra and spend the difference on some better wheels.

bendertherobot

nomoreexcuses wrote:

While you at it. I have a smilar question on the CAAD9.

Is the 105 worth the extra £300 over the Tiagra. Weight difference marginal?

My thinking is get the Tiagra and spend the difference on some better wheels.

Tiagra is 9 speed. 105 onwards 10 speed. So if you get upgradeitis you might be better ff with 10 speed to start.

micken

If it's a compact you're getting then go with Ultegra. I've got a Cannondale Six13 that came with 105 groupset and compact cranks. Whilst the 105 can be set up to work OK for compact I believe it puts strain on the left shifter mechanism and results in the breakages that have been well documented. I've taken advantage of some recent cheap deals and replaced my shifters and front mech with a dedicated Ultegra SL double set-up.

Whilst not quite chalk and cheese the feel of the front shifting is smoother and I can definitely feel less strain in the system. I'll use my 105s for a winter build.

Considering that you are getting Ultegra, full carbon fork, better wheels and crankset the £300 difference is worth it IMHO.

Sean1504

Thanks for everyone's replies. I read this review of the Ultegra groupset last night:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/components/groupset/road/product/ultegra-6700-groupset-35500

3.5 stars and some negative comments are putting doubts in the back of my mind. As someone said it's a shame that there isn't an SRAM version as all the reviews i've read of them are glowing.

skellator3 wrote:

the reason shops dont do deals on the cycle to work scheme is that they lose minimum of 10% of the voucher as admin charges to cycle scheme, ie £1000 voucher shop only receives £900 so the shops are actually paying for the admin of the scheme and all cycle schemes wages,

Evans run their own scheme that is administered by them so their admin costs related to the scheme will be very low. I think the reason is as Soni says that they already know that you'll be spending at least a grand and that it won't be with any other company so don't feel they need to work for your money, hence no freebies. When I spoke to them on Saturday they said the ride2work voucher is just the same as cash or a normal gift voucher to them as long as it's going towards a bike suitable for commuting so when I go in for my test rides I won't mention it and see if I can get them to chuck in some freebies and then when it comes to pay see what they say then.

Although i'm really liking the look of the CAAD9 I should really test ride at least 2 or 3 bikes to compare it to.

Has anyone got any comments on any of these:

BMC Road Racer SL01 2009 1599.99 Ultegra
Fuji CCR-1 2009 1599.99 Ultegra SL
Fuji SL 1 COMP - SRAM 2010 1599.99 SRAM Rival
Bianchi Cento Strade Veloce 2010 1596.99 Veloce

Or any other bikes on Evans actually at about that price or less.

Thanks,

Sean

bendertherobot

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/sco ... --ec016330

56cm do you?

Sean1504

I'm a smidge under 6' so possibly yes. Thanks for the tip. I'm on holiday next week so won't be able to arrange anything until the week after if they've still got any then i'll definitely ask them to get one of these in.

kingrollo

skellator3 wrote:

the reason shops dont do deals on the cycle to work scheme is that they lose minimum of 10% of the voucher as admin charges to cycle scheme, ie £1000 voucher shop only receives £900 so the shops are actually paying for the admin of the scheme and all cycle schemes wages,

Depends how you look at it - I went for upgraded wheels , upgraded groupset - because I knew I was saving £300 on cyclescheme- I would have just brought the stock bike were it not for cyclescheme.

nomoreexcuses

bendertherobot wrote:

Tiagra is 9 speed. 105 onwards 10 speed. So if you get upgrade, you might be better ff with 10 speed to start.

Yes and also i found out, the Tiagra comes with a BB30 adapter, not full BB30. The price of a BB30 chainset is £200 minimum, so worth the extra for the 105.

You void the warranty if you remove the adapter.

Jimbo.

Buy a Tiagra-equipped bike, save £300 immediately, run the Tiagra gear 'til it dies whilst saving the pennies, then replace with groupset (buy in one hit from the likes of Merlin and save quite a bit!) of your choice?

Failing that, buy Tiagra, flog it straight away, spend original £300 saving + whatever the Tiagra goes for (IIRC the CX brigade like it!) on groupset + wheels on your choice?

TBH, Tiagra, whilst only 9sp and not the lightest, is durable and works well enough. I'd rather ride a well set-up Tiagra bike than a poorly set-up Dura-Ace bike!

FransJacques

Soni said it all - it's not so much about 105 vs Ultegra but all the other incremental improvements in other areas of the bike - most notably wheels and fork. These are much more important than a component that can be changed when it wears out.

Are you the kind of person to see your bike as a complete unit like a car?
OR
Will you ride the bejeezus out of it and replace parts like a F1 team rebuilds its cars after each race?

Couple of home truths: You'll never wear out shifters unless you crash them so you're stuck with what you buy - better like the "feel" of them and the look cuz they all shift the same when they work well. That's the beauty and the frustration of Shimano, you have to want to spend more on DA since you know functionally you're not gaining much. Same with the FD, they don't wear out.

Your cassette and chain and tires and rings will wear out so you can upgrade later and at the pace your wallet approves of.

If the Ultegra platform (frame, wheels, fork) is better, get it for THAT reason as opposed to the 105 vs Ultegra reason.

I liked the BMC I rode - the best thing is to ride them.

Always get the smallest frame you can get away with - snappier handling and riding. Don't be scared of 13cm stems to get your stretch. A cheap stem is only £20!

Sammyw23

read on weight weenies today that the full carbon fork on the ultegra model makes a huge difference to comfort....