Cannondale CAAD8 Sora or Spesh Allez 18 (+ cahs!)

secretsam

hi, newbie here, decided to treat myself to a road bike in the sales, my first proper speed machine, will be used for Sunday morning blasts (1-2 hours) with the commuter doing the day to day drudge.

Am torn between the 'dale and the Allez, which are £550 and £400 respectively. Both strike me as decent frames, worthy of upgrade in the future, should I see fit. My main concern is sizing: I'm going to try a 54cm CAAD8 but am 5' 9" with short legs (29" inside leg) - am concerned about standover height given that it's a 'square' frame? Would a compact type frame like the Allez be better?

Also - which is the better bike (taking out the kit differences ie Sora vs Shimano 2300, etc) - which is actually 'the better bike' (I know, subjective...)

fat lad in lycra

i was in the same boat myself with both bikes, i went for the cannondale caad8 sora, and i got it for only £450 at evans cycles as they price match other cycle shops, looks the biz and very happy with it , just takes in a print out of an offer from another bike shop thats cheaper and they'll match the price

secretsam

fat lad in lycra wrote:

i was in the same boat myself with both bikes, i went for the cannondale caad8 sora, and i got it for only £450 at evans cycles as they price match other cycle shops, looks the biz and very happy with it , just takes in a print out of an offer from another bike shop thats cheaper and they'll match the price

Interesting - I tried the same (was it Pedal On who were selling for £450?) and they said they'd only price match if they had the right size at £450 - it was no good me asking for a price match for my 54cm to a 61cm. I can see their point, but if your Evans applied a differnt policy to mine (Milton Keynes) I'd be interested to know.

Thanks

fat lad in lycra

just looked on both websites, pedal on and evans, both have 54cm in stock (which is normally at there warehouse)...so theres no probs, just print pedal on advert off and go into evans......or just get it from pedal on

secretsam

Great - have just found that as well, they must have got some new old stock in as they were showing only 61cm the other day, and I thought I was going to have to ditch it as I'm not spending £550.

How do you rate the CAAD 8?? My only concern is it might look a little "Big" as it's quite 'square' and I've only got short legs relative to my height, so won't have much seatpost showing (say 2") whereas on a compact frame (eg Allez) there would be more...I know, it's aesthetic, but... :roll:

fat lad in lycra

havent had mine long but well pleased with it, as for leg length and looking square i dont have that problem as i went for the 61cm frame being 6ft 4" , but cant see it being a problem, try a square framed 54cm bike out for size in one of the shops first....but for the price i dont think you'll find anything better 8)

CarlosDSanchez

You need to try a 54cm and 52cm and see which fits best. The larger frame will also have a longer reach to the handle bars and that will be very uncomfortable.

1stGenRex

I just made this decision on Sunday and went with the CAAD8...why? Because they were both on sale, but I didn't want a red bike (even though everyone knows, red bikes are faster...but still). They didn't have my exact frame size in stock, but I should be fine with the 56 I ordered . I should have it some time this week.

Also, the Allez I was looking at had 2300 components...Opted for the slightly better (from what I was told) components on the CAAD8