2011 Cannondale CAAD10 105

Brommers76

My new bike. For commuting with the good wheels in Summer and the standard wheels in winter. Standard except for Romin SL saddle and DA CL wheels.

Very impressed with the weight, handling, stiffness and comfort. Struggling to see how my Look 595 is better in terms of ride.





Weight: 7.8kg as seen

The Spiderman

Lovely looking bike. 8)

Matt the Tester

very nice mate! how much did you steal this for!? im looking into buying a new bike soon myself

bencolem

Nicely done, long live aluminium!

tigerben

I want one!

Looks lovely

peanut

yep that sure is a good looking frame.Have you seen the white version ? looks good in both colours

magoo289

Beautiful. Enjoy!

Brommers76

Thanks for the comments. I have seen the White ultegra version but as this was for commuting I didn't want to spend the extra money plus black will still look good after a couple of winters-hopefully! Really impressed by the 105, the rear shifting and brakes are hard to tell from Dura Ace IMO. Front shifting isn't as good though. Would be tempted to swap the chain set as it may be partly down to that (plus aesthetically they aren't all that).

In terms of comfort I may need to swap the saddle as I still can't get on with it. Really bumpy or broken surfaces you can feel the difference from a carbon frame like my Look. The bike feels fast and you can really throw it into corners. Descending it is rock solid as well.

After a weeks use I am really impressed both with the frame and the 105 kit. If you have £1300 to spend then you won't go wrong, especially if you put some better wheels on it.

orangepip

is that the stock saddle? I've got a caad 9 ultegra from last year and i couldn't handle the original saddle that came with it - have swapped it for one from my mountain bike - this has transformed the ride comfort massively

mb429

A CAAD10 for commuting... lucky you!

Brommers76

Not the original saddle, the original is a Pro logo kappa. Funnily enough I have sold the Romin saddle as it was excrutiating! Whilst I wait for my Arione to arrive the Prologo is back on it and is actually quite comfy.

The only thing that needs sorting is the cable that runs under the top tube hasn't got any protectors on it so it rattles. 50p fix so not the end of the world.

In terms of lucky to have it as a commuter, my commute is rural, quiet, undulating 16 to 20 miles and as I will be spending at least 75% of my riding life on it, why not have an exciting bike to ride. The cost is easy to justify as I can save as much as £100 a month on fuel so it pays for itself in a year. Or so I tell the wife.

porker33

Great bike Brommers,

This thread was drawn to my attention last week when I enquired about purchasing a Caad10.

The bike arrived the next day!

Guess which wheels I collected for it today?...,,,,,....Exactly,.......

Hardly worth duplicating the thread by posting pics of my bike!

Paul057

Brommers76 wrote:

Not the original saddle, the original is a Pro logo kappa. Funnily enough I have sold the Romin saddle as it was excrutiating! Whilst I wait for my Arione to arrive the Prologo is back on it and is actually quite comfy.

The only thing that needs sorting is the cable that runs under the top tube hasn't got any protectors on it so it rattles. 50p fix so not the end of the world.

In terms of lucky to have it as a commuter, my commute is rural, quiet, undulating 16 to 20 miles and as I will be spending at least 75% of my riding life on it, why not have an exciting bike to ride. The cost is easy to justify as I can save as much as £100 a month on fuel so it pays for itself in a year. Or so I tell the wife.

Ha ha, just had to chuckle at this one as the fuel argument is the same one i use with my wife, although i think she's getting wise to it now.
Just ordered this bike; managed to pick it up for £1100 in clearance sale. Exited to pick it up now

GoldenBear

Excellent! Looks mean.

bails1310

Really good looking bike and wheel combo mate, Ive been thinking of one of these for quite some time and mailed LBS trying to do some price matching and got this repsonce. [There may be 3 of us with the same bike soon!] Any truth in what they say? Am 38, failry fit but dont want my second bike to be a wheelchair after 80 miles on the 'dale! :

" Cannondale are a brand where the ride quality is particularly
harsh as they are somewhat obsessed with Frame stiffness and unfortunately
don't seem to appreciate that compliance (the ability of the frame to absorb
and deal with surface being ridden on) is the key to a fast rolling
efficient and comfortable ride.

The other major issue we find with cannondale is the geometry It is an out
and out race geometry so the Headtube (where the froks run through will be
20-30mm lower than the Trek to start with.

This is fine if you are very light and strong in the upper body and if you
have a very strong lower back and neck, if bnot then an hour or so into the
ride you will really struggle with your hands, neck and or lower back."

bails1310

...............meant to add, LBS does not stock Dales but they can get them but were heavily trying to push the Trek 2.1 rout, of course which they can get.

Brommers76

In terms of position I don't think it is too extreme. It matches my Look and I have one spacer under the stem on the CAAD and no spacer on the look. I tried the size up and I did think that was a stretch to the bars though.

Comfort wise I think it is fine. Not as good as the Look. With the stock wheels and Tyres the ride is noticeably harsher than with the DA wheels but still not bad. I guess the comparisons I have are with the Look and the giant defy I have. If the CAAD was my only bike I would be happy.

One caveat - I haven't ridden over 50 miles on the CAAD. just not what I use it for. May do in the winter though and have no concerns about that.

I think your lbs are not right to say that Cdale as a brand make harsh bikes (what about the synapse range?). TheCAAD is an alu race bike though. Also the head tube is not low IME. They make it sound like you need to be a pro to ride it.

Having said all that you need to try one or at least sit on one to see what the difference really is for you. Good luck.

supertwisted

Brommers,

Might be an odd question buy how do you find the CAAD compared to your Defy? The reason I ask is I have an SCR (much the same as the Defy) and am toying with a racier bike, but don't want to end up being horribly uncomfortable at the same time.

Is it noticeably more stretched out and uncompromising to ride?

Brommers76

I wouldn't say they are worlds apart supertwisted. The geo is different but I had the defy without any spacers under the stem so the saddle to bars to pedals are very close on all 3 bikes.

I replaced the Kenda tyres on the Defy and this improved the comfort on that (even going from the 25 to the 23mm width). I say this because I belive the right tyres and wheels make a difference.

I think the CAAD with RS80's for instance would be as comfy as the Defy. I love the CAAD and for 20-30 mile blasts it is very impressive. Longer distances I will let you know but I wouldn't have any concerns.

indjke

nice looking rig!
I recently got CAAD10 Ultegra w/ Ultegra wheels (but color scheme is black/green, not black/white) and enjoyin' it much too

supertwisted

Thanks Brommers, very informative.

As it happens I've also just switched from the 25c Kendas to some 23c Schwalbes and the ride has improved (albeit only mildly) despite the narrower profile.

Seweryn

Brommers76 wrote:

In terms of lucky to have it as a commuter, my commute is rural, quiet, undulating 16 to 20 miles and as I will be spending at least 75% of my riding life on it, why not have an exciting bike to ride. The cost is easy to justify as I can save as much as £100 a month on fuel so it pays for itself in a year. Or so I tell the wife.

Hi,

I am in the same situation and I would welcome your comments. I travel 14 miles each way on open roads and I am thinking about moving towards commuting on a bike rather than car (I drive to work at present).

I started cycling this season and I have got my summer bike in March. I recently started looking at the commuter / winter bike options, but can't find any exciting second hand bike that will be suitable for fast and comfortable commuting. I was thinking about a CAAD8 (new one) or an earlier CAAD7, CAAD9 or CAAD5. But they are hard to come across in the second hand market. Anyway, the idea of getting a CAAD 10 came up very recently, as I realised that I would like to have a nice, comfy bike for commuting. This is going to be my workhorse, so the higher price will be traded against the savings on fuel. And then the winter rides would be more enjoyable on a better bike.

My only concern is the possibility of fitting mudguards on the bike (rather necessary for every day commuting) and a bag with clothes for change over at work. The bag can be fitted to a saddle or put onto a rack. I have no experience with any of those and I will appreciate your comments if the CAAD10 can be equipped with the winter / commuting accessories. Or which other bike (prefereably CAAD) would be more suitable for the job?

porker33

No camera to hand, but I have crud catcher 2's on my caad10.

They took 30 mins to properly, do not rub and are fine for clearance, i rode them in the wet and was more than impressed with how effective they were!

Hurricane Warrior

Very nice I've just bought some new wheels might keep the old for winter use, hadn't thought of that idea

hairyleg

Hi,
I ride a Cannondale cx9 bike to work with mud guards/lights and its perfect.Better than my old Caad6.

Seweryn wrote:

Brommers76 wrote:

In terms of lucky to have it as a commuter, my commute is rural, quiet, undulating 16 to 20 miles and as I will be spending at least 75% of my riding life on it, why not have an exciting bike to ride. The cost is easy to justify as I can save as much as £100 a month on fuel so it pays for itself in a year. Or so I tell the wife.

Hi,

I am in the same situation and I would welcome your comments. I travel 14 miles each way on open roads and I am thinking about moving towards commuting on a bike rather than car (I drive to work at present).

I started cycling this season and I have got my summer bike in March. I recently started looking at the commuter / winter bike options, but can't find any exciting second hand bike that will be suitable for fast and comfortable commuting. I was thinking about a CAAD8 (new one) or an earlier CAAD7, CAAD9 or CAAD5. But they are hard to come across in the second hand market. Anyway, the idea of getting a CAAD 10 came up very recently, as I realised that I would like to have a nice, comfy bike for commuting. This is going to be my workhorse, so the higher price will be traded against the savings on fuel. And then the winter rides would be more enjoyable on a better bike.

My only concern is the possibility of fitting mudguards on the bike (rather necessary for every day commuting) and a bag with clothes for change over at work. The bag can be fitted to a saddle or put onto a rack. I have no experience with any of those and I will appreciate your comments if the CAAD10 can be equipped with the winter / commuting accessories. Or which other bike (prefereably CAAD) would be more suitable for the job?

Brommers76

I have Crud Catcher 2's as well and they fit no problem.

I use a little rucksack but only normally carry food and any extra cycling gear I need. Shirts, trousers, shoes are transported when I do drive. I can't ride there and back every day due to dropping our daughter off at school a few days a week so I never run out of work clothes.

Rucksack has never been an issue for me (just robs a few mph when going down hill!).

caad10man

You can currently buy the CAAD10 105 for less than £950. That's the worlds most advanced alu frame, lighter than all but very top end carbon and with full 105, freakin' bargain!
Check it out; http://www.wheelbase.co.uk/product_15692.htm[/url]