Giant SCR to CAAD8

supertwisted

So, I've had my trusty SCR 3 for a good few years and I've enjoyed it's comfortable mile munching prowress.

However, family commitments mean I'm increasingly time crunched, so an occasional 1hr tear up is more the norm these days than a long afternoon in the saddle.

So, CAAD8. Falling between the sportive setup of the Synapse and race shape CAAD10, it seems like a good choice for short bursts of high speed fun during the week, but still forgiving enough for longer (60 miles) weekend rides, maybe even a century one day.

Am I right, or crackers? I'm specifically referring to the 2011 CAAD8 Sora, maybe Tiagra if funds permit.

poynedexter

i recently bought a cadd 8 2011 sora. £499 plus delivery. its a great wee bike for the money, the sora has been trouble free and 1000 miles in has been superb for my needs.

i've done a 10 tt and a closed course race and a few sportives. i've never felt like the bike was keeping me back surrounded by carbon bikes at 2k+

go for it!

sorry,caad 8 :roll:

ianbar

i have a caad8 tiagra it seems a very good bike to me after my first which was a forme rapide. slapped some magic aksium wheels on she rides even better now.

supertwisted

How do you find the comfort for longer rides? I've heard the CAADs described as buttery smooth by some and bone jarringly uncompromising by others, seems a bit Marmite in that regard.

smidsy

The CAAD 8 had hour glass seat stays until this year which did provide for a smoother ride, same as my CAAD 5. I would say it is in between your two extremes, not amazingly smooth but certainly not uncompromisingly harsh either.

I did find that a carbon seat post and double taping the bars improved it quite significantly too.

They are a very good bike at the price, especially the under £500 price mentioned.

supertwisted

smidsy wrote:

The CAAD 8 had hour glass seat stays until this year which did provide for a smoother ride, same as my CAAD 5. I would say it is in between your two extremes, not amazingly smooth but certainly not uncompromisingly harsh either.

I did find that a carbon seat post and double taping the bars improved it quite significantly too.

They are a very good bike at the price, especially the under £500 price mentioned.

Sounds promising. Yes the price is a big draw for me since I'm pretty hard up these days. I'm thinking of spending less on the Sora equipped bike and investing in some Aksiums to go with it, rather than spending the extra on the Tiagra model.

Next question is sizing. I hear CAADs come up big for their size. My SCR is a 50/M (translates to a 54 in non-compact frames) - so I'm guessing I should go for the 54 CAAD. The numbers look about right to me, although I've got short legs (5'10" but with 29" inseam) so standover might be tricky. Guess I'll have to sling a leg over one to see.

poynedexter

my caad 8 is a 51. i'm 5'6" and its spot on. the sora is spot on btw.

ps whats the real world advantage to better wheels? like the REAL world. and how much are the good wheels?

supertwisted

poynedexter wrote:

my caad 8 is a 51. i'm 5'6" and its spot on. the sora is spot on btw.

ps whats the real world advantage to better wheels? like the REAL world. and how much are the good wheels?

Better wheels are usually lighter, resulting in lower rotating mass. Thus, easier for you to turn them so the bike accelerates faster for less effort. They are probably the most noticeable upgrade you can make on a bike, look at it that way.

Aside from that, they may be stronger and have better aerodynamic properties than cheaper stock wheels.

Aksiums are about £130ish.

Gizmo_

I've got a CAAD8 Tiagra 54cm; 31" inside leg and 5'9".

I'd say it's very comfortable indeed, I'm very happy. Goes like the clappers.

smidsy

supertwisted wrote:

Next question is sizing. I hear CAADs come up big for their size. My SCR is a 50/M (translates to a 54 in non-compact frames) - so I'm guessing I should go for the 54 CAAD. The numbers look about right to me, although I've got short legs (5'10" but with 29" inseam) so standover might be tricky. Guess I'll have to sling a leg over one to see.

Yes they do tend to size big. I am 5'10" with 30" inseam and I ride a 54cm. Standover is about 1" so you should be Ok.

supertwisted

Good info, cheers all. My local Evans have a few in stock so gonna have a sit on some and see how they feel.

One more question, will they take Road Racers with 25s? Google suggests mixed results depending on model year.

Gizmo_

I haven't tried fitting roadracers to mine but I very much doubt there's clearance under the rear brakes - I'd say about 5mm and I'm running the OEM Schwalbe Lugano 23mm at the moment.

supertwisted

Gizmo_ wrote:

I haven't tried fitting roadracers to mine but I very much doubt there's clearance under the rear brakes - I'd say about 5mm and I'm running the OEM Schwalbe Lugano 23mm at the moment.

Hmmm.... well Crud reckon 4mm clearance is all that is required to fit them, so they might just squeeze on.

It's not the end of the world if they don't, can always use my MTB for wet rides.

smidsy

Cruds fit on my CAAD 5 so you should be fine.

supertwisted

Cracking, cheers Smidsy

garethjohn

Recently rode my caad9 on a charity ride with some mates from swansea to cheltenham, roughly 130 miles. 60 miles on a caad8 should be fine . A mate at work bought the tiagra caad8 last year and gets on well with it although he's popped a few spokes.

supertwisted

garethjohn wrote:

Recently rode my caad9 on a charity ride with some mates from swansea to cheltenham, roughly 130 miles. 60 miles on a caad8 should be fine . A mate at work bought the tiagra caad8 last year and gets on well with it although he's popped a few spokes.

Great stuff, well done on the ton-30 as well.

Yeah I've heard the factory Maddux rims are a bit rubbish really, shall be looking to upgrade from the off I think and sell em on.