Bought a 2012 Cannondale CAAD 8 yesterday.

Raffles

I went to the dealer yesterday fully intending to buy a Cannondale Synapse. My expectation was obliterated when I felt the weight of one and nor did I want a bike with a triple. I turned my attention to the CAAD 8 and when I lifted it , well it was light as a feather. The dealer told me it has a long head tube which is great for comfort and that its a very lively bike indeed. Went for a test ride and you push those pedals and the CAAD responds right away. Where the synapse felt like a right old lug when you wanted to accelerate, the CAAD simply took off. Even the Cannondale saddle was comfy, I believe its called a stage ergo. I tipped the nose ever so slightly upwards by the smallest degree and the bum just remains planted. The bike had the sora shifters which im going to replace with 5700 105 types eventually, but the sora will do in the short term as their shifting is fine. Ive got 105 front mech , rear derailleur and crankset to get fitted , but again the fsa crankset will do until I get time to get that job done.

When I just look at my CAAD 8 , im very proud of it and am relishing racking up the miles on it , pity the nights are dropping like a stone at the moment and its so blooming cold. Its my first cannondale and so far I am just stoked to bits, dealer says picking up a clean used set of ksyrium wheels will make my day. Anybody got any experiences with the Cannondale CAAD bikes ?

smidsy

CAAD frames are very nice to ride and my CAAD5 is still going strong after 7 years.

I fitted a carbon seat post and double tape the bars which just takes the edge of the road buzz on poor surfaces, but the feedback from the frame is still excellent.

CAAD's apparently make great climbing bikes so I must be really poor as I still get dropped up hills.

Anyway I am sure you will enjoy it immensly.

I myself am just mulling over a CAAD 10 or SuperSix as my new dry bike...descisions,descisions!!!