Cannondale CAAD 10 owners

bikeit65

Earlier this year I bought a Cannondale CAAD 10 in white but yesterday while cleaning it i noticed the front forks are not a brilliant bright white like the rest of the bike, any other CAAD 10 owners notice this?

smidsy

Could it be the way the colour takes/looks over the carbon as opposed to the aluminium elsewhere?

ricky1980

mine starter to not be as brilliantly white as it was new...but i use some kind of polisher sold by halfords for alu frame...it seems to make it whiter. A bit like the stuff you polish brass with but a lot drier.

white will always start going into a milky colour after a while, but I was a bit surprised how quickly it turned

bikeit65

Smidsy i thought that also, but i asked a few members here who i know own a CAAD 10 and theirs it both the same color,
ricky1980 was it the forks on your bike that turned a milky white? might try some Autoglym Super Resin Polish on the forks to see if it makes any difference.
Could you send me some more info on the stuff you used?

bikeit65

Anyone else have this issue, have contacted Cannondale and the dealer still waiting on a reply,

styxd

Everyone else who has this bike probably has the same issue.

However they probably arent anal enough to notice it.

Burt25

Bikeit65 wrote:

Earlier this year I bought a Cannondale CAAD 10 in white but yesterday while cleaning it i noticed the front forks are not a brilliant bright white like the rest of the bike, any other CAAD 10 owners notice this?

I dont have a CAAD,but I have a Synapse Carbon and I also noticed that the fork and frame are slightly different shades of white - not that noticible, but there is a difference. Dont know why, but I dont think its worth worring about - I suspect frame and fork may be made in different factories?

ricky1980

Bikeit65 wrote:

ricky1980 was it the forks on your bike that turned a milky white? might try some Autoglym Super Resin Polish on the forks to see if it makes any difference.
Could you send me some more info on the stuff you used?

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_228374

this is the stuff...

ya it was the fork that was going a bit off colour as well as the top tube. I do think it is sun-bleaching

Burt25

Super resin polish will make no difference as the frame and fork are top coated with clear lacquer so you will make no difference to the colour by using a polish.

bikeit65

Update:
Cannondale have agreed to replace the forks, is it difficult to do this yourself?

bigpikle

Burt25 wrote:

Super resin polish will make no difference as the frame and fork are top coated with clear lacquer so you will make no difference to the colour by using a polish.

thats not quite true I'm afraid - 99% of cars are clearcoated and this is designed specifically for car use. Although maybe not in this case, much discolouration and problems with paintwork are due to the clearcoat layer, and SRP will work very well on clearcoat.

Super Resin Polish has micro abrasives and chemical cleaners in it that will clean much more off any paint than a simple wash, and if worked well into the paint with a decent applicator they will also reduce the fine scratches that build up in all paintwork over time, making the paintwork look crisper, brighter and more reflective. It will also add some protection to the paintwork making it easier to clean in future etc.

bikeit65

Would some cutting compound work better that SRP and bring the white up again.

smidsy

Bikeit65 wrote:

Update:
Cannondale have agreed to replace the forks, is it difficult to do this yourself?

Not too difficult, especially if they provide the steerer at the right length for you (otherwise you will have to cut it or run loads of naff spacers).

bikeit65

Update:
Called into a Cannondale dealer today on my way home from hospital, he had several CAAD 10 bikes in stock and all of them are the same as mine, two different colors, the dealer told me that some of his customers came back to him with this issue and that the Cannondale rep told him it was to do with the two different materials on the frame and forks.

smidsy

Bikeit65 wrote:

Update:
Cannondale rep told him it was to do with the two different materials on the frame and forks.

I'm sure I have seen that comment somewhere before ... hhhmmmm

bikeit65

New forks arrived today from Cannondale and they are a perfect color match to the frame, hopefully get them fitted over the weekend.

Aggers

Hi Bikeit65, I noticed the same with mine a few months ago and thought I was just paranoid. Since recently removing the cable ties that held my cateye there are now 2 clear white lines left behind, thus prooving my suspicions. I take the view I paid good mony for a white bike so think that having defective fork paint that creams is not acceptable.
I have started the process of exchanging and would really appreciate learning rom your experience of who you spoke to and what you said - I'm guesing they resisted at first..?

bikeit65

Aggers welcome to the forum,
i Contacted Westbrook Cycles and they asked for some photos to show Cannondale a few days later i got an email informing me that they were going to replace the forks, new forks arrived they needed cut and the crown race had to be swapped over, but to be honest the new forks were still not a perfect colour match but a lot better than the original ones.
I read on here that the Cannondale frames and forks are made in different factories, that could probably explain the colour difference.

vespario

I have noticed the same with mine and thought it was just me! Only just noticed this thread! Should I contact shop or cannondale direct or speak to the bike shop first? I have two dales, my CAAD10 and a supersix!

bikeit65

I would contact the shop first, Westbrook Cycles told me Cannondale are aware of the problem. but won't make it public as thousands would be looking to get new forks.

vespario

Thanks Bikeit65. Will give it a try.

bikeit65

Good luck, lets know how you get on.

vespario

Well I finally picked up my new forks today from LBS. Only took over 5 months to sort. Bike now all one colour! Happy days! Took much arguing though!

bikeit65

Thats very bad customer service, what bike shop did you buy from? mine got sorted in three days .