Fuji Gran Fondo 2.1 v CAAD10 5 2013 v Verenti Insight Ultegr

curium

Trying to decide between these two bikes.

Fuji Gran Fondo 2.1 (link) is available for £1,440 while the CAAD10 5 105 2013 (link) is £1,400

I know the fuji is carbon, does that automatically make it the better bike?

EDIT - Also considering the Verenti Insight Ultegra from Wiggle which is now priced at £1,350

Cheers

wellbeloved747

you correct carbon doesn't always make a better bike. but majority of situations it does.

Both bikes have roughly the same groupset.

However i would choose the Fuji for a majority of reasons. Being:
carbon frame for an extra £40
bike is black and less ahhhh in your face its more "stealthy"
it has thinks like internal cable routing which i prefer

However thats my personal view and im not buying it. in the long run you may want to get a carbon frame and for the extra £40 initial outlay its so so so so worth it. but that just me.

no matter what one you get, have fun out on it

curium

Cheers for that. I had wondered if I would be suited to a carbon frame at 86 kg. I had heard rumours of catastrophic failures and the like and also was worried that the slightest 'off' would write off the frame.

wellbeloved747

I understand your concern as when i got my first carbon frame i was 97kg that was also on 38mm carbon rims. However within 2 months it got me down to 70kg. also i had the fear of crashing it. what do you currently ride? and what is the intend use of the new bike

curium

Currently I ride a Specialized Tricross. It is used for everything from my daily commute to long Sunday rides and sportives.

It was my first 'road' bike after a string of mountain bikes and I chose it because I was worried that typical road bikes may be a bit fragile and would be easily damaged.

Since getting it 4 years ago my speed has increased greatly. I was recently involved in a SMIDSY with a white van man which has presented the opportunity to get a new bike. Since I never took the Tricross off-road (I had replaced the tyres with 28mm road tyres) I would like my next bike to be a road bike.

wellbeloved747

Ok, so you got a tricross because you came from a rough and tumble sport (mtg) and were to fierce for a delicate road bike. now most people when starting would get an aluminium road bike and then upgrade to carbon. if i were you i would get the Fuji, however also try and reduce your tricross tyres down to 23 or 25 to get more road feel. i would then go for short 1 mile rides on the fuji just to build up confidence and get a feel for the bike. if you can put in 1-2miles every day on it within a month you wont look back.
If you buy the CAAD then i believe within 6 month you would have wished you had gone carbon for an extra £40, but 6 months later it will cost £500 plus the hassle of it....

slowandsteady

Without even looking at either of the bikes specs I'd wager the caad is lighter. And more responsive.

I could be wrong though.

Don't be swayed by the carbon thing, a good aluminium bike could trump it very easily. And the caad is a very, very good aluminium bike.

curium

I'm going along to Evans Cycles on Monday. Hopefully I can see them in the flesh and sit on them and will decide then.

nochekmate

wellbeloved747 wrote:

I understand your concern as when i got my first carbon frame i was 97kg that was also on 38mm carbon rims. However within 2 months it got me down to 70kg. also i had the fear of crashing it. what do you currently ride? and what is the intend use of the new bike

27Kg weight loss in two months???

wellbeloved747

yes it was during the summer and i did like 30 miles on a week day and like 150 at a weekend

russboy

Resurrecting an old thread!

I’m in the market for similar & have seen the Fuji in the flesh at Evans cycles yesterday, now down to £1350 & it does look a really good bike & as said on here is spec’d well. I can also get £100 off with part ex of any bike, so giving them a bike given to me for free!

In addition I get 32% off the first £1000 via the ride 2 work scheme so effectively I could have this for a total of £930.

I’m also 97kg & never considered weight would be a worry, until now. I’m 6’ 1” but top heavy as I do a lot of weights, racket sports (although I also have a beer gut not to be proud of!!)

The Cannodale is £1399.99 at Evans.

To be eligible for the ride to work scheme I have to buy from Evans, although they do price match which is good, just don’t know what to go for! It will be used for my daily commute which is only a 6 mile round trip but would like to get out more on it at the weekends as I’m up on Epsom downs so a good area to ride in.

So what to buy, lol!

Calpol

Never heard a bad word said about the Caad 10. If it were me then thats where I would go if you are limiting to ride 2 work and shopping at Evans. Although you aren't legally the owner of the bike until you pay for it (AFAIK) the Cannondale would be a much stronger resale proposition. Having said that, you dont see many people flogging Caad 10 because they are so good.

russboy

Calpol wrote:

Never heard a bad word said about the Caad 10. If it were me then thats where I would go if you are limiting to ride 2 work and shopping at Evans. Although you aren't legally the owner of the bike until you pay for it (AFAIK) the Cannondale would be a much stronger resale proposition. Having said that, you dont see many people flogging Caad 10 because they are so good.

Yeah I don’t technically own it, my company do, but if you were to leave you have to pay back a percentrage, but then if I were leaving it would only be for more money anyway so in theory win/win.

Don’t know why but I really like the look of the Fuji!!