New CAAD8's v Caad9

uptheswa

A friend is looking to get into cycling and asked for advice, his budget gets him a new Caad8 with Sora so my immediate thought was a used Caad 9 or even Caad 10 maybe.
How do the new Caad8 frames compare with the old Made in the USA Caad 8 or 9's. Is the new Caad8 frame a good base on which to start even if Sora equiped ( I have plenty of Ultegra parts could upgrade his drivechain if necessary ) Basically I am looking from owners any advise regarding the frames, not equipement which always can be changed.
Bike to be used for club races and all day rides.

pitchshifter

Caad 8 is a great bike, but I have a feeling the Caad9 comes with a full carbon fork and smoother welds.

itsnotarace

CAAD9 uses a different grade of alu than the current CAAD8, the internal butting / machining on the 9 is also much better and the frame will be lighter as a result. The geometry is also more race orientated with longer top tube and shorter headtube.

Some CAAD9 models were supplied with alu steerer fork, notably 105 groupset level and below. Ultegra level and above got full carbon forks which weigh around 150 grams less, so well worth having the full carbon fork. On the later bikes the full carbon fork was branded as "Premium Plus". The alu steerer fork was labelled "Ultra"

Great bikes, still love mine after 4 years - puts a smile on my face every time it's ridden

buckles

Is 150 grams off an already lightweight fork really worth anything in practice?

uptheswa

Thanks for the replies and the insight into the differances between these two frames. As always, getting the "perfect" bike is never easy. Looks like the CAAD9 is the better frame, as I suspected, and has the added allure of being the last of the Made In USA caad's. Although the longer headtube on the Caad8 would be a "plus" as my friend is probably like myself, not able to get low and remain comfortable for too long.

Having another think about it he has decided maybe getting used bike with 105 or Ultegra would be better than getting new with Sora or Tigra. We will have a look around, and the decision will likely come down to getting a good used bike at the right price in the right size, as it seems either frame as a base will be a nice bike.

itsnotarace

Buckles wrote:

Is 150 grams off an already lightweight fork really worth anything in practice?

Well the Ultra fork weighs 550 grams and the Premium Plus fork is 400 so yeah, it makes sense to get the better one from the start

buckles

itsnotarace wrote:

Buckles wrote:

Is 150 grams off an already lightweight fork really worth anything in practice?

Well the Ultra fork weighs 550 grams and the Premium Plus fork is 400 so yeah, it makes sense to get the better one from the start

That doesn't answer my question. It just says that one fork is 150 grams lighter. Which one is the 'better' one, and does 150g make any difference whatsoever in practice?