Cannondale CAAD12 Disc

ledeev

Frame: Cannondale CAAD12 (2016, size 58)
Fork: Cannondale CAAD12
Bars: Deda RHM02 (42cm, Black)
Stem: Thomson X2 (110mm, Black)
Headset: Cannondale integrated
Bar Tape: Fizik Classic (Black)

Front Brake Lever: Shimano Ultegra R8070
Front Caliper: Hope RX4 (Post mount, Hope K adaptor, Purple)
Rear Brake Lever: Shimano Ultegra R8070
Rear Caliper: Hope RX4 (Flat mount, Purple)

Shifters: Shimano Ultegra R8070
Cables: Shimano Di2
Front Mech: Shimano Ultegra 6870
Rear Mech: Shimano Ultegra 6870

Seat: Fizik Arione R5 (Canyon OEM, Black)
Seat Post: ENVE (25.4mm)
Seat Post Clamp: Cannondale (28.0mm)

Cranks: SRAM Quarq Dzero (172.5mm, 110BCD, Black)
Chainring(s): Praxxisworks 50/34
Chain: SRAM 1130
Cassette: Ultegra 6870 11-28 (11s)
Pedals: Look Keo Blade (8NM, Black)
Bottom Bracket: FSA BB30

Front Wheel:
Rim: Pacenti SL25
Spokes: Sapim Lazer
Hub: Shimano CX75 (28h)
Tire: Michelin Pro 4 (25mm)
Brake rotor: Shimano RT81 (Centrelock, 160mm)
QR skewers: Hope steel (100mm, purple)

Back Wheel:
Rim: Pacenti SL25
Spokes: Sapim Lazer
Hub: Shimano CX75 (28h)
Tire: Michelin Pro 4 (25mm)
Brake rotor: Shimano RT81 (Centrelock, 160mm)
QR skewers: Hope steel (130mm, purple)

When I started cycling (and by that I mean mountain-biking) in the early 90s, I lusted after a Cannondale. At the time, the contemporary machinery was legendary kit like the Super V, the Killer V and my personal favourite, the Delta V 2000 full suspension. All of these bikes had beautiful invisible welds, amazing paintwork as well as lots of design features, that existed for no apparent reason (eg. cranked rear dropouts) other than to make them different. The key thing though was that all these frames were made of aluminium, whereas pretty much everything else (apart from the equally iconic GT Zaskar) were steel.

Since the 90s, I've come close many times to getting a alloy Cannondale, but never have, for various reasons. I can't say I'm interested in a Carbon Fibre Cannondale in the slightest, for me Cannondale means aluminium. When I saw this frame and fork heavily discounted a couple of years ago it was an easy decision to buy it, so I did. Just to realise a 26 year old ambition.

The main reason for buying was to give me a every day bike that's fast and easy to ride and live with. Di2 was a must for me, there's no way I'm going back to mechanical. I'd see disc brakes as mandatory for me too and these are most definitely the future. I've tried also, to get as many purple bits on it as I could. Much much harder now than in 1993.

Obviously, this is a disc bike so the only option is disc calipers and wheels. I chose the Pacentis due to their wide semi-aero profile, but also due to them coming in 28h drilling and them being on sale. The CX75 hubs were pretty much the only centre-lock 11s hubs that I could find at the time. Tyres are 25mm Michelins. I tried 23mm at first but they looked lost on the rims and, if I'm being honest to myself, I'm getting too old to ride flat out everywhere on 23mm.

I spent ages trying to find the right brake calipers which was made more difficult by the Cannondale having a post front and flat mount rear. I even went as far as buying a set of XT front and Ultegra rear calipers but finally Hope came through with their RX4. I've been running these calipers on my commuter bike all winter and they've proven to be outstanding. Purple, because 90s. The benefit here is that you can have the same design of caliper front and rear without resorting to an adaptor on the rear.









I wanted a powermeter too, so my choice was the Quarq as it's not expensive, is BB30 and I've already got confidence in the system as my TT bike has one. I went compact because I've kind of got used to riding one in the winter and quite like it. Purple bolts for that 90s look.



I've recently been a convert from the Selle Italia SLR to the Arione, so picked up a really basic one from eBay. It has a one-piece cover and black rails which I actually quite like. As it's a Cannondale the CAAD12 has an unusual and hard to find 25.4mm diameter seat tube. Options are really limited to really cheap to exotic. Ideally I would have found a mint condition 25.4 USE cradle or Ringle Moby Post but I went ENVE because actually 90s stuff is rubbish by modern standards and I just didn't like the look of the others.



I really hated the form follows function look of the original R785 brake levers, so was happy when Shimano released the R8070 which fit my hands perfectly and look like the ordinary cable brakes. The rest of the cockpit is my preferred cheap 'n heavy Deda RHM02 (because they suit my large hands), Fizik classic tape and Thomson X2, purely because it's sold, light and looks like an evolution of my favourite ever stem, the Ringle Zooka (although the subdued black-anodised isn't perfect. To make up for this, I opted for a purple Garmin mount.





Cannondale marketed the frame as being Di2 ready. It kind of is, but you still need to drill out the holes for the cables to enter and exit the frame, which is a bit strange and very annoying as I'm sure it'll invalidate the warranty. Threading the wires around the BB30 axle is tricky too, I can't say that I really enjoyed the process.

All in all, I'm delighted with how the bike looks. Future changes include adding a couple of bottle cages and removing the vast array of safety warning stickers. In time I may try different wheels with purple Hope hubs and carbon rims, but I can't say that these are going to happen any time soon.

matt-h

Very nice but very 90's with all that anodising.

Like the frame but the anodising is not my cup of tea

sloppyschleckonds

Ruined a good bike with that purpleshite

And disc brakes aren't "the future"

Matthewfalle

whats that thing under the stem?

#slam

lettingthedaysgoby

Absolutely love that. Those callipers look superb, and yes, discs are the future 8)

step83

Do like that, be more fun slammed though

ledeev

Good comments. Nice to see purple anodising is as divisive as it always was.

#slam - yes, touché. The problem is that I'm pretty tall so need the conical spacer to raise the bars enough to be able to see forward properly. l Should probably have got the longer headtubed size 61 really.

Matthewfalle

looking at it again, that is a flippin' excellent saddle to bar drop - top work.

nah - the bigger one would have handled like a barge. just do some pilates and slam it

#saddledroprocks

Alejandrosdog

thats a beauty! whats it like to ride?

Also nice post about the 90's i always lusted after a Zaskar with SID, crossmax and XTR. which i never got.

ive had every iteration of the CAAD frame bar the 12 cracking bikes

ledeev

I took the CAAD12 out for its first proper run this morning. My first impression was how urgently it accelerated under power. Literally no delay at all.

What this also means is that it's almost unbelievably harsh over bumps. Every bump is translated directly to the saddle. This could be due to too much pressure in the tyres or the wheels being over stiff. Definitely it needs experimentation. I'd imagine it'd be unbearable on 23mm tyres though.

Annoyingly I neglected to fit the springs in the brake calipers, so the pads rattle like crazy over anything less than perfect tarmac. Awesome power from the RX4s though and the frame / fork handle it well. My Lynskey fork flexes and judders under braking but there's none of that with the Cannondale.

I also tried out sequential shift too. Not sure I'll persevere with this, I don't like the feeling of losing everything momentarily while the front mech shifts.

Finally, I love the blade pedals. Maybe it's a placebo or maybe the tension is right but they really do feel good when clipping in and riding.

All in all, it's not comfy but it is fast and precise. Not a bike for a recovery ride.

step83

May have to play about with tyre pressures on it, far easier than faffing with bearings. Seatpost is super skinny so should give you some flex/comfort.

Brakes sound more reassuring on the CAAD12 than the Lynskey though!

ledeev

I've fiddled about with the pressures. Seems like the optimum is between 95 and 100 psi.

At this pressure I'm amazed how much you can lean on these Pro4s!

Tiesetrotter

I think you have just found the answer I was looking for.

I wanted to dump the crapy first generation Ultegra disc groupset and go for either 8070 or Chorus. But the front post mount presents a lot of issues. A front mount Hope caliper could solve all that.

joey54321

What do you think of the RX4s? Did you upgrade from stock Shimano/SRAM or jump straight in with the Hopes?

ledeev

Hi Joey,

I went straight in with the Hopes. Absolutely gargantuan braking power on 160mm rotors, yet easy to modulate. I can't compare with anything else though as I've never used Shimano calipers on road or MTB.

You get two sets of pads with the calipers, red ones and blue ones. Can't remember which ones I fitted, red I think. Hopetech didn't give a clear view on which ones were which, but they seem really good.

Bleeding is a massive fiddle though. Recommend getting the cup and syringe bleed kit if you haven't got one. Took me about 90 minutes per brake to get all the air out.

ledeev

Tiesetrotter wrote:

I think you have just found the answer I was looking for.

I wanted to dump the crapy first generation Ultegra disc groupset and go for either 8070 or Chorus. But the front post mount presents a lot of issues. A front mount Hope caliper could solve all that.

Yep, it's as close as you can get. Shame you still have to fit a +20 adaptor on the fork though. It does spoil it somewhat.

Ben6899

This is bangin'!

#bangin

proto

Have you weighed it? Bit disappointed with mine at 8.3kg.

ledeev

Mine weighs in at 8.8kg.

With carbon railed saddle, bars and cranks, I could make it a lot lighter. My wheelset is fairly heavy too, with Shimano hubs and alloy Pacenti rims.

Not sure that I want to fiddle with it at the moment. It rides exactly how I want it to.

Here's a gratuitous non-OCD 'leaning against a rusty steel bridge' shot of it:

proto

Here’s mine. Bought the frame on here and sourced the parts from my shed and eBay. Bit disappointed with weight of 8.3kg but still ver6 pleased with it. I’d like the bars a tad higher but previous owner cut steerer a bit low for me.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/36600211@ ... c/lightbox

PS how do get the flick4 photo to display? It used to be easy

pippi_langsamer-2

Love this bike. Still fancy a CAAD 12, and still might pick one up. LAst of the good looking CAAD's since they're now ruined them with the passe dropped stays etc. This black n white panellled model was my favorite too...

ledeev

I really like that, looks great with deep sections and that tiny bit of blue detail.

I really wasn't sure about the matt black and white look when I first pulled it out of the box. Its grown on me. So easy to damage though, I've worn through the finish on both chain stays already. In the dry!! I really liked the purple finish that was offered on the 2017/18/19 framesets. Still available too but amazingly expensive.

proto wrote:

PS how do get the flick4 photo to display? It used to be easy

I don't know. I moved to Imgur when Flickr changed their website.

craigus89

I really like this, not usually a fan of colour accessories and white bits but for some reason like this.

The flat top tube helps massively!

poptart242

Since we're here talking CAAD12s and purple stuff, here's mines:

Edit: pic behind the link, annoying: https://photos.app.goo.gl/q6pUbw7jP3BM5r7NA

itboffin

no pic matey

ledeev

In fairness to Cannondale, with the CAAD13 they do look to have made some improvements. For example, flat caliper mount front AND rear and much better provisioning for Di2 (I had to drill my frame in 3 places, how is that 'Di2-ready' as it says in the marketing blurb?).

Not sure about what I've seen of the graphics on the 13 though, if it doesn't shout CANNONDALE from the down tube, what's the point?