Originally Posted by
ridethecliche
Figured I'd ask on here...
I have an decade or so old CAAD9 that I really haven't used in a while. I'm hoping to get on something a bit more comfort oriented since I don't plan to race again... thinking something like a synapse. AFAIK, the DA and 105 stuff on the CAAD9 are pretty solid. Should I just hunt for a used frame and move things over or just take a hit on the bike and sell things and buy something used locally or on ebay?
I've built a few bikes back in the day so I'm not worried about wrenching a bit. I could also possibly swap the parts onto a vintage Trek 760 that I have and just ride that. It's currently an SS/FG setup but.... hasn't really been ridden in millennia. Neither of them have :/
Might be a bit hard during residency, but I'd really like to get back out on the road if possible.
Dude!
Can you fit wider tires on the CAAD9?
Otherwise you could get a softer frame, Synapse or similar. An old school carbon frame (glued/lugs) would be super soft. Vitus (probably $$), original Specialized Epic? carbon frames (might be hard to find), etc. My Specialized was so soft it was a bit ridiculous.
The rare times I'm just tooling around I really like riding my slick tired mountain bike. It's old (I traded my TT bike for it forever ago), I put a closer ratio cassette on it, long stem, cut down bars, and clipless pedals. With 80 psi in the tires it's fun to ride, fast enough (rolled away from a return-from-retirement racer; that move prompted me to put 175s on my road bike), but no "go fast" pressure. I did put bar ends on it for a longer position, kind of like a wide aero.
My vote is find a 15-20 year old mtb on craigslist, adjust for fit, slick tires if you really want, and go ride.