horatio 

Just curious. The CAAD13 looks nice. What’s to like/not like?

shelbyfv

I especially like the pink and black 105. Still the PF bottom bracket, though.

ToiletSiphon

BB30 still blows, the welds could be smoother, I'm not sold on the speed release thru axle and it's too expensive compared to the Trek Emonda ALR.

That said, I'm still currently debating between the CAAD and the Emonda ALR, in 105 disc. My OCD tendencies and carbon do not go well together.

sdmc530

My daily ride is a aluminum specialized allez and its nice or i think so. My “good” ride is a carbon bike. Nothing like a carbon feeling but i sure love my allez!

jpescatore

I just did the Seattle to Portland Ride on a rented aluminum Fuji Sportif 2.1 instead of shipping my carbon Trek Domane SL6 from Maryland to the West Coast - first time I've ridden an aluminum bike, as my previous bikes were all steel.

Hard to do a direct comparison - the Domane has shock absorbing material on the seat post and head tube and I run 32mm tires while the rental was 28mm. The Domane also has thicker bar tape with padding under the hand areas. But with the tires pumped up to the same 80 psi I run on the Domane, it was a noticeably harsher ride. I'm not sure how much the Fuji weighed, and the wheels didn't come close to matching the Vision 40s on my Domane, but it was also more effort to get going on the Fuji from a dead stop.

All in all, I'm glad I paid the extra for a carbon bike but I probably would have loved the Fuji coming directly from years of riding those steel bikes!

redlude97

BB30 is fine, especially on aluminum frames takes less than 30 mins to swap bearings and they are cheap. My everyday commuter is a aluminum caadx which rides great with wide tires. Even though its my heaviest and cheapest bike it gets ridden the most and I never tire of throwing a leg over the saddle cyclocross style.

msu2001la

I recently put a new Sram Force 1x drivetrain onto a 5 year old aluminum CAADX frame, and it's awesome. I've ridden a comparably equipped carbon fiber SuperX bike and while there is a difference between the two, the gap is not that big. Maybe the difference in feel is more apparent on comparable pure road bikes?

As for weight comparisons, a 56cm disc-brake CAAD12 frame is 1,094g, while the standard SuperSix Evo Disc frame is quoted at 999g. For rim brake versions, the difference is 1,098g to 976g. So, roughly 100-120 grams difference. The CAAD13 supposedly weighs the same as the 12. It's not like we're not talking pounds of difference here.

bruce19

I recently bought a 2018 CAAD 12 w/105. I also have a Guru Sidero w/SRAM Red. The Guru is steel. I absolutely love my Guru. I will never part with it. Having said that....the CAAD 12 is every bit it's equal and maybe even "better", whatever that means. I've ridden and felt good about AL before but not like this. It's an amazing bike.And, at $1300 (new) it might be the best bike deal I've ever made.

jamesdak 

I did yesterday but it's not something you'll normally see around. It's a mid/late 90s Vitus I found NOS and had built up this year. It's fast and fairly comfortable to me despite the fact that I mainly ride vintage steel. 1300 ft of climbing yesterday over a short distance and it went up like a mountain goat. Fairly twitchy ride though and wasn't that confidence inspiring as the descents closed in on 40 mph.



Certainly geared for climbing.

cycledogg

I have a 2004 CAAD 7 (Optimo) in my stable that I ride often.

road292

I ride a 2011 (maybe 2012, can't remember) Trek 2.3. Aluminum frame, 105 components. I like it a lot, though I have never ridden a carbon frame. I figure when the Trek hits 10 years old I'll consider a carbon upgrade.

rjones28 

My main roadie is a 2014 Allez E5 Smartweld with Campy Record 11sp.

bruce19

This is my 2005 Masi Gran Criterium S. It's AL w/ CF fork, and stays. All Dura Ace in a 58. Unfortunately that's a bit big for me. I can ride it pretty well but 54-55 is my size. So, although I love it, it stays hung up inside my garage.

Also my Colnago World Cup CX which is AL w/ CF fork and 105 11-sp. I bought this 3 yrs ago for my 70th birthday. Love this bike.

Nachoman

my backup bike \ rain bike \guest bike, whatever you want to call it, is aluminum.

frankenmike 

Been riding my Masi vincere all aluminum frame since 06. Honestly wouldn’t mind replacing but it’s still seemingly good as new and rides nicely, so finding it hard to justify a new frame given my propensity for new MTBs. One of these years though...

Pilot321

I have an old aluminum Cannondale, and was thinking about getting a Caad12 in the not too distant future. With some of the comments, now I may try a few carbon framed bike. Is it just the ride quality that people prefer carbon of AL? What other advantages does carbon have? I am used to the ride of an AL bike and it doesn't seem to bother me, but if there is a significant difference I may go carbon. Buy once cry once, right?

fstshrk

I ride a Trek Emonda ALR6 Pro. Love it, considering getting a new ALR disc frame and building it with SRAM Force AXS.

I had a carbon Domane SL, and switched to the Emonda ALR. The geometry of the ALR fits me really well. I wanted the Al frame because I wanted to attach a rack so I can have one bike for commuting and riding on the weekend. Including the rack, it weighs 17 lbs roughly.

Sillyak

That's my 2017 Ghost Nivolet.

I have never even turned a crank on a Carbon bike. Would an upgrade to a carbon 105 equipped bike be a big jump? I just ride for fitness and 1, maybe 2 organized century rides/gran fondos a year. I like to go fast and push myself, but don't race. Is carbon really a huge jump? My Ghost weighs a little under 20 lbs with pedals and bottle cages.

Princess_Allez

I ride for the same reasons and wonder the same thing. Thus far, using passive observation, the answer is no, it's not worth it.

Seattle Forrest

I tried to weaponize an AL bike with disc brakes, but I just couldn't get it to asplode.

bruce19

As I mentioned, I just bought a CAAD 12 w/105 for $1300. I have put Mavic USTs on it and with a Garmin mount, one bottle cage, a blinkie light and Speedplay pedals it weighs 17 lbs 11 oz. I'd pretty much guarantee you that if you bought a similar bike with a CF frame it would cost you more and not weigh any less.

firebird854

I went from a rimbrake carbon Tarmac Expert to a disc brake Emonda ALR frame+custom build. I couldn't be happier and the ride quality is essentially the same (it helps when you also run carbon wheels, seatpost, handlebar, and stem).


Frankly, I couldn't recommend alloy more.

Princess_Allez

Nice-looking bike. I have a Specialized analog: Allez Sprint, carbon handlebars, seat post and UST rims. I haven't put the rims on yet, but I'm looking forward to running lower pressures. The bike is quite jarring when going over chip seal.

Stratocaster

Both of the bikes I ride are AL. I don't own a crabon bike.

jfranci3

That is one of the worst riding bikes on the market. ROADBIKE.DE and Tour Mag (both German) test frames on a rig. The Sprint has one of the highest vertical compliance number I've seen, second only to the Trek CX bike I had, which made me cry.

Modern hydroformed AL frames ride the same as carbon bikes now. Other than the Allez Sprint or a CX bike in road tires, you're not going to find a big manufacturer bike that rides bad. Modern fat tires at lower PSI and good bars/seatposts can take away this shortcoming. The Sprints seat post doesn't help it.

https://www.roadbike.de/rennrad/test...delljahr-2017/
Rear Frame Compliance (higher = tears, 1 n = 100gr) Edit (with seat post)
Allez Sprint 432 N/mm
CAAD12 324 N/mm (flexy post) CAAD12 400n/mm (flexy post)
CAAD10 388 N/mm (AL Post)
Tarmac (2016) 334n/mm
TCR 291n/mm
Emonda SLR 289n/mm
Allez regular (2014) 270 (good post) , 355 (AL Post) n/mm
2014 Crockett 444n/mm (carbon wrapped AL post of pain)

I can't find the test but IIRC:
Allez/Venge aero: 225n/mm
Round AL 0 offset: 175n/mm
Round Carbon 0 offset: 125n/mm
non-round offset carbon: 85n/mm.

Tires:
90psi = 90n/mm

You have to think of this as a stack of springs. The seatpost, frame, wheel, and tire all move when you apply force, but as you can see, the tires do most of the heavy lifting. My recommendation for most people is to buy a AL frame with a great paint job and put a 28c tire on the rear. You can put a 28c on front for comfort or 23c for aero.