Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Road Cycling
Reload this Page >

?'s for cannondale riders......

Notices
Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

?'s for cannondale riders......

Old 03-10-04, 07:47 PM
  #1  
oldnslow
Newbie
Thread Starter
 
oldnslow's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: oklahoma city,ok
Posts: 3
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
?'s for cannondale riders......

I have a couple of questions---wanting to build a caad5 or caad7, with campy components, is there much difference between these 2 frames as far as comfort..a guy that works at a bike shop said that he has had both bikes before, and if you are just doing a parking lot test ride that you would not notice any difference, but if you rode one for 6 months and then rode the other one for 6 months, that you could tell...also it may not matter which frame i got i may put on a road susp.seatpost on it anyway(due to a bad back--and don't tell me to get a steel frame either,cause i couldn't tell much diff.anyway)...so can anyone give me some insight into these frames...thanks for your responses.....david
oldnslow is offline  
Old 03-11-04, 11:22 AM
  #2  
packfodder
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Houston
Posts: 87
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I can't comment on the caad7 as far as the ride, but I'd guess that the guy at the bike shop is right. I suspect that most of the caad7 improvements over the caad5 are weight-related (anyone know what the frames weigh? I have not seen it on cannondale's web site). The caad7 uses the same "hourglass" shaped seat stays, but there's more shaping of the top and down tubes ostensibly to improve frame strength.

What bike are you coming from? I recently purchased a caad5 with campy to replace my 3.0. The difference is amazing - but I guess almost any frame is more forgiving than the 3.0. With carbon bars, seat post, and titanium railed saddle, I think the caad5 is very smooth while still stiff enough to climb and sprint very well.

Not sure it this helps any, but that's my $.02 I'm hoping someone has some more insight on this as I am interested too.
packfodder is offline  
Old 03-11-04, 04:19 PM
  #3  
vladimir102
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Appling Ga
Posts: 99

Bikes: 2006 Cannondale Six/13, 2004 Cannondale R1000, 2003 Iron Horse Triumph

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I just got an 04 R1000 which is a CAAD 7 or Optimo. It is amazing so far.It is Ultegrea/Dura Ace. With pedals, cages, and computer the whole bike weighs 18 pounds. Pretty awesome. Don't know much about the CAAD 5. I would if I were you take the CAAD 7. Check this out
https://www.cannondale.com/bikes/innovation/caad7/

Hope this helps
vladimir102 is offline  
Old 03-11-04, 11:42 PM
  #4  
Cyclismo
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 6
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I can't imagine the ride quality would differ in a way that would be significant enuf to be noticeable for ya. The CAAD 7 would be a bit lighter, but I would hazard that the CAAD 7 just won't be as durable for the long term. I think they even have some sort of advisory that they are high performance and not intended for years and years of hard service. If you ride hard and ride alot the CAAD 5 would be more of a lifetime bike and less expensive too boot. Personally, I intentionally opted for a CAAD4 R4000 frame when the CAAD6 was the top offering. I intentionally wanted the aluminum expertise, stiffness and tube shaping of Cannondale without an integrated headset and without the proprietary Hollowgram bottombracket, I just think these are questionable "improvements" to an already near perfect product. I like traditional headsets and wanted to be able to use readily available components in these areas.

If you're talking aluminum, C'dale has been doing it longer and better than anybody, but I really think C'dale reached it's apex in the CAAD4. It had the wonderful tube shapes, hourglass seatstays, lightweight, 7005 aluminum, stiff, fast, rugged but tolerably comfortable. The Lion King won 4 stages of the (99?) Tour on his CAAD4. IMO the CAAD 4 was their "high water mark" as a company.
After the CAAD4 they started integrating the headset with the CAAD5 and then the special bottom bracket on the CAAD6 and then to the different aluminum alloy (Optimo?) for the CAAD7. The financial and bankruptcy woes also came along as they counted 5, 6 & 7. Did quality suffer? Did customer service?

Anyway, this long winded post is my way of saying that I'd get the CAAD5.
It's less expensive right? The weight savings is negligible, and I believe it will provide more reliable service for more years. You can also use a conventional bottom bracket rather than C'dale's proprietary one, if I'm not mistaken.

By the way, I love my 'Dale! Despite all the criticism they receive, they make (made? no, MAKE) a good product. My bike is SMOKIN' FAST! and it's beautiful with a fire road fade paintjob and Kysrium SSC wheels. I marvel at how it looks sometimes, it's like a friggin' rally car or something.

Get the CAAD5, you really don't want the "ultralight" (stupid light) aspect of the CAAD 7 unless you're a racer or plan to buy a new bike regularly.
Cyclismo is offline  
Old 03-12-04, 01:04 PM
  #5  
netso
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Florida
Posts: 76
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I own a CAAD6, r4000si and my wife a CAAD5. These are essentially the same frame. We have ridden these for about 2 years, and love them. You cannot go wrong with a CAAD5 frame.
netso is offline  
Old 03-12-04, 02:08 PM
  #6  
roadwarrior
Senior Member
 
roadwarrior's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Someplace trying to figure it out
Posts: 10,664

Bikes: Cannondale EVO, CAAD9, Giant cross bike.

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 7 Times in 6 Posts
if you are not going to race, don't buy the current racing frame.
roadwarrior is offline  
Old 03-13-04, 02:13 PM
  #7  
AeroDog
Senior Member
 
AeroDog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: New London, NC (near Charlotte)
Posts: 277

Bikes: Bianchi (road), Cannondale R3000,Trek (mtb)

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Cyclismo
. I intentionally wanted the aluminum expertise, stiffness and tube shaping of Cannondale without an integrated headset and without the proprietary Hollowgram bottombracket, I just think these are questionable "improvements" to an already near perfect product. I like traditional headsets and wanted to be able to use readily available components in these areas.

Get the CAAD5, you really don't want the "ultralight" (stupid light) aspect of the CAAD 7 unless you're a racer or plan to buy a new bike regularly.
On my 2004 R3000 CAAD7 (Optimo), the bottom bracket is Dura-Ace 10, not Hollowgram and the headset isn't integrated. My friends who have owned both the CAAD 5 and CAAD 7 say the 7 actually has a better ride. It certainly has a good ride, even compared to my lugged-steel Bianchi. I love this bike.
__________________
04 Cannondale R3000, Dura-Ace 10, Ksyrium SL
03 Cannondale Ironman 5000, Dura-Ace 9, Cane Creek Aros
86 Bianchi lugged steel with full carbon (Bianchi!) fork
03 Trek MTB
AeroDog is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.