longbeachgary

Hope everyone is having a great Thursday. What is the difference between CAAD 7, 8 and 9? CAAD 7 had a warning that it is a light weight frame with liminted life (We maximize the use of materials and design to deliver light weight and high-performance in our Optimo and CAAD7 frames. Thissupplement is intended to alert you to some facts and an important warning you must understand as an owner of an Optimo orCAAD7 high-performance road bike. FACTSOptimo and CAAD7 bikes are designed to be today's ultimate lightweight road racing frames. You must understand that Optimoand CAAD7 bikes are intended to give an aggressive racer or competitive cyclist a performance advantage over a relatively shortproduct life. A less aggressive rider will enjoy a longer product life. Please understand that you are choosing light weight and a shorter frame life over more weight and a longer frame life. Pleaseunderstand that you are choosing light weight over more dent resistant or rugged frames that weigh more. All frames that arevery light need frequent inspection for cracks that would indicate that the frame is worn out from fatigue) but the 8 and 9 are supposed to be lighter but have no such warning. Something to be concerned about or just marketing?

Chris_F

Cannondale has the same warning on the CAAD5. I suspect all of their Aluminum frames, CAAD8 and 9 included carry that warning (check the owner's manual you get with the bike, not the online docs). I can tell you as a mechanical engineer that one should always consider stressed Aluminium parts as having a finite life. That said some Aluminium framed airplanes have far outlived their expected lifespans and I think that the unique loaded placed on your bike frame will produce widely varying lifespans. It's likely that an Aluminum bike frame, CAAD7 included, will last longer than you'll be willing (and possibly able to) ride it.

nahh

The life will be far shorter on somebody that rides the heck out of it, races it aggressively every weekend, and generally rides it like they stole it.
versus...
somebody who rides it on the weekends/a couple times a week.

Chris_F

How hard is racing on a bike? I'd think someone who regularly rides on bumpy roads would put more stress on a frame than someone who races on smooth roads. (Given equal miles, etc).

live311

This could be a throwback to the days when C-dale's aluminum frames were so thin you could dent the down tube just by squeezing it with your hand. Or maybe there have been lots of warranty claims for cracked frames and C-dale considers it a "feature" rather than a "defect."

Even though the former issue was corrected long ago, I would never consider a frame with this kind of disclaimer.

Seagull01

then you do not buy many things do you? Everything has a disclaimer. No matter what the frame is made from, there is bound to be some warning somewhere in a manual.

longbeachgary

I agree. But that's the reason for my question. There is no such disclaimer for the 8 or the 9 and they are supposedly lighter than the 7. The 7 was only warrantied for 2 years but I believe that the 8 and 9 are longer.

live311

I've seen plenty of disclaimers stating that misuse of a product could result in serious injury or death, but I can't recall ever seeing a disclaimer stating that the product will wear out or fail prematurely because of its design. If I did, there's no way in hell I would even think about buying it.

caloso

They race on smooth roads in NH? Out here, it seems like VeloPromo goes out of its way to find the worst roads in California for its road races. Races so rough that you're looking forward to the gravel sections.

Atol

My CAAD9 has that same warning in the manual. I think its more of a "covering their own ass" sort of thing.

Chris_F

The statement was that RACING was hard on frames, not riding on rough roads. It's not that racing per sae is hard on frames then, it's that racers ride on rough roads. Anyone else riding that same road will stress their frame just as much as the racer.

kneeeerow

haha this guy

wonder what u ride..
or should i just make the assumption and call you mr cervelo

caloso

Yes, you're absolutely right. I think we agree. It's not the miles, it's the quality of the roads on those miles.

wens

It breaks down to a property of aluminum, unlike steel for example, aluminum doesn't undergo elastic deformation. Steel can be deformed a certain amount without any fatigue occurring, whereas any loading on aluminum will cause some fatigue.

GoSharks

You have no idea what you are talking about. I recommend looking into the definitions of elastic modulus, yield strength and ultimate tensile strength.

https://www.matweb.com/search/datashe...c7777d9e10be5b

longbeachgary

I didn't know that. I had a CAAD 7 for a short time but sold it to buy another bike. When I bought it, I didn't know about the limited warranty. I would be leery about buying a bike that the maufacturer felt that they had to cover their a$$ for a product that was going to be used as they had intended.

lechat

Don't know about the 8s and 9s being lighter. My CAAD 7 SI frame was 1125gms in a size 56cm.

thegunner

like a trek?

knucklesandwich

You will break down due to regular wear and tear well before a CAAD7/8/9 does.

stien

Gotta love how we pay more to get less

roadwarrior

Having owned every frame (aluminum and carbon) Cannondale's made since the CAAD4, this is totally untrue.

Chris_F

I bet it has more to do with the Dorel buyout than it does the actual frame. Maybe when Dorel bought Cannondale they decided to discontinue the disclaimer and accept the added liability since they have more resources now? Just a guess. The CAAD7 frame disclaimer may just be an oversight? Does Cannondale still make the CAAD7?

roadwarrior

I had a CAAD7 when they first came out. I put about 8,000 miles on it. I switched to the Six/13 first year it came out. I gave the CAAD7 away to a rider that's put about 9,000 miles a year on it. It now five (I think) years old. So it's got close to 45,000 miles on it. Still going strong. I would not worry about it.

I had a CAAD8 and then a CAAD9 as my backup bike. I still own a CAAD4 that's 9 years old. No problems.

A pro, back when they were on the aluminim bikes might stress out a frame in a season.

The 8 was a lighter 7. The 9 was a bike that was designed as a laterally stiff crit frame. Bigger circumference in some tubing without a weight gain. Simply put.

longbeachgary

I got that from the Bicycling buyer's guide 2005 page 32 that says "First, the CAAD8 aluminum frame material is not only 30 grams lighter than last year's CAAd7 but it is also more complaint for a smoother ride".

wens

I absolutely do know what I'm talking about, the yield strenth of aluminum is determined by a line parallel to the linear portion of the stress strain curve with a 0.2% offset. It's an arbitrary point under which the stress is considered acceptable for most applications. This doesn't mean there is no yielding, there is a reason you never have and never will see an aluminum driveshaft for example.