Originally Posted by
mstateglfr
1- MUSA Cannondale bikes were how the brand got the nickname 'crack n fail'. Keep that in mind while waxing poetically about the better days.
2 - We own a Taiwan produced Synapse from 2015. It's perfectly fine. The fit and finish are great.
I ride with 3 people that have Cannondale road bikes from the last 7 years- they are all perfectly fine and are loved.
I own a Cannondale CAAD3 which is a MUSA frame and the frame is nothing magical compared to any random Aluminum frame with carbon fork from the 00s or 10s.
One guy had a Synapse from 2017 that clicked and gave him fits. That was a press fit bb issue and was no different from countless road frames from various brands.
MUSA Cannondale frames have no magic. They are not more reliable or better finished than Taiwan made Cannondale frames from the last decade. And again, MUSA Cannondale bikes gave the brand the nickname 'crack n fail'.
MUSA Cannondale have made the brand famous with the Volvo Cannondale Team as well as with the Saeco Team and Liquigas Team who allowed Cannondale to have a worldwide reputation
Saeco Road Bike Racing History with Riders like Cippo and Commesso,
Liquigas Racing History with riders like Peter Sagan, Magnus Bäckstedt and Maciej Bodnar, a
list of Volvo-Cannondale’s current and past rosters reads like a “Who’s Who” of the sport. Beside Chausson, Sauser, Juarez and Gracia, riders such as Alison Sydor, Cadel Evans, Missy Giove, Myles Rockwell and Brian Lopes were all members of the team at one time or another. The team was also a multiple winner of the VeloNews International Mountain Bike Team of the Year award. The Cannondale golden age is often linked to the mid 1990's to the early 2000's unlike nowadays products Cannondale Fame. We have different likes and we have different ideas about bike manufacturing. The quality of the welds on older made in USA Cannondales were oustanding and the newer ones not as good as what was made in Bedford but again we think differently, I would rather have a USA made CAAD8 optimo than a Taiwan made CAAD12.