Originally Posted by
WhyFi
Having owned and ridden a Domane for a couple years, IsoSpeed certainly isn't a gimmick - it smooths out road imperfections without calling attention to itself or feeling intrusive. Side-to-side with my Cervelo R3, it's certainly more comfy, though that's not to say that the Cervelo is harsh. If I could have justified keeping the Domane around as a dedicated long distance bike (5+ hours), I would have, but the Cervelo gave me enough of the comfort (70%? 80%?) afforded by the Domane while feeling more agile and responsive (I do a lot of spirited group rides, so that's important to me). And, FWIW, I still regularly do 5+ hour rides on the Cervelo.
IMO, they're both going to be great bikes - you can't go too far wrong either way, it's just a matter of deciding your priorities. If you want a fast, comfy long-distance machine, the Domane fills the bill. If you're willing to give up a bit of that comfort for a bit more snappiness, then I'd look to the Caledonia.
Very thoughtful input, thank you for sharing. I am feeling like IsoSpeed and FutureShock are probably technologies I don’t need for my road rides, though they make me very curious. On a gravel bike, I think I’d like them. I have a lot of steep mtns in my area, and I like some responsiveness to my climbing out of the saddle.
The Cervelo 105 base model doesn’t have the D shaped seatpost and integrated cockpit that the Cervelo 5 has, but it uses the same carbon. Are those good reasons to spend $2,000 to upgrade? I haven’t tried a D shaped seatpost before, so don’t know what I’m missing. And integrated cockpit looks nice, but sounds like a hassle. I also just discovered today in talking with LBS that the 2022 models are out, and they only have two colors, neither of which have the attractiveness of the many wonderful 2021 options. Sounds superficial, but I was bummed out. Love the color that the OP has.