Originally Posted by
phedge
Caledonia and Domane are different enough that you need to be sure you want one over the other. My LBS carries both so I got to test ride back to back to back. Caledonia handles and accelerates quicker while the Domane is slightly more sedate and deliberate. Not huge differences, but over longer rides the difference would add up. Neither one is a race frame but the Cervelo is probably more like a race endurance while the Domane would be the touring endurance (an exaggeration but you get the idea). Another comparison, I also owned a 2022 Cannondale Synapse for a couple months, it's closer to the Cervelo, with quicker handling but less efficient pedaling. Amazing how designers can dial in just the ride feel they think their customers want.
Cervelo sells through online retailers so you may be able to find something out there, but end of 2022 beginning of 2023 makes it tough. Good luck.
Thanks for the input. I decided against the Domane due to the stack and insufficient reach. My upper body and especially arms are disproportionally long for my height (75 inches), my so-called "Ape Index" is almost 1.05. I wrote off Cervelo. I have one now (S3 model) and a few things bug me, the BB is a pain, the derailleur hangers break easily and the itty bitty screws that they use to secure the hanger are insufficient, and the icing on the cake was a broken proprietary seatpost was almost impossible to replace. A seatpost that they had had to redesign due to problems and then they did not stock sufficient replacements for suckers out of warranty like me.
A flexible seatpost, flat carbon handlebars, and large tires go a long way towards meeting my comfort needs. A more subtle aspect is being able to mount clip on aero bars that will meet the PBP requirements of not extending beyond the hoods or levers. I have two Rube Goldberg solutions but the STA, Reach, stem length, and handlebar reach all come into play. The radial nerve in both hands is shot, so, the ability ride on the bars once in a while is important to me and eventually, I am usually riding solo and thus, it really isn't a safety concern.
The Cannondale Super Six high Mod looks interesting but they seem to only have made it in a 60 cm and it is too small unless I wanted to run a 140mm stem but 130 mm is the max Cannondale offers. The Synapse would fit but it is heavy and the integrated speed sensor, front light, battery below the water bottle, and the rear tail light would not work. I thought of ripping it all out but then it looks awful.