Road Cycling - Opinons needed re: Cannondale bike

Hi all,

Seen a good (I think) deal on a Cannondale R500 (my first roadbike since my baby was stolen while I was at college - 7 years ago!): last season's specification (seems unclear - I can't find anything on-line from back then), but saving £150!!

What I need to know is:

1) Does anyone have experience of the frameset, and if so, how good was that experience?

2) Will a CAAD4 (I think) frame support the larger among us - I am 6'1'' tall (185cm) and weigh 15 stones (96kg). I am concerned that when climbing (possible) and sprinting (less likely) that a frame could flex under the load. What else should I be aware of?

3) I think it comes with Tiagra kit (aside from some Cannondale cranks and breaks). Any feedback?

4) Is it a frame worth upgrading in future? I have no experience of Cannondale bikes (my mountain bike is a GT).

Opinions gratefully received.

Cheers,

Duncan

Cannondale uses the same frame on its lower and higher end bikes, so the frame is well worth the upgrade when you're ready. I bought a low end Cannondale road bike over ten years ago (I think it was the R300) and upgraded it twice. I just bought a new Trek road bike and gave the Cannondale to my son. Still works great.

Thanks Daniel - I am going to see it tomorrow!

Duncan

I have an older Cannondale R500 with a 58cm frame. I am 6 foot even and the frame is basically the right size. I am actually between a 56 and a 58.

I have only done about 300 miles on mine since I bought it, but I enjoy riding it.

I have had two minor issues with the bike.
1) The front derailer sometimes will not shift off of the largest chainring. I just have to try shifting it a few times to get it to work.

2) During my one long ride so far, my frame sounded like it started to click with each downstroke. It hasn't done it since. I noticed later that my water cage is broke and it may have been the source of the clicking.

The lower end frames are NOT the same the higher end frames.

After looking over the current Cannondale catalog:

Lower-end bikes use the CAAD4 frame(R400, R500)
Mid-range bikes use the CAAD5 frame(R700, R900)
R4000 uses the CAAD6 frame
R5000 uses the CAAD7 frame

Again--it goes back to buying the best frame you can up-front.

1) I have always ridden cannondales. I have had good luck with them. Like you I am a heavier rider and I am heavy even when lean (sometimes I am less lean than other times though). I tend to be hard on wheels and Cannondales can come with wheels that I break up. I ride Mavic T519 rims with 36 spokes and those are pretty near bullet proof.

2) The CAAD4 is a good frame. My first Cannondale was the Black Lightning and it was so stiff that supposedly run over a quarter blindfolded and tell whether it was heads or tails. I weigh about as much as you do and I like a stiff frame. The Black Lighting was very responsive and cornered well. The CAAD 4 is a good stiff frame with a more compliant ride. I doubt that you are going to find a frame with less bottom bracket flex.

3) I generally ride Shimano 105 components. As far as I can determine, Shimano 105 gives virtually all the performance of Dura Ace for about half the price. Dura Ace weighs a little less. I am not familiar with Tiagra - it is one notch below 105. I suspect going up to 105 is not that much more expensive.

4) Upgrading a CAAD4 frame makes some sense. It is a good frame and is worthy of decent components. Cannondale's top of the line right now is CAAD5 (I think) and it is not that much more different - the main difference is the integrated headset which is not a huge difference. I am not a big fan of upgrading. Generally, when you buy a bike, you get a pretty good deal on the components. Components take a long time to wear out too - I managed to wear out some parts of my 105 in 30,000 miles but most of it is still going strong. I have found that by the time I would think of upgrading, they have come up with some new bells and whistles and it is not that much more expensive to get a new bike. Then I get to use my old bike as my "rainy day" bike.

Oops. Next time I'll research things before I respond. When I got my Cannondale 10+ years ago, all the road bike frames were essentially the same. Higher end bikes had better components, forks, etc. Sorry if I mislead anyone. That being said, I doubt you could go wrong with a Cannondale frame, and upgrading the lower end bikes to better components is still a viable option.

Hi,

Thanks to everyone for the wealth of information that came back. You have probably all noticed that I went for it and bought the bike :D Apart from the excellent deal I got, I should also mention the quality of service. The shop in the past (when I bought the GT's) was okay-ish. They knew how to help, but it seemed a little cliquey in there. Now, the difference is amazing - the shop has been refurbed and the staff with it. The guy who helped me (rides a Scalpel 2000...niiiiice :p ) was about the most upfront person I have ever dealt with in a sales situation, and I can only recommend him. His name's Tom - anyone who goes to Mike's should ask for him by name - he is a no BS, "this is what you're buying" kind of guy.

So I have the CAAD 3 frame with straight seat stays, which I am told will flex even less than the current CAAD 4 with the curved ones. Either way, I am a happy camper and look forward to sticking some serious miles on the bike. Future upgrades? Definitely the wheels (they look a bit on the average side), saddle (I know that's gonna hurt, and a coloured saddle will kill on a black bike ;) ) bars, and up to (and beyond) 105, since this frame is not worth going any further, in the opinion of my friend Tom - but that will be good enough for me.

Duncan:beer:

(serious smiley abuse - apologies to all :rolleyes: )

CAAD5 and CAAD6 are the same frame. CAAD6 has a larger bottom bracket shell especially for the Cannondale Si crank and oversize bottom bracket. CAAD5 is if you want to use Campy or Shimano.
CAAD7 uses 7000 series aluminum and is a bit lighter with different shaped tubes.