slevin

I worked hard this year and now that the bonus has been announced, I decided to buy myself a present. The guys at the bike shop (the one I go to) are telling me that for 4k and some pennies i can get a System 6 (carbon group and all the works). To me, it looks like a great bike for this price but I still have some reservations

(a) is it a good price? I hate going into a trade without knowing where the market is and I was not able to find any offers on the web. Did anyone see them in other bike shops or online? Where would you bid on this bike?

(b) is it too much of good thing for me? I tend to ride a decent amount during the week and on the weekends, but can't really tell if i need a bike of that level. After all, I am a recreational rider and most probably will not race seriously. The intended purpose is to use it as a daily training bike, 2-4 circles around the park (10k/loop afaik), plus some longer rides to NJ/Upstate. On the other hand, having a nice bike will make me ride it more (i know myself well).

(c) how reliable is it? The whole mixed frame business makes me a bit uneasy, since it has not been road-tested as much as pure carbon or pure aluminium. But then again, pro teams are getting it.

Any general rant is welcome too, as it will help me shape my opinon better.

PS. No, I am not going to buy a sports car from my bonus. I am a true New Yorker and my drivers license expired some 10 years ago.

.:Jimbo:.

a the system is an awesome value, a great bike at a great price.
b nice bikes will do wonders for your riding, you'll ride more, and enjoy it even more so, especially if you come from something a bit inferior.
c If i'm not mistaken, the system six would be under cannondales lifetime warranty, so i would not fear much in terms of reliability. I understand where you are coming from, its brand new to the market, but the six 13 faired well during the time it was the creme of the crop.


I have rather limited experience with the bike, and don't have a whole lot to compare it to, but i enjoyed every second in the saddle. it rode with no probelm at all, turn in's were crisp, great headtube stiffness, bb transfer was more than adequate for my light 150lb self.

Btw, what groupo were you planning on going for, sram?
Also, what shop have you visited, toga?

roadwarrior

I own one, and have had it for about six weeks. Hands down, the best frame I've ever ridden.

The aluminum/carbon mix is fine. Cannondale's been doing this for a while. I've had three bikes (two Six/13's and now this System Six) without issue. Each of the two Six/13 frames were ridden for about eight thousand miles before I switched. No problems.

botto 

IMO it sounds a tad over the top for your stated needs. that said, you wouldn't be the first person in central park that had more bike than they really needed.

i wouldn't be that concerned about reliability: cannondales reputation for quality products is one of the best, and their warranty replacement is impeccable.

one piece of advice - look into some other bikes before pulling the trigger.

WCroadie

I was looking at one the other day, that is a sweet bike. Like the others said, I would not worry about the frame cannondale knows what they are doing and it comes with a lifetime warranty. If I had the coind I'd definitely get one. I will stick with the CAAD 9 this year though.

Edit: There are tons of people who ride more bike then they need. Buy it and enjoy it.

onRoffR

First of all I don't think you can ever have too much bike. If you can afford it and don't suffer from cases of severe buyers remorse than buy as much bike as you can. The system six is a nice bike and cannondale is a great company especially when it comes to customer service, in their eyes you are always number one not the race teams, not the dealers, but the customer. they will not leave a substandard product on the streets/trails. they are by far THE most innovative bike company today and their product is second to none.
I bought a Six13 team 2 last year at this time in the clear finish and although I had problems,five frames and a catastrophic crank failure, Cannondale got it right and my bike is perfect now. the bike is a joy to ride, and I try to ride every day. Personnaly I'm not real fond of the system Six cosmetically, it kinda looks like what I did to my F700 mountain bike with the super fatty front fork that I tried to adapt to a road bike, didn't work I had to get the real thing. but the co-molding process is sound and having the aluminum rear makes these material hybrid bikes extremely responsive. It's too bad they took the SI cranks off the Six13 factory spec'd bikes but it's a good reason to go to the System Six or buy a Six 13 frameset with the oversized BB . my alloy SI crank and BB are rock solid, but for marketing purposes it's been relegated to the System Six this year. so go for it. you won't be sorry!

El Diablo Rojo

Who are you and what have you done with Botto? I love my C'dale and everything this person who is pretending to be Botto said is true. Look around and if you can find a shop that will let you take a bike for a real test ride (a couple of hours) then compare before you buy!

botto 

don't know what you mean. whether you realize it ot not, you almost always agree with me.

El Diablo Rojo

This starting to become more apparent....I'm afraid...so very afraid.....

slevin

so, it's a good trade.

Is that what comes standart with it? It's the place on 79th and 3rd - nice guys, nice selection, quick turnarund on jobs. Plus, they don't try to broke you into a trade like in some other bike store around the city.

Certainly not the last one, either. In general, I don't suffer from buyers remorse, but I think I will suffer when someone on a 10-year old Trek will pass me riding this thing

yep, was thinking of doing it too, to be able to judge relative value.

What are the other bikes I should look at?

how long of a drive test to i need?

krazyderek

Test drive your normal 10k loop since that's what you're familiar with. You might want to consider and all carbon synapse (also from cannondale), or synapse SL. They are slightly more upright in their geometry (only a cm or two) and a bit softer of a ride, but definitly still stiff enough for a competitive ride. I train on one, and race on my caad8 alu frame.

I haven't ridden, or even seen a system six in person, but i can't imagine you can go wrong with it.

dekalbSTEEL

I wouldn't worry about that so much, however, if a 10-year old on a Trek passes you, well........

Seriously, buy what you want, cuz if you don't, you'll only wish you had a year down the road.

botto 

as my signature goes: We have differences but we're not made different. If you don't agree with me, you're wrong.

botto 

a lap in CP park should be OK-ish, although many NYC shops won't let you do a test ride.

look at the giant tcr advanced, a variety of italian bikes, cervelo, etc, etc.

what's your LBS - if it's really possible to have on in NY. If you're spending 4 bills, then check out the deals on '05 and '06 bikes at R&A, also check Roy's Sheepshead Bay, and the usual Toga/Gotham/Conrad's/etc.

ri_us

Let me guess, Toga? Anyway, For that kind of money you can get a custom made bike that will fit you like a dream, be better for your joints and be more responsive (a must when dodging oblivious runners in CP and the occasional cab).

kenny!

If I wanted a new bike and I had money coming to me and could spend it on a bike I'd go for it. I have a Cannondale caad8 and think it's a great bike for the money so I could only imagine what the System 6 is like. I've read plenty of reviews on here and nearly everyone loves it with a few preferring other bikes over the System 6. If i was you, I'd go for it. And don't forget to flip it!

patentcad

Buy the bike. Then shut up and ride. Then come back and tell us how great the System Six is.

Alternately, F the stupid bicycle, renew your driver's license and buy a Porsche sports car (any model is fine).

All things considered, I'm MUCH rather hear you did tha latter, but if you buy the System Six and at least tell us about it, we'll consider forgiving your bike weenie lack of vision.

botto 

i pity the fool who takes you seriously.

Squint

I would be concerned over how many proprietary components there are in the SystemSix. Cannondale might not be around forever.

El Diablo Rojo

Yeah they'll prolly be bankrupt by the end of '07 C'dale will be around long enough to get plenty of milage out this bike and all the others they build.

slevin

The owner also told me to try it out on the same route I usually ride, which makes sense. These guys seem to be very accomodating in terms of test rides, may be it's the fact that I bought my previous bike there and always go there for service.

Giant was my other alternative, will compare the fits. I decided to avoid italian bikes, for reasons of servicing.

I will probably go round and check the quotes, though I'd put a certain price on the relationship with these guys. Definitely will not have time to go outside Manhattan to do market research, but will check out the nearby dealers.

Nope, "Third AV Bicycles Plus". I am not getting a sense that they are trying to broke me into it (I'd know, trust me). I also like the fact that the owner actually owns the same bike.

As far as the custom bike - I would be very. very surprised if I can get a custom carbon frame plus the same set of components for 4k. I'd recon it would be more like 10k.

slevin

Well, according to Bloomberg (the data system, not the major), Cannondale filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2003. After that it was sold to Pegasus Partners II, L.P., which formed the privately-held Cannondale Bicycle Corporation.

It appears to me (given the little i know about bikes and a bit I know about finance) that there is a strong negative correlation between quality of the bicycles and the credit quality of the manufacturer.

watchman

the bankrupture was due to cannondale's attempt at entering the motorcross market. That was not a good business decision, but does not reflect on their ability to produce quality bicycles.

slevin

well, don't know about it. All I am trying to say is that quality of bikes is usually inverse to the financial health of the company. Let's just hope that the firm in question will make it.

ps. the word is bankruptcy...

tekhna

Wish there was a model other than the team replica that came with Campy. Although for 4k I might start looking at Orbea.