CrazyTim

I'm looking at a used 2008 Cannondale Six13. It has Tiagra components, Shimano WH-r500 wheelset along with carbon stryke aerobars, Shimano a530 spd pedals and a carbon fiber cage. The guy claims to have ridden it 10-15 miles before he decided that road bikes weren't for him. He has let it sit in his garage since he purchased it in 2008.

He's asking $800. I think that's high even with the extras. Am I off base? Shouldn't this bike go for $550-600? I'm sure it needs to a tune up.

I am primarily looking at new bikes but I saw this and thought it might be a worthwhile bike to consider. I'm new to road bikes and have already test ridden a Felt F85 and it felt okay. I have nothing else to baseline this bike aside from what I've read here and on some other website.

Any advice is appreciated.

Wylde06

Not sure on the price but im sure others will be able chime in...but I love my Six13. Have you tried talking him down on the price?

CrazyTim

I have not. However, I am going to look at the bike today and plan to ride it. I'll discuss price with him if it checks out.

racin jasin

i have a super six i would sell you!

roadwarrior

This was the last year for that frame. In prior years the top and down tubes were interlocked with their aluminum mates. The carbon was inserted into the aluminum tube and there were cutouts and the carbon tube had a baldder inserted, it was inflated, and it interlocked. My point is while it's a nice frame it was not built to the same specifications when it was a top racing frame. It was superceded by the System Six (which was interlocked) and then the Super Six.
I will tell you that I think the bike's worth $700-800. Looks to be in good shape. But it's not the pro race version of this frame if that matters to you.

CrazyTim

Roadwarrior,

Thanks for the information. That was very helpful.

AngryScientist 

its probably worth that much. it certainly shouldnt need a tune-up if it was set-up right and only ridden 20 miles. i will tell you that those are some of the worst wheels on the market, which you'll find out if you start logging any real miles on that bike.

CrazyTim

AngryScientist,

Gotcha. Thanks for letting me know about the wheels.

I had a chance to test ride the bike last night. It shifted fine. The bike was as clean as the photos indicated. I was able to get him to come down a little on the price but we still couldn't meet at a point where he and I agreed. He's been trying to sell it for a while. I think it's a good bike but I'm going to keep looking. If it sells, it sells.

Since I had some extra time, I stopped by one of our LBS and test rode a Specialized Roubaix Comp C2. I really like that bike!

CrazyTim

Once again, thanks for all the feedback. I rode a felt 2011 Felt z4 (interested in z5 but none was available) and it felt good. Just not as good as the Roubaix Comp felt IMHO. So, I woke up this morning and went to work feeling pretty good. I knew I had found the right bike albeit it was more than I wanted to spend. Then, just a little bit ago I got a message from the Cannondale Six13 seller and he agreed to my price I offered him on Monday. Talk about throwing a wrench into my plans!!!!

Well, it's too good of a deal to pass up so I think I'll give the Six13 a whirl for a while. If I don't like it, I can pass along a good deal to someone else. However, I want to log a few hundred miles on it before I form an opinion.

Thanks to you all and stay safe out there!

Blackdays

Wise man.

eippo1

Well the 2008 Six 13 was the same from from the Dura Ace version all the way to the 6, which is the Tiagra one. So it's a fine frame to upgrade down the road. Roadwarror is correct in that they changed the frame, but it basically changed to have the characteristics which you seem to desire with something like a Roubaix. Since it wasn't their primary road bike, the frame got a bit more compliant at the cost of weight and a bit of stiffness. So basically it wasn't a rocket anymore, but it was still a really nice bike. Ride the hell out of it (and get new wheels with your savings - the R500's are heavy, but good for training rides on bad roads).

Homebrew01

Wasn't the 2008 model stiffened up compared to the earlier Six-13 models ?

brianbeech

Is it really worth $800 bucks? 3 years old, Tiagra equipped. I purchased my 2010 CAAD9-5 105 equipped for $1050. I would think being used would drop that price pretty quickly; no?

Homebrew01

So, I assume less than $800

kudude

OP, just be careful to not equate the shifting with the quality of the bike. A little barrel-adjuster tweak goes a long way. The bike you rode at the shop was probably tuned, whereas the six13 might have been a bit off

CrazyTim

$600

kudude

that's a deal

CrazyTim

Kudude,

Thanks for the heads up. I'm trying to take that into consideration since I've tried Dura Ace all the way down to the Tiagra components on the Six13 I rode.

What wheelset do you all recommend? I ride mostly rough chipseal roads that are frequented by a lot of trucks, tractors and everything else associated with ranching. I'm 220lbs in case that matters.

tagaproject6

600? That is a great price!

kudude

Aksiums are a good "go-to" as far as bombproof relatively inexpensive wheels that work well. A lot of people on the forum don't like Mavic's machine built wheels, but I think that's just because of Mavic's market penetration. If you're on a forum about bikes, you want to know more than the average cyclist. In that case, you can't buy mavic wheels because everyone already has them. If you want something else, a set of 32 spoke handbuilt wheels with novatec (tiagra hubs are also of very high quality for the price) hubs and kinlin/dt swiss rims can be put together in the $400 range.

CrazyTim

Taga - I agree! Thank you sir!

KU - Thanks again. I was looking at Mavics as it seems like a lot of people who buy Felts in my area (austin/SA) tend to swap them out. I'll keep an eye out. I saw a set on CL the other day for $150.

intence

Very good price. The bike retailed for $1350 or so I believe. The frame is still US built, and while the tubes are not interlocked like on the previous Six13, the carbon inserts are bonded with the Aluminum. I believe the following is true:

-Head tube size was increased slightly for 2008, but not nearly as tall or relaxed as Synapse geometry. The rest of the geometry appears to be shared with the CAAD9
-The bonding process meant that the complex assembly of the pre'08 Six13 wasn't required, which is why it has a standard Cannondale badge on the front, and not the dual-badge from the earlier models
-The rear end actually appears to be shared with the SystemSix instead of the CAAD9, notice the System/Six13 both use a 31.6mm seat tube, CAAD is 27.2
-Feedback has been that the bike is very stiff yet comfortable
-As noted above, frame is built in the USA

I always found it very strange that this bike was only produced for one year. Then again, it shared DNA with the SystemSix, and 2009 was when almost all production went to Asia save the CAAD9. My guess is that the Aluminum/CF frames were relatively costly to build, since the carbon portions had to be joined to the aluminum.

I bought one in 2009 (same trimline Six13-6 w/Tiagra, stripped it and rebuilt from scratch with Rival and nicer wheels, I didn't ride it in it's original form, but it's lots of fun to ride, stiff yet comfortable and not as harsh as straight alu.)

CrazyTim

Intence - thank you! That was very informative.

clydeosaur

I've got an '09 Six 5 (105 w/ultegra mix) which I believe is the next rendition/what the six 13 turned into. Same geometry. I've gotten a little over 2000 miles on it. I'm 220 and must say, it may not be the lightest, fastest but has been a damn solid and fun bike. The only thing I changed out besides the stock seat was the RS10 wheels. They liked to flex a bit.

z_hammer

I say if the Six13 fits you go for it, sounds like a really good deal. As far as the wheels go I have the same R500's on my CAAD8 and have a few thousand miles on them. The only problem I have ever had was one broken spoke last year. That was the only time they have been trued.. I ride on the same crappy chipseal roads that you do, I am just north of you in the Austin area. They may not be the lights wheels, but I am 6'2" & 215 so those few grams saved with some other wheels will be hardly felt. I have actually kicked around moving to a Six13 just because of the number of miles I have on my bike.