estebanf

Hi, thanks for reading.

I started biking 18 months ago as part of my commitment to lose weight. I got a 27.5 Diamondback MTB as it looked strong enough to handle me. I used mostly for road biking achieving 60 miles per trip.

These days the I only use the MTB only for the trails and I decided to upgrade my gear and get an entry level road bike to do a century in 2015. My budget is 1500 tops. I'm between Giant Defy 1 and the Cannondale CAAD8 105 5 . The main reason is price and the fact they look decent.

Any opinions or experience to share that can help me in my decision?. Any other brand/model I should consider?

Thanks for helping a not-so-fat-these-days-noob

rms13

Of the two, I would go with the Giant because it has the newer 11 speed 5800 105 group. Also has 105 cassette with 11-32 where the CAAD 8 has older 10 speed 105 with Tiagra cassette 12-28. Guessing it's pretty flat where you live so having the 32t gear is not a big deal and you might actually want closer spaced gears. Other factor is the Defy is slightly more relaxed geometry. So ....test ride them both and see which feels better? But if I was going to pay that much for a new 105 bike I would want the 11 speed.

Jiggle

I can build a bad-donkey bike for $1500. My BH carbon road bike with 6800 was $1400 before I started putting Dura Ace wheels and other prissy stuff on it.

Anyway, I'd go for the bike with 5800.

Dregus311

I have a 2014 CAAD8 Sora (bought last May) and got to say its a great frame for the price. I am seriously considering buying an Ultegra group set for it right now, since I recently put a new wheel set on it. The important question is this $1500 tops number for bike only or do you have funds set aside for clip-one and such? Basically if you can afford the $1500, there has to be a way to get the extra $100 to just purchase a 2015 CAAD 10 105 which you never regret or need to purchase another bike for quite sometime. When the 105 components start wearing you can upgrade parts over time. Check out CAAD thread here in the forums, them people love the CAAD!

I reduced myself to the CAAD8 due to funds and now I'm in upgrade envy to try and match my new skill set. Sometimes it is better to buy up and grow into especially if you know you already love riding. (I had no idea if I would love it or not at the time)

bgrider

I started just like you riding my mtb to get in shape and lose weight. 60lbs and 5K miles later I bought a 2013 Defy 1 and I am as happy with it today as I was the day I picked it up. In my opinion, the Defy offered the best components at the best price. I occasionally surf the various manufacturers sites looking for what to upgrade to and end up deciding that there is no reason for me to upgrade. Most important in your choice however should be deciding on which bike feels best to you when riding it. Test ride them both before making a decision. Good luck to you with you weight loss goals. You will be amazed at how much better you feel as you progress towards your goal.

TriEngineer

caad is supersix geometry (race), defy is a relaxed geometry. getting one extra gear isnt the greatest thing in the world

fa63

You should also think about the geometry between those two. The Cannondale has a lower front end and longer reach compared to the Giant, meaning the Giant will put you into a more relaxed, upright position all else being equal.

I recently bought a lightly used 2011 Giant Defy 1, and it is a surprisingly nice bike. I think you would be happy with it if you decided to go that route.

Edit: looks like TriEngineer beat me to it regarding the geometry.

rms13

CAAD10 is Supersix race geometry. CAAD8 is a little more relaxed. Per Cannondale's site:

"May we prescribe CAAD8. With its lightest-in-class frame, more forgiving Heads-Up Race geometry and tubes inspired by its CAAD10 sibling"

So like I said in my previous post, Defy has a slightly more relaxed geo than CAAD8 but the CAAD8 is still more relaxed than most true race bikes

TriEngineer

ah I misread that this morning, yeah you are right. Guess I shouldn't be on Nightquil and half a shot of cognac in my coffee in the morning.