I'm as comfortable on my 1980 Tommasini as my 2012 CAAD 10, including on long rides. My Panasonic is a little smaller frame, and I feel the shorter top tube, so it's not a great comparison. Having brifters and aero brake cables does make for easier riding. The CAAD 12 will have CF fork and seatpost, and the geometry has been tweaked for about 10 generations to take the harshness out of it. If you're comfortable on your Lotus, you'll likely be comfortable on the CAAD12. That's an awesome price for what you get, and if you do hills you'll notice the difference in weight. For me, in Flatlandia, it's not a dramatically different riding experience. The biggest change is on the modern bike I have many more hand positions. Otherwise I have the geometry as close as I can get with seatpost/stem adjustments. I ride in the drops a lot, and am flexible enough not to need endurance geometry. I suggest a test ride, but that is indeed a good deal. Take some measurements from your Lotus, so you can get roughly the same distance from pedals to saddle and from saddle to hoods. When I got mine Cannondale I had them put a slightly shorter stem on it, and then I got narrower bars that I prefer.
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