I just got a Caledonia 105 about 3 weeks ago and have put around 150 miles so far. I'm no expert in all the nuances of bike performances nor do I have the experience to compare it to other bikes. I have a 2011 GT GTR Series 2 Aluminum bike with the 105 groupset which I swapped the tires to 28mm, and for a starter bike, I thought it was a great bike. So, I can only compare it to that. I can tell that it doesn't feel that much different in terms of ride compliance and I expected that since they never really marketed it as such, unlike the Domane or the Synapse. But, I definitely can tell that it's faster even with its wider 30mm tires. I expend less effort and increased my speed using the same routes I've been riding. And like some have said, it's a good-looking bike, I had the red color scheme. The bottom line is, I'm really enjoying it. Down the line, I'll upgrade the seatpost to carbon and get a little compliance from it.