Originally Posted by WCroadie

I doubt you will notice any difference in speed going uphill or down with any quality race bike you ride and nothing will be uncomfortable on a 5 mile test ride, that being said both are excellent bikes and won't be uncomfortable after 75 mile rides provided they fit correctly. I have the CAAD9 and love it. Iwould go for the system six and you should be able to talk him down from 2200, it's an 08 and the 09's are coming out. If he doesn't budge then I'd look for a CAAD9 or another system six.

I don't mean to be a smart***** but how can a bike be "full Dura-Ace with Ultegra Brake Calipers, a mediocre/sub-mediocre FSA crank," That's not full dura-ace, it's some dura-ace. Lastly, my CAAD9 has those FSA cranks, and while I wouldn't specifically buy them, I haven't had an issue, I sometimes get ready to replace them with a set of DA cranks but never do because I really don't have any problems with them. So tell your buddy if he gets the CAAD just to ride the FSA's until he needs new cranks.