Urbanmonk

I ride a C'dale cyclocross with road spec. tires. It's lite for this particular bike, but was wondering about the ride I would get from a CF bike. I have nothing to compare it to, other than my Trek 520 steel touring special. After 1 1/2 hours on the C'dale, I feel it beginning to tax on the body. Is there any difference with the full CF set up? Will it be less taxing on the body? What about centuries with the CF vs. alum.?

Thanks,

Urbanmonk

Duke of Kent

Unless it's a CAAD8 road frame, you haven't experienced the best out there. I've put in 400+ mile weeks, no problems.

Mike552

No offense, but this is bull****.
I love c-dales... I own 2 of them, but the obvious changes happened twice in its aluminum design... 1. when they dumped the 3.0 design in favor of the cad design... and 2. when they changed the rear stays on the CAAD4. I don't consider a change to integrated headset (CAAD4 to CAAD5) a significant enough change. You can read all the propaganda you like, but the truth is that the difference between a CAAD4 and a CAAD8 is weight. There are people on this forum that will argue that the change of alloy that contributed to the weight savings also makes for a better ride.... that's a load of crap. I know people will say "Oh yeah? Then what about this famous Saeco guy... or that Lampre dude... look what he said in this article... blah, blah" Whatever.

Getting back to your original question, I don't own any, but I've ridden some nice FULL CF bikes... there is a noticable difference in how you can throw them around. When I have the cash, I'll spend it on a CF C-dale or Cervelo, not a CAAD8. Then again, this is a CAAD4 and CAAD5 guy talking, so the jump to CAAD8 wouldn't be at all significant to me. If you're riding an entry level something-or-other... it will be a different story.

VlaanderenFlier

I've been riding a CAAD7, the OPTIMO for the winter months. It is the fastest ride I've ever been on, but not the most comfortable. I much prefer my AL/Carbon fork/seat stay for longer rides, but it is hard to beat the responsiveness of the OPTIMO against any frame.