I have a Cannondale with a CAAD5 frame and I'm thinking of upgrading some goodies.

What are the differences between the CAAD 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 frames?

How much of a weight differnece is there between the CAAD5 and the CAAD9?

My generally uninformed opinion is the tube shapes have been modified to increase stiffness and comfort between generations of CAAD frames. If you go to the Cannondale website, they will often explain the changes.

Basically, the CAAD5 was Cannondale's first frame to use system integration (integrated headset).

Diff between the 8 and 9 is stiffness, laterally. Diff between 7 and 8 was weight in the back of the bike and a stiffer seat tube.

Weight diff between the 5 and 9 is a lot....but it depends in the frame size.

Some of the differences:

CAAD 5 has a lifetime warranty. CAAD 9 is only 2 years.
CAAD 5 has a standard English thread bottom bracket. CAAD 9 has a proprietary (Cannondale-only) bb.
CAAD 5's can still be found, new, for $200.00--$500.00. CAAD 9 is about $500.00 used.

I disagree that the weight difference between the 2 frames is "a lot". And not worth the durability differences.

This thread may be helpful to you: https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycling/118271-cannondale-good-more-than-couple-years.html

Bob

You're completely full of ****.

"FRAMES (frame, fork structure, swing arm): Cannondale frames (except freeride, see below) are warranted by Cannondale Bicycle Corporation, 16 Trowbridge Drive, Bethel, CT 06801 against manufacturing defects in materials and/or workmanship for the lifetime of the original owner."

There's no proof of durability differences, other than the fact Cannondale's lawyers decided to make a statement to cover their ass right around the same time the CAAD7 came out. Nobody in either thread has ever heard of a 7, 8, or 9 failing due to fatigue. There are plenty of two year old CAAD8s that have been raced hard for two years and are good as new.

As for BB differences, I'm not sure what "proprietary" business you're talking about. The BB's that ship on CAAD9's are as follows: FSA MegaExo, Truvativ Giga X-pipe, Shimano 105.

So while it may be oversized or whatever (I don't know), there are options available. You're probably thinking of bikes that come with the Si cranks and BB system. An adapter is available if you want to use some other cranks with bikes with those BB sizes. Of course NOBODY does that because the Hollowgram cranks are WIDELY known to be the stiffest out there there, and a damned light as well. If you must have a power meter, they're also available with an SRM inside them.

Yea dude you are seriously uninformed. We could only be so lucky that the CAAD9 came with SI as it is a seriously good BB and crank system...and if you have a SI BB bike there is an adapter for like $30 that will allow you to use any BB setup you wish.

I was trying to win a CAAD7 SI frameset with the AL SI cranks. This thing is 4 or 5 years old and is going to go well over $500. CAAD9 SI would be even stiffer in the BB and the cranks are lighter and stiffer than DA. Man that bike would rock....but then no one would buy the Six13.

Man, this post is as bad as some of the ones on the NASCAR thread.

LMAO...I fixed your post. So Cannondale does not jump your @$$ for making false statements about their warranty. The only frames that fall outside of this are their freeride bikes, like the Gemini and the Chase.
I sell them.

I got my System Six with Hollogram SI BB and walked away from DA. I can't believe how much better SI is.

SI is so good it is astonishing the same guy did such a bad job on the Specialzed BB/Crank setup.

I so wanted that CAAD7 SI but I am not paying $600+ for a used 4 or 5 year old AL frame when I can get a CAAD8 complete bike for $800.

I will add a question for you...will Cannondale be selling a Liquigas SystemSIX SI?

I'm seriously bummed by the fact that C'dale no longer offers the SI BB on the CAAD series or the Six13. My next seasons race bike will be either a CAAD9 or a Six13 and I would have gone with the SI option had it been offered.

FWIW I feel like there is a definite ride quality difference in the CAAD5 and CAAD8 framesets.

Yes...saw one last week. I understand that they will do frames, and then team bikes (with Record as they've done in the past).

$600 for a used 7 is ridiculous.

Well it is a 7 with SI bb and the Hollowgram crankset. But way too much money. And $600 is a guess...it is currently at $450 with a day left and the guy says he got an offer for $575 off of eBay and is talking about pulling the auction.

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...7437&rd=1&rd=1

Was CAAD7 top of the line in 04? I would have thought it was CAAD8 then.

Edit: Well ok so the bike is only 3 years old...man that would be ahot bike https://cannondale.com/bikes/04/cusa/model-4RR6K.html

Calm down guys. Regarding the 2 year warranty, here's the word from Cannondale direct:

https://www.cannondale.com/bikes/tech/pdfs/115936.pdf

A brief quote from the above link: "You must understand that Optimo and CAAD 7 [incl. CAAD 9] bike [sic] are intended to give an aggressive racer a competitive edge for a season or two of racing. A less aggressive rider will enjoy a longer frame life."

Also contained in the link: "Please understand that you are choosing light weight and a shorter frame life over more weight and a longer frame life."

So, although Cannondale does indeed give a "lifetime warranty" on their CAAD 9, they define "lifetime" as "a season or two".

Regarding the bb, I was referring to the SI proprietary integrated crankset shown here:

https://www.cannondale.com/asset/iu_f...echnote_en.pdf

Look, I'm not bashing all Cannondales. In fact, I race a CAAD 5 frame which IMO is the best bang-for-the-buck Cannondale frame ever built. But after the CAAD 5, in an ever-increasing effort to shave weight Cannondale started to trade durability for grams. That's not bull****.

Bob

I am no expert (just a long time forum lurker ), but I did go through lots of research recently since I was looking around for a recent vintage Cannondale frame. After trawling through the Cannondale archives and various forums, this is what I have gathered:

CAAD4- first use of shaped hourglass stays

CAAD5- first use of integrated headset, otherwise pretty similar to CAAD4

CAAD7- Bit of a big change from CAAD4/5, with intro. of Optimo tubing, dropping around 100gram (looking at the weight weenie listing). Also more tear drop shape of top and down tube at the headtube junction, for more compliance(?), but some say at the expense of torsional stiffness. Slight change of geometry from previous generation.

CAAD8- Ovalized seatstays (maybe smoother ride and better aero? probably pretty minuscule differences) and butted seatube dropping a bit of weight, around 30 grams, otherwise same front end as CAAD7.

CAAD9- Pretty similar to the CAAD8, but with an oversized hydroformed front end to increase stiffness, lending a little bit of credence that they lost too much stiffness with the CAAD7/8 generation. Also, oversized seatube rather than one that tapers at the top. Not sure about dropping weight, but if they did, probably not by much.

Of course, I don't have personal experience with all these frames, this is a just heresay from the internet , so I can't attest to the accuracy, but its what I have found. FWIW, I went with a CAAD5, mostly because its easier to find for a good price used(on a budget), but also they don't seem to dent as easily. It was hard to find a CAAD7/8 without a dent somewhere, and when you do they go for quite a bit. So Cheap(er), dent free, and (possibly mythical)better front end stiffness was worth a 100-200g weight penalty to me. YMMV.

Ok think what you want but a racer on a shop team can get a CAAD9 frame for less than $400. It doesn't need to last more than 2 years at that price.

And ok so exactly you made my point. Lighter and stiffer than DA...and smoother to boot. Like I said if you don't want the SI crank setup there is an insert that can be pressed in for $30 that will allow the use of any 68mm eng BB and whatever crank you want.

Bob, they are professional racing frames. Designed for professionals to race. My guess is that for the majority of people out here in the 4 and 5 classes, 45 minutes plus two lap crits are not going to stress a frame like Simoni would.

A friend of mine is a very good 3...he's racing a CAAD7 frame that was given to him that has a top tube dent, he's been racing it for two years, no problems.

Racing is not riding. And amateur racing in circles is nothing like the racing these frames were designed for.

Well if he wants a CAAD8 or CAAD9 they don't even offer an SI option. As of 07 you can't get any C'dale frame with an SI other than the System 6.

Actually,I wasn't arguing anything, including whether a 2-year lifespan is "good" or "bad". I was pointing out to the OP that "lifetime" for CAAD 5 means "lifetime". But "lifetime" for CAAD 9 means "2 seasons". He can decide for himself whether a CAAD 9 "needs" to last more than 2 years at that price. He asked about some of the "differences" between the frames. I was pointing out some differences.

My point wasn't that one crank was better or worse than the other. Just that one is proprietary, the other is generic. The OP was asking about differences. I pointed out some differences. Once again, the OP can decide for himself which one he wants.

And, once again, I wasn't trying to start a "flame Cannondale" war here.

Bob

Ok well either way you look at the BB issue you can't get a SI on either the 5 or the 9 (or the 8 for that matter), so it is really a moot point. My point was that if the SI WAS offered it would be a plus for the 9.

actually, I was told by my LBS that the six13 frame alone is available with the SI BB. Iwas concerned that if the clearcoat problem ever reared it's ugly head that I couldn't get it replaced with a like six13 team frame. the six13 spec'd models don't have the SI BB, but you can still buy a frame with it. I have the SI BB with the alloy crank arms and it by far is the stiffest BB I've ridden and extremely light.

So if you bought a bare frame to build up, could you get the SI BB and cranks from Cannondale as a replacement part, or do they not sell them??

No. Lifetime means lifetime and from the thread you posted earlier Cannondale will honor any fractures on a CAAD7,8,9 at the welds FOR THE LIFETIME OF THE ORIGINAL OWNER. Thats where frames crack anyway. I've never even heard of a post 1993 or so C'Dale frame cracking at all. If you have, go ahead and post it. Lifetime does not mean two seasons, the frame is warranteed for life. Period. A CAAD9 WILL last more than two years fatigue/wear and tear wise- thats 100% positive.

Also, your little PDF says nothing about the CAAD5. How do you know they didn't say that about the CAAD5 at any point in time? Officially or not... You see that statement about the 7 and assume it will fall apart in 2 years and one day, and yet somehow it also means that a CAAD5 will never fatigue and will last forever. Right... Keep in mind that all aluminum has a fatigue life and while I don't think its something to worry about (it takes probably 10+ years), its likely the same between the CAAD5 and CAAD9 (nothing proves otherwise)... The CAAD5 is still going to be YEARS and YEARS ahead of the CAAD9 as far as fatigue goes by the time you buy it. Of course you may be able to find a NOS CAAD5 in stock in your size in a store, but I really doubt it.... Whats the warranty like for a New CAAD9 vs a used CAAD5... Oh yeah - Lifetime vs Nothing.




Thats exactly what you did and people who know better aren't going to let you spread bull**** about some excellent frames. You said the CAAD9 had a proprietary BB and you're 100% ****ing wrong, its not even available on the CAAD9, wasn't available on the US Market CAAD8, and not available on all (most) of the CAAD7s.

You could get them from Cannondale, I'm sure....

But you couldn't put them on a non-Si frame. Meaning they wouldn't fit in a CAAD9, US CAAD8, or many CAAD7s. If your frame has the SI bottom bracket, I'm positive you COULD get a new one from them. They don't really sell them very often because if a given bike CAN use it, they probably already have it installed. Most people don't strip them off when selling an SI frame (cause what are they going to put it on?)

If you contact a Cannondale dealer you should be able to order the SI crankset or any parts. I originally had the Carbon crankset but due to failure the Cannondale rep upgraded mine to the alloy version,which is stiffer and lighter, as a warranty issue. My Lbs said I could order parts like a spider so if I wanted to have a set of standard rings mounted on one spider and the compact rings on the other I could switch between them. I do have both length chains to switch as well. any C'dale dealer could give you pricing and availability.

Hmm lightbulb just went off in my head. Since Specialized and Cannondale both use the BB30 standard for their special BB/crank setups, if you had a Specailized and had the issue that QuickStep has reported having with the cranks you COULD upgrade to a Cannondale SI crankset.

Not a lot of people are ever going to go there but it would be an option.