czar

I am thinking of returning to road biking (after a 15 year hiatus) and have narrowed the choices to the following. I have test ridden all of them and they all fit well, however I could not percieve significant differences in the ride quality. The CAAD 9 fit was very slightly more extreme than the other 4 choices. All the bikes are well with in my budget at this time. Goals are to ride for fitness initially combined with some group rides. May try some low level racing if I get better at it. I am 6'2'' tall and weight 225lb.
1) Felt F75 (105 /Ultegra) - $ 1199
2) Felt F85 (105/Ultegra) - $799
3) CAAD 9 6 (Tiagra) - $799
4) Synapse 6 (Tiagra) - $849
5) Trek 2.1 (Tiagra) - $1199

I would appreciate any comments from some of the experts on this board on - quality, value for money, customer service. The first 4 bikes were at one LBS while the Trek was at a Trek specific BS. FWIW, the Trek salesman was not as helpful as the one at the first LBS. Interestingly, the guy at the first LBS recommended the Synapse over the Felt choices because of better frame quality. Is the Tiagra set decent or should I choose the Felts due to the higher level groupset?

So what does everyone think? Thanks in advance!

P.S. I did a search on the site and have read the various threads on such topics already.

GreenD

Cervelo

sojourn

Felt.......much better bang for the buck IMHO!

bratton

f85 for that price. id say get a better equipped caaad9 if you want to spend the cash

dmb2786

get a caad9 with 105

joelh

I have an 03 Felt F65 and it remains a great bike. I'm sure the cannondale is a good bike, but I would think twice walking away from the component set on the felts

dcvelo

That's a good price on the CAAD9 6...would they be able to do a CAAD9 5 in your price range...that would solve the component issue for ya.

By the way, the phrase "Trek specific BS" is a beaut....

rizz

Your list really tells the tale: Cannondales tend to have higher end frames with lower end groups while Felts tend to have less desired frames with better components.

While I'm not sure about the Felt and Trek prices, the Cannondales you listed are pretty smoking deals. Around here a CAAD9 6 is $950.

My final comment is that I rode both Felts mentioned and a pre-'09 CAAD and elected to get a CAAD9 which I now use for my 100-200 miles per week.

czar

Would love to, but the prices I have seen here are significantly outside my current budget

czar

Thanks for your comments guys! I think Rizz nailed it with the comment on the difference between the Felts and the Cannondales. I will inquire about the higher spec model in the CAAD 9 series (they did not have one displayed)

cyclewolf

Which shop are you finding those Cannondale prices at? I'm close enough to Cincy it might be worth me checking it out.

MONGO!

The Felts are a good deal but I'd take a 105 CAAD9 over either.

Have you ridden any of them?
The Felts and the CAAD have pretty aggressive geometries, the Synapse less so, depennding on your riding style it may be a better choice.

sfcrossrider

I'd take a CAAD9 frame over most Cervelo frames. In fact... I would take it over all of them.

czar

Update - Going into my local LBS this Wed to finalize the purchase. Will be fitted to either a 58 or 60 Cannondale Synapse 6 in the white color (2008) model. The LBS was very accomodating in the price negotiations and is throwing in some freebies (helmets, etc..)
https://www.cannondale.com/bikes/08/c...el-8RAS6T.html

I test rode a Bianchi via Nirone this week-end and it felt very good. Also rode a CAAD 9 with the Tiagra group set - amazing bike, very responsive but it felt a bit harsh on the pavement, plus it may be too much bike for my needs at this time.

Can't wait!

czar

Will PM you shortly with the name.