Cannondale question
 

I was at my LBS yesterday asking about switching rims and I mentioned that I had an interest in a CAAD-9. The shop is a Fuji and KHS dealer and the owner told me that I should avoid Cannondales because the parts on the bike are Cannondale only and more expensive than similar parts.

I can't tell if he was trying to make me buy a bike from him or if he is misinformed.

So Cannondale owners of BF, is this true?

I've highlighted the salient points.

find a new shop

Certain parts on certain Cannondales are different than mainstream parts. Whether this is a problem is another question. On a CAAD9 they may use a BB30 crank on some of them, but that's a good thing.

Just bought a CAAD9-6

Cannondale branded saddle, seatpost, stem, bars. All but the stem were replaced by the saddle, seatpost, and bars that I put on all my bikes.

When I buy a bike, I don't expect to keep those parts anyway...just like wheels.

Ah, that's what I thought. Thanks for the responses. Now to start my CAAD9 fund. :D

:rolleyes:

There is some truth in what he has said, but he's a little behind the times.

Cannondale has adopted a lot of standards that are different than what the "rest" of the bike world has been using as commonplace.

Chief among those is probably the BB30 bottom bracket. ....thing is SRAM and FSA both have pretty stout BB30 crank options now. Not to mention you can get adapters to convert the BB to the other "standard" standard (can't remember the number) for threaded shell bb's.

The headsets also differ but srsly....who cares.

Buy what you want.

Ask the shop owner if you should buy any of the proprietary wheels that I am sure he has either on display or on half of the bikes he sells. Tell him the parts for those are only available through Mavic, Shimano or Campy and that they are expensive....see what he says....

Also...FWIW - Just about EVERY shop owner I have met in the last 20 years is grossly out of touch with what the latest in the industry is. They usually barely know what their reps have been telling them. That's because they are busy running their business and moving hybrids out the door.

Like others have said, he's partly right. Biggest one that sticks out in my mind is the left fork ont heir mountain bikes, but even that can be swapped out. Why you'd want to I don't know, but it can.

I have a cannondale MTB and I've changed out probably every single part on the bike over the years through upgrades.

AFAIK the headset is just a Campy Hiddenset standard. Maybe not what Trek and Specialized are using, but it's not proprietary either.

Rings a bell so I am sure you're right....

Actually now that I think about it the last Cannondale I had in my shop had a Campy headset on it so it makes sense.

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j3...djians/1-1.jpg

Your shop sucks.

Buy a Cannondale and hot women will have secks with you.

The man speaks the truth.

You really seize on every opportunity to post pictures of yourself, or your gear, don't you?

I really wish they didn't have the writing on the seat/chain stays.

Since when did Cannondale begin sponsoring half of the forum members to be shills for them?

Hmm, what is uglier, those wide flat crank arms or that stem/steerer tube fatness?

Most likely your face, or possibly your bike.

Save some haterade for the rest of us kthnxbai.

Oh, sad, angry lil' Nick.

If I added a CaliCool mustache, would my face get uglier or prettier?

I actually like Cannondales, I just wish they didn't have so much writing on them. And, I don't like those crankarms. And, I don't understand why the only bike you are allowed to even consider buying, according to BF folks, is a Cannondale. The C-love of late is alarming.

Oh, since I don't really like posting pictures of my face on the internet, we'll just have to agree that it is ugly. However, I'll let you decide how ugly one of my bicycles is...the C&V folks just hated it! It's very, very ugly. Even with a mustache, it would still be ugly.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=565761

I like your bike, I still think you're on the haterade, and yes a mustache would help.

roftl

Yeah! We can be friends. Maybe.

This is so nice. I actually like your bike too, just not the writing on the stays, nor the crankarms. Still, it's nice.

And, I actually own a Cannondale and like it. It just seems that of late if you have $1500 you are only allowed, per forum rules, to buy a Cannondale.

I can't grow a mustache.

And who are you kidding? Everyone knows you need a dented keirin track bike to get banged by hot women.

Seriously though, almost no mainstream road bikes have many proprietary parts. They'll all use house brand stems, bars, seat posts and brakes sometimes on their lower end models which is normal. Are those parts probably made in a factory that makes parts for other companies, very very likely. Are they any lower quality, probably not.

Get the CAAD9, you won't regret it. If you do regret it, you can probably sell it and get a far higher percentage of your cost back than you would on the Fuji or KHS.

+1. That bike is ugly.

I guess the BB30 is somewhat proprietary but i still stand by your shop sucks get a CAAD.

Fixed.

A lot of LBS are full of BS. I abandoned my former LBS for, one, basically refusing to answer my questions about bottom bracket and other component options because "you don't do enough riding to know the difference." Thanks, pal, but I ride plenty to know the difference between something that works and will continue to do so, and something that doesn't. They also misidentified my bottom bracket design (it is an old Suntour integrated cup and cone thingy; they informally specialize in used vintage bikes) and instructed me to basically destroy the thing to replace the bearings. I'm glad I have more sense than that idiot.

The point is, some LBS owners/workers are misinformed and have bad attitudes toward customers who ask too many questions. Don't give your money to someone who isn't willing to listen to you and honestly help figure out what will serve you best.

If you all think Nick's cannondale is ugly I guess you must REALLY hate mine.
http://myc3g.com/photos/bikerack.jpg

Elis?