donreb

Greetings, after months of shopping & asking this great forum for advice, I officially became a CAAD 9 owner today, very excited! I Purchased a 2009 CAAD9 6 from Pro Bikes in Pittsburgh (Great Experience, Thank you all). Cannondale lists on their online spec sheet that my bike should have come with a C4 stem, mine has a C3, first, what's the difference between a C3 & C4 stem, and second did anyone else have their March built 09 CAAD9 6 come with a C3 stem. And what length stem should be on the bike from cannondale? If I am measuring correctly I have a 110mm. Thanks in advance, Don

enjoi07

you are measuring correctly.
c2=seatpost
c3=stem
c4=bars

aaaiiigghhht?

zzzwillzzz

that's the wrong question to ask. the correct question is 'is the stem the right size for you?'. if the shop you bought it from is decent they will swap it out for the correct size

rangerdavid

I wrote and asked Cannondale the same questions about mine. It depends on what size bike you bought. If yours is a 54 like mine, then the stock stem is 110.

Spinz

1+ Lp

enjoi07

mine is a 56 with stock 110.

donreb

Thanks everyone for all your responses, I just called cannondale (very helpful) and they told me that the C3 was the stem they used all year on a 2009 CAAD9 6 , but that on a 52 cm frame would have shipped with a 90mm stem. Does anyone else have a 52cm frame that came from the factory with a 110mm stem? I wonder if the bike shop may have switched it (for another potential customer) prior to me purchasing it? Thanks, Don

AngryScientist 

honestly who cares what its supposed to ship with. before taking the bike home most good shops should make sure you are at least relatively comfortable on the bike and swap stems for you if necessary.

Little Darwin

+1

Unless you are planning to put this in a time capsule for donation to a museum in 30 years, then which stem any bike came with is irrelevant, since it is one of the first parts swapped to get a good fit.

If you are afraid your bike shop ripped you off somehow, a point to consider. They probably also swapped out the factory air in the tires too... this is almost as relevant as as minor variation in the stem.

donreb

I well understand that the stem is the first thing that gets changed for a good fit. The bike shop did check the fit before they sold it to me, but I am sure they believed the correct stem (as from the factory) was on the bike I realize that the difference of 20MM (110 vs 90) is only about .80 of a inch, but because of size I may have benefited from the shorter stem. The 110 looked and felt pretty good, but would the 90 be even better?

lemak

first off, i bought my caad 9-6 in february and it had the C4 stem on it, 54cm bike and the stock stem was 110.

its tough to say what stem is correct for you, its going to be different for every person. the only thing that matters is comfort! and if you already havent "flip it"!!!

donreb

thanks lemak, there is no question that the 54's came with a 110, but where are all my 52cm brothers and sisters? please tell me what size came on your 52's!

lemak

well if u did measure it and you came out with 110 then more then likely that what it is. if it is comfortable does it really matter? or do u really feel that u need a shorter stem? if u want to try a 100mm stem out and see if it fits u better then i am always in the greater pittsburgh area and could let u try it out. its a cannondale C4 stem off of my caad 9

DevDel

If the shop gave you a quick fit, you're probably at least in the ballpark. If you don't do stretches for your lower back, buttucks and back of legs it's always going to feel like the stem is too long.

So start stretching, ride the darn bike and in a month start worrying about fine tuning the fit. Pay attention to where your hands always end up in relation to the hoods when you reach naturally. Your body will tell you what you need if you listen, but if you are tight and unfit, it will always whisper "higher" and "closer" untill you are sitting up like a sail, and then you might as well buy a commuter instead of that racey C-9!

donreb

Great advice DevDel! Ride it and then fine tune the fit. Thank you!