$10,000 isn't the high end, it's the absolute pinnacle of excess.

A $500 bicycle to the general public is the equivalent of say, a $40,000 car. It's where you start to get into luxury and high performance cars. A $1000 bicycle is like an $80,000 car. Both could be considered high-end. The luxury and the performance at that point might be worth it to many people. A $10,000 bicycle is the equivalent of a $1,000,000 Indy car. It is the pinnacle of engineering and performance, and probably sacrifices practically and comfort for speed (unless it's gold plated and covered in crystals, in which case the owner is just an idiot). Yes, I know that some road bikes are upwards of $20,000, but a large chunk of the cost usually involves an SRM or a PowerTap...these are the equivalent of a $10,000,000 F1 car, or a private jet, or a yacht... Costs are extreme but they have their purposes to those who can afford them.

You guys and all your silly arguing are so funny.

Us brits don't care whether it was Handmade in the USA or Taiwan. Bring on the 10!!

You're saying you wouldn't want your road bike built by Britons instead of in a third-world country?

Evidently neither was Cannondale, otherwise they wouldn't have sold their company in a distress sale.

I'm glad you devised a litlle bike to car cost conversion chart. But the issue of excess is subjective. There should be no arguing what high end is. Take the lowest priced bikes and the highest priced bikes, take a look at that spectrum and put your finger at the highest end and you have yourself. ..... high end bikes.

That is one hell of an ignorant comment.

The US started to bleed manufacturing back in the 80's so 25 years later it's no surprise that most companies that started here have gone to other countries. We blew it there and mainly I blame the gov't for enacting laws that make it cheaper to do business elsewhere. California for instance has an $800 minimum corporate tax and applying sales tax for having a presence in the state is just idiotic. For companies just starting out that hurts.

It's also not just the manufacturing, it's also the distribution chain (shipping, storage, dealers, taxes, etc.) that accounts for the bulk of the cost to consumers. It's just the way it is and expecting C'dale to adhere to an ideal is unrealistic.

It's just example.

If you go by a bell curve of bike prices, I would hazard the guess the price in the middle will be less than $500.

There are probably a thousand times as many $50 bicycles in the world than $1000 bicycles.

Saying a $10,000 bicycle is high end is like saying someone with an IQ of 200 is smart. Yes, it's true. But statistically speaking, people start to be smart when they're over say, 110.

They did it for 28 years pretty well... and made a name for themselves by building their bikes in the states.

Nah, they do just fine as a bicycle company. But they were an AWFUL motorcycle company.

:lol: Before I was a cyclist I raced motocross, and I remember their horrible failed attempt at a mx bike.

Interesting comments but which Dorel made/designed bike makes you think they know how to make good bikes (at least ones on the level of Cannondale's bikes)? Ride any nice Mongoose bikes or Schwinn bikes lately? All of the good bikes they made were designed by the previous ownership and they are now making changes, putting the Dorel stamp on things. This includes moving production to China. If anyone thinks this is because China makes better bikes, we will have to disagree about that. Unless by "better" you mean cheaper.

Dorel is a POS company and they will milk the Cannondale name until it is worthless. This is their business model. I'm sure we will see a CAAD11 and 12 coming down the road with lots of nice specifications and cheaper, sloppier Chinese workmanship. I'm not saying there are no good bikes made in Asia. Lots of well made bikes come from Asia factories. None of these bikes were designed by Dorel.

Owners of CAAD9 bikes are riding the last of a dying (or dead) breed. New owners can take pride in the fact that their Cannondale is made along side those really "nice" Dorel made Schwinn's, Mongoose, Iron Horse and Roadmaster bikes. You can check out Roadmaster at the local Wally World.

Too bad Joe Montgomery tried to start a motorcycle company. WTF was he thinking? I don't blame Doral, they just bought a brand. I'm sure they will pimp it out and milk it dry until people will eventually forget that Cannondale once made great bikes.

Are these bikes made at a Dorel factory? I suspect Dorel just outsources all their manufacturing to Asian factories, like everyone else does. I doubt Dorel has invested in Asian brick and mortar. I'd be interested to know what other bikes get made at this particular factory. My guess is this factory probably makes all the Dorel brands plus a bunch of other stuff. Some of that stuff may be found with botique names at your LBS.

Like I said, the factory gets the specs and they build the frames. It ain't rocket science. The key is the specs. What's the difference between a POS Roadmaster and a Specialized Tarmac? The engineering specs. Who makes them doesn't matter, it isn't like this is cutting edge manufacturing we're talking about.

What concerns me is the evidence that Dorel is messing with the engineering specs (as evidenced by the un-ground welds). I'd think Cannondale could go on designing great bikes (and having them built in Asia) if they are given engineering freedom. This implies that they aren't. Soon the existing staff will leave and Cannondale will be but a sticker on a Dorel frame. I was really hoping that Dorel would give Cannondale artistic license (engineering freedom) and in return would trickle some of this down to their other brands. I guess not. It's classic Dorel: buy a great brand and dumb it down so you can sell it by the pound at Wally World.

Correct. They would still be making great bikes in PA if not for the failed motorcycle fiasco. That has got to haunt Joe Montgomery, although probably not nearly as bad as the sight of a nice shiny Chinese made Cannondale bike at the local Wal Mart. Someday you will be able to peel off the Cannondale sticker to reveal Roadmaster or Schwinn on the bike! CAAD13 anyone???

I should have pointed out but the catalog I linked to is for EU. I believe you'll see a few more SRAM equipped bikes in the US lineup.

why does everyone think Dorel is in charge of the R&D ? serious question are they?



and WHY is everyone so caught up on unground welds?

in race car cages (drag racing) if you grind any of the welds on the cage it automatically makes it fail cert. they are all hand welded (tig) I'd much rather see a nice quality weld vs crap fill welding and grinding.

Chad

I agree with you to a certain extent. Dorel probably doesn't own factories but they are a giant corporate monolith, known for making complete POS bikes at the low end. They bought Cannondale brand on the cheap and I expect them to milk it dry. Have you seen any nice Schwinn bikes lately?

Unlike Specialized which has been designing great bikes for a long time, Dorel is a holding company. They own several low end bike companies, low end kid seats and crappy furniture. I'm sure they will put the same R&D effort into their bikes as they do their low end junk.

Spec's are important but I have to think that toxic drywall from China didn't have mold and poison on the spec sheet.

http://www.chinesedrywalltoxic.com/

why do you think they are in charge of the R&D?

Chad

Incorrect

Grinding the weld makes discontinuities in the grain structure which hurts fatigue life. There is a way to dress aluminum welds that actually helps fatigue life, it's called 'toe-grinding'. Incidentally, this does not include grinding the bead itself, but the HAZ on either side of the bead. What the C'dale did with their previous bikes was not this.

For you guys that want a bike made in the US, C'dale was never your only option. Try these.

http://www.tsunamibikes.com/Tsunami_Bikes/Road.html

or

http://spookybikes.wordpress.com/

[/B][/B]
DIRTY, In a good way.

1: Taiwan is not a "third-world country".
2: Google "British Leyland".

Canondale went bankrupt in 2003. They were bought by a holding company who them sold them off to Dorel. "Cannondale" ceased to exist in 2003 and really had no say in the matter. Bottom line is that they were not doing well, so why would the company that bought them continue to do what wasn't working?

Exactly...Cannondale is a great company And they are making every effort to keep there company going, If its takes going overseas to build there CAAD'S, then so be it.....Im still a Fan...