I can not speak for him but I can tell you why I am doing it. My bike is probably going to end up costing me in the 3500 dollar range. These components are going to be comparable, if not better than any 6k+ bike you'll find sitting at your lbs. The frame I am using, a caad10, is as light as most mid range carbon(3-5k bikes) but stiffer. This bike will be exactly what I want, because I am choosing the parts. Also if I decide down the rode I want to "upgrade" my frame I will have great components.

Because not everyone has 4500 to dump right away. If I did, I'd be riding something completely different. This way I can gradually upgrade my CAAD, and maybe one day throw down some money for the BMC or Look frame I'd like... and I'll be done (yeah right, ill find something to upgrade.. lol).

Bike: caad9-4 - 1500.00
DA Cassette: 200.00
DA Chain: 50.00

Eventual purchases:
Look Keo carbons: 500
Carbon bars: 300
Zipp 101's: 1300
Garmin edge 500: 250
SRAM Red crankset: 400

thats 2750 alone. I'm sure I can find some other things to upgrade in the mean time.. derailers, seatpost, TI skewers...

4300.00

I can get FORCE on a BMC Pro Machine for 4200.. but would I have as nice bars? or look keo carbon blades? and wheels? Nope, I get 1700gram eastons... 100 grams less than the cheap rs10's I have stock on the CAAD.

But I get what you're saying.. though, I did ride 2 full carbon bikes before I rode the CAAD and honestly they just felt weird to me. I'm coming from steel, that might be part of it. Believe it or not, it felt flexy like my steel frame. Thats why I felt (FOR ME) the best combination was alu/carbon.

Because everybody is moving their manufacturing to Asia, Cannondale had to. No, I'm not one bit happy about it... I liked the idea that US bicycle designers, engineers and manufacturers were going head to head with the best from other nations and doing well. Gotta wonder if their foray into motorcycling and all of that monetary loss played a part. If I had to buy a new frame set, it'd be Cannondale.

bikerjp, Some of the early aluminum framed bikes (Vitus, for one) didn't create much confidence in the material, but Cannondale and Klein pretty much fixed that over time. Carbon fiber is the darling material at the moment so everyone has to produce a line of CF bikes to stay in business, but I don't think CF is any kind of upgrade from aluminum, nothing against CF tho'. When the modern CF frames are 21 years old like my 3.0 are they going to be rideable, much less upgradeable? Time will tell.

What tires and bar tape are you using on the black and green bike, I love the look!

They make bikes in Thailand now?

justifying pedals that cost 1/3 of your bike? buy some nicer shifters, at least you'll notice the difference

Nope. Because all the parts are transferable to another frameset.
So that's $4000. of parts that I can keep forever until they wear out.


That's one of those "If you have to ask..." questions.
I have a bike that performs as well as bikes costing twice as much.
And in reality, it only cost me $550. (after selling off the original drivetrain).

:D

Me, I either go entry-level or full-bore.
My next bike will be a HiMOD league rig.
And...I'm not a SRAM fan.

The only thing I'd keep from a SuperSix Red bike would be the wheelset.

Everything else would have to go.
Add another $3000. to that price
after I sell of the OEM parts maybe.

And the color. No likey. :(

I'd prefer the Dura Ace SuperSix (if I had to buy a SuperSix). JET BLACK! NICE!
Cost less, better groupset for me, but will need new wheels, cockpit, brakes.
Another $1000. to the price (after I sell off the take-off parts).
So, it jumps from $4500. to $5500. minimum.

See? They call it a Dura Ace bike, but only the shifters and derailleurs are DA.
Everything else is 2nd tier Ultegra or FSA.

Did I mention the crankset would have to go to match my bike's crankset?
So now, I'd have to get a crankset as well...in the immortal words
of Wiz and Iceman: "Mo' money, mo' money, mo' money!" :lol:

And I STILL wouldn't have the frameset I'd really want...the HiMOD.

Ok, get say a SuperSix...now build it with my specs.

How much is it going to cost you then? $6000. (parts: $2500.+ sell off stock parts - $500. + my build $4000.).
For 4G's, you're not going to get a plastic bike with a build anywhere near what my bike is rockin'.
You'll probably get something with a "mix" of mostly 2nd tier parts with a few bling
bits thrown in so that they can advertise "Dura Ace" or "Red" for that money.

And carbon isn't automatically always better.

I wouldn't buy a $4,000. then upgrade it.

By the time it's my definition of perfect, it'll be up to twice it's cost.
No matter what bike I get, I'm going to personalize it (cockpit, wheels, etc...),
unless I purchase something with a nearly complete spec (like a Madone 6.X).

A $4K bike (for me) will need a cockpit, wheelset, tires, brakepads, and drivetrain.
Then it turns out that I'll just be overpaying for a 2nd tier frameset.
Bikes like that make sense for someone who's happy with it "as is"
and will never regret never getting the top of the line frameset.

I didn't buy my CAAD to sell it or to reoup my cost on it.
When you buy a bike out of love, money don't matter.

:D


My original plan was to buy the CAAD, build it up,
ride the hell out of it until I could afford a really nice carbon frameset,
then transfer all the parts over to the new framset.

Then, I was going to "down" build the CAAD into a more race oriented beater bike
(used 105 groupset, trainer wheels, etc...).

BUT! Now I'm NOT going to transfer the parts over because I've fallen in love with the CAAD!
(a common occurrence among the CAAD cult!)

And no matter what, it's well worth the $4500. I'll invest into it.
It will STILL be the best bang for the buck bike available.

BINGO!

That's why I did it too.
I personalized my bike to my standards (not the manufacturer's).
So, it's custom tailored to my needs and DAMN does it look good!

:D

(post pics when you get yours!)





BINGO II!

Exactly!

Pedals are personal and should be purchased to please the rider.
I think every rider should get the best that they can afford of anything and if good
quality pedals that cost more than average are the best for one, by all means.

Remember, for some, not all pedals are compatible.
Some might not prefer certain styles.
Some pedals might cause the rider hotspots that others don't.
What if they're above average in cost? Does he suffer just to save a few bucks?

Maybe, jussssst maybe, he notices the difference with his pedals.

:D

Just saw the Caad 10. That's some impressive looking tubing and construction. I know its mostly styling, but the way the seat stays wrap around to meet the TT is very cool. Looks great in white.

Thanks for the feedback. I only chose the six as an example of a bike in the same price range. I was just wondering about the process you went through and you gave me a detailed answer. One thing I'm reading in this from you and a couple others is that the caad frame is excellent and worthy of upgrading to that level. Thanks.

I'd rather invest the money elsewhere, I've been threw a lot of pedals and maybe I just beat them up but I really need to throw down money for some very high quality pedals. I may not go with 500.00 pedals, they just happened to pop into my head because lets be honest.. they are badass pedals.

You're right actually, thank you. I have all kinds of pedal/shoe/cleat issues I need to work on. I can't find a comfortable spot with my right leg, which prematurely causes pain and tightness all the time. When I do find a nice spot.. my crap (right) pedal has been locking up and wont release my right cleat until I've pushed hard enough with all my weight to twist my cleat out of alignment and wear the cleat incorrectly. If I make it any looser, it's too loose and I fear my right leg will fall out when climbing or something. 500.00 pedals may not be the answer, but higher quality pedals will at least help.

New pedals for me are probably less than a few weeks away.. And again, may not get those or spend that much. I'm still not sure. Just threw them out there cause imo they are pretty badass pedals.

Think about the things you feel the most on your bike... saddle, hoods/bars, pedals?

Let's be honest, $500.?


http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/roa...DA110000000000

Yes, let's be honest. Is it that you feel I'm absurd for spending that much on pedals, or that you wish you could do the same?

please leavu my bike shop-u...

I often wear cut off jeans over my bike shorts when I'm on my fixie... while riding to the store to get PBR. :)

PEDALS. not shifters, not anything else in the drivetrain, not some sweet gold plated bottle cages, not cocaine. PEDALS

something that will always get scuffed and for the most part function exactly the same regardless of spring or spindle material

That's an *******-ish statement.

Whatever your pedal problem has been, it's not because they were cheap.

You are so bent about my pedal choice that I really haven't even made yet... lol.

When I move back to Baltimore, we should ride. I'll wear my cutoffs and we can talk pedals.

That was the point of me saying it. I'm glad you were quick enough to pick up on that.

If nobody made such a big deal about it, I wouldn't have even cared much less been an ass about it. But now I'm just trying to hate as much as possible.

They look like badass pedals, though. For myself, though, I got some RXS First pedals when I got my frameset from CC:
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/pr...734.228.0.html

http://imgur.com/sNKYR.jpg

Sorry for the bad pic quality. Its been sitting for to long, but currently has Red crank, 3t doric seat post, and a deda zero100 stem. I just bought some dura ace wheels as well that should be here next week. Plans are Red shifters for zero loss, force derailers, and 3t bars. I am not really sure about saddle or brakes yet. I am mixed on getting red brakes, or just some light weight brakes like planet x.

I looked at RXS too. Do you have the "cafe cleat" that you can get with them? I like all the Time's actually, they have that open look. However, they all look a bit narrow? I have a big wide foot I need a nice sized platform for.

I have those pedals...and I just ordered a CAAAD10...

the pedals rock..

Hope the frame does too

Mine came with those cleats, yeah. They feel fine to me and my size 12 feet. Half of the platform width, IMO, is the cleat itself -- I was previously using CB Quattro and Eggbeater pedals with CB's fat 3-hole cleat, and it felt nicer than shoes with the plain CB cleat. The other half (IMO again) is the stiffness of the sole -- I had some inexpensive MTB/casual shoes that gave me hot spots after half an hour (they didn't start to hurt until maybe an hour after that, though).

Then again, that's been the extent of my experience with clipless pedals. I don't even want to bother with Speedplay because I keep reading about guys having to keep the cleats clean (and the cleats themselves look like overbuilt monstrosities, honestly). I'm not that excited about Keo and SPD-SL either because they appear to rely on spring tension to keep the cleat in place. I think that if you pulled straight up on Time and CB pedals, the cleats will have to either break or pull the threaded inserts out of the shoe before popping out of the pedal. Plus, I haven't yet had to worry about where I walk with the Time cleats (I'll find out someday if they're as mudproof as CB).