New to bikeforums, new to the cult. Built up Caad9 coming Thursday. None of the components are mine, bought the frame and components separately. Stoked to ride it.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=249115

My CAAD
 

My new Boyd Vitesse wheels are here!
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=249680

Sweet cranks. Me envy.

Would there be a hold if I were to order right now?

Welcome to the CULT!

I had to wait 6 weeks because there was such high demand for the new Vitesse wheels. It was a painful wait, but well worth it! The value is pretty much unbeatable.

I know they just got a shipment of rims in at the end of April and have been cranking them out like hotcakes. Nicole from Boyd kept me in the loop with the status of my order and I received my wheels about a week after they got their rims shipment. I would email Boyd to see what the wait time is. I can't imagine it is long

Dumb question: how do figure out what size frame I have? I have a 2009 CAAD9 that I bought through a friend's club. I got sized before placing the order, fitted at the shop when it arrived, and haven't thought about it until now. I've checked the frame for stickers or other markings. Thanks!

If you post a picture of the frame we could probably discern it for you.

Differences Between CAAD 9 & CAAD 10
 

When the CAAD 10 first came out, many comments in this thread were critical, others took a 'wait and see' position.

Now that the dust has settled, I'd like to know what the general feeling is about the CAAD 10.

What we already know:
- CAAD 9 - made in USA, CAAD 10 - made in Taiwan (IIRC)
- CAAD 9 - beautiful welds, almost looked like a CF frame, CAAD 10 - pretty ugly welds by comparison. I haven't heard any complaints about the weld quality - this seems to be an appearance thing
- CAAD 9 - had its own unique geometry, CAAD 10 - same geometry as the Super Six Evo (though 9 and 10 both have race geometry)

I don't know how the frame weights compare - does anyone have that information?

But what we (or what I) don't know is how they compare with regard to:
- Ride
- Handling
- Stiffness
- Perceived acceleration
- Etc. I.e. the more subjective criteria.

For example - if I were to do a comparison ride with a CAAD 9 and a CAAD 10 with the same frame sizes and the same equipment, how would the two compare?

the last 1 or 2 years of the caad9 frames were made in taiwan. the made in the u.s. frames have the "made in the usa" sticker on them.

Where did you hear this? All CAAD9s were 'Handmade in USA.'

when i was working at a cannondale dealer 2009 - 2011.... the caad9's were to be one of the last models to be moved from the US mfg center.

or i could have imagined it all. it was so long ago. now i have to go looking for caad 9's without the made in the usa sticker to see if i was imagining things, or if senility has set in early.

Just from looking at it, I'd expect the 10 to have a smoother ride than the 9. I had an 8, which supposedly was only changed slightly to create the 9 (the downtube shape may have been the only difference), and the Synapse had a notably smoother ride. The 10's chainstays remind me of the Synapse's.

There's a couple 10s at one of my LBSes, but I'm not sure about any 9s. I haven't test ridden a bike in at least a year, though, just because I feel strange taking out a bike when I'm not even in the market to buy.

(adding on edit)

If the 10 is indeed an improvement over the 9, it should be the best mass-market aluminum road frame you can buy. The only quality of the 9 that I think could've improved was the smoothness, and it was supposed to be nicer than the earlier Cannondales.

I am getting the dreaded clicking and creaking from my cranks now (FSA Gossamer). It is getting worse and I need to get it looked at. I am going to pull the bearings and replace with the green loctite method that seems to work for most. I am kind of thinking about replacing the whole crankset while I am doing it though.

I would love to get the hollowgrams but not happening as they are overkill for me at this point. Would the '11 Sram Red black or '12 Force crankset work well with the rest of the 105 group. I am leaning more towards the '12 all black Force setup.

either crank should work fine.

2010 model year (which came out fall of 2009) was the last year for CAAD9 and those were handmade in USA. It was also the same year that they started coming out with the relaunched CAAD8 (not the same as original CAAD8) which were made offshore. 2011 model year was when CAAD10 made offshore came out. You are probably mistaking the foreign made "remixed" CAAD8 for the CAAD9 which was always made in the USA.

Here's my CAAD10 just waiting another week to cut the steerer tube. Then my next purchase for it will be the "slam that stem" cap.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8006/7...2dd39fd38b.jpg

For those wondering:

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2cgeszU2J1qas07q.jpg
http://slamthatstem.com/headset-bearing-cover

I think my new CAAD10-5 is doing this too, with less than 400 miles on it. Probably going to swap to a Red crank soon, but I would like to know if this is where the noise is coming from.

I have none of these creaking problems with my caad9. The english threaded BB is the main reason I decided to build up a caad9 rather than buy a new caad10. I wasn't going to take my chances after seeing all the creaky BB30 posts online. It might not even be your crankset or BB though. A lot of times it's just the seat post or something else even when it sounds like it's coming from the BB.

As for the caad9 being harsher than the caad10, I just did a century the other day on my 1-size-too-small caad9 with a slammed stem. I was fine. If the bike fits you, there won't be any issues. HTFU guys.

Is the noisy crank problem an FSA problem? My 10/4 with the Rival grouppo is quiet as can be while I am pedaling in either ring and up and down the cassette. I have read several replies here and in other posts about this. Can you please school me on this one?

FYI, creaking from what sounds to be the cranks or bottom bracket can actually be coming from a number of different places. Chainring bolts, pedals (grease and tighten), seatpost collar, and rear skewer. I've had a couple bikes that developed a creak that sounded like it was coming from cranks or bottom bracket. Absolutely convinced it was the bottom bracket. Creaked once per pedal revolution, only on the drive side, and only under real mashing. In one case it was the pedal, and in the other it was the freakin' rear skewer not being tight enough.

It seems to be isolated to the FSA gossamer if anything. For some reason this crank on other BB30 frames does this too.


As to the other people saying it can be coming from anywhere else that is true. Although I have checked everything and they are all torqued to spec. I am taking it to the shop today to have them pull the bearings and re-install with green loctite. This is what specialized does on their BB30 cranksets and seems to work for people having this issue on the FSA Gossamers.

There is a install document from specialized and a youtube video from Orbea assembly factory using green loctite (it's in a red bottle). Be careful not to use red loctite as that is suppose to be permanent and will be extremely difficult to remove later.

NWS Alpine,
Thanks much for the explanation. I have the SRAM Rival crank and had no problems with noise or poor shifting. I know the BB30 is there but if not for the decal I wouldn't know the difference. +1 on not using a "Red" Loctite on the crank or BB. The "Red" level adhesives require heat to release in most cases. We use every grade imaginable on MX dirt bikes. I have a chart for applications and How-to Use for the different products. Very handy little piece of information.

Yeah anytime I've used red properly it needs to be torched to break it free. This would destroy any painted metals or anything near it that is plastic or rubber. Not good on a BB.

This is the proper stuff for BB30 bearings. It's loctite 609 retaining compound "Green". It's purpose is to fill gaps on press fit assembly. This elimiates any play that might arise from loose BB bearings and cranks causing the clicking/creaking.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg