Originally Posted by coachboyd (Post 15994116)

He averaged 16.7mph (on a 10% downhill!).

Originally Posted by bikerjp (Post 15993469)

I'd like me a set of those with a powertap. Not convinced, however, that their new carbon is worry-free and I can't see going tubular as a rec rider.

Originally Posted by THSdrummer (Post 15994895)

I understand and agree. For my riding style, I really don't have a good reason to for carbon wheels. I like to go out and hammer myself for an hour solo, so sure the carbon clinchers would help me snatch up some more Strava KoMs, but so would quitting running and focusing on cycling. Tubulars would be sweet, but just way overkill for my riding needs. It seems you can find tubular 2012 Zipp 303s on sale everywhere, just not sure it's worth it!

Coachboyd, thanks for the post. The re-designed rims are certainly of interest. No major ascents or descents around here, but I do get brake happy occasionally - I am working on it. I'd certainly like to have a lighter set of wheels, and an aero advantage would be swell, but just not necessary at this point in time for me.

Originally Posted by coachboyd (Post 15994977)

I actually talk more people out of carbon and into an alloy set than vice versa. A lot of people (even me) like carbon because it's cool and fun. But for practical, a good alloy wheel can't be beat. Our alloy set is by far our best seller, mainly because we push it as the wheelset that there's never a bad time to use it.

Originally Posted by Autopilot (Post 15995093)

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=336653

CAAD10-5, 50 cm frame with Campy Zonda rims, Conti GS4000 tires, Shimano Ultegra cassette, new handlebar tape. Rest of the bike is stock

Originally Posted by oldprobmx (Post 15995797)

CAAD's can climb.
http://www.strava.com/activities/75209768

Originally Posted by coachboyd (Post 15994116)

I would confidently say they are worry free as long as you use common sense. I can take my car down any mountain road around here, but if I ride the brakes in the car for miles on end I'll burn up the rotors. That being said, in all the carbon clinchers we have sold this year all throughout the world we have had one failure due to heat build up. It was from a 200+ pound rider who descended a 2.5 mile 10% average grade mountain. Normal times for this descent are around high 3 minutes to mid 4 minutes, it took him over 9 minutes to go down. He averaged 16.7mph (on a 10% downhill!). There was a prolonged period of time where he was going 12mph. Finally after 9 minutes of this the rear wheel finally started to bow outward a bit. He had thought it was just out of true when he sent it to us. The front wheel was perfectly fine which means he was really dragging that rear brake (which is even worse for heat build up).
So, we can't say they are "indestructible" (which we never tried to) and still encourage people to know proper braking technique. But I am confident the rims withstand just as good as any other carbon rim out there, even comparing to the companies who state they have never had a failure (despite there being two separate claims of them failing on Slowtwitch in the past week).

Originally Posted by Notgrownup (Post 15996564)

I have a question about CAAD aluminum VS Carbon frame bikes...I am a newbie yes...Is it safe to say that you can presume that a CAAD 8 or 10 frame is light enough and sturdy enough to be a better choice than a carbon frame bike...My CAAD8 is the least expensive i could get with the 2300 groupset but for me as a noobie it is a REALLY nice bike, i know i will want to upgrade eventually Maybe even the Synapse perhaps but i was actually looking at maybe the CAAD10 rival or Ultegra and it seems to be a great bike....Is there really any reason for me to go to carbon...frame at all ...the weight difference isn't that much and probably wouldn't make a difference for the guy like me using it for exercise and nice 25-50 mile rides on the weekend....

Originally Posted by bikerjp (Post 15996795)

Probably not. If you really want a carbon bike then sure, why not. However, I don't think any average person is going to notice much difference between a caad10 and a similar carbon bike. Wheels, tires, air pressure make more of a difference in ride quality and when you are on a well built aluminum bike it's hard to tell much difference. I have a carbon synapse and a caad9 and while the fit is different, it's really hard to tell a difference in ride quality and at times I think the caad is actually the better ride.

That said, however, there is some merit in considering something like a synapse over a caad if it suits your riding style better. The caad is a more aggressive position and race oriented and a synapse is more endurance and long distance oriented. You can, of course race a synapse or do long rides on a caad but it's worth checking them both out to see what you like riding best. I do think the carbon synapse is a better option than the aluminum synapse which I found a lot more flex-y than a caad.

Originally Posted by bianchi10 (Post 15996899)

I don't know, I noticed a pretty big difference when I went from aluminum to carbon. I have ridden a caad10 with my own wheels on it and still feel my supersix feels smoother.

Originally Posted by Notgrownup (Post 15996850)

I like the geometry of the Synapse but got such a good deal on the CAAD8 that i hated to pass it up...I may sell it or keep it and get a Synapse...I do like the Cannondale brand as a whole, i always have...

Originally Posted by Nagrom_ (Post 15997109)

Go with option 1.

Least resistance, and you can get everything you want. No generic house junk.

Originally Posted by Leinster (Post 15997265)

I'm leaning the furthest away from 1. Not only would it be the most expensive option, but also since Cannondale don't offer a frame-only CAAD 10, I'd be picking up a stripped frame on ebay/CL not knowing what's been done with it.

Originally Posted by bikerjp (Post 15997042)

What aluminum to carbon? Not all aluminum bikes are equal.

I road a supersix with my own wheels and what you call smooth I call muted - and it was a rather subtle difference. I also felt the BB was stiffer on the caad but hard to rule out placebo effects. And there is a $900 difference between an ultegra caad10 and supersix. Point is, the caad is really nice aluminum bike and it's unlikely one would be able to find a mid-level carbon bike that is obviously superior but there is certainly some subjectivity and personal preference involved.