Thanks 2ndGen. Man this bike is sweet. When I rode it I felt the only thing holding me back was ME! Time to start breaking her in. At this point I have no need for better wheels but in the soon to be long run I will most likely be upgrading my rims to ksyrium's. Ill ride these shimano rims till they fall off. :)

A) You don't break a CAAD in...she breaks you in! :lol:
B) Same here for me. Going for Ksyrium Elites, but waiting for Spring.
C) I had that same feeling when I upgraded to a CAAD; I had to become a better rider and I have.

There are popular sayings like it ain't the bike, it's the rider or it's about the engine, blah, blah, blah.
There's no denying that a having a good bike contributes to the development of a rider's skills and abilities.

Went through this myself just a couple months ago. Road the 105 then the Rival. The Rival was just really nice in my opinion. I thought it was worth the $200 upgrade I paid. Love the double tap shifting, love the feel of the hoods and brakes and I thought the Force crank was a nice addition and better than the FSA. Also liked the color better. I got the BBQ with Rival but it wasn't offered with 105 so that sealed the deal.

Yeah, the white with blue color looks very good and is another reason why the Rival is really tempting. Of course, I don't understand much about the rest of the details you mentioned since I'm new to this.

Nope - this one! :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEkJ5CEhKos

Current pic of my CAAD9.

Before: (w/upgraded crankset & saddle)
http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1296184085

After:
http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1296183002

Just joined the cult... bought a CAAD10 3 last week. Thanks to all for the posts on this thread and elsewhere, reading all the comments really helped push me to go out and get the bike I deserve =^)

Where the eff is the "like" button 'round here??

Congratulations and drink deep of the CAAD-Aid!

New bottle cages? Are those the kind that you can pull the bottle straight out rather than up and out the top or is it just the way they look?

Edit: and my I recommend some photography lessons? :)

Nope. Out the top. Arundel Mandibles.

Yes! Yes you may! :D

Okay, I ordered some custom wheels - black hubs, black spokes, black rims, black nipples. Too bad the braking surface has to be silver. Anyway, I was struggling with how to add some color highlights and decided to not do it on the wheels. Easier to add and change things like skewers, breaks, bar tape, bottle cages, etc.

What I'm wondering is what would be a good highlight color on the BBQ caad9? I have red nipples on the stock wheels and a bit of red in the stickers and with the new wheels I'll lose that. Red skewers and brakes could be cool, but the planet x brakes looks pretty sweet in blue, and gold, and even silver. While all black has it's merits, I think I want just a bit of color but not sure what color.

Any suggestions? Pics? Thanks.

$60 for a bottle cage? X2? Mine were $9 but I'm poor.

Actually, $78.98 for two of the best bottle cages in the world (shipped).

"Arundel...there is no substitute."
http://static.squidoo.com/resize/squ...siness-014.jpg

Gold first, then red, then blue.

Yeah, I was thinking red, but after seeing the gold planet x brakes I'm thinking that might be the way to go. I'll need to find a black bartape with some color highlights to match as well. I don't want all gold or red bartape. Seem too much.

Try Scott at: http://www.planet-x-usa.com/pCNC%20U...ht-Brakes.aspx

If he doesn't have them, then try: http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/...top-brake-pads

those cages are real hot. i watched any on CC review them a while back...they are so expensive though??! ebay? do they scratch up your bottles? my cheap heavy ones basically discolored both my bottles...

Here's a pic of my new to me CAAD9 from ebay. I just threw some parts on for the pic. I still have not decided how I will outfit this frame. I am leaning towards putting my 9sp DA group back on my 5900 and selling it to finance a Force group. The 10sp Ultegra would go on my CAAD4 after a new paint job. I have always hated the McDonald's like colors on it.

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...o/IMG_0910.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...o/IMG_0906.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...o/IMG_0904.jpg

So do these "ultralight" brakes sacrifice stopping power or safety at all? Do they work as well or better than say Rival or Force calipers (assuming the same quality pads)?

Hey, what's that last bike doing on here? :)

I have very hefty Camelbak Podium ICE bottles.
The Mandibles give nicely when I slide them in and hold them tight.

Do yourself a favor, don't sweat the cost.
It's good to have "peace of mind" when riding at a good clip that when you reach down
for your bottles, you're not going to have to struggle or fuss with what you need.
That sense of security (for me) alone is worth it.
Once you have them, you will be happy that you got them.
Every time I look at them I see my money well spent.

This pic doesn't do them justice (and they look slammin' with my Carbon Topeak Micro Rocket pump)...

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1296239386

well those are on my list of cages...they are tempting the 'buy it' button is screaming. i am looking at maybe a little more affordable ones that have a modern look. Bontrager Race X Lite (carbon, 25g) and tacx tao (non carbon 37g) not sure if the weight is such a huge issue.

Better to wait and save up your pennies and get EXACTLY what you want.
My first cages were $3.99 each. They did the job, but I NEEDED those Arundels!
:D

Just get Tacx Toa's and call it a day