Thanks. I've been keeping an eye out on eBay. I have a couple Caad 8's, not so crazy about the aesthetic changes with the 10's, so I'm interested in finding/building a 9, or 2. A poor mans SS.

Nice bike! I have been looking at caad8's for a commuter/racing frame. Cant race the 10 cause I cant afford to replace it :D

I have a 2010 CAAD9 5. I have ridden it occasionally over the last few years, but this year I have been more consistent - a 25-35 mile ride every weekend. I have the stock wheels (RS10s), and Armadillo elite/all condition 700x25 tires. I have signed up for a charity ride in a few months (88 miles), and am wondering if a wheel upgrade will give me a more comfortable ride. I have asked around and am getting mixed opinions. I was thinking of getting Ultegra 6800 wheels and Gatorskins. Will I get much benefit to this upgrade? Note that I'm 160lbs. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

tire pressure contributes to comfort. Wheels just give you lateral stiffness & aerodynamics.

Wheels are THE best upgrade you can make to your bike full stop.
The ride quality will improve slightly but the biggest difference will be in the ease of the ride on better wheels.
Rotating weight is the best place to save some grams.
For great ride quality consider getting some latex inner tubes with Vittoria Open Corsa or Michelin Pro 4 Comp tyres.
For ride quality stick with 25c tyres.
Campagnolo and Fulcrum [also made by Campag] wheels too, they are very light and have a 'bombproof' reputation.

One big method I would suggest to improve ride quality, is move to a more supple tire. Pretty much any tire you select will be more supple than a Gatorskin. Then again, if you want that flat protection, you tire selection is on point. I have a set of the go-to tire for most people ready to be mounted, Gatorskin GP4000s. For the most part, they seem to resist punctures pretty well and last for a ridiculously high amount of miles.

Running a more supple tire at a lower pressure will help smooth out your ride as well. I'm 150 pounds and tend to run 90 PSI front, 100 PSI rear on stock Mavic Aksium tires and wheels. If you switched to tubeless, you can run even lower pressures for more comfort.

And to emphasize chaser's point. Wheels are the most noticeable upgrade you can make to your bike. Shedding rotational grams will be a lot more noticeable than shedding grams in your seatpost, handlebars, stem, etc.. It seems to be the most noticeable when ascending or accelerating.

I bought the widest wheel I could (Flo30 @ 19.5mm bead to bead), run a 23mm MAxxis Detonator training tire, I run 85/95psi, I weigh 178lb. The ride is super smooth.

Thanks, yeah my neighborhood has really smooth roads. I'm also lucky because I live in socal, Irvine to be exact and we have bike trails everywhere :thumb:

Speaking of wheels

Corsa SuperLite 700c Clincher Black - Road Wheels - Wheels

After a trainer and a garmin, these might just have to be my next purchase. My 10 needs a bit of color :D

Creak of Death...

So I had a creak coming from my BB, brought it to the shop and they said it was dirty. They cleaned it out and lubed it up. This worked for about 300-400 miles. It came back with a vengeance the other day. So I cleaned the drive train, figured getting caught in the rain may have been contributing to the problem. IT WORKED....for 15 miles.

So now I am bashing my head against the wall for it is one of the most annoying noises a cyclist can experience. Does anyone have any solutions to this problem?

As a reference this is exactly what it sounds like (not my bike...or video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hizLW-zJikc

Doughboy6 that sounds awful. I would say process of elimination. Take chain off spin cranks see if it still doing it.

It's a 2014?

I've tried that, it happens with the chain and without the chain, weighted, unweighted, pedaling, backpedaling, upways, downways and sideways, but ironically not in the rain

Wow, that noise is awful.

Damn nice bike for a first.

: )

Yup, 2014 CAAD10 Ultegra with about 1500 miles on it

If it happens with chain and without that tells me it's the bb.

I suspected it was the BB, but it has already been taken apart once and repacked. I am truly at a loss at this point for a solution

It stinks! But hey sweet bike, I would go have one put in. They do have defects from the factory and sounds like you got one. The repack just made it work until grease broke down again.

I was worried that was what it was going to come down to.

And yes, it is a seriously sweet bike! Thanks!

your welcome.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7062/1...b945fc63_b.jpg

two more days..........................

If you guys found a 2014 CAAD10-3 & a 2013 CAAD10 BLK Inc for the same price, which would you purchase? Is it a no brainier?

2013.