bruce19

My CAAD 12 is also 105 and it is really good. I have a GURU Sidero (steel) w/SRAM Red. As far as shifting function goes they are pretty close. Both bikes weigh about 17 lbs 10 oz. Both have Mavic UST (tubeless) and Speedplay Zeros. But, I'm converting my GFs bike to SRAM electronic next season. And, then switching her Ultegra 11 sp mechanical over to my CAAD 12. Looking forward to it.

Digger6255 

I just got back from a quick 10 mile shakedown ride on the new CAAD and the 105 shifts exactly like the Ultegra 6800 on my Ridley. This has a 120 stem and I have a 92 on my Ridley so will probably do the same although I may only want to go to a 100 after a saddle adjustment. My Ridley is a nice bike but after 1 short ride, I can say without a doubt the CAAD13 is much nicer.

Vavida52

I turned my CAD2 R300 to a race machine with Dura Ace/Ultegra parts. Loving it. Those CAD frames are simply amazing and timeless.

Mojo31

Headers will save you some watts, that's for sure!

Nice pickup.

jim dandy

My other two Caads ….
JD

‘98 Caad2 R300

2013 Caad8 Sora7

SoSmellyAir

The 105 CAAD13 is available in my size at my LBS in both rim and disc brake versions. I am considering the disc version.

Does anyone here have any firsthand experience on both this bike and a Cannondale Synapse?

Or I can wait patiently for a Canyon Endurace in my size to become available in a few months.

Robert A

Not CAAD13, but CAAD12 and the Synapse of the time. My own body geometry works better with the CAAD because of the lower stack height. Me and the Synapse (or any endurance bike) don't jell, but I have shorter longs in relation to the length of my torso.

If you're ordering a CAAD with disc brakes, check the weight. It can be a bit heavy in 105 guise.

masi61

Just curious: for those Cannondale CAAD owners that have the BB30 frames and use Cannondale Hollowgram cranks: is there any resource for how to mix and match axles in order to run a BB30 / Hollowgram triple road crank? I collected some mountain spacers and several of the longer axles and used a triple Hollowgram spider that takes trekking triple chainrings and the set up should work but getting the bolts to torque without compressing the bearings in a weird way seems mysterious to me. Maybe Cannondale published a PDF manual on this? Thanks for any help.

SoSmellyAir

I plan to upgrade to carbon fiber handlebar, KNOT seat post, and wheels, which will likely run $1,500. That said, it does seem counterintuitive to buy a new bike that is heavier than my current bike.

bruce19

My experience is with the CAAD 12 a pic of which I've posted here. I have as 32.5" inseam and I bought a 52 frame which is actually a 54.It's the 105 rim brake version. With Mavic USTs it weighs around 17 lb 11 oz. It's a great bike to ride. I recently looked at Canyon bikes and their sizing leaves me in the middle of S and M. I'm generally unimpressed with the whole S-M-L sizing scheme.

Hwnryd31

Hi, looking to get a new bike and CAAD13 Disc 105 in Red looks very tempting. I test rode it and it seems like quite a nice bike. One question though,
the hubs on the bike seem to be totally silent, Formula hubs. At the same time I test rode Synapse bike with different wheels but I guess also
Formula hubs as that setup was totally silent as well. I am not sure I like this, I like to have a some "clicking" coming out of the hub when not pedaling,
I think it also helps with pedestrians to notice you coming in behind and such. I wonder what people think about these silent hubs ?

Hwnryd31

I only test rode CAAD13 105 Disc next to the Synapse Carbon 105 disc, so no long term experience. I was told the Synapse ran a bit smaller compared to CAAD, so while the CAAD I tested was 54cm
the Synapse was 56cm. I didn't really gel with Synapse. It seemed too upright but also I think it was just slightly big. Not sure if LBS folks just said it ran smaller
because they didn't have 54cm version for me to test or whether there was other issues with me not geling with Synapse. For refeernce when I tested Domane SL5 the 56cm
was a better fir there, as was Cervelo Caledonia. I think CAAD is the one I want, it's cheaper then the others but I enjoyed it best at test ride. I just wish the Formula hubs would make a sound when
cruising, somehow the silence seems to bother me...

SoSmellyAir

Synapse (54): reach = 382 mm, stack = 570 mm, seat tube angle = 73.9*, effective top tube = 547 mm.
CAAD13 (54): reach = 384 mm, stack = 555 mm, seat tube angle = 73.7*, effective top tube = 546 mm.

Stack is the only significant difference between the two, so if you also felt that the Synapse was too big, that sounds like (to me) mostly due to test riding the size 56.

The wheels on either 105 Cannondale bike are ripe for an upgrade, so just buy a set with a louder freehub. Most pedestrians are oblivious so if the sole purpose is to alert them, a louder freehub does not do all that much.

Hwnryd31

@SoSmellyAirm thanks for the info. It sounds like you think the size was simply the issue, and I suspected that as well, oh well,
hard to find these bikes these days elsewhere to test with needed sizes so I can't compare the two adequately enough.

Anyway, the wheels on the bikes as you say might not be best but I was hoping I do not need to go for an upgrade as I'm not a racer,
I just need decent wheels that will work well and, quite frankly, look good enough, which these DT Swiss R470's seem to fit the bill.
It's just the silence of the hubs that makes me second guess them. Maybe it's unnecessary concern in practice and I just need
to get over it. Just wanted to see if anyone had experience with the hubs in these wheels, if they're good enough and the lack of sound is a non-issue.

Leinster

If you prefer noisy hubs, upgrade the wheels is probably the easiest (and funnest) answer. I prefer quieter wheels myself, but each to their own.

For alerting pedestrians, I’d just get a bell. They’re much less surprising than a freehub rattle, and much more what a walker’s ears are in tune to hear. You won’t frighten them, and won’t have to stop pedaling to alert them, so overall you’ll have a more positive interaction wit other trail/MUP users.

SoSmellyAir

The CAAD13 discs at my LBS (REI) comes with Cannondale RD 2.0 rims laced to Formula hubs, not DT Swiss R470 wheels.

Anyway, 3 days after I discovered its availability, REI has sold out of sizes 51, 54, and 56. So I won't be joining the Cult of CAAD for the foreseeable future.

Hwnryd31

Yup, it looks like some bikes have RD 2.0 and some R470, I like the look of the latter much better hence hoping I would not need to upgrade from these.

the sci guy 

Ahoy everyone!! Excited to join this thread.
I picked up my dream bike last month - a 2001 R1000 CAAD4. It's almost like new condition, save a decent scrape on the chainstay where there was some obvious chainsuck. But the frame, and the components look almost new. Like, they were almost never ridden. A mix of gorgeous 105 and Ultegra stuff. Here's what it looked like when I got it:


Here's my Flickr album with all the pics I took of the condition of everything if you're interested (this is where I'll put all the update pics as well): 2001 Cannondale R1000 CAAD4 Rebuild/Upgrade | Flickr

Anyway, here's my questions...
I plan to strip it all down to the frame and build it back with everything new; BB, headset, groupset...everything. For the major stuff, I'm planning on going with 105 for FD/RD/crank/cassette/brifters. The BB is simple enough to match the crank, but I'm wondering about the headset. It's before the integrated threadless headset time, and I keep coming across the term "Aheadset" - can't tell if that's a brand or a style. Any insight there?
My biggest quandary is wheels. I am looking to spend around $300-400 for a pretty decent set of light wheels (not carbon). But, there are so many options out there I don't even know where to begin looking - so I'm open to suggestions. My first thought was a set of h plus son archetypes. Appreciate any help here!

Thanks!

Oh btw I rebuilt and rode a 1999 R300 for a little while, but sold it last year:

Leinster

Aheadset is a brand name, and they invented the threadless headset, like the one seen on your bike.

https://cyclingtips.com/2017/08/orig...bikes-forever/

the sci guy 

neat story. But basically I can get any external threadless headset it seems, right?

Leinster

Any threadless headset that’s the right size, yes. I would measure the top tube and fork diameter and make sure if what you’re getting. But yes, a standard threadless will work.

I would say there’s no urgency to replace the headset, unless the existing one doesn’t actually work.

Phatman

Maybe I'm just weird, but I think I would probably just update the contact points (saddle, bars, pedals) to the current ones I'm riding and get a stem that fits and just ride it like that. Open Pros are pretty solid rims and they're ORANGE to match the bike. Sure they're not tubeless compatible and they're a little narrow for "modern" biking, but I put a ****-ton of miles on some Open Pros back in college.

the sci guy 

I got this to be my main road/race bike. I already have a vintage steel road bike that I love so this is going to be my "i don't want to buy a new massively overpriced carbon bike with geometry & frame design & colors that I hate" bike. So, I want it to be as updated as possible. All the bits I took off are probably going to transfer over only aforementioned vintage steel road bike.

Hwnryd31

Just wanted to follow up on my previous posts. I ended up getting the new CAAD13 disc from LBS. It's a nice bike, smooth and actually comfortable. A little more than wanted to spend on an aluminum bike, but seems like not much different in feel from my old parlee z4 cf bike. Only negative is it actually does feel a bit heavier than parlee, but that's the discs and heavier wheels I guess. I might upgrade to carbon wheels in the future to get a bit more of that snappy feel, but will run on the r470s for a while and see if I might just get used to them just fine. I only rode few short distances so far, as weather is crap, but so far so good. Can't wait for spring and getting more use out of it!

SoSmellyAir

Congratulations. As for the wheels, Robert A noted the same point above.