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Actually, I have some (a lot) of questions for those more knowledgeable. Sorry if these seems noobish, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
-There's pieces of clear plastic covering the chainstays and at the point where the cable meets the frame on the head tube. The one on the chainstay sticks out and hits my pedal a lot, and it's accumulating grime beneath it. Is there any reason to keep this here? Is it supposed to be part of the bike? -I notice when shifting the front gear from the high to the low, sometimes it jams (and causes a good bit of knee pain). I'm new to this type of shifting -- is there something I'm doing wrong? -I made a very stupid mistake too. I took the rear wheel off to transport the bike but I foolishly forgot to set the gear to the smallest chainring. Of course, when I put the chain back on, I just guessed which ring to put it back on, but I think I got it wrong because the shifting's sort of weird now. Is there a way I can fix this myself without looking like an idiot and taking it back to the bike shop so soon? -I notice I'm slowly starting to accumulate scratches -- putting my cleats into the pedals sort of nicks the crank arms, and small rocks hit the lower parts of the frame. The scratches are VERY small, but is anyone else OCD to the extent I am about this? Of course I don't want to keep it in a glass case, but I'd like to minimize aesthetic damage. -Along the same sort of thought, I put my cheap $20 Target speedometer onto the fork. It has rubber padding beneath it and is attached with zipp ties, but this isn't going to scratch it is it? I plan on getting a Cateye once I recoup enough funds, and I assume these are secured in a better way. -Last question! I was going downhill pretty fast and realized I was about to miss my turn. I slammed on the brakes, and to my horror the bike skidded and jumped like 10 feet. I have no clue how I avoided crashing or falling over, but I'd like to not repeat this. I pressed both brakes at the same time, but is this normal behavior for a road bike? |
jeez, where to begin...
1: normally you can leave those there - they're to protect the stays from chainslap, and the head tube from rubbing cable housing. If the one on your stay nicks your pedal, you can take a razor or something and carefully excise that one part, keeping the rest of it on. It'll look far worse with a bunch of nicks/gouges in your chainstay after you've had the bike a while. 2: what groupset are you running? It might just be a technique thing, and you need to get used to clicking all the way up/down to get a full shift, instead of just trim adjustments. and are your shifters/derailleurs set up properly? (see number 3). 3: yes. google "derailleur adjustment" and I'm sure you'll find a bunch of videos/how to pages for such a task. worst case scenario, unless you throw the rear der. into the spokes while shifting, you're not really going to break anything, so you can always take it to the shop and have them look at it if you cant get it right. Also, because it's a new bike, you might just be able to take it to the shop and say "hey, it's starting to break in a little bit. Would you mind tightening everything up, and showing me how to do it so I can make adjustments in the future?" 4: deal with it. unfortunately, a bike is going to accumulate some minor abrasions. As long as you keep the bike clean of dirt and mud, minor imperfections only serve to boost the bike's character, and serve as a testament to how often you ride. 5: see number 4. 6: it's normal if you're doing it wrong. it's all about technique. You can stop fast, but if you just yank on the brakes, you're asking for trouble. Even if you want to stop fast, you have to be smooth with your braking technique. Also, make sure to scoot yourself back on the saddle for the most rearward center of gravity, to avoid flipping your 'ish. ride more, you'll figure it out. |
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Okay, thanks folks! It's good to know I didn't majorly screw anything up with the way I put the rear wheel back on. That's interesting about how you need to brake on these bikes though. I suppose it's because the bike is so light, and I'm sort of light too. With my (40 lb) Huffy, I just slammed on the brakes and it came to a halt.
And in my post above, I meant to say my shoes hit that plastic piece, not the pedals. |
^^^ In reference to your braking, just remember to use even pressure. It should be a smooth motion as opposed to a quick squeeze. Same concept as shooting a firearm. Squeeze the trigger, don't jerk it. And if you were riding too fast, I'm sure you'd be much happier taking the extra seconds to turn around and get on your street than laying your bike you obsess about on the ground.
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how does a 2006 caad 8 frame stack up against the new caad 10?
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Does anyone want to get rid of their stock caad9 2010 saddle? the prologo.
of course... after years of trying to find that "perfect" saddle. the stock saddle on my caad9 is spot on. luck or fate? :) I'm willing to buy several! lol |
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Try eBay. (The Ponza on my CAAD9 was a good saddle for me when I had mine) |
Please help me decide on cage color (Arundel Sport): Black or White**.
**Can't get myself to spend $100 for cages, so carbon is not an option. Bike http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...D10/Caad10.png Bottle http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...D10/Bottle.jpg White http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...AD10/White.jpg Black http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...AD10/Black.jpg Thanks |
I'd go black, I have the CAAD10 also in that same color and went with black cages, (had a little white in them but mostly black) and I really like how they look. And with the white bottle it would create a nice contrast.
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Black Arundel cages and the Camelback podium bottles in Clear/Black. At least that's what I want ;-)
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Get one cage in black and one in white with contrasting bottles for each.
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My next question probably should be take to another thread, but since I'm talking CAAD's I'd like to keep it here in the Cult. Remember I'm the newest of noobs ;^)>>>> I've been riding the white CAAD9 6-D exclusively, every day (rain or shine) for the last 3 weeks. On the flats & mild hills of Western Kentucky. Yesterday I went up to the Shawnee Forest's, Garden of the God, to check out a 37 mile run. This run has some of the tallest hills in Illinois. Quite frankly I find these hills some what intimidating. BUT!!! I want do em. SO HERE's MY QUESTION: Which of my gear sets R better suited for the hill's? CAAD9-6D Crank= 53/39 teeth Rear Cog= 12-26 teeth CAAD9-4C Crank= 50/34 teeth Rear Cog= 12-27 teeth I'm confused. Some of the cyclest @ work R telling me the 6-D (taller gears) will be the easy ones to pedal. They R saying that's the one I want to take to the hills. I think they R as confused as I. What I see/feel when riding is: When I drop to the smaller ring set on my crank, it make it easier for me to climb. Therefore "TO ME" it figures to be CAAD9-4C, Crank= 50/34 teeth, Rear Cog= 12-27 teeth. I'm sorry if I have brought a rudimentary question to the party. Thanks Much Ab |
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To expand on this -- For short sprints, like the velodrome racing around a tight banked oval like they do in the Olympics, anaerobic, high-power muscle effort is good, so you could use a "taller" gear combo that's harder to pedal but faster overall. But, riding for 2-3+ hours at a time should be more of an aerobic activity -- your heart & lungs should be handling the real workload, not your leg muscles. If you're forced to push too hard on the pedals, you'll fry your legs, and you won't make it up the climb at all. Even pros might use compact 50/34 cranks depending on the terrain, so there's no reason for any of us to shy away from them. |
Thank U BarracksSi.
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I'd go "white" with that combo. FWIW, I have a BBQ CAAD9 with all white Camelbak Podium ICE bottles and Arundel Mandible black carbon cages. If I could find black bottles, that's what I'd have on my bike. But again, with your gloss black bike & white lettering, I think the white on white combo would be better than the matte black cages. I'm sure you won't want to hear this, but the Dave-O carbon cage that the Sport is based on would be awesome on your bike. But that's just my personal opinion. I'm going to throw you the same bone someone threw me when I was looking for Arundel cages. Right now, you can get (2) Arundel Dave-O carbon cages fro $87./shipped. (2) Sport cages would be about $40./shipped. For an extra $47., you can have the best. (But, you can't go wrong with the Sport bottles either, especially for the money.) http://cgi.ebay.com/LOT-PAIR-Arundel...ht_2406wt_1135 http://www.arundelbike.com/images/da...gBlkCarbon.jpg |
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Picked up my Mandibles for $78.shipped (for both!). :D http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1305848153 |
New cages for the 7 :
http://i966.photobucket.com/albums/a...7/DSCF4008.jpg |
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(Now, stop showing us nip and let's see the whole enchilada!) |
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But that's on a Berkley digital fish scale. Would like to get a more reliable reading. Would take it to my LBS but i've never established a relationship with one. Only buying a tube now and then, and some tape once. |
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I was wondering this too. Understandably, I'm probably in the wrong sub-forum to ask this, but either way I've been looking at the CAADX Tiagra for a commuter. Looks really nice (large image) and really affordable... |
I have a 2010 CAAD 9 and am looking to make my first substantial upgrade. I was thinking wheels or crankset. I have Mavic Aksiums and a FSA Gossamer. My budget is around $500. For the wheelset, I was thinking the Williams System 30 and the crankset the FSA SL-K Light. Any thoughts? I would imagine those two would be much better upgrades than the handlebar or stem.
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I'm more road oriented, so I just swapped out the chainrings on the FSA crankset to 50/34. Took the Aksium wheels from my new Scott to replace the horrible Maddux wheels it came with. Have a set of take off RS10s from my CAAD 9 which I mounted with some 28mm Conti Gatorskins, great for road/touring. I'm going to start experimenting with brake pads to see if I can improve the perfomance of the Tektro cantilevers. Getting the wheels with the painted brake track off the bike has been a good start towards that. All in all, a very versatile, fun bike. |
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