Homebrew01

I've heard mixed reviews of the older Six 13, but am looking at a 2008 used one. Currently riding a CAAD 8 and wanting another bike in addition to my heavy steel bike. My bike budget is low, so expensive frames are not an option.

bostongarden

I test rode one for several long rides a couple of years ago. Excellent bike, although, I ended up getting a system six.

hammy56

My 08 six13 serves me well...its still much better than I am.
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dbh

I've got an '08 Six13 I recently built up. Fantastic frame. Very smooth and not as much road buzz as the CAAD. I prefer it over an all-carbon frame because if I go down in a crash, I don't have to worry about snapping seat stays and trashing my frame. I've found it plenty stiff.

ridethecliche

I think they've had issues with the bonding of the Al to Carbon. Not sure which year model had the most issues.

Just go for a 9 if you can find one.

dbh

The bonding problems were with the earlier models. Not an issue with the 2008 six13. It's amazing how cheap you can find a six13 frame. Everyone sets their sights on CAAD9's, but pays little attention to the Six13 because it's not in the catalog anymore. There are some amazing deals to be found out there. IMHO, it's a better frame than the CAAD9.

zoepup

Loved both of the ones I had. "Explosive" ride with forgiveness

ridethecliche

Ah, if it doesn't have the bonding issue then go for it.

They're sweet frames. I almost bought one instead of my CAAD9, but they were more expensive at the time.

I think you'd like the frame hb. I'd make it your primary bike to the 8

intence

I don't believe 2008 had the bonding issue.

I believe that the first year was 2005 (or maybe 2006). During that year, the Six13 used a CAAD frame with interlocked carbon tubes in the downtube, top-tube, and seat-tube. Some described the ride as "noodly" and the carbon insert in the seat tube was removed in the following year. There was also a Pro version that only had the carbon in the downtube, but these don't seem to be too common.

These 2005-2007 Six13s have two badges on the headtube (I heard it was to cover the holes that are there which were needed when interlocking the carbon to the aluminum). The geometry should be identical to the CAAD, along with the rest of the frame. There were issues with corrosion where the carbon meets the aluminum on these, Cannondale I believe has said it's not structural, but you may want to check with them to be sure. It seems to be particularly prevelant on the raw silver frames (which are the coolest looking).

The 2008 is a bit different. It has a slightly taller head-tube (so a bit more comfortable). The carbon is no longer interlocked, but instead Cannondale moved to a bonding process. Also the frame is not CAAD9 based, it appears that the front of the frame is unique (as it has the taller head-tube). The rear, I believe is shared with the SystemSix. In 2008 the Six13 and SystemSix required a 31.6mm seatpost, while the CAAD9 and previous gen Six13s were 27.2 I believe. The 2008 Six13 uses a slightly higher fork rake than the CAAD, but if you're buying one of the lower end models, you may want to swap out the fork for something with a shorter rake (and full carbon)

I'm not sure why the 2008 model was dropped (probably Dorel's influence) since it seems unlikely that Cannondale would have changed the Carbon bonding process and the geometry for a single model year. Probably too expensive to make, as all their production was moved to Asia, and I guess it might have been labor intensive to build the front/rear of the aluminum frames and then bond the carbon tubes. The official replacement was the "Six" which was available with an aluminum front-end and carbon stays (not nearly as cool as the Six13, as Cabon stays in an aluminum bike was done years ago but nearly everyone, the Six13s were unique, but I guess it's hard to get a unique build or use a proprietary build process when you move production to a factory that builds frames for multiple brands)

It's slightly heavier than a CAAD, but gives a smoother ride IMO. I've ridden both the CAAD9 and the Six13 in the same size, different wheels but same tires. The CAAD9 is very snappy feeling, the Six13 is very stiff, feels a bit less snappy IMO, but also seems to have less vibrations (this could all be due to the wheels). I've crashed the Six13 mildly twice (not into anything but tumbled off the bike with the frame going in the other direction), it didn't appear to sustain any damage.

I "replaced" my 2008 Six13 with a full carbon bike (Orbea Onix). I was planning on selling the Six13, but what ended up happening is that I ended up selling the Orbea, and keeping the Cannondale ... I just liked riding it more.

On my particular bike, I had the lower end Six13-6 (Tiagra). Stripped it down, and built it with Rival and lighter wheels (Kinlin XR-300 custom build on there right now). Lots of fun to ride, and especially on long all-day rides.

intence

Oh, if it helps, I believe that pcad had one (pre-2008 model). He got rid of it to buy either his crappy Cervelo or his crappy Scott You can check with him, but I bet he put a million miles on the Six13 before he gave it up.

intence

I bought mine in 2009 as a special order when Cannondale was slightly discounting them. The dealer I bought it from was clueless about the bike, and didn't even know it had carbon tubes.

zoepup

I had a 2006 and 2007. Neither had this problem.

slynkie

bit late to the thread, but another +1 for the 2008 six13 fwiw. got mine in late 2007 (got the frameset as a trade-in, built up w/campy), and it's still my main ride. i bought and ended up re-selling one of the groupbuy CF frames - the six13 was just so much nicer.

when i do upgrade, it'll be to very high-quality CF.