my first road bike
 

i will be buying my first ever road bike this week. i have checked out several at a local bike shop and really like the cannondale caad 8. my question is should i just get the cheapest one, which is the sora and is just under $900 or get the better model which costs $1200?

also i'm new here so if this thread is in the wrong section then my apologies.

If you are going to be riding a lot and stick with it, I would suggest Shimano 105 as a minimum. If this is just going to be used occasionally you would be fine with Tiagra or Sora. I think $900 sounds high for Sora components. I would expect at least Tiagra at that price.

If you have the money go for the upper end build.
The CAAD series deserves the best. But then again, I'm biased "toward' Cannondales. :)

thanks guys. i will look in to it more. still got til saturday to decide.

the bike will be used every sunday and some saturdays. i will be averaging around 70 - 100 miles over the weekend. right now i am doing that with my cannondale hybrid and its just not cutting it. its time i move on to a road bike.

What Brimstone said. $900 for Sora is way over priced. For that price you should get at least a Tiagra/105 mix. If you are in love with Cannondale and think you are going to ride it at least 3 times a week, get the one more expensive one with better components. Cannondales tend to be a little more pricey than other brands. If you just want a good starter bike, shop around. For $1000 you can get a lot more bike than a CAAD Sora setup.

Looks like you want to ride more and more, not just going for a ride here and there.
Get the better components, they'll feel smoother. I have Tiagra(one level above Sora)
shifters and they feel clunky.

Certainly go for 105 if you can! You'll be making an investment that'll last longer. The CAAD 8 frame is a great one for the money.

great!!!! thanks guys. i will talk to the shop and get the one with better components.

yes i think i am really hooked.

when i was buying my first road bike (a month or two ago) i just spent some time searching craigslist. I got a used Serotta Atlanta for $300 with Shimano 105 components. Then I spent $330 at the LBS to get a new rear wheel, new tires, pump, tubes, bike pants... Nashbar "look style" pedals for $25, shoes were another $100. but essentially I got what used to be pretty high end bike for $600 or so. I love it and I put 32 miles on it yesterday. I guess what I'm saying is that for your first bike, you may do well getting a used one... I am very satisfied. Everything works fine... and I've since seen even better deals as spring approached and wealthy people buy new top end bikes and sell their 3 year old ones.
[IMG]http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d7...ttaAtlanta.jpg[/IMG]

If you are just starting out assume that you will love it and wish you had bought the better bike to begin with. If it turns out to not be your cup o'tea, don't worry, the resale will be higher for the more expensive one if you decide to bail on the sport. If you can afford the $1,200 then go for it.

Trust me, if you buy the cheaper bike you'll be regretting that decision no matter whether you love the sport, or hate it.

I bought a new hybrid, road it for a month and bought a used road bike off of CL. I haven't ridden the hybrid once since. So, I wasted the $1000 on the hybrid. The road bike I got an extraordinary deal on, so, that kind of evens things out. I should have skipped the new hybrid step and gone straight to Craigslist. But I know that I would not have known what used bike to buy had I not spent a month on BF and riding my hybrid. So, there's always that, too.

great input by everyone. thank you all. i thought about used from craigslist but i don't know about fixing bikes if something goes wrong. that's why i want to get it at the shop. they will give me good warranty incase something goes wrong. peace of mind.

i called the shop to get the exact model and he told me its the caad8 8. i don't know if that is different. the price is $850.

btw i will still need my hybrid for commuting to my work. its 15 miles one way and the road is really bad for a road bike.

Having a bike for the rougher roads is a good move. I started cycling last July with a Trek 7100 hybrid. I didn't like the gearing so went on to a Trek 7.2 FX hybrid. Problem then was that bike was too small. Being a newbie, I didn't realize it until I got a free 1988 Fuji Road bike that fit perfectly. Pumped $200 into that bike and realized how much I like drop bars and how much better cycling is when you're fitted properly. Still needed to replace the hybrid for MUP's and tougher roads so I got a inexpensive cyclocross bike and now I'm set for a year or two when I'll replace the Fuji with a modern new road bike.

Moral of the story is that the more you get into cycling (and therefore put into it) the more you'll get out of it. Keep the hybrid for the commute but get the best components you can afford for the road bike. Consider a cyclocross bike instead of a hybrid because with a second set of wheels on the cyclocross bike you pretty much can have another road bike.

thank you. you have given me more things to consider.

was wondering though, whether will the 105 be a bit faster than the sora?

faster? that's up to you. 105 will be lighter and give you some extra gears.

if your into performance riding then get the 105 for sure.

what size frame are you looking to get and where do you live? I've seen a few good deals for CAAD9-5 around southern california. (I picked mine up new from LBS for $1000)

+1. Tiagra/Sora are reliable drivetrains, but WOW are they out of date and clunky. I bought a brand new bike with Sora for less than $400 shipped and it served me well for a year. I sure was ready to upgrade. For $900, you can get a pretty nice ride, especially used. Be patient, do your homework and you'll be riding nice in no time!

If it's your first road bike, you're not going to know the difference between Sora, Tiagra, 105 or 7900. Well you would with the 7900 but that's not an option for you.
I'd get the Sora and ride the bike all summer and next spring and if you know you're hooked go with something better, 105 or Ultegra.
That way you'll feel less bad if the bike sits in the basement collecting dust for 15 years like my first bike did before i got into it.

i learned quick that cheap just means more trips to bike shop.get a great bike spend at least 2000.00 and try to go carbon if you can.and stay away from rival its been a nightmare.good luck and have fun

$2000 for a first bike is ridiculous.
If buying from a reputable LBS, they'll take care of you with any problems you have with a lower end group set.

i am in norwalk, ca and the bike shop i go to is pat's 605 cyclery. very nice people there.

yes since it is my first road bike, i don't think i want to be any where near $2000. lol.

my budget is around 800 - 1000.

the CAAD is almost infinately modifiable. You cant go wrong with the bike you mentioned. Get it, ride it awhile and see what you like about it and what riding style you develop, then you can decide which components to upgrade based upon the type of riding that you are doing.

well im not sure what size bike you are but looking at craigslist I saw this http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/bik/2371181714.html. If this is a shop, the closest dealer of cannondale around dana pointe is revo cycles. You should give them a call and ask them if they have any CAAD 9-5s and for how much. If this ad is for that store and is $900 it's a crazy deal for that bike.

There is also a shop in downtown san diego that has a blue 54cm CAAD9-5 in stock for $999 last time I was there which was 4 days ago. They also had a 52cm but I ended up buying it :)

these are great prices for a CAAD 9-5 considering how much MSRP is and how much most shops sell them for and its only slightly more expensive than the price you have been looking at. Also it doesnt hurt to ask if they have any deals for paying with cash. Some dealers will not charge tax if you pay with cash. $900 or $1000 out the door is an even better price :)

Very bad advice. Nobody NEEDS a carbon frame and Ultegra components. 95% of the cyclist out there would be just fine on an aluminum frame with 105s under $1200. Everything else is mostly just for showing off. I would never advise a beginner on a budget to shell out $2000. That's the crap that turned me away from cycling initially. I "friend" told me to expect to pay $2500 for a "decent" bike. I almost didn't even bother looking around.