Cannondale Aficionados / Owners

I've snapped a few bits before- seat posts mainly but never a whole frame. I'm gutted I broke my bicycle :( I just bought new wheels for it too

My mate who sorted me the frame kept telling me to be careful on it. It was a fun bike and I'd like something similar as I'm a coach and cycle trainer and I have to commute to the Peak district from Derby.
Proper gutted about it :(

Jeebus - that's properly snapped. Glad you were OK. Maybe look into a Kinesis CX bike as a replacement. To be fair to cannondale, aluminium will fatigue like anything material - there was probable a small crack propagating for some time.

True. A few mins before this I heard something crack but it sounded and felt like a tooth on a chainring. I checked it over but couldn't find anything so I set off taking it steady as I went. It was an ace bike and I was getting used to riding a non mtb. I've been looking at CX bikes as that might be the answer to what I'm looking for- strong lightish and fun.
Also I snapped an old record sprint last year but that was at the drop outs and it just meant a (very) long walk home. Maybe I need to take it easier but my 18 years of DH riding on big bikes have left me wanting to go big and hard.
Must relearn my ways!

Your mate sold you a frame he knew to be dodgy?

When was the last time cannondale did threaded headsets? That frame is probably 20-25 years old. No surprise it broke, really.

The usual lfgss amount of sympathy... good to see

Nah, we'd given it a damn good check over before we built it up. I think it was my riding it in a way it wasn't meant to be ridden. Great bike and had a lot of fun on it.

This'll play nice with a CAAD10, right? Just got one in the post, and considering lowering the stack height 2cm by replacing the 25mm conical spacer with this 5mm:

http://www.cannondalespares.com/blog/2013/12/slam-that-supersix-stem/

I'm 6ft4 / 193cm on a 60cm frame with a 59cm top tube and 120mm -7deg stem. Any thoughts on lowering the stack height and if it'll slightly increase speed / improve position / decrease comfort on long rides, etc?

I've got a tester one that is lower than that if you want? had it on my caad10 so I know it works, one of his slamthatstem ones.

Regarding your question, it's a very personal thing, the bikefitting thread will get you lots more opinions but in summary:
Speed - you'll be lower so in theory more aerodynamic so yes, but you may not have the flexibility for it so not engaging all your gluteus and quadricep muscles, then no. then you might become so uncomfortable that your breathing is affected, again slowing you down
improve position - bikefitting thread, video of you on rollers, see opinions, or get a pro like @scherrit to see you
comfort - again personal, under the higher-you-are-the-more-comfortable-you-are ethos that bike manufacturers seem to have bought into then no, but it's personal, there's a theme here isn't there...

Your bike will look less goofy tho

You could keep the stack constant with a stem with a bit more rise on it. Maybe.

Filth.

Looks like that 'dale stem you gave me

That was only 20 degrees. I have a 35 degree dale stem too, if you need to get lower :-)

I've recently joined the creaky-snail owners club. I'm running a -6 130mm stem with the conical spacer removed and just the 5mm one you linked fitted @ChrisMGS

Nice!

^^ shut the back door....! 10/10

@mcmyk What saddle? SLR?

@Pifko Yeah SLR Kit Carbonio

Thanks for the info everyone. Got a torque wrench now so might as well try it out on the stem and fit the 5mm cap at the same time. Can't ride for another month still, but will be interesting to see how it affects comfort / Strava segment times. This is how it looks at the mo:

Things to change: Replace the 25mm spacer with 5mm, when it comes time to replacing the cables use a slightly larger loop on the rear mech, swap the 23mm tyres for 25mm, and still considering some deeper wheels, but not sure what to go for and don't want to spend a shit tonne.

getting there :D bit of a bad photo just from my phone.
since my last post a few months ago - new cranks, wheels, front mech and seatpost. Does anyone have any 42 bars, stem or some straight forks they want to sell me?

love it

one more from a slightly more jaunty angle

I have some 42cm 3T ergo Nova teams going spare @getoutofbed

My CAAD9 just received a new - and moderately spendy - KF096 derailleur hanger. The previous one got bent in an off yonks ago and still did the job but it was time it was replaced.

I've just learned that SuperStar components are doing hangers now, and they are not half as spendy. Good to know.