Cannondale Aficionados / Owners

Not going to lie, i saw there was stock and bought it. Sorry, not sorry. :)

Think Wiggle/CRC hold a stock of 1 or 2 of these as this is the second i've got this year.

And here I am without one...
Mind you the frame hasn’t arrived yet.

Getting the BB isn't so much the problem. Try the tool to install - which doesn't come in the box.
Took me about 2 weeks and ended getting shipped from EU!
I'm invested now... and plan to keep this CAAD12 for at least a bottom brackets worth of use.

Did I mention it's a 58 and purple....? 😁

Where is that ignore button!?

I’ve blown my budget on the frame so could be interesting from here! Haha

Lockdown got the better of me and I bought this.

Early plan is to try and cover all bases.. some older suspension forks and disc on the front.. single ring on the front .. and mega-range thing on the back.

I’ll be using for occasional child-carrying duties with baby seat.

Anyone have links to dimensions etc. so I can start getting things like seatpost sorted.

Also - canti on the back? Aesthetically I prefer this to V but not sure this is wise.

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Please please let me know if you ever want to sell it in the future, I'd love a matching MTB for my Supersix

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Has anyone serviced a fucked Headshok and got it back to working order?

Depends how fucked. If the telescope is jammed or notchy it's done, you can't fix it and nobody else will either. If it's just the usual and damper has shit the bed if you are lucky TF might service it for you. If you need parts it gets expensive quickly.

Sad thing is pretty much all of these are well beyond their expected lifetime. Total gamble.

I’ll be using for occasional child-carrying duties with baby seat.

I'd be wary about this TBH with these frames, depending on how the seat is attached.

I have all the tools and not one but two bench vice.

I'm in the same boat with a similar build. Since lockdown I've spent a lot of time on my CAAD9 and like you have actually found myself enjoying road biking. I've also enjoyed working on the road bike more than any other bike as the changes at least for now have all had a positive effect on the actual riding. As a result I've also changed pretty much everything and am now wandering how far up the C-dale ladder I would need to go to feel a notable change in performance on the frameset.

Hope enjoying road biking lasts once things go back to normal-ish, nice garden btw.

Hope enjoying road biking lasts once things go back to normal-ish

Ive already started to notice theres more cars on the road than previously which is a shame as thqt was what made it enjoyable

And thanks! Pressure washing it for summer has taken it from grimy and grey to clean and bright, very satisfying

wandering how far up the C-dale ladder I would need to go to feel a notable change in performance on the frameset.

As far as a caad10 or 12.

Were they some special edition spidering with the decals off or some ones DIY job?
I kinda like it

I saw a bike with one on eBay, looked in good nick, the description said it was in good working order, so I asked them about the Headshok, and their answer was that it had just been in their attic for 16 years. Ummmm nah.

Huh, probably better than having been used for 16 years without a service. But yeah all the seals will be dead.

@Dogs
If it has seals - some of the old shocks just have a spring and elastomer rubber thing for damping.

My first effort at a slatealike on a budget had that. When I got it apart all the foamy plugy bits had dissintergrated. It still kinda worked, and a new spring and damper helped,but it was a bit of pogo stick by design.

If you're set on a headshock, I'd really recommend getting an ultra DL or DLR as:

1. when they work they are great.
   
2. you can still get all the bits
   
3. If you have the castle tool servicing at home is doable.
   
   

I'm not sure if the same is true of the 'Super' forks that came before.

Just had a quick look and I can't see any DL/DLRs online at the mo. Maybe set up a watch alert on eBay and see - I got mine for about £120 I think. It needed a seal change though and now works great.

So I'm thinking of buying a CAAD12 for my first road bike and I can't decide if I should order a 58 or 60? I'm 188cm with a 90cm inseam and my arms are slighty shorter than the average. If anyone could offer help, I'd be very grateful for that!

58 I’d say.

I’m 187cm and went from a 58 to a 56 in Cannondale, I find the smaller frame with a decent stem worked better for me.

I would also say 58cm, especially if you have slightly shorter than average arms.

I'm 189cm and ride a 58 caad10. Fits well.

You maybe have a slightly longer inseam for your height. But if you have shorter arms I think the 60 would feel too long

While its a different model, I used to have a 60cm capo frame that felt just a bit too long for me.

Pretty sweet, especially if you're a Cipollini fan. It's on ebay atm and the sellers' gotta be a massive Cannondale fan.

This 1997 CAD3 may look pretty familiar, Why? Well this is the EXACT replica of the Saeco Team bike used in the 1997 TdF for 4 days whilst wearing the Yellow Jersey.
Stage 2 - 7th July 1997
Stage 3 - 8th July 1997
Stage 4 - 9th July 1997
Stage 5 - 10th July 1997
The original Team ridden bike’s whereabouts we do not know, Private collection? Museum? Repainted for another race? Who knows?
These 4 stages changed the future of what we see as normal nowadays, the sight of a rider wearing shorts to match the Grand Tour leader’s jersey is a pretty standard affair. Cipollini, though, was a pioneer in this regard. Cannondale, the clothing manufacture for the Saeco team, was the first brand to kit out a rider in a head-to-toe colour-coordinated kit.
Sure, they may just have only been different coloured shorts but wow did they generate publicity. The fact that Cannondale also matched the bike to the jersey didn’t go unnoticed either. He was fined for wearing an all-yellow outfit while leading the Tour de France; and now this practice to wear more yellow and even have a yellow bike has since become generally accepted.
These antics violated UCI regulations, which resulted in Cipollini and his team being fined a few thousand Swiss francs.

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Be keen to know what a step up the 10 is from the 9. Both have the same stack and reach and AFAIK the 10 uses 27.2 so I could use my mega setback post. Prices have also come Down to a point where a swap could be done on a tight budget.

Looking in to the 12 I've noted a few reviewers saying it's better then the 10 but not significantly. The geo is also different (not necessarily a bad thing) and it uses a 25.4 post which limits options. I've also noticed a lot of people selling there's...

TLDR, the 10 seems like a good economic upgrade, the 12 feels like potentially pointless middle ground. If I want (not need, want) a better bike I should save for carbon disc but I don't think C'dale offers anything I like.

Yeah you’d really have to try them.

Caad12 disc remains the best riding frame I’ve ever owned. Having ridden CAAD 4, 7, 9. They all feel stiff but the 12 really felt like it transferred that stiffness into forward motion rather than vertical into the saddle
I think it’s in the tubing rather than the geometry. The chainstays are heavily shaped and wide for all that lateral stiffness, vertical compliance bsns. And the BB area is very stiff with the flared seat tube.

what your said. the caad12 is much better than a caad10. the whole seat cluster area is much skinnier, the fork blades also, thats makes for great comfort once you use carbon kit. the bottom bracket area is insanely rigid.