Cannondale Aficionados / Owners

Can someone please shed some light on what should be quite a simple answer.

I'm going fucking mental trying to determine the frame size of CAAD (made in USA) frames online, either through Facebook or eBay sellers.

Do Cannondale measure the frame in the same way a 'traditional' road bike frame is measured, i.e, seatpost ctc (centre of crank, up the seat tube to the centre of where the toptube meets the seat tube)?

I currently ride a 58cm Columbus SL frame and am trying to determine if a 58cm Cannondale CAAD 5 would be the right size?

Thanks

Since they're both presumably horizontal top tubes, just ask sellers for top tube lengths. It's a more relevant measure of frame size.
The official sizing goes from the centre of the BB to the top tube but some sellers just measure all the way to the top and then give you the wrong size.
Also just find photos of 58s online and then compare the photos to the ones you're looking at buying. I usually use the size of the distance between the top and down tubes on the head tube as an easy reference point to guess sizes

Boonen's Roubaix?

Hey cheers, I have actually been doing the same regarding the head tube, but found all the incorrect size listings started to scramble my brain round that.

With regards to the toptube, is the geo quite square then, so a 58cm top tube will be a 58cm ctc seat tube?

Thanks

The geo charts are still easy to find online. I'm on my phone right now or else I'd search for you but just give it a Google.

Cool, I did find some charts a few weeks ago, was mainly after an owners input as online info can sometimes be conflicting. Thanks for help

I meant cannondale. I have no idea about what other brands have done.

Soz. I have had MIUSA caads but at the moment I've just got Taiwanese ones.
But the legit catalogs are online with size charts. No need to trawl through sketchy info online

Not a current rider. Plenty of riders had custom geo in the past before monocoque frames became the norm. I know he had some lugged VXRS frames made for him.

Strong.

1 Attachment

Non-drive photo fail

No cranks so it’s currently no-drive.

My MUSA CAAD7 has a 56cm top tube c-c and a 54cm seat tube c-c.

I had the same issue you did with inconsistent charts.

I ride steel frames in 56cm square, so it is a bit more aggressive but works well.

Ah ok, good to know. Thanks for info mate

Sure people have seen this one online, what's the opinion here, classic C'dale bubbling paint, marks from working the headset, is it something to be concerned about?

I messaged the seller and he seems to think it isn't anything serious. I've checked other CAAD7's and they don't look like this.

Thanks

1 Attachment

Just some corrosion of the aluminium, if the way it looks doesn't bother you I wouldn't be worried.
Don't know what going on with the headtube though?

Ok thanks, thought that might be the case. I'm guessing if some time down the line it was repainted it would lose the warping and make the paint completely flush to the headset again?

Finishing on the head tube weld looks like a bit of a Friday afternoon job.

It's probably OK, as OK an ancient aluminium frame that wasn't designed to last more than a couple of years of use could be.

Repainting it won't fix the weld, obvs.

Right, I thought the aluminum may have corroded slightly and could be brushed/cleaned up and repainted to look new, but if it's a weld then understand that wouldn't be the case.

Surely alu frames are designed to last more than a few years

I had a CAAD9 with a similar bit of shonky QA around the top of the head tube weld.

The lip is where the weld was flush with the top of the head tube and was then faced away in finishing. The jagged mark around the head tube top on the right is probably where someone has done something stupid with a screwdriver to get a bearing out maybe. You can't determine if that's fucked it from a photo though, you'd need to take a look.

Surely alu frames are designed to last more than a few years

If you don't use them, they will last forever :)

If you use them, you proceed towards their service life which for these frames was pretty conservative, like it wasn't designed / built to last more than a couple of (hard) race seasons. They were effectively disposable, on the assumption that a lot of them would die in crashes / race incidents and that people valued weight (lack of it) and ride feel over long term durability.

Now we are in the carbon monocoque era we get to have our cake and eat it.

Thanks Howard, very useful info.

Might give that CAAD 7 a miss then.

Yeah I get what you mean regarding hard racing. I guess that life span would be longer for us low watt normies. I keep my bike in very good condition but certainly think bikes are for riding.

Cheers

And this is why Sagan needs a custom bike. The set-back on this SL7! (Cropped image to respect thread.)

1 Attachment

Please can I borrow £3750

£3750

Frame, fork and crankset? Christ.

And seatpost. Bargain.