Sunday, January 9, 2011

Cannondale CAAD10 2011


Cannondale will be replacing it’s ever popular CAAD9 next year with an all new CAAD10. We got our first look at the new bike here at the 2010 Bike Press Camp and it looks like Cannondale found a way to make the CAAD even better. Watch the video below to hear what Doug Dalton has to say about the new bike. We’ll have a more in depth review of the bike later this summer.

here's some reviews..

* I also test rode the caad10, and here’s my take on it:
-very lite bike (for alu)
-bottom bracket area is not very stiff at all
-corners well, but nothing exciting
-comfortable ride

I have recently heard reports of the seatstays cracking at junction points, as well as bottom bracket cracks.

My personal rating of this bike: 5.5/10

Cannondale needs to assess these issues, and fast because the caad10’s are going for sale very soon.

* I love my 2010 CAAD9-4, greatest aluminum bike every built, but will never buy another Cannondale product – shorts, jersey, what have you- because of their transfer of production to Taiwan. And for what? 2 million of cost savings, to line the pockets of major institutional shareholders. Next bike will be a Serotta, Seven, or Parlee. This is a huge opportunity for one of the major US-based manufacturers to go downmarket and capture customers who value Made in USA frames.


* “The CAAD 10 is made in Taiwan, where quality control is not near the standards in the USA”. Ok so you’ve been super Roadie for like a decade and somehow someone thought it would be smart to hand you a CAAD10 so that you could slam it on line with out signing a nondisclosure… Don’t think so , but lets say for the sake of it they did. First things first if you knew the first thing about Cannondales QC ALL of the CAAD 10 frames will be welded in Asia and then sent to Pennsylvania where the same Americans that have be QCing their bikes for years will inspect measure and approve the frame and forks to be built up and build them up here in the states . So no need to worry about Taiwanese QC problems . Second , if you know anything about Cannondale they carry a lifetime warranty on manufacturer defects and one year on cosmetic flaws.They are very very good about standing by their products . So the truth is as long as you’re not hung up on Made in the USA Cannondale will still be providing cyclist with very hi quality performance for serious cyclists and semi entry level for individuals looking a long last quality Bike . As for Mikey_Mousey I’ll let you judge for yourselves…I’m just going to say Cannondale is smarter then that …


* Let me first begin by saying that I have test ridden a CAAD 10 bike, with similar setup as the one shown at the top of this page. As a dealer of Cannondales, I was invited to test them, and consider my orders for the Fall season. Cannondale did not require any of the dealers present, to sign a nondisclosure; that is simply bogus. I have been selling and servicing bikes for 9 years now, and I would never sell a superlight carbon racing frame to a 250lbs weekend warrior, for example. Similarly, I would not sell a CAAD 10 to a 250lbs rider, because it was designed for lighter riders who need to shave every gram possible for a racing advantage. This bike will likely not last as long as the CAAD9 or other well-built, heavier aluminum frames, simply because it’s tube walls are thinner and more minimalistic. That is the compromise of lighter frames. Take carbon as an example; when frame manufacturers began using it, frames were built tough but heavy (by today’s standards). These days a high end carbon frame can be broken if it tips over, because the tube walls are made thinner and lighter.


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