Strengths: incredible raw efficiency! light. awesome on hills.
Weaknesses: harsh ride
Bottom Line:
i used to ride a cannondale 3.0 with 105. it was a very nice bike. i liked it a lot, but it crashed out. i just got this one. it is really different from the old one. although they are both cannondale aluminium. cad3 is so much stiffer. the difference in power transfer effiency is night and day! the bike feels solid, doesn't give at all. it is definitely a racer. on the other hand, i am used to ride a harsh frame. but this one is even harsher than the one i had. i can get use to it alright. but if you are used to ride a soft steel or titanium frame, this one would kill you! it is STIFF! very harsh on bumps.
Similar Products Used: older cannondale, early 90s.
Bike Setup: it is actually a 1998 CAD 3 Saeco Team frame with all ultregra+thompson post+syncros stem and eubois
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Submitted by
Rajat Mitra
a Road Racer
from North Attleboro
Date Reviewed: August 27, 2001
Strengths: Very Light Al. Bike. Extremely Responsive. Rigid Frame. Great Acceleration. Great bike for begening racers.
Weaknesses: I really have a hard time with grade > 8 %. Altough this may be my own fittness issue. The Sella - Coda saddle this bike comes with is not that great. Also I question why Cannondale put 105 Brake calipers instead of keeping the entire bike with Ultegra group.
Bottom Line:
Excellent bike for begening racers. However at its price level consider Trek 5200, the carbon frame certainly makes for a smoother ride.
Strengths: Light frame and fork, Dura-Ace and Ultegra components, Rolf wheels. Loves to climb and has very quick steering. Comfortable and fast.
Weaknesses: The only weakness I can find is I wanted to use a threadless fork, but since the frame came with the Coda I stuck with the threaded type.
Bottom Line:
Since I built this bike I got to put everything on it that I liked (or could afford). I have a mixture of Dura-ace and Ultegra (due to cost), but am very happy with this bike.
Love the ride, quickness and climbing ability of this bike. I'm very happy with how I've set this bike up. I find that I hardly ever have to come off the Aero bars, even when climbing. I run some pretty big gears (53/44 and 11/23) and I've had no trouble pushing this bike down or up the road. It climbs like a dream and jams even better.
It's very light, comfortable, and responsive. The carbon fork soaks up the road bumps better than I expected. I ran an aluminum fork on my old bike and thought it did a good job--NOT EVEN CLOSE! I wish the fork was threadless, but oh well, you can't have everything.
The Rolf wheels not only look cool, but seem to love to boogie. I haven't had any trouble with the skewers, spokes or truness of these. The only thing I've noticed is that when going over cattle guards real slow there's a clunk that comes out of them. The first few times I stopped and checked the wheels and didn't find anything amiss. Going over these guards at speed is no problem and no clunking, so I guess the moral to this story is "ride the bike as fast as you can and you'll love everything about it."
Similar Products Used: 87' Cannondale R800. I rode and loved this bike for over 14 years, but it was time to come into the 21st Century.
Bike Setup: CAD3 frame with Coda carbon fork. Dura-ace rear derailleur, aero bar-end shifters and bottom bracket. Ultegra crank (56/44 rings) with Performance Forte' pedals, dual-pivot brakes, head set and front derailleur. Syntace C2 aero bars connected to Modolo time trial bars with Dia-Comp bar end brake levers, TTT stem and Aztec teflon cables. Profile Fast Forward seat post with Coda titanium railed seat. Rolf Vector Comp wheels with Michelin Axial rubber.
Strengths: Super-light frame, carbon fork, beautiful campy componentry, incredibly comfortable ride for an aluminum bike. The frame is stiff and I love the bikes eagerness to climb. The paint job--"Industrial fade."
Weaknesses: Although not a weakness, I would have preferred a threadless headset and a lighter seatpost. If I had bought the stock bike, I would have many complaints with the CODA components on the R1000 (which I have test ridden).
Bottom Line:
The Cad3 with the slice fork is a very decent frameset. Cannodale frames are (generally) well-built--the welds are beautiful and the paint job excellent. A great racing bike for those on a budget. It sprints like the best bikes out there. The carbon fork soaks up the bumps so well that after a century you won't feel beat up. The bike is responsive but not skittish-- it is well-behaved.
I got a good deal on this bike from Gary and I am especially happy because I don't have to ride coda components. Campy componentry is the icing on the cake. If you buy the stock bike, I would recommend upgrading the CODA components starting with the seat!
I would recommend this bike to club-riders and those intending to race. For hardcore racers the componentry may need some major upgrading-- it would make better sense to buy a higher model with better componentry. If you are interested in this bike, you should also seriously consider Klein' Quantum series-- the frame is beautiful-- the paint-job is the best, the welds are immaculate and the ride is wonderful.
Similar Products Used: Klein Quantum Race, Cad2, Cad4, Bianchi daytona, GT, etc..
Bike Setup: Stronglight headset, Campy Daytona 9spd ERGO double gruppo(derailleurs, ERGO levers, calipers, crankset, b.b., cassette, chain, hubs); Velocity Aerohead clincher rims, ITM Scatto handlebar, Mutant stem, Kalloy seatpost, Selle Italia Nitrox saddle, Panaracer Elite tires, cork handlebar wrap, Polar Protrainer XT cycle heart monitor+wireless cyclocomputer, Look 236 pedals.
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Submitted by
Morten Johansen
a Road Racer
from London England
Date Reviewed: September 8, 2000
Strengths: Really nice frame, and the full Ultegra is very nice. Comming from a caa2 with 105, I was familar with the product, really nice responsive frame, good handling at high speed 70 kph +. Feels really good on the climbes, you really do feel the lack of weight. The stem/handlebar is also a good set up.Ohh nerly forgot the best part, the looks Red Saeco replica, you just cant beat that nice viper red.
Weaknesses: The wheels!!, they are crap!!. Mine is a 1999 model, and came with black spokes, and they keep comming loose. After five times I had enough, and said to the dealer, I whant a new pair of wheels. Cannondale cant find a pair of red rims, so they are looking around for some others, but my bike shop said they would give me a pair of Rolfs if they do not come up with a solution soon. The bike has been with the shop for 3 weeks now!!
Bottom Line:
Really nice bike, that looks the Bol.. and handels superb, just dont by the original wheels, get some other stuff on it, and it will be a dream bike. Would have rate the bike 5 but because of the wheel situation, "only" 4
