Cannondale CAAD9 5

Price Paid:  $1500.00 at Canada

Favorite Ride:
CAAD9-5

Bike Setup:
Fizik Aliante saddle
11-25 cassette, 50/34 crank
Syntace F119 stem
Sigma bike computer
Continental GP4000 tires

Summary:
Wonderful first bike.

Strengths:
Beautiful white paint scheme, well designed compliant frame, seatstays afford vertical road damping qualities, very stiff chainstays give stiffness resulting in excellent power transfer. Peppy and maneuverable.

Weaknesses:
Crappy Tektro brakes

Price Paid:  $1200.00 at mikesbike sausalito

Favorite Ride:
anywhere

Bike Setup:
Stock, 105, switched out saddle for toupe.

Summary:
I have been riding an old 83 steel frame mt Fuji, and have switched out the tire to road tire, seat, and kept denying my envy of road bikes, after a group ride to Muir Woods, I was convinced there had to be a better way.
After looking at a couple shops, I saw a Black Caad 9 5, that had just been put together, and knew that was the bike.

This bike is awsome, fits good, and is fast and carves into turns like nobody's business.

Strengths:
fast & handles well

Weaknesses:
Legs and stamina, (on my part) that is starting to change, every day on this bike.

Similar Products Used:
First Road Bike

Price Paid:  $0.00 at Bicycle One

Favorite Ride:
Go to Boone, NC

Bike Setup:
Deda bar/stem, Bontrager seatpost/wheels, SRAM shifter/deraillures.

Summary:
2009 Cannondale Caad 9. This bike surpassed all my expectation. I thought it was going to be too stiff and a bit on the harsh side, not even close. Up till now, I'd been riding a 2003 Trek Madone. The Cannondale rides very similar, but stiffer and faster. Road vibration has not been a problem and I've had it on some really rough road. The weight is very similar to the Trek. I transferred parts from the Madone to the Trek so the build is the same, Madone weighed 16.1, Cannondale weighs 16.1 (and can get lighter because it has BB30!). The paint is sweet. Handling is perfect. I like to say this bike doesn't turn, it carves.

Strengths:
Uhh, everything you want in a bike if you like to ride fast. Stiff, light, not overly harsh, great handling.

Weaknesses:
Nobody's perfect, and if I had one criticism, it'd be the toe/ ft. wheel overlap. And the only time it's a problem is really when I'm trying to balance at a stop light, other than that I don't notice. I wouldn't want Cannondale to change the geometry to fix this.

Similar Products Used:
Trek Madone, Specialized Allez, Giant TCR

Price Paid:  $1369.00 at Omer and Bob's Sport

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Eastman Hill

Bike Setup:
Compact crank (34/50), 12-27 cassette, otherwise stock.

Summary:
My bike is actually an '08 but I didn't see that option in the drop-down menu. I purchased this bike in June '08 after having been away from road cycling for nearly 20 years. I'd always had a soft spot for C'dales, and this bike seemed like a really good value. Since then, I've put 1700+ miles on it and am very happy with it. While not the cheapest option around for the part spec, I think Cannondale's System Integration approach has real value. This frame represents the pinnacle of Al design and is worthy of upgrades until something becomes an option.

Strengths:
- Stiff and efficient ride
- Great handling
- Relatively lightweight for an all-Al bike
- Compliant enough for me
- Lifetime warranty
- Great local dealer

Weaknesses:
- Clear coat had some defects from the factory
- Bike will dent easily if dropped

Similar Products Used:
This is my first road bike purchase in 20 years, so I don't have the most experience in this area - yet.