Solid bike for commuting or a weekend road racing. This bike is great.

If you find one second hand beware that you can no longer get replacement parts for the original Grecal Parade wheels. When spokes start breaking, plan on buying new wheels. I run Mavic Askum on mine and they are now indestructable.

Great bike for training rides, commuting, and general cycling fun on the road.

The bike is fast, light, and very comfortable to ride. Nice part spec for the price paid.

The grecal parade wheels were a bit heavy and needed frequent truing. The fizik saddle was very uncomfortable.

I have ridden this bike since 2005. It was the first road bike I have owned. I tested a Trek and a Specialized before purchasing the Cannondale. I have had thoughts of going to carbon, but after my upgrades, I don't really see the need. I have no trouble keeping up with riders on their carbon frames and have won my share of town line sprints on it.

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Tested a Trek 1500 and Specialized Allez.

Stiff, Nice looking, light with the other Ultegra parts, and Nice geametry.

Old parts.

I had a Colnago with full ultegra, and I crashed, so all the parts went to this bike that had full 105.
I had Easton handle bars and stem all Carbon, so that went to that frame as well.
The bike handles better than the Colnago that I had, fast and great geometry fro me, climbing is a goat, and very stiff. Great in the curves, I can ride the curves sharper than the Colnago and my back does not hurt at all after 50 miles ride.
Brands, Brands, carbon, Aluminum, Titanium, well I am stuck with this one, Aluminum.

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Trek, Specialized.

speed, lightness

seat, seatpost.

I've been off of a bike for years and decided to get back on, found this on a Craigslist posting and decided to pull the trigger. The bike is ridiculously fast, my boss rides often on his R600 and i just flat crush him, it's pretty light and while i can see in a few years upgrading components, they work very well as it sits.

Im three years I have had little maintenance done on this bike.The grecal wheele sets say in true longer then any other set i have owned. The Pave-frizik saddle is extremely confortable.The Triple 105 chainrings helps this weekeend warrior attack the hills.

None

This is my third cannondale in the last 12 years that i have bought, This is the BEST bike ever !!!!I have had this bike for three years and and I average a 1,000 miles each year.

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Cannondale R600 Double & R800 Double

Crisp handling, solid braking and great acceleration. I ride with a lot of guys who love and will sacrafice dinner (not beer) for carbon. I love to give them grief because they can't drop me even with all their high dollar gadgets.

The two least desirable characteristics/components of the bike were the saddle and the handlebars. The bending process used to make these bars results in a sharper than normal crease along the top corners resulting in hand discomfort. The seat required replacement - it was gel but cut off circulation to the boy parts. My daughter didn't like the stock saddle on her 2004 Trek 1000 (it was a men's style) so I bought her a new one and put the Trek saddle on the Cannondale - I have been riding ever since.

I have put over 3,500 hundred miles on this bike in all kinds of weather and all kinds of rides. From the Hotter-N-Hell (flat and fast) to the Triple By-pass (steep and slow up to steep and lots of braking down). From winter centuries (30deg f with snow and ice) to the heat of Oklahoma in the summer (road temps above 120deg f) this bike has been superb. This is a great bike for spirited riding and I would recommend it for people who have some experience. Beginner riders might find it's lightning fast response a little daunting.

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I rented a 2005 Trek 1000 for two weeks while I was traveling. It was a solid bike with very tame road manners. I demo tested a Felt F55, nice bike and 7 lbs lighter, but didn't notice much difference. I was surprised that my 800 accelerated just as well as the F55.

The Frame, Fork and build quality are it's immediate strengths. On the Uphill( nice fat chainstays), downhill(optimo CAAD7 6061 T6 Aluminum frame) and the in-between, this bike introduces you to your true potential as a rider( this is my first road bike). From the moment I sat on it I knew this was the one. Sleek, light and as fast as you want to make it. The drive-train( shimano Ultegra rear/ 105 front) does it's job efficiently and quietly. The paint scheme is very elegant but is cluttered by all the company's badges. Striking wheel design.

Gipieme Grecal Parade Wheel set looks good but go out of true often. They don't unlock the bikes potential in the corners. Their rim design allows for dirt to build up where the spoke nipple passes through the rim and if they are not cleaned and lubricated they will make an annoying creaking sound as if the bearings in the bottom bracket were worn out. The Cannondale Omega Brakes Feel rigid not smooth. They work great at high speed but at city speeds they're either on or off, there is no real in between. This causes the rear wheel to lock up more than necessary. Maybe brake pads or an entire upgrade will provide the brake feel I desire. As For the Wheel set, I think the Mavic Ksyrium Elite will do the trick.

Great Bike for the price. Very light. Very Fast. Very solid build. The race designed Cannondale Optimo Aluminum frame works with you. Wheel-set and Brake up-grades will only add to this bike's strengths.

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Tested a Specialized Roubaix and a few LeMond Models all within the $1400 range and none came close. This truly is Cannondale's top Aluminum frame( optimo si, same frame as their team model) with mid-quality components.

The Frame & Carbon Slice Fork

The Brakes are not worthy and the wheels look very Rad but they have had issues with them, my free hub body went after 1500 miles. Cannondale has dragged their feet in sending a new wheel, they told my LBS to give me credit to buy a new wheel....since no one carries those Grecal Parade wheels, who would want 2 different wheels on their bike?? Very lame reply from the Cannondale rep...imagine if you broke a taillight on your Corvette and they told you to put a Mustang light on the back. Cannondale needs to work on customer service issues if they expect customers to come back. Psst. I have 3 kids who wish to race someday, and trek sells a lot of bikes...this is the kind of thing that turns customers sour. Still no replacement wheel.

To get right to the point, the bike is awesome, especially for someone looking for a great frame and great entry level race bike without breaking your wallet. It just needs two tweaks, The Brakes that Cannondale chose to put on this bike are garbage, this is where Cannondale skimped and I have no idea why they continue to put these on their new models, when an extra 30 bucks would suit it with a reliable Shimano Utlegra brake system. DO NOT SKIMP ON BRAKES! Otherwise this is an amazing bike. I had my Local Bike Shop (LBS) call Cannondale and get the ok to switch the Omega brakes out for the Ultegra brakes, this is definitely the first thing you want to replace on this bike. While others had concerns over the Grecal Parade wheels, I liked them, until the free hub body unit went, it kept clunking, the LBS sent the wheel back to Cannondale, I am still waiting for a replacement. I weigh 187 pounds, and the wheels spokes held up fine, my problem was internal. In the meantime I bought a set of Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL wheels and now realize that the Grecal wheels were not as light as I thought. I had not ridden a bike for 22 years so I opted for the Triple thinking that if I need it, it's there. And if you live near huge hills or mountains, the triple is nice to have in your arsenal. If your strong and in shape, the few extra grams of a triple are no big deal. If you race, get the Carbon Fiber, DA, or Ultegra Double. If your just going to casual ride a couple times a week, this bike will more than meet your needs. Just replace those brakes. If you get "Carbon Fever" I would just save up for the Cannondale 2000 or Six13. The R800 is now called the R900 and comes with lower end (if their is such a thing) Campy gear. Overall, you can't beat the frame, with a set of Continental attack Force tires inflated to 120 It rides very smooth and handles bumps, etc, very well. I showed it to one of the welders I know and he was really impressed by the craftsmanship.

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This would be a 5 overall if they lose the Omega brakes