[locolouie]

Please help me choose!! I decided to go with a cannondale bike because I really like the bike shop that carries the bikes. I am stuck between the r700 and r900. The 700 uses shimano 105/ultegra 9 speed, and has shimano wheels. The 900 uses almost all campy veloce 10 speed, and the bike also comes with mavic wheels. The reason I am stuck is that there is a 350$ dollar difference for the 900. Is it worth the extra 350$? It seems like a great deal to get the 900 but i wonder if ill notice the difference since this is my first bike.

 

[Kram]

Pluses and minuses on both. Depends which you value more. IMHO the $350 extra is $$ well spent in that you get
1) a 10 speed gruppo (I think?) in the Campy
2) Mavic wheels. (Which are they?)
Will you notice a difference? Probably not. You'll be happy on either, I'm sure. If the $350 isn't a big deal for you though, go with the 900.

 

[Angelracer]

If this is your first bike and your already set on a Cannondale... Id go for the R700 just cause you wont have to sink so much money into the bike right off. That $350 can get you a nice pair of shoes, petals, and shorts and a jersey for riding. But if your not worried to dish out a bit more cash, then its all up to you.

 

[LetsGoOutside]

Both nice bikes and either one will probably make you happy. But the R900 can be a bike that you can and will want to keep for a long time. If you turn out to be like the rest of us cyclists (upgrade *****s) than that 9 will be turning into a 10 speed group faster than you could expect. With the 900 you will already have 10 and can replace things as you see fit withought doing the entire drivetain at once. Also the Campy drivetrain (shifters) are completely rebuildable whereas the Shimano is not. I have been riding road since the end of the 8 spd. era and would love to be able to add an R900 to my list of bikes.