Well if this counts my alloy 1990??? Klein Aeolus has done app 85,000 km with no problems including being used as a work bike riding up and down gutters.

Your wife is indeed powerful... Power over those with weak mind!

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Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

400km week on my aluminium stiff-freak SL01 and I fell great, not fatigued at all. I believe all comfort issues can be overcome by correct tyre pressure. If anyone sees a good aluminium track frame (or bike) for around $400AUD (or$1000 in the case of complete bike) please tell.

Everybody seems to be on the 'I gotta get me some crabon' wagon.

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BMC SL01
SRAM Force


thank you crank n' cycles...If you are ever in SW WA, take a trip to Crank N' Cycles.

I tend to think that many comfort issues can be resolved by more conditioning. The more I ride, the more comfortable I get--frame material does not seem to matter much.

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"You are like the wind and I like the lion. You form the tempest. The sand stings my eyes and the ground is parched. I roar in defiance but you do not hear. But between us there is a difference. I, like the lion, must remain in my place. While you like the wind will never know yours." -- Mulay Hamid El Raisuli, Lord of the Riff, Sultan to the Berbers, Last of the Barbary Pirates

How old are you again Bobby? Age and conditioning likely does effect comfort on the bike, as does fit of course. Why not have the most comfortable frame geometry and material to help compensate for lacking in other areas.?We're not pros but still have to do the best with what we've got.

Its hard to be all things to all people. Maybe carbon can be tuned to get the best mix of all worlds, doesn't mean Al can't do well and therefore isn't good enough any more. I wonder if the old pros look at what the current crop do and think they're soft for not riding 10kg+ non aero steel frames. If fact I'm sure this arguement happened a lot in the late 80s early 90s when Al become the techno fad.

I'm 15, and extremely lucky to have just found a sponsor (Thanks again erik {don't expect you to know him). I'm gonna feel it tomorrow . I still need a straight seatpost and a longer stem to compensate for my short femurs and be more comfortable, so there is still room for improvement.

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BMC SL01
SRAM Force


thank you crank n' cycles...If you are ever in SW WA, take a trip to Crank N' Cycles.

Because buying a $3000 bike is a more attainable than a $300,000.00 sports car!!

Thanks for the very interesting comments - I have been researching raod bikes for 2 months and am now convicnced that a cannondale caad9 is the best option for me - i don't need a A$12k carbon frame bike as I am not planning to ride the tour de france etc - I just want a very good reliable bike for the enjoyment of cycling

Ride one. See what you think. Your ass will be the best judge.

right on !!! - price (value for $) is the thing - cannondale caad9 optimo 2 meets my budget - and all shimano ultegra gear - is shimano ultegra as good as shimano dura-ace (but much cheaper) ???

Optimo 2 is fantastic. I have the optimo 1 because I'm a snob and I had the money to burn, but the difference is minimal.

My only recommendations would be:

- Try to swap the Truvative cranks for some shimano (you might want to consider compact R700)
- Try to spend 200 $ more and upgrade the wheels

Other than that, the optimo 2 is amazing value for money and will last a lifetime.

Enjoy

cheers

Many thanks LeDomestique

This is exactly the constructive comments I was hoping for

I am very ok with the shimano ultegra set up - but was confused as to why cannondale would have a different crank as standard !!!! - and will now ask for ALL ultegra (including the compact r700 ultegra crank)

Do you have asuggestion for wheels - any suggestion is appreciated

Cheers ... Pete

Expect to pay a difference for the R700 upgrade. There's a reason C'dale uses Truvative cranks...to make the bike cheaper !

As far as wheels go, I was under the impression that the Optimo 2 had R550s, but looks like they have R561 (105-level wheels). They're pretty good as well. I have the Ksyrium Elites and I love them. I'd ask the LBS for advice on wheel upgrades, as it depends on what they have on stock.

Wheels is one thing you can upgrade on the spot and only pay the gap between models, unlike other components such as saddles, seat posts, stems, etc where you'll have to keep you old part and buy a new one.

Enjoy your CAAD9 !

I haven't used one, but is there anything really wrong with the Truvativ crank? If a Shimano "upgrade" is much more, I would probably leave the Truvativ crank in there. I didn't love Cannondale's previous proprietary cranks (namely the Coda), but Truvativ is the same as SRAM...

That's a very good comment PeterF - I can't see that Cannondale would be willing to put the Truvativ crank in their specs if they were not very satisfied with them - they surely would't want to create any bad publicity for their Cannondale name with an inferior standard on the crank just to make the bike a little cheaper or for any other reason