First Road Bike Dilemma

From their website, the standover on a 52 cm CAAD 9 is too tall. It looks like a 50 cm would best fit your standover, but that doesn't tell the whole story. The most important parts of fit are how long the top tube and head tube are. Together, then determine how stretched out and how bent over you are (to a degree, anyway. Stem length, handlebar reach, and seat setback impact those factors, too, but to a lesser degree).

The Synapse will have a more relaxed geometry than the CAAD 9, which will have a more racer like geometry and fit. If the CAAD 9 is the one you liked the best, then call around and see if anyone's got a 50 cm frame to try.

There are no quality differences between the frames. CF rear triangle? It's mostly a marketing thing, but it also doesn't hurt anything.

You really need to test ride a bike that's closer to your size. You might even consider opening up your options to other brands. Either way, in the end you should pick the bike that feels best and that excites you the most.

Thank you for the very helpful reply. I am limited to Cannondale, Fuji, Trek, and Giant as they are the closest LBS to me that I can easily get to if I have any issues that need to be resolved not to mention I could actually ride there if need be.

So it may prove fruitful to test ride a 50cm, my LBS suggested that I should buy the 54cm even if I don't clear the stand over height. He suggested that I would just have to get used to leaning to the side a bit when getting on or off to compensate for it. Also thanks for the info on bike fitting I think I understand what to look for in a fit better now even after reading some sites like Sheldon Browns I was little confused.

I am really excited about the Cannondales as the use a BB30, full carbon fork and I also like the full 105 group. Also on my test rides they have been enjoyable. It also doesn't hurt that the LBS has been very pleasent to deal with so far while test riding at least 10 differnent frame sizes between the Caad9 and Synapse

dennisa said:

So it may prove fruitful to test ride a 50cm, my LBS suggested that I should buy the 54cm even if I don't clear the stand over height. He suggested that I would just have to get used to leaning to the side a bit when getting on or off to compensate for it. Also thanks for the info on bike fitting I think I understand what to look for in a fit better now even after reading some sites like Sheldon Browns I was little confused.

I wouldn't buy anything from a shop that told you to get used to riding a bike that didn't fit. Reading Sheldon Brown and forum correspondence will not get you educated enough on bike fit. A worthwhile shop should spend time with you and "fit" you to a bike, including stem and handlebar swaps to get you there without cost, unless there is an upgrade. Sorry to sound so negative but your shop is not servicing you right. I wouldn't worry about having a shop that is close. I'd deal with a shop that has cycling soul and learn to take care of the little adjustments yourself.

Appears to me that the CAAD 9 is the value bike in the C'dale lineup now. But as Alienator said, it's got a more aggressive race geometry vs the Synapse and the Six. Fit is all-important, while stuff like the BB30 and a CF steer-tube fork really don't mean much.

Go with the dealer that you feel is most interested in fitting you correctly. Agree the LBS who wants to put you on a bike that doesn't give you TT ground clearance should be off your list.

I test road both a 54cm and a 52cm CAAD9-5 and other then the stand over height everything else felt good. I felt comfortable in the drops and upright. I did speak to the LBS about stem swaps etc to dial in the fit and hey are more than willing to do so.

Although by the sounds of it I should ask them to get a 50cm to test ride as well.

Thank you for all of the replies they are very helpful.

dennisa said:

Although by the sounds of it I should ask them to get a 50cm to test ride as well.

Yes, you certainly should. I agree with the other posters on bike fitting issues.

If you are going to spend the money for a new bike, then it should be a perfect fit for you. Not just a "close enough" fit because that's what the bike shop has in stock.

I've read a lot of posts about bikes on this forum, and while I see some controversy about bike brands and components, I don't think I've ever seen an experienced cyclist downplay the importance getting a proper fit for your bike.

If the standover on the bike is too tall, that is a deal killer.

dennisa said:

I've asked this question on other forums but I received very biased info. So I'm looking to purchase my first road bike. I taken a test ride on many different bikes and I can't say that I particularly like any of them a lot more than the next.
So I'm in need of help deciding and some bike fit/size help

Part 1 - The bike.
So here's were I stand. Caad9-5 vs Synapse5 vs Fuji Roubaix ACR-2
Just when I thought I had everything figured out I see Fuji's new lineup for 2010. I'm really torn now. They both seem to have very comparable features. Price, BB30, Carbon Fork, Shimano 105's, similar frame geometry. I've had a test ride on each and I'm really stuck on how to decide between the two. Only issue for me is that the Fuji has carbon seat stays which I seem to feel is more a gimmick than really needed on an AL frame.

So when these bike are extremely similar what features do you look at more to make a decision. Any and all input would be helpful.

Part 2 - The Fit
I'm 5'6" and have a 30"(76.2cm) inseam a bike fit measurement not from a tailor. I've pretty much settled on purchasing a 2010 Caad 9-5, although I would also be happy with a Synapse. I've test rode quite a few different bikes and I liked the ride on this one the best. Only issue is frame size. When I test rode some Cannondale's at my LBS I rode a 54cm Caad9, 54cm & 51cm Synapse. There wasn't a 52cm Caad9 in stock to ride.

Clearly for me the 56cm in either frame is way to large. So I've ruled anything larger then 54cm out. The 51cm Synapse is the only frame I had any clearance on the stand-over height of 74.4cm although the handlebar width felt to narrow. All other frames I cannot stand flat footed at all I need to be on my toes or lean to one side to avoid castrating myself. The seat post had a very small distance from the top tube to the saddle. Almost to the point that it would be difficult to attach a seat bag under the saddle. Other than that they all felt good on the test ride.

So how do I decide between the 54cm or 52cm Caad9 or possibly the 54cm or 51cm Synapse. This will be my very first road bike so I'd like to make sure I have some assistance making an educated decision.

Thanks in advance.

My Caad8 is a 50 and i'm 5'7, i'd say the 52 would be plenty big enough.

dennisa said:

I'm 5'6" and have a 30"(76.2cm) inseam a bike fit measurement not from a tailor.

Your legs are rather short, aren't they?

Your fit objective should be to find the bike with the longest possible top tube that has a tolerable standover. And I think you're barking up the wrong tree looking at Cannondale because their current lineup all have relatively short top tubes. Likewise, you should be selective looking at the "endurance" geometries because most of these feature shorter top tubes along with taller head tubes (the exception being the Specialized Roubaix).

But let's look at one make that you apparently haven't given much consideration, Giant. The largest Defy you can straddle is a Small, with a top tube of 53.0. If you look at an Alliance, however, the small top tube is 53.5, and you just might be able to get a leg over a medium with a top tube of 55.5. That's 2.0-3.0 centimeters longer than the CAAD9 (depending on whether you choose 50 or 52) and 3.0 centimeters longer than the 51 Synapse. And if you decide to go small, the Giant is still one centimeter longer than on the smaller CAAD9.

Two fit targets of "endurance" geometries are (a) old guys who need the handlebar to be higher than the saddle (b) lanky guys (and tall girls) who need a shorter top tube, to accommodate their short torsos, and a longer head tube to bring the handlebar to nearly saddle level, because they're showing two or three or four fistfulls of seatpost. And that is clearly not your problem.

Your solution is in a more traditional geometry that would happen to have a longer top tube. And even then, you might need to swap for a longer stem and wider handlebar.

Thank you for the informative post. If I were to stick with the Caad9 and go with a 52cm couldn't I make the top tube seem longer by using a longer stem ?? say 20-30mm and effectively have similar geometry to the Giant you speak of??

dennisa said:

If I were to stick with the Caad9 and go with a 52cm couldn't I make the top tube seem longer by using a longer stem ?? say 20-30mm and effectively have similar geometry to the Giant you speak of??

Certainly. Beware of using a stem longer than 12 cm on a bike this size, though, as it can adversely change the front-to-rear weight distribution.