Cannondale Bikes and value for money



OzPundit

New Member
Jul 12, 2005
6
0
0
Hello all,

My LBS has offered me a Cannondale Saeco bike 54cm for $100 with a CAAD5 frame, carbon fork and Campagnolo Mirage components. This bike is a 2002 frame and has had very little wear.

Is this in the ballpark. I unfortunatly can't find anywhere to find how much this cost in 2002.

Thanks
Alistair
 
Cannondale bike are pretty good and reliable. I think you meant you could get it for $1000, which is pretty good deal. If been looked after and is straight with no issues on a test ride, go for it. Just ask the LBS to support you if anything packs up after you get it.


Cannondale frames are well built, and you should still get the life time warranty on the frame. Can all brands do that? I think not.
 
Just make doubly sure on that frame warranty. I don't know whether or not the lifetime warranty applies to 2nd hand. Hey, I'm happy to be proven wrong. I had a 2.8 frame replaced some time ago. It had around 15000 on it, had been involved in a minor prang, yet I still got new for old replacement within a week. Very happy.
 
PS
Oh yeah, one other thing - look hard at that frame, I mean really give it the once over. Turn it upside down and really examine it. If your guy has a problem with that, then TS. Go somewhere else. The crack I found on my 'dale 2.8 was down low on the seat stay, and very hard to notice.
 
I agree, this sounds like a super deal, but you've gotta check for cracks.

Surely if you took it home and found a crack your LBS would look after you?

Cracks often show up as suspicious looking piant movement that kinda looks like a scratch, but at the same time, kinda doesn't. They often look like squiggly lines. That's how I noticed cracks on 2 of the alu frames that I've owned.:(

as Fatboy said, check the whole frame, particularly all around the rear drop-outs, and ALL around the bottom bracket area, especially underneath the BB and behind, where the chain-stays join.
 
I had a look at it today and can't find any cracks. The paintwork is very good but does have a few areas where it is bubbling slightly around where the bike welds are (The LBS says it often happens on an Aluminium frame). Is this a bad sign? Is it a sign of things to come?

Thanks
Alistair
 
OzPundit said:
I had a look at it today and can't find any cracks. The paintwork is very good but does have a few areas where it is bubbling slightly around where the bike welds are (The LBS says it often happens on an Aluminium frame). Is this a bad sign? Is it a sign of things to come?

Thanks
Alistair

Don't know about the welds, but the paint seems to go on the rear dropouts pretty bad. I guess that is just cosmetic. This is a CAAD 3 mind you, maybe they have got better over time.
 
If the frame isn't stuffed, even if you were buying the frame/fork alone, it's a pretty good deal at $1000. Another important place to check is on the underside of the downtube, near the junction between it and the head tube. Cannondale themselves state that this is one of the most common places for fatigue failures to occur.

The CAAD5s are IMO a good mix between durability and the typical Cannondale frame responsiveness/etc., they didn't go stupid with the ultralight aluminium stuff until the CAAD7. Then again I own an '02 CAAD5 frame (Saeco colours too!) so that's what you'd expect me to say ;)

If you want to know how much it was worth in 2002, mine cost about $2600 (and that was an end of season mark-down) with carbon fork, Shimano 105 components and a decent but still lowish-end mix of other bits.

Not sure about what those bubbles could be.. my frame is going on 3 years and has had an 'interesting' life at times (commuting/city beating/unintended cyclocross/etc.), and there is no bubbling at all to speak of. Maybe it's a from-the-factory paint defect, or a paint touch-up job? I can't imagine it's rust, this is aluminium we're talking about.

FYI Cannondale's lifetime warranty applies only to the original owner.