Hi all,<br /><br />Well I'm starting to slowly bite the bullet and look at road bikes as a replacement for my MTB 
<br /><br />I've pretty much narrowed it down to two choices:<br /><br />2002 Cannondale (CAAD5) R700 -- Link of Specs<br /><br />or<br /><br />2001 Peugeot Professionel 800 frame with either a full 105 groupset (incl wheels), or full Ultegra (w/ 105 wheels)<br /><br />They are both handmade frames (the CAAD from the USA, the Pug is French of course.) Pricewise, the Cannondale with 105/Tiagra is the same as the Pug with full 105, and ~$100 more expensive Ultegra vs Ultegra.<br /><br />I'm not intending to race competitively with this bike (well not yet ) so I'm starting to doubt the need to get Ultegra. Is there really much of a benefit apart from weight? How much lighter is it going to be? Both bikes are pretty light already; 8.6kg for the Cannondale (105/Tiagra), and 9kg for the Peugeot (105).<br /><br />I've been advised that with road bikes it's best to buy the best frame you can, and the groupset is a side-issue (since they're going to wear out, you can upgrade then, when your skill/strength has inevitably improved.) Good idea, no? Is the CAAD5 a good enough frame to be considered a 'keeper' ? It certainly looks nice in the Saeco team colours <br /><br />At the moment, I'm heading more towards the Cannondale -- mainly because they are a known entity around here; Peugeot bikes are barely known -- there is only one shop selling some, and those are old frames they bought from the distributor at a discount a while ago. The Cannondale is also being sold by my local bike store (they know me as I pop in the quite a bit, and if there wasn't any significant difference between the two bikes, I'd rather deal with them.)<br /><br />However there are two things that don't seem quite right with it; first, the Tiagra front derailleur. Why did they bother under-speccing this component? For some (probably illogical) reason it just doesn't feel 'right' to me not to have a "purebred" groupset. I presume the front derailleur doesn't really do much anyway, is it worth my bother asking for them to put a 105 front on?<br /><br />The other concern is the brakes -- it has "Cannondale Expert" brakes. Are these any better or worse than 105 brakes? I've heard that the brake pads make a lot more difference than the mechanism anyway .. is that true?<br /><br />I took the Cannondale for a test-ride btw ... OH MY GOD .. acceleration ZING! Responsiveness ZING! I don't want to ride my MTB ever again, it feels so slow and cumbersome in comparison! ;D I was also pleasantly surprised at how nicely it felt amongst bumps and the like, very smooth and composed (I was expecting it to be rock-hard.) I tested it amongst the worst-quality roads of my commuting route, which are about on par to the worst on-road conditions I'm likely to face.<br /><br />(psst .. anyone wanna buy a mountain bike? )
<br /><br />I've pretty much narrowed it down to two choices:<br /><br />2002 Cannondale (CAAD5) R700 -- Link of Specs<br /><br />or<br /><br />2001 Peugeot Professionel 800 frame with either a full 105 groupset (incl wheels), or full Ultegra (w/ 105 wheels)<br /><br />They are both handmade frames (the CAAD from the USA, the Pug is French of course.) Pricewise, the Cannondale with 105/Tiagra is the same as the Pug with full 105, and ~$100 more expensive Ultegra vs Ultegra.<br /><br />I'm not intending to race competitively with this bike (well not yet ) so I'm starting to doubt the need to get Ultegra. Is there really much of a benefit apart from weight? How much lighter is it going to be? Both bikes are pretty light already; 8.6kg for the Cannondale (105/Tiagra), and 9kg for the Peugeot (105).<br /><br />I've been advised that with road bikes it's best to buy the best frame you can, and the groupset is a side-issue (since they're going to wear out, you can upgrade then, when your skill/strength has inevitably improved.) Good idea, no? Is the CAAD5 a good enough frame to be considered a 'keeper' ? It certainly looks nice in the Saeco team colours <br /><br />At the moment, I'm heading more towards the Cannondale -- mainly because they are a known entity around here; Peugeot bikes are barely known -- there is only one shop selling some, and those are old frames they bought from the distributor at a discount a while ago. The Cannondale is also being sold by my local bike store (they know me as I pop in the quite a bit, and if there wasn't any significant difference between the two bikes, I'd rather deal with them.)<br /><br />However there are two things that don't seem quite right with it; first, the Tiagra front derailleur. Why did they bother under-speccing this component? For some (probably illogical) reason it just doesn't feel 'right' to me not to have a "purebred" groupset. I presume the front derailleur doesn't really do much anyway, is it worth my bother asking for them to put a 105 front on?<br /><br />The other concern is the brakes -- it has "Cannondale Expert" brakes. Are these any better or worse than 105 brakes? I've heard that the brake pads make a lot more difference than the mechanism anyway .. is that true?<br /><br />I took the Cannondale for a test-ride btw ... OH MY GOD .. acceleration ZING! Responsiveness ZING! I don't want to ride my MTB ever again, it feels so slow and cumbersome in comparison! ;D I was also pleasantly surprised at how nicely it felt amongst bumps and the like, very smooth and composed (I was expecting it to be rock-hard.) I tested it amongst the worst-quality roads of my commuting route, which are about on par to the worst on-road conditions I'm likely to face.<br /><br />(psst .. anyone wanna buy a mountain bike? )
