Hi all,

I am looking to buy a Cannondale in the spring and I'm trying to figure out which bike I want. My LBS has a 2004 R3000 on sale for $2950 with the sweeeeeet metalic blue paint job. It's speced out almost exactly like the Cannondale website except that the Fizi'c seat has been swapped out. I'm sure I can get that back if it's to my liking.

I could order a 2005 R5000 but it looks like the wheelset is the Elite vs. the SSL and the fork isn't full carbon. Does the R5000 fork have a carbon steerer? I have trouble decifering all the Slice, Premium Slice, Ultra Slice, Slice Si and so on models. I do like the Compact version though because I have an FSA carbon compact on my bike now and love it. I guess I have to decide if the SSL's, Dura Ace crank and the full carbon fork are worth the extra $350. Just typing that I think that it might be but I'd like to hear y'all thoughts. I guess I just want to talk about Cannondales and this seemed like the right place.

They also have a 2003 R2000 but it's all Ultegra 9 for $1700. It's a 54cm and they are telling me I'm too small for the bike. The say I should be on a 56.

My current ride is a 2002 55cm Jamis Eclipse (full 853 frame with Ouzo Pro full carbon fork) and it's full Ultegra 9. It's a nice bike but I want a stiffer frame. I test rode my buddy's new 54cm 2004 R1000 (Ultegra 9) and I loved the feel of that bike. Now I want a Cannondale frame set.

I've never ridden a Dura Ace bike or a 10 speed bike and I'm wondering what the big deal is. What makes the Dura Ace 10 so much better then Ultegra 9 when you take away the weight savings factor? So now is the time to spew forth praise for Dura Ace 10. :)

Sorry this post kinda got out of hand but I'm just very excited about the thought of owning a new ride.

Cheers,

Sean

Hi all,

I am looking to buy a Cannondale in the spring and I'm trying to figure out which bike I want. My LBS has a 2004 R3000 on sale for $2950 with the sweeeeeet metalic blue paint job. It's speced out almost exactly like the Cannondale website except that the Fizi'c seat has been swapped out. I'm sure I can get that back if it's to my liking.

I could order a 2005 R5000 but it looks like the wheelset is the Elite vs. the SSL and the fork isn't full carbon. Does the R5000 fork have a carbon steerer? I have trouble decifering all the Slice, Premium Slice, Ultra Slice, Slice Si and so on models. I do like the Compact version though because I have an FSA carbon compact on my bike now and love it. I guess I have to decide if the SSL's, Dura Ace crank and the full carbon fork are worth the extra $350. Just typing that I think that it might be but I'd like to hear y'all thoughts. I guess I just want to talk about Cannondales and this seemed like the right place.

They also have a 2003 R2000 but it's all Ultegra 9 for $1700. It's a 54cm and they are telling me I'm too small for the bike. The say I should be on a 56.

My current ride is a 2002 55cm Jamis Eclipse (full 853 frame with Ouzo Pro full carbon fork) and it's full Ultegra 9. It's a nice bike but I want a stiffer frame. I test rode my buddy's new 54cm 2004 R1000 (Ultegra 9) and I loved the feel of that bike. Now I want a Cannondale frame set.

I've never ridden a Dura Ace bike or a 10 speed bike and I'm wondering what the big deal is. What makes the Dura Ace 10 so much better then Ultegra 9 when you take away the weight savings factor? So now is the time to spew forth praise for Dura Ace 10. :)

Sorry this post kinda got out of hand but I'm just very excited about the thought of owning a new ride.

Cheers,

Sean

$2950 is a pretty good deal. Keep in mind, you're getting the Caad7 Optimo frame instead of the Caad8 on the R5000. What does this mean? Not much, really. 30 grams of removed weight on the Caad8 and the same stays as the Six13. The R3000 Caad7 has a FULL DA-10 kit, not an FSA crankset as on the R5000. The R3000 also has the SSC SL wheelset as opposed to the Elites. The R5000 DOES have a carbon steerer. It does NOT have the carbon dropouts, however. Those I believe are only on the highest-end Six13's. You're theoretically looking at a $400 price difference between what your shop quoted you on the R3000 and the retail on the R5000. I chose the R5000. I, however, had no option of choosing an R3000. If given that choice ... I still would have gone with the R5000 and pocketed the money I saved. The SSC SL's don't gain enough in performance IMO to justify the upgrade cost. As for DA-10 ... I was a dyed-in-the-wool Campyphile. I still love Campy, but now I adore DA-10. The ergonomics finally fit. As for the shifting ... night and day compared to Ultegra 9. It's effortless in execution. I would not hesitate in recommending DA-10. I can't speak for reliability as I have not had my R5000 that long. My suggestion, get the R5000 and use the Elites as your training and sometimes race wheel. Use the $400 difference to start saving towards a deep profile race wheelset (Reynolds, Cosmic Carbone, Zipps ... whatever).

$2950 is a pretty good deal. Keep in mind, you're getting the Caad7 Optimo frame instead of the Caad8 on the R5000. What does this mean? Not much, really. 30 grams of removed weight on the Caad8 and the same stays as the Six13. The R3000 Caad7 has a FULL DA-10 kit, not an FSA crankset as on the R5000. The R3000 also has the SSC SL wheelset as opposed to the Elites. The R5000 DOES have a carbon steerer. It does NOT have the carbon dropouts, however. Those I believe are only on the highest-end Six13's. You're theoretically looking at a $400 price difference between what your shop quoted you on the R3000 and the retail on the R5000. I chose the R5000. I, however, had no option of choosing an R3000. If given that choice ... I still would have gone with the R5000 and pocketed the money I saved. The SSC SL's don't gain enough in performance IMO to justify the upgrade cost. As for DA-10 ... I was a dyed-in-the-wool Campyphile. I still love Campy, but now I adore DA-10. The ergonomics finally fit. As for the shifting ... night and day compared to Ultegra 9. It's effortless in execution. I would not hesitate in recommending DA-10. I can't speak for reliability as I have not had my R5000 that long. My suggestion, get the R5000 and use the Elites as your training and sometimes race wheel. Use the $400 difference to start saving towards a deep profile race wheelset (Reynolds, Cosmic Carbone, Zipps ... whatever).

Thanks for the info Senior Guapo. I'm now thinking that I want to go for the R5000 with the compact drive train. It's just that when I picked up that R3000 it was like picking up a paper clip.I know the SSC SL's are lighter but I didn't think they were that light. And that blue is just too cool. But, I do love my compact drive train so that's a big seller right there.

Oh well, this is all a mute point until I can earn some more cash.

Thanks,

Sean

I have ridden extensively the CAAD7 and six13 (same stays as CAAD8) and the Caad 8 feel better in back. Others who have the straigth aluminum CAAD8 say the same, it feels better. The wt difference is meaningless. Think resale too, the CAAD8 is your best bet. Cannondales are priced better this year than last across the board, so a discounted CAAD7 might not be the best deal.

A couple of things you said were of interest to me. I just purchased a used Cannondale 2004 R3000 and absolutley love it. I won't tell you how much I paid, because the circumstances were unique and Iv'e waited a long time to find just the right bike. But friend of mine bought it new and used it for a year for almost 7000 miles (a lot on a trainer).

I had a Trek 1200. a very entry level bike. I upgraded the gruppo to 9 speed Ultegra and loved it. Really loved that bike. the fit, the feel. I had ridden 9 speed dura ace on several occasions and personally preferred the Ultegra. The D/A was undoubtedly smoother, but ultegra ergonomically felt much better. o I was happy with my bike. I almost bought a friends Specialized Allez Pro full D/A 9 for an unbelievable price(test rode for a century and several weekend rides), but I did not like the "feel" of 9 sp D/A or the compact geometry, so I waited.

Upon looking around, the Cannondale was offered to me. I rode around the parking lot and made my decision.

Just got back from my first ride and felt like I was in heaven. The D/A 10 "feels" ergonomically like the ultegra 9 that I love, but the shifting is truly butter smooth.

Regarding '04 R3000 vs. '05 R5000, several specs on R3000 are higher. SSL wheels, full carbon fork. I can't remember the rest.

Lastly, follow your shops advice on sizing. I found out that my Trek 56 cm is the same size as Cannondale's 54 cm. They are simply measured differently. Trek measures from center of BB to top of Seat post. Cannondale measures from center of BB to center of top tube/seat tube/seat stay joint.

Good luck and great riding. I am thrilled with my Cannondale.

Regards,

Will


Hi all,

I am looking to buy a Cannondale in the spring and I'm trying to figure out which bike I want. My LBS has a 2004 R3000 on sale for $2950 with the sweeeeeet metalic blue paint job. It's speced out almost exactly like the Cannondale website except that the Fizi'c seat has been swapped out. I'm sure I can get that back if it's to my liking.

I could order a 2005 R5000 but it looks like the wheelset is the Elite vs. the SSL and the fork isn't full carbon. Does the R5000 fork have a carbon steerer? I have trouble decifering all the Slice, Premium Slice, Ultra Slice, Slice Si and so on models. I do like the Compact version though because I have an FSA carbon compact on my bike now and love it. I guess I have to decide if the SSL's, Dura Ace crank and the full carbon fork are worth the extra $350. Just typing that I think that it might be but I'd like to hear y'all thoughts. I guess I just want to talk about Cannondales and this seemed like the right place.

They also have a 2003 R2000 but it's all Ultegra 9 for $1700. It's a 54cm and they are telling me I'm too small for the bike. The say I should be on a 56.

My current ride is a 2002 55cm Jamis Eclipse (full 853 frame with Ouzo Pro full carbon fork) and it's full Ultegra 9. It's a nice bike but I want a stiffer frame. I test rode my buddy's new 54cm 2004 R1000 (Ultegra 9) and I loved the feel of that bike. Now I want a Cannondale frame set.

I've never ridden a Dura Ace bike or a 10 speed bike and I'm wondering what the big deal is. What makes the Dura Ace 10 so much better then Ultegra 9 when you take away the weight savings factor? So now is the time to spew forth praise for Dura Ace 10. :)

Sorry this post kinda got out of hand but I'm just very excited about the thought of owning a new ride.

Cheers,

Sean

Hi all,

I am looking to buy a Cannondale in the spring and I'm trying to figure out which bike I want. My LBS has a 2004 R3000 on sale for $2950 with the sweeeeeet metalic blue paint job. It's speced out almost exactly like the Cannondale website except that the Fizi'c seat has been swapped out. I'm sure I can get that back if it's to my liking.

I could order a 2005 R5000 but it looks like the wheelset is the Elite vs. the SSL and the fork isn't full carbon. Does the R5000 fork have a carbon steerer? I have trouble decifering all the Slice, Premium Slice, Ultra Slice, Slice Si and so on models. I do like the Compact version though because I have an FSA carbon compact on my bike now and love it. I guess I have to decide if the SSL's, Dura Ace crank and the full carbon fork are worth the extra $350. Just typing that I think that it might be but I'd like to hear y'all thoughts. I guess I just want to talk about Cannondales and this seemed like the right place.

They also have a 2003 R2000 but it's all Ultegra 9 for $1700. It's a 54cm and they are telling me I'm too small for the bike. The say I should be on a 56.

My current ride is a 2002 55cm Jamis Eclipse (full 853 frame with Ouzo Pro full carbon fork) and it's full Ultegra 9. It's a nice bike but I want a stiffer frame. I test rode my buddy's new 54cm 2004 R1000 (Ultegra 9) and I loved the feel of that bike. Now I want a Cannondale frame set.

I've never ridden a Dura Ace bike or a 10 speed bike and I'm wondering what the big deal is. What makes the Dura Ace 10 so much better then Ultegra 9 when you take away the weight savings factor? So now is the time to spew forth praise for Dura Ace 10. :)

Sorry this post kinda got out of hand but I'm just very excited about the thought of owning a new ride.

Cheers,

Sean

You'll think I'm nuts, but I have both. An '04 R3000 metallic blue, and an '05 (black and red) SIX13. I got the R3000 with Mavic Kysriums and the SIX13 with RealDesign Ultra's.

So in short....I say buy both!. :p

But really they are equally fine bikes. Mine are both set up w/DuraAce and the 10 speed works flawlessly. On the R3000 after 100 miles I'd be stiff from feeling every last road bump. The SIX13 rides just as stiff, even feels a bit more responsive, but the carbon seems to dampen out some od the raod vibes over a long ride. I started doing Ultra events this year and can really feel the difference after more than 100 miles.

You'll think I'm nuts, but I have both. An '04 R3000 metallic blue, and an '05 (black and red) SIX13. I got the R3000 with Mavic Kysriums and the SIX13 with RealDesign Ultra's.

So in short....I say buy both!. :p

But really they are equally fine bikes. Mine are both set up w/DuraAce and the 10 speed works flawlessly. On the R3000 after 100 miles I'd be stiff from feeling every last road bump. The SIX13 rides just as stiff, even feels a bit more responsive, but the carbon seems to dampen out some od the raod vibes over a long ride. I started doing Ultra events this year and can really feel the difference after more than 100 miles.

Hi John,

Well, I bought the 2004 blue R3000. I found one on ebay and I couldn't pass it up. I had some trouble with the shipping and still haven't been able to take it out for a spin. I test road on in a local shop but not this one. I'll post pics in a few days.

Sean

Lastly, follow your shops advice on sizing. I found out that my Trek 56 cm is the same size as Cannondale's 54 cm. They are simply measured differently. Trek measures from center of BB to top of Seat post. Cannondale measures from center of BB to center of top tube/seat tube/seat stay joint.

Good luck and great riding. I am thrilled with my Cannondale.

Regards,

Will

I just bought a 2005 C-dale R5000, my LBS made me a great deal. Ditto what you say about the vertical sizing of Trek and Cannondale. I'm riding a 54cm Cannondale and the standover was similar to a 56cm Trek that I tested last year. I'm one of those body types with shorter legs and longer torso, I have a 56cm reach but a 54cm standover. The LBS fit me with a little longer stem on the C-dale and it is well-dialed in if not a little tall. But perfect when I'm in the saddle!