Forgot bikeradar.com was the authority.....meh. They also state that the frame is "not top notch", something I haven't heard about the CAAD which is decidedly "top notch".

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2012 Fuji Altamira SE - 6.42kg

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Keep telling yourself that. I've ridden it, its not that nice. I'm glad you enjoy it and that you're mentally strong enough to convince yourself its on the same level.

And BikeRadar? For real? I laugh in your face silly man

But for real, they have a great quote that reiterates exactly what I said: "The one place the bike lacks stiffness is in the drivetrain. While it provided an adequate platform for the power associated with our 150lb tester’s frame, there was a reasonable amount of bottom bracket deflection that was easily felt when we sprinted or produced any hard, out-of-the-saddle bursts of power. "

Like I said, it rides harsh but isn't actually as stiff and you can easily tell.

New to Weight Weenies, but not new to the topic of the CAAD 10 vs 2013 Allez Race. Having owned both and ridden a couple thousand miles on a CAAD, I personally prefer the ride quality of the new Allez to the CAAD. It is very stiff, and on the charts stiffer than the Tarmac SL3. It rides like an aluminum bicycle, but not nearly as harsh as anything that i have ever ridden. The fore mentioned BB flex is something that i have yet to encounter. I am 5'10'', 180 and I am riding a 54. I recently had the chance to ride a Cervelo R5 vwd, and I would hands down take this allez over that bicycle. In comparison to an SL4 Tarmac, the Race is not as compliant. But when you purchase an aluminum road bike, you are compromising over a higher end carbon. At 880$ retail, my 54cm came in at 1202 grams. Which is more respectable than any aluminum bike i have previously owned.

Hmm... well someone is lying!


That quote Kwalker picked out is exactly what troubled me about the Bikeradar review... if 150lb guy is talking about it's flex I don't think my additional 30 lbs will make matter easier.


It could be subjective and simply par for the course on an aluminum bike... but I've never read those comments about a CAAD10. For the record, I've been comparing the two quite a bit lately as I'm looking to pick up one or the other...

Why is this arguement even taken place. Ask anyone who actually races and I will bet you will get 9 out of 10 for the CAAD 10.
It has a reputation as being a great race bike for a reason.

Imagine this. I have ridden both an Evo Ultimate this season and a CAAD 9 I built up as a rain bike and I think the CAAD is faster. While the ride is a little harsher obviously, it feels considerably stiffer.
Oh and that CAAD 9 with old Red is just under 15 lbs.

Also remember that you are talking an aluminum frame that you will race so warranty is not really a big issue. For a frameset you won't even pay enough to be worried.

Yesterday I was riding up Bolinas Road to Mount Tamalpais on my Fuji SL/1 (with heavy wheels) when I heard someone coming up behind me. I tried to accelerate slightly but to no avail: he passed me. I was fairly shocked: the guy had bulging calves but also a bulging belly. I weigh 57 kg / 169 cm o I check in right at a 20.0 BMI and am not at all accustomed to being blown past by guys with guts.

I later caught him and he was riding the Specialized Allez race (the regular, not the S-Works). He had only good things to say about it, claiming it was lighter than the Evo. He works for a shop which sells Specialized and until recently sold Cannondale as well until dropping Cannondale for support reasons (Specialized is relatively local to San Francisco). I'm skeptical of the lighter claim as from the few numbers I've seen here they seem fairly close. He mentioned in passing he was 88 kg (I think he was trying to brag a bit since he'd passed me on the climb) so the guy puts out some watts.

At this point began a series of comments about how tired each of us was after having gone too hard on early climbs in our respective rides, etc... the usual.

The bike's clearly not a total dog, anyway, and I thought in person it looked quite good.

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Fuji SL/1
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I think the best thing you could do is just buy the one you like the look of the most, then convince yourself it's the best bike in the world (like some of the posters above appear to do)

But honestly, get one of these http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bik ... 419/65274/