CAAD8 Build

[ronderman]

I have a close frame, but a CAAD 9 and I had those same wheels but with King R45 hubs. They rode great, but the brake track was going to wear off quick and for sure by the first bad weather ride - so I sold them and got a fair price. Moved over to a pair of HED Belgium - basically the same wheel though not as nice looking.

Here is my 9 below - also, if brake bridges wearing are a sign of riding, I got you covered

Oh, entrance to rock creek, I can call it every time. Hope you get to take that bad boy up sugarloaf.


Untitled by velomonkeys, on Flickr


Untitled by velomonkeys, on Flickr

[plpete]

Cool bike, ronderman. No problems such as yours with the brake bridge. My frame is in beautiful shape and hope it remains that way The longest ride I have done on it is mid 50 miles but a Sugarloaf ride is in order sometime soon. I usually use my BMC SLR01 for longer rides amd the CAAD8 will remain as my race and do it all bike

[roadieboy]

plpete, your CAAD is probably my favorite bike in the whole forum, and it looks so much better with the setback post. Good work my man!

[gazzaputt]

Lovely looking bike CAAD8.

I have UK spec 2013 which is great ride.

Just a note I also like shallow bars and use Ritchey Curves which have a 73mm reach. Matches the Ritchey stems and posts on my bike to.

[plpete]

Thanks for the kind words, roadieboy! The setback post is great and most importantly fixed my fit issue! More to come for the CAAD

Thanks gazzaputt. I looked at the Ritchey Curve bar but was not a fan of the slight curve on the top section of the bar. Plus the FSA bars were dirt cheap and light!

[plpete]

Small update. Got a pair of Rotor Q rings for the CAAD. Also need to get my hand on a YAW front derailleur. Shifting is perfect with the Force but I get some chain rub in certain gears. Here is a race ready set up with the November Rail52s:

[whydobearsxplod]

Great bike.

How do you like the Bebop pedals? What made you go for them?

[plpete]

Thanks!

I like the Bebops a lot. I have been riding on them for about two years. This year I upgraded the spindles to titanium and the total weight for both is 151 grams. I wanted to try something different from speedplays that would still have dual side entry. I find the pedals well made and durable. I am still on the original cleats after two years. They are by far most durable cleats I ever used and the hallow pedals allow me to clip in even when there is dirt in the cleat. Not the case with speedplays. Only turnoff for some is the large amount of float that is not adjustable. It doesn't bother me at all and I actually like it.

[MarkW91]

I love this frame,

Here is my caad 8:)

[plpete]

Nice Mark! Looks good with Campy.

New update! Since I have started racing this year the bike has seen many miles and miles ridden hard. It has performed great, however, I felt the front end a bit uncomfortable and jarring. I experimented with different tire pressures and etc but after some longer miles or a crit on less than perfect roads the hands would take quite a beating. The stock fork, Slice Premium, is a great fork but it is very stiff and the alloy dropouts didn't help to soften the shock coming up to the handlebar. Cue in a new fork that I got from a friend for a great price. Ritchey WCS all carbon fork. Had the crow race transferred and steerer cut the other day and the difference in comfort is quite significant. The fact that it saved close to 120 grams didn't hurt either. Aesthetically it fits perfectly with the Ritchey WCS seatpost and stem. Below are the weights:

Cannondale Slice Premium fork (cut):



Ritchey WCS UD carbon fork (cut):



Updated photo of the bike coming soon.

As for weight... with the training H+S wheels the bike comes in at 16.3lbs, with Rail52s - 15.75lbs and with Shimano C24 wheels - 15.45lbs.

[12x23]

Notice any difference in steering / stiffness vs the Premiun fork? Have a NOS Caad8 raw I intend to build and have been searching for a Premium+ with zero luck.

[ChiZ01]

this is one pimped up caad8, so much for a bad weather bike

[plpete]

Notice any difference in steering / stiffness vs the Premiun fork? Have a NOS Caad8 raw I intend to build and have been searching for a Premium+ with zero luck.

I have been only able to get one ride in with the new WCS fork. At my weight, about 158 lbs, the fork was stiff enough for me. What I did notice almost immediately was that it rode a lot nicer than the stock fork. It was a lot smoother and a lot more comfortable over rough roads. Steering wise it felt fine to me. I will report again once I have some more miles on it. Obviously this is not the most accurate way of checking this but I measured the head tube angle with a level on my phone with both forks on and the angle remained unchanged so technically the steering should remain very close to normal, if unchanged.

[plpete]

It's been a while since I updated the caad8 status. The fork is still performing great and handling is perfect. Plan on slamming the stem soon and trimming the steerer. The bike is a complete blast to ride and with the C24 wheels and the Vittoria CS tires I can ride a century on it without feeling beat up. A power saddle might be in order too as it's been great on my other bike.