aeroisnteverything wrote: ↑Tue Jul 23, 2019 12:51 pm
Your reasons are of course perfectly valid - sponsorship is a huge factor. Plus I was more looking at the specific consumer driven choice of a GBP 2300 bike which in its rim brake guise also has exposed cables, just like canyon, and on top of that a round handlebar/normal stem combo.
The question is really mostly rhetorical anyway. While there are many with valid reasons, preferences, etc. that will choose a C-dale due to their specific circumstances - I would argue that if a discerning consumer with no ex-ante predefenrece between the brands compares those two specific bike models, then, objectively, at that price bracket Canyon is the clear winner. So it's really a question for how C-dale had gone wrong to produce and market a model with that sort of a weight penalty (and no other clear advantages) over competition?
Sponsorship is a good reason, and there are probably a lot other good reasons. However ... Suppose you are like me, wanting to switch to a disc setup, and while at it to Di2. The cheapest setup is $7800 more or less. For that I get a hideous color, a 105 cassette (no kidding), a power meter that I don't want (just make the 10 arm spider an option, please), and wheels that I don't trust after the 35mm Hollowgram Si disaster. Cannondale used to be attractive, as you could pick a reasonable budget build as a starting point, and then get the proper bits. Given that they moved this starting point upwards, it becomes uneconomical. This is why the idea of "why not canyon" is reasonable.
Now for $7800 I can build up a Colnago V2-R, or for $8500 a Colnago V3RS (Fulcrum wheels, Ultegra Di2), with the components that I really want (Saddle, Tires, Tubes ....). So why again would I want to buy a EVO 3, and spend more ?