roadie virgin traitor seeks advice
Posted by: bornwina on 07 January 2004
Unfortunately the singletrack appeals less to me at this time of year so I was thinking of taking to the road for a few months. I think I'd feel a little out of place with the Schwinn Rocket 88 on the local clubs Sunday morning 'cafe run' so I was wondering what your opinion of the suitability and value of the following would be?:
63cm Cannondale R600, CAD3 frame, carbon fork, Mavic rims, STI shifters/Shimano chainset etc secondhand at the local shop in good nick for £200.
I'm 6 2", 16.5 stone
Thanks,
Jeremy
Posted on: 07 January 2004 by Tim Jones
Jeremy -
You can do the following if you want a rough idea on fit (apols if you already know this stuff):
1. Sit on the saddle and adjust it so that when the crank is at its lowest, your foot is in firm contact with pedal, with just the slightest hint of bend in your knee.
2. Adjust the saddle fore and aft so that the distance from saddle tip to the middle of the handlebars is the same as the length of your forearm (from elbow to fingertip) plus the width of your palm.
If the bike looks OK following adjustments to get these things right then it should roughly fit you. But if you have only a couple of inches of seatpin showing above the frame, or have had to adjust the saddle back or forth to its fullest extent, then you will need to rethink. Whatever the case, it will feel a bit weird at first.
If you want something more exact, find a really swanky local shop that sells swanky road bikes and ask them to measure you up for a frame because you're thinking of spending a very large amount of money in their shop.
CAAD3s are OK for early alumimium frames. They are a bit of the heavy side and, er, not renowned for their comfort on long rides. But they are very stiff, and pretty solid compared to later, more 'feathery' alu frames. There are still people racing them in amateur crits and shorter races round my way.
£200 sounds pretty reasonable. Even a very basic new road bike would cost at least twice that and it's unlikely the frame would be as good (or at least as stiff and responsive) as a CAAD3.
Tim
Posted on: 07 January 2004 by Steve G
Sounds a decent deal to me if it fits.
I've just bought a new road bike in the sales at my local shop. It's a '04 model Giant OCR 3T - Shimano Sti shifters, 24 speed (yes a triple!), compact frame for only £339. I'm looking forward to getting it on Sunday (picking it up on the way home from MTBing at Glentress).
Unlike yourself though I absolutely love off-roading at this time of year. I do a lot of night riding and last nights trip was a cracker. Yes my bike (a Specialized Epic) got pretty muddy and took a bit of cleaning but it was top fun. I'm hoping two mountain bike night rides a week and a weekend trip to Glentress plus roadie stuff inbetween will help my fitness.
Regards
Steve
Posted on: 07 January 2004 by Dan M
Posted on: 08 January 2004 by bornwina
Thanks for this valuable advice which I'll be taking heed of this afternoon when I take another look at the bike.
Posted on: 08 January 2004 by Bruce Woodhouse
I have a C'Dale 800, 3 years old. Similar spec otherwise. I can vouch for its very good build etc although I have replaced the headset as it corroded (but it does get winter and wet-weather use). The ali frame is a bit 'buzzy' and I spent a few quid on a carbon seat post which really helped this. The bike still gives me tons of fun. The price you've been quoted looks good. Try to get a nice sadlle or clipless pedals thrown in too.
Bruce
