# New CAAD 10 soon, wheel upgrade?



## ktc (Feb 18, 2012)

First, I'm new here and love all the Cannondale enthusiasts. I've ridden an M700 for over a decade, putting over 30K miles on it since new. Over the last several years I've gravitated more to road riding and run what are basically slick tires on this good old mountain bike. I've done a couple centuries on it and now I've decided to get serious about road riding and plan to even do some racing. I have my heart set on the new "Gulf" colored CAAD 10 Rival and plan to place an order this week after visiting the dealer today. They said it would be here in 5-6 weeks. I think the first thing I want to do is upgrade the wheels for better performance (and looks). With a wheel budget around a grand, give or take, what might you all recommend? I live in the NW burbs of Chicago (some hills and wind). What other upgrades would you recommend right off the bat? I know this is a great frame and I'll have the bike for years to come.

Thanks!


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## ktc (Feb 18, 2012)

I should add that handling/corning is very important to me, hence the immediate wheel upgrade.


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## CAADEL (Jul 23, 2011)

ktc said:


> I think the first thing I want to do is upgrade the wheels for better performance (and looks). With a wheel budget around a grand, give or take, what might you all recommend? I live in the NW burbs of Chicago (some hills and wind). *What other upgrades would you recommend right off the bat?*


For hilly and windy areas I would avoid aero or semi-aero wheels. So choose 24mm rims.

My upgrades so far are the handlebar (smaller size), seatpost (0 offset) and a saddle (narrower). These 3 upgrades are basically for better fitting on the bike.


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## gus68 (Oct 19, 2010)

For the wheels, do you want to stick with a name brand (Mavic ect..) or would you be willing to look at some of botique builders? For me I think you get a better value with the small guys. Nuevation, BWW, revolution wheel works, boyds, people like that and I'm sure there a ton more.


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

I am in the same area, same boat.

I use Fulcrum 5's on my CAAD10 and love them.


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## ktc (Feb 18, 2012)

At first I was thinking either SRAM S30 AL Gold or Zipp 101, but I'm also thinking I don't really need to spend that much. I'll definitely look into some of these other makes recommended!


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## jprv4pilot (Dec 22, 2011)

I love my Mavic Ksyrium SLs .... beautiful hubs and rims, light and bulletproof


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## sneakyracer (Dec 1, 2007)

Awesome bike btw!

I used a Similarly equipped Supersix for many thousands of miles and the SRAM Rival group is great. Only thing mine came with the BB30 Force crankset which is awesome and a worthy upgrade on your ride. Its significantly lighter and should be stiffer than the Rival. Everything else Rival is quite similar to Force so no need to upgrade. 

The Fulcrum 7 wheels are ok but a set of Fulcrum Racing 1's or 3's are stiffer (better handling) and smoother rolling. 

I would also look into using tubeless tires. Not super necessary and some people are not sold on them but I loved the ride/handling and the trouble free performance.


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## ktc (Feb 18, 2012)

Thanks sneakyracer, I'll check into the BB30 Force set in addition to wheels & tires.


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## Phenomrider007 (Feb 16, 2012)

*Caad 10*



ktc said:


> First, I'm new here and love all the Cannondale enthusiasts. I've ridden an M700 for over a decade, putting over 30K miles on it since new. Over the last several years I've gravitated more to road riding and run what are basically slick tires on this good old mountain bike. I've done a couple centuries on it and now I've decided to get serious about road riding and plan to even do some racing. I have my heart set on the new "Gulf" colored CAAD 10 Rival and plan to place an order this week after visiting the dealer today. They said it would be here in 5-6 weeks. I think the first thing I want to do is upgrade the wheels for better performance (and looks). With a wheel budget around a grand, give or take, what might you all recommend? I live in the NW burbs of Chicago (some hills and wind). What other upgrades would you recommend right off the bat? I know this is a great frame and I'll have the bike for years to come.
> 
> Thanks!


Hi, I'm also new to RBR! After reading this thread I had to respond to this. I'm also in the market for a CAAD10 road bike. I just was at my LBS earlier after work! I was asking one of the salesmen bout purchasing a CAAD 10 frame only, and having it built up with hand picked parts. He( RAMON) THE SALESMEN was incredibly helpfull and excited bout it too, understandably so! I'm like always their at the shop looking at bikes. But, anyway,S i did all the research, been to many bike shops, seen all the lower end offerings, seen all the higher-end offerings, but with my projected budget, i'll be best suited for the CANNONDALE CAAD10, besides, the reviews are encouraging, that's good enough for me. I'm thinking bout the black frame with RITCHEY PARTS, FULL SCRAM FORCE and MAVIC WHEELS. By the way, what color is the "GULF"....???


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## sneakyracer (Dec 1, 2007)

This is the "Gulf" CAAD 10:

https://cdn.cannondale.com/catalog/...d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/_/c_12_2rax4c_blu_8.png


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## ktc (Feb 18, 2012)

The original Gulf color scheme is from the Ford GT40 that dominated the LeMans 24 hour race in the late 60's. I too wondered about building up a frame, since I'd want to at least change the wheels & tires right away, and possibly the crank, brakes and cables based on some reviews saying the brakes could be stiffer and the cables are sub par, masking some of the Sram potential. What is the bare frame cost?


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