# CAAD9 5 or 4 - better value?



## zeesix (Mar 26, 2010)

I'm fairly new to road biking, and I'm currently in the market for a CAAD9 5 or 4. I'm aware that the main difference between the two is SRAM Rival vs Shimano 105, and that the frame is identical. I understand that the Rival set generally outperforms the 105s, although there is also a considerable price difference in addition to preference in shifting. A local LBS is quoting me $1400 vs $1700.

I'm also looking at how 2011 changes would impact the value of a potential road bike purchase. Supposedly Shimano is redoing the 105 line, so the CAAD9 5 would be affected by that. From past experiences, is a component upgrade such as this a huge blow to the value? Also, is such an upgrade expected in the SRAM line anytime soon? If not, and if there is a significant value hit, it would help me rationalize some of the difference in price.

Finally, when do generally the new models come out. It seems like the 2010 models appeared some time in august of last year. Is that generally when new models arrive?

Thanks for your insights.


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## Accordion (Mar 27, 2010)

I was in the same boat as you. I elected to go with the 2010 CAAD9-5 and here's why.

I tried the SRAM and didn't like it. I'm used to Shimano and I'm sure you've heard all the stories of how this year's 105 is equivalent to three year's ago DuraAce, etc etc etc. Basically the 105 shifted well for me, was nice and quiet, and will be durable enough to last years.

Frame is identical. Fork is full carbon and identical. Seat post on CAAD9-5 is carbon wrapped, on the CAAD9-4 it's full carbon. No big deal to me. So I have a very rigid frame, great components, the BB30 bottom bracket (which I will never be able to tell the difference from the regular-sized one) and saved $300 plus tax. With this $300 I purchased: 

Shimano RO86 Shoes ($98)
Giro Saros Helmet ($110)
Shimano Ultegra Pedals ($110)

That's a lot of extras for essentially the same bike! I think the crank is FSA on the 9-5 and is Rival on the 9-4. That's another difference.

If you can, try to ride a Rival bike. I didn't like it but I've had 17 years of Shimano Mountain bike shifting and 8 years of Shimano road bike shifting. I'm not a weight weenie so I didn't care about the 400 grams Rival saves you.

Maybe I'm just trying to justify my purchase but I still think it was the right one - for me.

Good luck to you on whatever you decide!


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## fishcranium (Feb 8, 2010)

I recently purchased the CAAD9 4. I have been using shimano for years on an older specialized sworks frame and after some time getting use to the SRAM, I have grown to prefer it. It takes a bit more effort to shift but you get used to that. More importantly, when I grab a handful of brake...that is exactly what I get. No more floppy levers. Also... while I thought that I would not care about colors or graphics and have always claimed that function outweighed form, I think that the black one with subtle graphics is damn sexy. 

Just another opinion


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## ph0enix (Aug 12, 2009)

If you care about the "Handmade in USA" sticker, place your order soon. If you're used to the STI or the Double Tap shifters go with whichever system you feel more comfortable with (or live dangerously and step out of your comfort zone). The new 105 will be slightly lighter than the old one but I don't think that it's worth the wait. As far as loss of value of the components is concerned - who cares. Just get a bike, ride it and don't worry about it. It doesn't really matter if you really enjoy your ride. 

I agree with fishcranium that the black 9-4 has the hottest paintjob but the charcoal/grey 9-5 is my second favorite.


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## asad137 (Jul 29, 2009)

Accordion said:


> That's a lot of extras for essentially the same bike! I think the crank is FSA on the 9-5 and is Rival on the 9-4. That's another difference.


Crank is Force on the 4. Rival crank isn't available in BB30.

I think you hit the nail on the head, though. If you like SRAM shifting, get the 4. If you like Shimano, get the 5. I personally was going to get a 5 until I tried a SRAM bike. And also I personally hate the graphics on the 5.

Asad


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## Clueless Morgan (Mar 27, 2010)

I'm looking at the same decision as well. I'm interested in the 9-4 and do like the charcoal, I must admit. The hard part is: I could walk out the door with a 9-5 that's in stock tomorrow, but I was told today that a 9-4 red would be May and a 9-4 charcoal would be mid-June. The bird in hand, or the long wait? I don't see any other manufacturer offering SRAM on anything in the price range of the 9-4.


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## Chexcaliber (Apr 24, 2009)

105 functions well, but the fact that Rival's shift cables route under the bar tape made clinched it for me. All the Caad9 bikes are good values (especially this year) but the 4 seems most appealing.

SRAM introduced Red 2 years ago, updated Rival last year, then did force and the new low-end group this year. I would think a new Red would be next in line, and Rival is going to remain as-is for awhile.


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## fishcranium (Feb 8, 2010)

Clueless Morgan said:


> I'm looking at the same decision as well. I'm interested in the 9-4 and do like the charcoal, I must admit. The hard part is: I could walk out the door with a 9-5 that's in stock tomorrow, but I was told today that a 9-4 red would be May and a 9-4 charcoal would be mid-June. The bird in hand, or the long wait? I don't see any other manufacturer offering SRAM on anything in the price range of the 9-4.


I feel your pain… I rode many bikes over the past month and was convinced that this was the bike for me after riding the caad9 that was one size too large. I was fortunate to find what was likely the only CAAD9-4 in the state. It was (only) about 2.5 hours away and was in my size. These are hard to find right now. While I do like the 9-4, I am sure that the 9-5 would be an awesome ride and I would have picked one up if that was all that was available. The fact that this is the last year of USA hand built frames from Cannondale also influenced the urgency of my purchase. I'm sure that the quality of offshore bikes will be fine...I just like that HAND BUILD IN USA (sense of pride) graphic on the seat stay. I still think that these are the best current value in bikes that are available for test rides. While I am intrigued by web based prices, I refuse to purchase a bike that I cannot test ride.


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## squareslinky (Aug 13, 2009)

I believe Cannondale makes some great bikes (I have a Cannondale MTB and now a new 9 4) with this years bikes having some great prices and paint along with the Made in the USA logo!!!!

I went through the same thing as everyone in here, 9 5 or 9 4 with the price points. I read all the threads I could find on SRAM versus Shimano. I asked a ton of questions at the LBS (I leaned toward Shimano because that's what I know on my MTB). It made me more confused. My conclusion was a thread on here (can't find it right now) with a comparison, where it appeared to me the thread was SRAM leaning. My conclusion was I would not know the difference because I had not owned a road bike before, so I could learn on either. 

Now that I own the 9 4, I have a few rides in and really like the SRAM, it is very intuitive. Obviously the price is an issue and so is the color of your bike. Personally, I could not pass up the charcoal. 

Regarding the delivery time. I had to special order mine also. Charcoal in 63. I expected a long wait. The bike came in 3 or 4 weeks early.

Good luck to everyone about to purchase. It is well worth it. 

For me, the learning begins.


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## asad137 (Jul 29, 2009)

squareslinky said:


> Regarding the delivery time. I had to special order mine also. Charcoal in 63. I expected a long wait. The bike came in 3 or 4 weeks early.


This seems to be SOP with Cannondale. They quote long delivery times but it seems that everyone here on RBR who has ordered one has received theirs much earlier than the quoted date. No guarantees of course.

Asad


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## zeesix (Mar 26, 2010)

Thanks for the replies so far. It's been raining here so I haven't had a chance to test the 9-4, which may make the decision a lot easier if I prefer doubletap. My experience so far is limited to the 105, and a very old campy shifter (the ones mounted on the frame). 

I agree that the value point should be secondary to comfort etc... but it's just a consideration to justify a more expensive purchase... in the event that I upgrade my bike in a year or two.


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## zamboni (Sep 11, 2003)

Not a big fan of double tap beside you can't do the half trim on Sram shifter.


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## ClaytonT (Aug 23, 2009)

I agree that the charcoal black 9-4 is a sexy beast, but an awesome paintjob wasn't worth the price difference to me. 

I went with a 9-5 Blue. I'm one of the few who actually liked the blue, I waited an extra two weeks to have a blue over the gray.


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## Accordion (Mar 27, 2010)

Yep. 9-4 is gorgeous. I haven't seen the 9-5 blue in person but some of the user pics I've seen have been drop-dead beautiful. I rode the 9-5 Grey and it's also a gorgeous bike. I ended up purchasing one.

I researched and read all the differences between the two online. I watched YouTube videos of people explaining the differences between SRAM and Shimano. I watched one guy who's had SRAM for a year and he said he STILL screws up a couple times PER RIDE with the double-tap shifting. Others said it was a beautiful thing. So I rode them both. I only did about 15 minutes on the SRAM and figured it out pretty easily. I still didn't like it, but that's just me. The Shimano seemed smoother and was completely intuitive to me. I sure wouldn't turn down a bike with SRAM, though! It was nice, just unfamiliar.

Adding up all the pros and cons it was a pretty easy decision for me. With tax I ended up saving something like $330 which bought me a lot of items and I still have the same frame and fork which are 90% of the importance of the bike to me.

I'm more concerned with the RS10 wheels. I've read a lot about big guys breaking rear spokes on them. I'm 6'2 and 200 pounds so I'm not looking forward to any trouble! Oh well.

Again, good luck. You can't go wrong. Seriously. You won't miss the $300 in a couple years and if you get the 9-5 well then you'll save $300. You'll be happy either way.


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## ph0enix (Aug 12, 2009)

squareslinky said:


> I leaned toward Shimano because that's what I know on my MTB).


You have STI brifters on your MTB?


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## fontarin (Mar 28, 2009)

Eh - I'd go with the 4 personally. I prefer the SRAM shifting.

Also - Force crank is much better. I've had a ton of problems with my FSA crank on my Synapse.


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## RUV (Aug 13, 2009)

I, too, was in the same boat. I chose the 4 b/c 1) I like the ergonomics and shifting in the SRAM better and 2) I could feel the difference (or at least I thought I could) between the Force crank and the FSA crank. Both are great bikes but the 4 made me smile just a bit wider when I'm on the road. As such, I thought the $300 extra was justified.

I don't think you can go wrong. Either model is pretty awesome.


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## learlove (Jan 18, 2009)

I also don't think you can go wrong with either. In fact I bought a caad9-4 back in Nov. My first Sram bike and i didn't like it as much ar shimano (105 or Ultegra). So I sold it and got a Caad9 5 in the blue. Six or a half dozen of another. In the end its all about the fit and the rider. 

Speaking of fit, last year I had a local builder make me a custom lugged steel road bike. It rides like a dream. Built with centaur and tubular wheels it has to be 2 or 3 pounds heavier than my "crit" setup cannondales (caad9 and caad5) but it rides (handles, jumps, goes forward, everything) better than any bike (cdale/merckx/fuji/colnago/specialized/kona/pinarello) I have ever had.


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## georgewerr (Mar 4, 2009)

Accordion said:


> Yep. 9-4 is gorgeous. I haven't seen the 9-5 blue in person but some of the user pics I've seen have been drop-dead beautiful. I rode the 9-5 Grey and it's also a gorgeous bike. I ended up purchasing one.
> 
> I researched and read all the differences between the two online. I watched YouTube videos of people explaining the differences between SRAM and Shimano. I watched one guy who's had SRAM for a year and he said he STILL screws up a couple times PER RIDE with the double-tap shifting. Others said it was a beautiful thing. So I rode them both. I only did about 15 minutes on the SRAM and figured it out pretty easily. I still didn't like it, but that's just me. The Shimano seemed smoother and was completely intuitive to me. I sure wouldn't turn down a bike with SRAM, though! It was nice, just unfamiliar.
> 
> ...



I have a 2009 caad - 5 that has the rs -10 wheels. I weigh in at 330#. Ive been riding this bike whole year (4-2009) never had the wheel trued and still dead nuts on

George


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## asad137 (Jul 29, 2009)

As far as the question "what is a better value" -- from a strict cost standpoint, I'd say the 5 is the better value. SRAM Rival costs about the same as Shimano 105 (at retail...probably not wholesale), there's almost no difference in any of the other components except the crank, and a Force crank doesn't cost $300 more than a Gossamer crank.

But, if you add intangibles, like the butt-ugly graphics on the 5...well, "value" has to take that into account too  I knew that if I bought a 5, I would feel like a dope for spending that much money on a bike I thought looked ugly -- whose stupid graphics would be staring at me from the top tube every time I went for a ride -- and I would probably ride less. So there's some value there.

Asad


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## Accordion (Mar 27, 2010)

Oh man! I LOVE the look of my 5. It's a nice muted grey and I really like the Cannondale logos! I have a Pista fixed gear bike and it's completely non-descript so maybe I was needing a change!

I rode my CAAD-9 5 for 31 miles today. 16.6 mph average over a course I've ridden 100 times on my 1990 Rockhopper with city clicks on it. Best time ever on the Rockhopper? 15.2mph. So there's a big difference between the two obviously.

I must say that my inner thighs are killing me though. Must be something about using different leg muscles on the road bike versus the moutain bike. I seriously can't ride tomorrow I'm so sore and I rode 120 miles last week on my Rockhopper so I'm in biking shape!

It's an awesome thing, the modern roadbike!


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## Clueless Morgan (Mar 27, 2010)

Well, I went ahead and ordered a CAAD9-4 today. I started shopping in earnest last August, so I finally had to stop deliberating and pick one. It wasn't easy to decide, but I kinda got stuck on the 9-4. In the mean time I'll have to decide on pedals which I haven't spent that much time learning about yet.


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## squareslinky (Aug 13, 2009)

Clueless Morgan said:


> Well, I went ahead and ordered a CAAD9-4 today. I started shopping in earnest last August, so I finally had to stop deliberating and pick one. It wasn't easy to decide, but I kinda got stuck on the 9-4. In the mean time I'll have to decide on pedals which I haven't spent that much time learning about yet.


What color for the 9 4?


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## fishcranium (Feb 8, 2010)

Clueless Morgan said:


> Well, I went ahead and ordered a CAAD9-4 today. I started shopping in earnest last August, so I finally had to stop deliberating and pick one. It wasn't easy to decide, but I kinda got stuck on the 9-4. In the mean time I'll have to decide on pedals which I haven't spent that much time learning about yet.


You will not be disappointed…I just put another 30 miles on mine after work today and still have not wiped the smile of my face.


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## Clueless Morgan (Mar 27, 2010)

Jet Black. My printout from last October also calls is BBQ, but the website dropped that little bit. I was told 5/29 for a projected ship date.


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## Clueless Morgan (Mar 27, 2010)

You have no idea! I'm still riding my first an only road bike: a 1972 "Montarino", steel alloy, 10 speed, Simplex derailleurs with paddle shifters on the down tube. I think I weighed it in at around the 30 lb mark! Odd thing is, like many clothes fashions, this style bike seems to be coming back into vogue. Non the less, a couple of test rides and I started smiling, "MAN am I over due for a new bike."

One factor for me: I don't have any previous experience with Shimano style brake/shifters to UN-learn in order to adapt to SRAM style ones. Now I can't wait.


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## asad137 (Jul 29, 2009)

Clueless Morgan said:


> One factor for me: I don't have any previous experience with Shimano style brake/shifters to UN-learn in order to adapt to SRAM style ones. Now I can't wait.


I was in the same boat. My old bike had friction shifters, so going to integrated shifters was going to be a learning process no matter what direction I went. I went SRAM (though not Cannondale in the end), and I love it.

Asad


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## rapidreview (Apr 8, 2010)

hey all,

i took out a caad9-5 and 9-4 for a test ride today for my first road bike.

i ultimately decided to get the 9-5 since the $300 im saving can be used on shoes, pedals, etc. my question is, my lbs is offering me 5% off on the bike and 15% on all equipment. is that a pretty good deal? also, they don't have them in stock, so they will be ordering them through cannondale with a projected ship date of mid march. are their estimates usually conservative and which color seems to be the more popular option? thanks for your help.


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## Accordion (Mar 27, 2010)

I think you meant mid-May in your post rather than mid-March.

I ordered my CAAD9-5 in mid-March and had it in two weeks. Actually got it April 1st. It was a compact crank, however. The standard doubles were supposed to be mid-May for the CAAD9-5s. I needed the compact anyway so it worked out okay. Timelines were exactly as quoted in my case.

5% off is just okay. If they are using the list of $1500 it makes the bike $1425. I paid $1400 for mine from REI and you get a 10% refund at the end of the year so mine ended up being $1260, brand new and professionally assembled.

I also did what you did and got the 9-5 and bought all the accessories with the savings. Shoes, pedals, pump, helmet, shorts, jerseys, socks, gloves, computer, tubes, minitool, etc all added up to close to $500!!!! I was starting from scratch, though, as none of my Mountain bike equipment translated over. I would have hated to throw another $400 (with taxes) on top of that for the 9-4.

I'm riding 30 miles a day, getting stronger, have no pain and am absolutely crazy about my decision. Of course I don't know any other bike so take my advice with a grain of salt!


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## Clueless Morgan (Mar 27, 2010)

Well, my bike came in. I picked it up Sunday, so for the record: Ordered on 4/2, told it would ship 5/29, and it arrived on 4/23 or 24 instead. I tried to post pictures once, but they wouldn't upload despite being within the prescribed limits.


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## Clueless Morgan (Mar 27, 2010)

OK, here's the picture;


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## ph0enix (Aug 12, 2009)

Great looking ride! Congrats! Those reflectors are hurting my eyes though. They ought to go!


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## AvantDale (Dec 26, 2008)

and pull of the dork disk too. :cornut:


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## zeesix (Mar 26, 2010)

I'm still shopping around, mainly because I haven't found any reputable LBS's in my area that carry Cannondale. One of my options is REI, but they only seem to carry the CAAD9-4 and in red, and I'm not sure if they special order bikes.The good thing about REI are their policies in case something goes wrong. On the other hand, I'm not sure how good their fitting services are. 

Also, since the new Shimano 105's (5700) are coming out in a few weeks, will the CAAD9-5s come with the new version?

Further, any word on when the 2011 lineup is coming out?


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## knucklesandwich (Feb 23, 2007)

The 2010 Cannondales will not have any of the new 105 stuff; that will start showing up on the 2011’s that will begin shipping towards Aug/Sept.

REI should be able to order you any color of the CAAD9, despite the limited colors they have on their website.


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## LOUISSSSS (Dec 14, 2009)

How r the rs10 wheels holding up guys?

oh yea, and how much do you weigh?


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## georgewerr (Mar 4, 2009)

Good for me

George


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## ClaytonT (Aug 23, 2009)

No complaints and nothing bad happened when I hit 48mph on the rs-10's either.


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## Clueless Morgan (Mar 27, 2010)

Coming off a 38 year old bike to ride this one, I don't have enough experience with modern wheels to know any better, but I like the wheels. I did wonder if the reflectors had a bad effect on wheel balance.


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## ClaytonT (Aug 23, 2009)

I took the wheel reflectors off... though its more of a style choice that anything else. I suppose it does net a few less grams.


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