# Looking to upgrade CAAD 7 with a CAAD 12, but what size ?



## bollard (Mar 14, 2002)

*Looking to upgrade CAAD 7 with a CAAD 12, UPDATE please see last post*

Hi Hi, 

I am looking at finally making the jump from a CAAD 7 to a CAAD 12. The CAAD 7 I have is a 54cm, but I have been reading (mostly on here) about the change in geometry of the 2017 CAAD 12 frameset. Any advice on what size I should get will be gratefully received. 

Cheers


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

In the 54 cm size I'm not seeing any significant differences. Stack and reach are identical. As are tube lengths etc. See for yourself. There is a difference in the standover dimension which is hard to explain given that the stack and BB height dimensions are virtually identical. Errors do creep into these charts sometimes, like the labelling errors.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

Seat tube length.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

Yes, but the way Cannondale show it, it's irrelevant. The important thing is the angle.

There's something not quite right anyway (other than the messed up A and B labels), In that the older frames had a horizontal TT, and the new ones look even more horizontal.

If stack, reach, TT, HT, wheelbase, setback, and all the angles are the same, then for all practical purposes, the frames are interchangeable.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

bikerjulio said:


> Yes, but the way Cannondale show it, it's irrelevant. The important thing is the angle.
> 
> There's something not quite right anyway (other than the messed up A and B labels), In that the older frames had a horizontal TT, and the new ones look even more horizontal.
> 
> If stack, reach, TT, HT, wheelbase, setback, and all the angles are the same, then for all practical purposes, the frames are interchangeable.


If the TT is "even more horizontal" that would raise the stand over height, seeing as the HT length stayed the same. And the taller TT and longer stand over looks to run thru all sizes, so I would guess that they leveled the TT or erred across the board with their figures.

If the top chart is for the CAAD7, could the 7 have a sloping TT and the 12 a level TT? That would explain the taller ST and longer stand over.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

velodog said:


> If the TT is "even more horizontal" that would raise the stand over height, seeing as the HT length stayed the same. And the taller TT and longer stand over looks to run thru all sizes, so I would guess that they leveled the TT or erred across the board with their figures.
> 
> If the top chart is for the CAAD7, could the 7 have a sloping TT and the 12 a level TT? That would explain the taller ST and longer stand over.


One nice thing about Cannondale is that they stuck to the same geometry since the beginning of time. I don't believe there was any change between the CAAD5, that I have here and the CAAD7. And my CAAD TT is dead horizontal, or at least within a few mm of horizontal. The "more horizontal" was my feeble attempt at humor.

A picture is worth many words, and if anything the CAAD12 appears to slope a little, which you would think would reduce the standover. But no. So there is a little bit of mystery, but I don't see anything worth worrying about.


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## bollard (Mar 14, 2002)

A 54cm it is then. Thanks bikerjulio !


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## bollard (Mar 14, 2002)

Well I took the plunge and went for the Black Inc CAAD 12 frameset in size 54cm. Just a shame its not completely black. 
I also purchased a Cannondale SAVE carbon seatpost to go with it, as I had seen it on a lot of the upper end Super-Six EVO, Synapse and CAAD 12 builds in 2017 using it and wanted to make the ride even smoother. 
The build has gone really well, apart from one issue. The mechanic is saying that the seatpost needs at least 148 mm of seatpost exposed to take advantage of the vibration dampening, but that is 15mm higher than where I'm used to having it {worked out by a bike fit many moons ago}
He also said that dropping the seatpost below 148 mm would void the warranty on the frame and could cause an incident. I have tried to find a Cannondale SAVE seatpost installation guide online, but with no luck. 
Is he correct in what he says ?? And why would the post not fit if I bought the correct frame size ?

Any advice/help will be gratefully received. Cheers in advance. 

Mark


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

At first reading I thought "nonsense" but then I found an image. The seatpost looks to be shaped so that maybe your guy is right.


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## bollard (Mar 14, 2002)

Thanks BikerJulio. Seems really odd to me, that they would design it so it doesn't fit some people. Is there another carbon seatpost in that price range that will definitely fit, that you would recommend, that is designed for its compliance ?


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

no recommendations but there is this 4 of the best comfort-boosting seatposts to soften road shock and cosset your bottom | road.cc


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