New Bike!

My new bike finally arrived and definitely meets with my approval.

It’s a 2011 Cannondale Caad 10.  I got the 48″ frame size in the “women’s” version, but all that means is I got a different color, which is the raw aluminum.  It looks quite good!

I can’t decide what colors I want to accent it with – one option is yellow Look Keo pedals, yellow handlebar tape and hoods, and maybe some yellow tires.  On the other hand, I could just keep everything black and silver.  Until I decide, I’m going with all my old stuff (pedals and garmin), which unfortunately is blue.  It looked great with my old bike, not so much with this one.

I love the new SRAM Rival group.  Shifters look great and everything is super smooth.  I had been using Forte/Shimano stuff, and while it was okay, this is way better.  I like just having one lever on each side that needs to be pushed to move up or down a gear.  Easy to use and quick to respond.

I’ve moved from a triple ring to a compact double.  I’m a bit worried about how I’ll do on hills.  There are times when I really needed my “granny gear” on some rides, so I’m not sure I’m really ready for this switch.  But for my everyday rides, which are pretty flat, it will be fine, and hopefully my fitness will keep improving so I don’t have to worry so much.

What I noticed on my first ride was it did feel very responsive.  As soon as I pushed down on the pedal, it seemed like there was just extra zippy-ness. It just seems to take off faster than my other bike.

It’s a pretty lightweight bike – weighed in at 18 lbs with my pedal, bag, and Garmin on it.  I’d like to get it to down to 15, but that will take some time to save up funds for stuff like new wheels, etc.  This is only 3.5 lbs lighter than my other bike, but I’ll take any weight savings I can get.

This is supposed to be a stiff bike, but it does feel pretty comfortable.  The ride was very smooth and quiet, even on some bumpy roads.  The saddle it came with is rather hard and that will probably need to be switched out soon, but I’ll give it a few more rides before I decide for sure.  The saddle is probably the worst part of the bike.  And the wheels.  They are Shimano RS10 s, so I stuck with my Easton wheels.  I might try out the Shimanos once I lose some more pounds.  Not sure I trust the low spoke count on them for now.

Overall, after my first ride of only 8 miles, I really like the bike.  I’ll need to get used to the handlebars being lower than my old bike, but so far things feel comfy, smooth and hassle-free.

More pics