New road bike MANIA

As some of you already know, I've set my heart on riding with the American Lung Association across the country next year. As such, I'm using it as a great excuse to get a new bike, especially since I will be unloading my mountain bike.

So far I've been on three bikes for a test ride:

Co-Motion Nor'Wester (Steel-- probably set me back about 3 and a half grand with Ultegra)
Steelhead custom Titanium (more like 4 grand with meh parts)

and the biggest surprise came this afternoon when I rode a Cannondale CAAD10 Dura-Ace. I was not expecting such amazingness from aluminum, but wow.

I definitely enjoyed the Co-motion. It had a bit more heft, but I felt confident that it would be a sweet, comfortable ride for the duration of the trip.

The Ti bike was most excellent. I rode that thing with a huge-azz smile on my face and it rode like butter. The problem is that it comes at a premium. With Shimano 105, it rings in at $4000 (weeee!)

Today I wound up talking to a very nice young (hot) retired pro racer at my favorite shop and he plugged hard for the CAAD 10. He just bought one for himself as his retirement from cycling/in school bike. The bike weighed in at just 16 lbs fully equipped with dura ace componentry and some stock wheels of some kind (I'd sell those and get my own). I wheeled around on that thing and winged corners like I never had before. It is incredibly fast. Even without a fit it was more comfortable than my carbon Trek.

The beauty of this bike, though, is that I can replace my carbon Trek too.

I'm not sure I'd build it up with Dura Ace. For my money, I'd rather have full Ultegra and get some really nice wheels with very pretty Chris King hubs :D

Here's the specs:
http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/road...ad/2011-caad10

I think I was mostly surprised by how comfortable I was on a non-women's specific frame design. The handlebars were a bit wide, but they said they'd swap them out no problem.

Anyway, the guy felt confident that I would thankful for a bike like that on the climbs, even if it was a little less smooth and buttery on the road. He felt that good wheels and the right saddle and perfect fit would help quell discomfort issues anyway.

Unloading both my current bikes and upgrading my road sounds very appealing too. Lots to think about and I'd love for you guys to weigh in!

What kind of roads did you ride the Cannondale on? I know some AL bikes aren't as jarring, but I disagree that a good set of wheels will make an otherwise harsh bike more comfy. They'll help, but over a cross country tour, I'd be a little worried that it wouldn't be enough.

I'm glad you're open to all frame materials, but I'd cast a broader net for custom steel than just the Co-Motion. A good builder will be able to set you up on a steel frame well under 20 pounds that will offer a light bike for climbing AND a smooth ride. Get it built with rack mounts and clearance for fenders, and you can set it up as a tourer, too.

Chris King hubs are pretty. You know they make quite a bit of sound when coasting, right? They sound like angry bees. It'd be fine by me (my White Industries hubs are loud too), but it's not to everyone's liking. Of course, I'm still partial to my hubs. They're cheaper and just as pretty!

DBF says that he found the higher-quality Al tubing in the CAAD10 (he has the forerunner to that series) to be a better ride than the cheap aluminum bikes. He is, however, a Cannondale fanboy. But I doubt he's as susceptible to road buzz as some people, and probably hasn't done much riding on chip-seal. I'd see if I could take the CAAD10 on some other roads if I were you.

I might have been as excited about the Ti if it weren't so daggum expensive. We don't have a lot of custom steel dealers in town here. Co-mo, serotta and Seven are pretty much it. I did think about SyCip, but they are sold by the same people trying to sell me their own ti frame brand (which was very nice but $$$).

I wouldn't call it a harsh ride, but I would call it a stiff ride. Felt about the same as any other carbon bike I've test rode. Not as silky smooth as ti or the co-mo though. Ideally I'd like to test ride it for longer.

I'd like to find a 17-18 lb steel bike (all in total, natch) but I just don't know where to look with all these custom builders.

I always feel a little bit like I'm wasting shop time when I'm hunting around, but this is a lot of bucks and I want to make sure I put the money somewhere nice.

I definitely wouldn't mind replacing my trek with something race-worthy (cat 4/5 though... nothing crazy). Me? One bike?

The builder doesn't need to be in the same town as you. All of the good builders, e.g., Carl Strong, Dave Kirk, Dave Kish, Independent Fabrication, Curtlo, Shamrock, Bilinky to name a few, can work with you over the phone. And some--like Waterford--have local dealers where you'd work with a fitter in getting sized. Do what Catrin did and find a local Gunnar/waterford dealer. For the money, Gunnar is a fantastic way to go and you have access to Waterford's design team for help.
As you can see, I have a strong bias for steel. For a cross country trip, it would be my choice, especially if I wanted to also use it for touring. It's a really versatile material.