Caad 10 105 vs Specialized Dolce Elite 105

[hjakeway]

I am buying my first road bike (Yeah!) and I have narrowed my search ( I think) to the Cannondale Caad 10 with 105 and the Specialized Dolce Elite with 105.

I have ridden the Dolce and loved it. I rode the Cannondale Synapse Carbon fem 6 and liked it but really want to stay with an alum frame. Can someone please help me with this!

I will be ridding some short rides but plan on doing long 40+ rides. The roads here tend to be not so smooth and can be hilly.

[zoom-zoom]

Why not get an alum. Synapse...? The CAAD would feel VERY different from the Synapse. You may like it, you may not. It's quite a bit more aggressive. I went from a Synapse (alum.) to a SuperSix, which has identical geometry to the CAAD, but in carbon. Very different feel, even though they are the same size.

[Owlie]

The CAAD10 will probably be lighter and nicer aluminum than the Dolce, but it's a more aggressive bike--it was designed to be raced, even though the catalog no longer makes mention of this. (At least for Cannondale's women's road bikes, the "beat the boys" tag belongs to the SuperSix.) The Dolce is a more relaxed bike.

See if you can find an aluminum Synapse.

[zoom-zoom]

The roads here tend to be not so smooth...

FYI, some aluminum frames can also be really miserable on rough roads, like chip-seal. Not all (my Synapse was miserable on rough roads, but my aluminum Redline Conquest feels nearly as buttery on our roads as my SuperSix).

[hjakeway]

Thank you... I would love to try the alum Synapse I am having a very hard time finding bikes my size to demo. My husband is also searching and when we go to a shop... he gets to demo 3-4 and I am lucky if they havce 1 for me. But I will try to locate one to try.

[Owlie]

Thank you... I would love to try the alum Synapse I am having a very hard time finding bikes my size to demo. My husband is also searching and when we go to a shop... he gets to demo 3-4 and I am lucky if they havce 1 for me. But I will try to locate one to try.

I completely understand. In my case, it's a matter of being too tall for most of the WSD bikes they have on the floor, and not tall enough (or built correctly!) for the unisex. Trying to find a bike to try can be a nightmare! DBF, on the other hand, can go into a bike shop and everything fits him.

Consider going with the CAAD10 if your roads aren't good, assuming it fits and you want to stick with aluminum for budget reasons. It's supposed to ride nicely for being aluminum--shop guy says about as nicely as the SuperSix for a lot less. That assumes, though, that you want a more aggressive bike.

[hjakeway]

I took your advice and looked at the Caad 10 and it looks really nice. I may have changed my search lol

Also I need to correct the Specialized... it is the Dolce Comp Compact with 105's. I rode an '11 I can get a deal on so it would be about the same price as a '12 Caad 10. so the REAL question for me is ... whcih is the better bike. I think I want a "less agressive" bike but I know some of that can be changed by changing the stem (to a certain extent).

Getting so confused now!

[zoom-zoom]

I took your advice and looked at the Caad 10 and it looks really nice. I may have changed my search lol

Also I need to correct the Specialized... it is the Dolce Comp Compact with 105's. I rode an '11 I can get a deal on so it would be about the same price as a '12 Caad 10. so the REAL question for me is ... whcih is the better bike. I think I want a "less agressive" bike but I know some of that can be changed by changing the stem (to a certain extent).

Getting so confused now!

If you want a less aggressive bike, then the CAAD is probably not the bike you want. Yeah, you can put a shorter, more angled stem on it, but you'd be better off having a bike with less aggressive geometry in the first place (like the Synapse). The CAAD is not going to be as comfortable for longer rides as it would be for more performance-oriented riding.