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Bicycle Experts - Come On In!!
About to purchase my first road bike (coming from Sirrus Elite hybrid). Rode a Cannondale CAAD10 5, CAAD8 6, Synapse Alloy 6, and LOOK 566 Carbon.
C10 was quickest which is what I want (main goal is to go faster). The race geometry is alright. Wasn't the best comfort for me. Very stiff and I felt lots of road feedbach. C8 was similar but more compliant (a little smoother) albeit slower. The Synapse had the best ride (really smooth yet still giving a good feedback). Thought this was what I wanted but after riding it I realized it was the heaviest of the bunch and the slowest (made for endurance rather than all out speed).
Then I got to ride a LOOK 566 Carbon which, weight wise, is about same as the CAAD10 which is supposedly one of the best Aluminum frames on the market. The 566 is similar to the CAAD8 geometry and it fits me well. I felt comfortable on it. Component wise it is identical to the CAAD10.
Questions for you experts: (1) any other recommendations for about $1,200? and (2) while the CAAD10 didn't fit me best, will I get used to it (perhaps it's my first road bike and has a race geometry)?
Note that the bikes I tried out are all on close out so they are marked down quite a bit ($800 for the CAAD8 6 and Synapse 6- down from $1,299; $1,099 for the CAAD10; $1,299 for the LOOK 566). Original budget was $800 but I don't mind spending a little more on a nice frame/bike.
Thank you in advance!
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