Product Review: Cannondale CAAD10 Frameset
By Frank Sarate, SoCalCycling.com
Originally, the Cannondale brand was built on manufacturing the best aluminum bikes in the business. Recently, Cannondale decided to bring back and revive an almost forgotten material at the high end and a mid level price range with the CAAD10.
Cannondale just didn’t modify the next generation CAAD10. Cannondale totally started from scratch and went back to the drawing board to build what is Cannondale’s finest achievement to date when it comes to their flagship CAAD aluminum bikes.
The SoCalCycling.com Team bike features a Cannondale CAAD10 Frame.
photo © SoCalCycling.com
The new CAAD10 not only rides great but looks spectacular with clean lines and noticeably defined tube shapes that shows how the engineering technology went into the frame’s redesign. You can see that most of the design is used throughout some of the other Cannondale lines, mostly from the Flash carbon hardtail MTB frame, top tube, seat tube and rear triangle. Cannondale was able to achieve this by using SmartFormed 6069 alloy tubing throughout the frameset. This allowed Cannondale to shape the tubes similar to their carbon counterparts.
Cannondale was able to drop the weight by 150 grams over the previous CAAD9 and produce a more efficient frameset all at the same time. The top tube uses a wider and flatter shape to optimize lateral stiffness and is tapered in the center for knee clearance. The tapered headtube uses a 1-1/8 top and 1-1/4 bearing. The down tube is Hydroformed to maximize the frontal area stiffness. The bottom bracket shell uses a BB30. The Delta seat tube is flared out near the bottom bracket area for lateral stiffness. The chain stays use SAVE technology that acts as a micro-suspension for the rear triangle. The dropouts are sleek and cut weight to make for a more efficient design. The CAAD10 fork is another trend setter in design. The fork dropout sits behind the fork blade to add to the micro-suspension. When paired with the frame, the rear triangle and fork micro-sspension act in unison.
The CAAD10 uses a BB30. The Delta seat tube is flared out
near the bottom bracket area for lateral stiffness.
photo © SoCalCycling.com
After spending several months training and racing on the CAAD10 for the SoCalCycling.com Team, I can say that this bike has passed with flying colors. The SoCalCycling.com Team's riders has been very impressed with the performance of the CAAD10. The CAAD10 has helped the Team achieve consistent podium and top 5 results throughout the season.
Cannondale’s micro-suspension is genius. I really noticed it when hitting potholes, manhole covers and big cracks in the road. One must remember that the CAAD10 is not carbon and little vibrations are still apparent with the characteristics of the aluminum.
The chain stays use SAVE technology that acts as a micro-suspension for the rear
triangle. The dropouts are sleek and cut weight and make for a more efficient design.
photo © SoCalCycling.com
The CAAD10’s tube shapes are clean and the frame graphics are some of the best that Cannondale has come up with to date. But make no mistake, this bike is a solid racer and handles well in technical corners and switchbacks, plus while standing out of the saddle to sprint up a hill or close a gap. The CAAD10’s technology is noticable and allows the rider to accelerate forward without losing any energy while providing energy saving comfort. Cannondale’s BB30, Delta seat tube, flattened rear chain and seat stays make for a compliant riding frame without sacrificing any stiffness of the frame and allow the rider to accelerate forward when pushing on the pedals.
The CAAD10 provides the same precise and sharp handling that the Super Six provides, due to the tapered head tube, redesigned fork and Hydroformed down tube. This adds to the stiffness in the frontal area of the frame, but keeps the weight down.
The top tube uses wider and flatter shape to optimize lateral stiffness
and is tapered in the center for knee clearance. The tapered
headtube uses a 1-1/8 top and 1-1/4 bearing.
photo © SoCalCycling.com
The ride of the CAAD10 is so impressive that it actually rides better than some of its carbon competitors that may cost twice as much. The weight of the CAAD10 is also comparable to bikes costing much more. The geometry of the frame is good for all types of riding whether it is going up long climbs or jumping out of the last corner to raise your hands for the sprint victory.
With all of the money you save on the frame you can upgrade your wheels.
photo © SoCalCycling.com
The SoCalCycling.com Team bikes this year are equipped with ROL d’huez wheels, TRP 950 SL’s brakes, Race Face stems and seatpost, Fizik saddles, Continental tires, Ritchey handlebars and SRAM Force components.
Cannondale's Murray Washburn explains the technology behind the CAAD10.
