This
has been a great year for bicycling and bike shops. Gas prices have
triggered an awakening of sorts, and everyone, it seems, wants to ride
a bike. Yep, 2008 was a good year. Was? What do I mean by "was" a
good year? Aren't we just over half way through the year? Well, yes,
it's mid-summer in the regular world; however, in the world of bikes,
much like automobiles, the 2008 model year is pretty much over, and the
2009 bicycles are being introduced, and in some cases, have already
arrived. I've recently seen Cannondale's 2009 line-up, and there were
a few bikes that blew me away. Cannondale is offering a new all-carbon
bike, which I'll write about soon because I think it's a home run, but
it's the entry-level road bikes that are arriving right now which are
causing quite a stir. To be more specific, the Cannondale CAAD9 series
of bicycles.
Cannondale made it's name producing the best aluminum road and
mountain bikes in the world, and only the foolish, or someone who's
trying to sell you something different, would try to claim they still
don't do it better than anyone else. Cannondale's CAAD series of
bikes have been the epitomy of aluminum frame design for over a decade,
and the continued refinement of them has led to the most recent
edition, the CAAD9. Introduced in '08, the CAAD9 has all the looks and
ride-feel of a bicycle that's been perfected over time. It's a
graceful balance of stiffness and ride comfort, and utilizes a geometry
that can be tuned to virtually any rider's needs. Yep, this bike is as
good as it gets, and yet we didn't really stock it for 2008. Why?
Simple: price. You see, the Cannondale CAAD9 is as good as it is
because it's still handmade in the United States using the best, and
most advanced tubing. The care and time it takes to make a CAAD9 meant
that it's price was quite a bit higher than other bikes with similar
componentry, and when your talking entry-level, price is a big, big
deal maker (or breaker) for someone just getting into the sport. Ah,
but times do change, my friends, and Cannondale's recent purchase by
Dorel is allowing it to flex a bit of muscle when it comes to
competitive pricing. While everyone else is raising prices of bikes
for 2009 due to increased costs, Cannondale is actually lowering
prices, including on bikes like the, you guessed it, CAAD9. So, I get
to sell these bikes are prices I never thought possible, and my
customers get the highest quality aluminum bike on the market today for
the same price of other manufacturers bicycles welded by machines in
China. Cool.
The CAAD9 in White
and in Matte Black
The
CAAD9 bikes began arriving about a week ago, and there are currently
two component levels, but a third has just been added and will follow
soon. The lowest price point is the Cannondale CAAD9 7. It sports the
Shimano Sora 9-speed component group. Redesigned in the last year,
Sora may be entry-level, but it's clearly grown up now as a legitimate
gruppo worthy to be ridden by the value conscious. Gone is the clunky
look and feel of past Sora shifters - the new 9-speed shift/brake
levers are better shaped, smoother in function, and clearly have a
higher quality of construction than before. The elitest might turn
their nose, but I think Sora is a legit group which offers the consumer
a good deal. The CAAD9 7 retails for $830.00.
A step up from the
"7" is the Cannondale CAAD9 6. At $975.00, it's built up with
Shimano's Tiagra group, and is a very well thought out bike. There are
little details about this bike that are cool, like the red brake
adjuster. It shows Cannondale really paid attention when they put this
bike together, attention that isn't always afforded a bike at this
price point. Tiagra bikes used to fall into a sort of "no man's land"
for me. They were a little pricey for what you got, and I considered
them a tough sell as they sat between Sora and the ten speed 105 group.
Considering this bike sold for $1100.00 as a 2008 model, and we had
Felt Z70's at $1100 with 105, I had a hard time recommending it. For
2009, it's price point is lower for a slightly better spec, and the
looks of the bikes are really, really good. The CAAD9 6 comes in two
colors, but it's the white with candy-apple red graphics that really
stands out. This bike looks way more expensive than it is, and both
the frame and components go together as if they were designed for one
another. Over the first week we've had the bikes, many a customer has
come in for a Sora-level bike, but has seen the "6" and upped their
price point a bit. It just looks that good. In fact, we've fallen for
this bike so much that we've ordered a whole size run to use as
rentals! Even cooler is the fact that you can rent the CAAD9 6 to see
just how much you like, and then we'll deduct the rental fees from the
price of the bike when you realize it's as good as we say.
The
third CAAD9 bike will be the "5" - a Shimano 105 equipped model with an
msrp of $1299.00, which is another price drop from '08. Should be in
the shop by September.
Questions? Give us a call or email.