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Just bought a CAAD9!!!

onm

Sep 2, 2009
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What!!! :p:p:p:p

So, I went out bike shopping tonight, and said to myself, "You HAVE to come home with a bike, you idiot. Stop looking, and just go for it".

Went into Y's (mainly to torture myself with their (ahem) social skills).

Saw a Cannondale CAAD9 there, which was my size, and had just been bought. Bugger.

Spoke to the staff there (sigh; you can imagine how lame that experience was), and asked them if they could order another one of the same for me.

I swear they just wanted me out the shop. Was insane! I guess my money was not good enough for them, the spastics.

Headed up to SEO Cycles, and saw my man Yuta (great guy, if you are ever in Omiya).

He sorted me out a Cannondale CAAD9.5 and a pair of Mavic Avenir shoes, all for under 200,000yen.

Great service, friendly store full of riders, oil on the floor, mechanics working on grubby bikes right in front of me, etc. Great stuff!

So, I am picking up tomorrow or Saturday, and I can not bloody wait!!

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D:D:D:D:D:D
 
Yeah SEO were good to me back about 17 years ago. Maybe someone should call the manager of Y's and tell him what douches his staff are. Or maybe a secret YouTube of shite service. They are losing him fist fills of money.
 
Seriously.

I would be MORE than happy to do so. Both shops are within spitting distance of eachother in Omiya, and I am sure SEO (who are now my official LBS!) would be very interested to know how dire their rivals are.

SEO is ace, for so many reasons.

I went to the one in Omiya last year, looking for a bike, and got loads of advice and tried a few out. The guys were funny and seemed to be into what they were selling without kissing arse ever (big one for me, that...)

Went to the one in Kasukabe today, and didn't find what I wanted, but the guy was cool, and said that I might be able to find what I wanted in Omiya. Was a nice experience altogether.

Headed to the SEO in Omiya, and it was ace (as I mentioned above).

Seriously, Y's can fcuk off. Considering how expensive their average product price is, they don't welcome people very well.

Having said that, the average customer seemed to be a no-clue Salariman type, in the process of buying a Super Six and sticking flat pedals on it.

:rolleyes:
 
Welcome to the club!
4563153914_d889a9c72c.jpg


Enjoy the CAAD9 :D
 
Wow!

That is gorgeous! Your wheels look amazing.

I got the 2010 Liquigas Team Replica, 9.5. 105 all over, with some other stuff chucked in. Will give out the full spec when I pick it up.

So, AlexW; please tell me how your CAAD9 feels to ride!
 
Owen, Alan's damn fast on that thing;) Congrats on the new:bike:
 
Yeah, I am not going to challenge any of you guys just yet. This whole thing is new to me.

Would be ace to meet up with some of you, now I have a ride, and see what you get up to though.

Pre-warning; I am going to be horribly slow...

A case of 'all the gear and no idea' at the moment, I feel.
 
Congrats Owen! Cannondales always look the bizz, as they say, but the Liquigas livery make them look particularly fine. Don't forget to post pics...
 
Cheers Phil!

So, I picked it up today...

and...

WOAH.

You guys did not tell me it was going to be THAT fast.

Bllloooooody hell!!!

No wonder you all love road bikes to much.

Compared to anything I have ridden before, this thing is lightening.

The guys in SEO set it up really well for me, and we chatted the whole time. Super friendly bunch.

Riding was a bit odd for the first 30 minutes, or so, but I soon got into the swing of things.

Acceleration is ridiculous.

I have not got the hang of the drops yet, and am not using them so much, but I am sure I will get used to them.

Wicked bike, and hopefully I will be able to ride with some of you guys in the future (if you have the patience to wait for me to catch up...)

Love it!

Picture;

img1098z.jpg
 
That bike looks fast, also nice with the colorway, esp. the small red parts.
Just two cents: You don't need the valvecaps, dead weight ;)

As to the drops, I never really got used to them either. Apparently they are not supposed to be comfortable for longer distances, but just to be aero at high speeds. I am really intrigued by the new handlebars with shallow drops. Mine are just like yours, and deep as that the riding position in the drops seems just so different from having your hands on top of the drops. Anybody riding with shallow drops willing to share their experience?

Regarding Y's-road - Their staff earns 900Yen an hour (a buddy
i ride with asked them for a job). Maybe everybody with skills just goes to work somewhere else?
I have to defend their small Customs store in Shinjuku and Asazo between Akihabara and Ueno. There, the staff gives some effort, but that might be because those were individual stores before.
 
Valve caps off. Cheers for the tip!

900yen an hour. Wow. Feel bad for them now.

Right, I am off to get a helmet today. Yesterday was scary!
 
Congrats on the new bike! I like the white with blue/green accents. :cool: Helmet? Yes, definitely. ;) Enjoy your new ride.
 
Been out on it again.

Getting the confidence to really haul it.

Good GOD I love this bike.

Slowly learning how it all feels and stuff.

Been in the drops a little bit today, and standing up semi-sprinting.

God damn it, this thing moves!

Just makes me grin thinking about the speed.

:D:D:D:D
 
Caad 9... A great choice

Did you know this frame design was used by Marco Pantani and Mario Ciopolinni in the Giro and Tour? This is an alloy frame, but in many eyes the best alloy money can buy. Handmade in bedford, USA. SUPER stiff. The shop I worked at in SF sponsered a pro team that chose this bike for its stiffness and lifetime warranty. Enjoy your new steed, shes a beut!:) Also check with your new LBS to give you a fit, you can really hurt yourself without the proper setup.
 
After I got my professional fit I can now stay in the "Drops" for as long as I want :) I ended up with the Ritchey Logic II handlebars which are not a true shallow drop but not as deep as some.
Consider a pro fit - it will pay dividends in your ability to ride harder and longer.
It does take a little while to get used to, but it's well worth it when battling the wind and particularly for decending. Road bikes handle a lot better on the descents in the "drops" position (sports car vs. lorry), the weight distribution is better and you can brake a lot harder/later.

Enjoy your Cannondale!
AW.
 
Thanks for the info.

Yeah, I think I do need to get a pro fit.

I was going to get one from Aoyama, but I had to cancel as it clashed with the day my bike actually arrived and I wanted to get on it ASAP!

I will give him a call and see if he can fit me in again in the near future. Would be great to know that everything was in the right position. Any odd feelings then would be my own fitness / flexibility issues, and not the bike.
 
Agree with Alan..... I rode about 200km on Sunday in the drops nothing like the custom fit ;)

As for Valve caps..... unless your a prolific weight weenie willing to drill holes in your bike the 0.34g isn't going to make any difference what so ever ;) and will protect the valves from grim, dirt and water.

Another thing to note is your bike will be hammered in the first year of use as you will put a lot of miles in it have a few accidents and what not. Once you have put about 500km in to her take her back to the store for an overhaul... it will be for free as the first service is covered on the purchase as your cables will have stretched out a little and certain nuts and bolts will have worked loose.... Shimano states that you need to retighten the cranks after the 1st 100km of riding on them.

Also have them go over the wheels.... your wheels MUST have a service within the first 500km as 90% of wheels are machine built and the spokes loosen quickly, they are also built to a generic riders weight.

Also geta helmet ASAP, you really should have got one the day you walked out the shop as a lot of people have a bad crash within the 1st 3 months of riding seriously. My freind will bear witness to this as he crashed his new bike over the weekend landing on the side of his head... The pictures are nasty and he was bleeding from an ear the next day, not good!
 
Cheers FarEast.

Yeah, I realise that the bike is going to get a battering. Looking forward to it!

Didn't know that about the cranks. Cheers for the info.

And yeah, I have a helmet now. Bought it before my second major(by my standards) ride.

This bike is massively faster than anything I have ridden before, and I am not ashamed to say that it scared me a little, so I went down the shops and got a lid.

I used to race MTB when I was in my late teens, so I know the dangers. Got taken out by a car pulling out of a side street (it is always this, isn't it!) and ended up in hospital, so I am super careful.
 
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