Cannondale CAADX 105

[StephenU]

I just wanted to thank Cannondale for hooking me up with the CAADX 105 Cyclocross bike!

I took delivery of the bike on thursday night and with minimal out of the box build required, I was riding it around the lake on friday.
I have been riding an older chromoly cross bike for training and bad weather riding for the past few years so I had gotten used to the heavy, sluggish feel of that.   
So the CAADX alumunium frame is super snappy and climbs very well.  I noticed this within the first 30 minutes of the ride.  It's lighter, stiffer, and the Shimano 105 shifters and drivetrain is perfect for logging long training miles in any weather.  During Sundays ride, I was able to keep accellerating on it over and over keeping up with the Captain and the Horn as we lit up westside road. (It's a race bike too I guess!)
So in the fall, the knobby tires will go back on and then we can see how it fairs for what it was really meant for, cyclocross racing...so untill then I will keep riding it around, logging training miles.
Quail

[PeterW]

I also picked up a CaadX decked out with 105.
It's my second Cannondale cross bike, this one replacing a 1999 Cannondale xr800.
Just like my Cannondale Road bike, the Caad frames are lightweight and super stiff. It looks like cannondale has done some hydro forming of the downtube. this, along with the BB30 bottom bracket make for a stiff aluminum frame.
the simple S-bend seat stays along with the carbon fork make for a smooth ride along the rough westside road, and the gravel path leading to school.
This is my spring/rain/commuter bike, so I was happy to see dropouts for fenders... something omitted from a lot of CX bikes.
I will also be using this as a CX race bike in the fall. Can't wait to get the knobby's on, and put the hurt on Quail. Paypack for the hurt he's been handing out on the Tour de Lac rides.

[Andrew]

Ginny and I are enjoying riding the CAADX 105 through the spring muck on the roads as well. Smooth, responsive and the feeling of security that comes with slightly wider tires. We are using the stock tires, which have a both of tread to them. They seem to roll very smoothly, and don;t seem to offer nearly as much resistance on the road as we were expecting.

The shifting is perfect, and the gearing is suitable for our long easy rides in the valley.

I might consider compact gearing for the cross races, especially ones with steep sections, however, we will wait until the fall to see how it goes in the first few fun events of real cyclocross.

Mine will be coming to J.Tree with me, so I can enjoy some of the back country sandy roads without beating up my road bike. And, I am really pleased that it feels good on the roads, so that I can enjoy riding the great roads of the National Park as well.

A HUGE thank-you to Cannondale once again for their support this year.