'Dale or Fuji! Opinions please!

[bikeman66]

Hi all,

On the verge of buying a new bike for my son, as he develops a keenness to step up his cycling. Looking at bikes around the £1,000 mark, and have pretty much narrowed it down to a choice of two. The Cannondale CAAD 8 or the Fuji Roubaix 1.3, which are both available for around £850 from Evans.

Both feature 105 11 speed, although the Fuji seems to be a slightly better spec overall. I guess that has to be balanced off against the obvious pedigree of a Cannondale.

Surprised to see the 'dale has 32 spoke wheels against the Fuji's 20-24 set-up.

Weight of the Fuji seems very respectable at 8.5kg.

Personally, I would favour the Fuji but I would also value your opinions. Both bikes seems to get very positive reviews too.

Great spec versus pedigree??

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuji/roubaix-13-2015-road-bike-ec069089#delivery
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/caad8-105-2015-road-bike-ec071009

 

[MikeW-71]

One big difference to be aware of: The Fuji is running a semi-compact 52/36 chainset, the Canondale is a compact 50/34, so if it's a hilly area......

 

[Citius]

The gearing can be changed without too much issue and the spoke count is not a major consideration. Fewer size options on the Fuji, which might be an issue.

Unless you have any preference for BB30 over Shimano press fit, then just get the one that floats your boat more...

 

[Tin Pot]

What kind of riding does he/will he do?

I can't see green being cool, but I'm 40.

 

[User19783]

The gearing can be changed without too much issue and the spoke count is not a major consideration. Fewer size options on the Fuji, which might be an issue.

Unless you have any preference for BB30 over Shimano press fit, then just get the one that floats your boat more...

I go with, what citius says,
But I would not buy a bike with a bb30 again, just IMHO,.

 

[Drago]

Ride them and see. You can't tell from a catalogue which you'll (or your boy) prefer.

 

[Citius]

But I would not buy a bike with a bb30 again, just IMHO,.

You're not the only one, I suspect

Lots of threads about BB30 - very few (if any) about Shimano press fit...

 

[Tomtrumps]

I can't see green being cool, but I'm 40.

Must be old before your time, I have the green CAAD, am 38 and think it is super cool!

Other than that I have enjoyed the bike very much, but I'd be reluctant to buy a BB30 bike again due to an annoying clicking from time to time which being useless and having no tools is impossible for me to fix. Also, I'd like the full 105 set so to add the crank I'm going to also have to get a converter.

But the green looks cooler than Fuji white, so I'd still get the dale!

 

[bikeman66]

Thanks for all your input guys.

The BB30 bottom bracket on the Cannondale seems to be a real bone of contention from the replies you've submitted. Forgive my ignorance, but what is the actual issue with the BB30 system when compared to others? Is the BB 86 press fit on the Fuji likely to be a more reliable set-up?

Considering my Felt still runs a square taper BB, I've not really investigated the pro's and cons of the more recent technology, so would be interested to hear why certain systems (i.e the BB30) seem to be worth avoiding.

Thanks again for all your help folks.

 

[outlash]

Just for balance, I replaced the BB30 bearings on my CAAD8 a couple of months ago without any problems. TBH the square taper BB on my cross bike gave me more problems.

 

[Tomtrumps]

Re my BB problem. I cannot hive you technixal information as I am clueless but the bike deveopled a clicking when pedalling under pressure. I took it back to Evans and they had a fiddle, replaced something and for 100 miles the clicking had disappeared. When it returned I mentioned it to the guy at Evans who shrugged and told me I need to clean and re grease the bearings more often on this type of BB. To be honest, I didn't really have any faith in him so when I had the bike serviced at a Cannondale specialist they had a look and said it was fine. Hasn't really been a problem since and I've done over 2000 miles on it .

I do really want a 105 crank though, for no other reason than completeness. So I have to buy a converter which just adds to the cost.

 

[bikeman66]

Thanks for all the input here chaps. Went with the Fuji in the end. After reading various threads on here, and talking to my neighbour who happens to own a BB30 equipped bike, amongst others, I concluded that the potential hassle involved with the BB30 bottom bracket on the Cannondale made it a far less viable option than the Fuji.

The bike should arrive later this week. Hope the lad likes it!