I am planning to buy a new bike (much due) and want to stick with aluminum as I’m super clumsy. I was wondering if any of you use aluminum bikes for racing, and if you do, show me your build!
Hope to take some inspiration from some absolute hitters!
My race bike is a 2017 CAAD 12. Absolutely love it and wouldn’t swap it for anything else.
Nothing fancy and no super upgrades, just Ultegra drive chain (except for the FSA crank, which I prefer) and Mavic disc wheels.
Honestly, it’s not much to look at but it handles like a dream and for crits, it’s a no brainer as far as I’m concerned.
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Spent my entire racing career on the same second hand 2005 Cervelo Soloist Team. Never a complaint and has seen a many, many miles of gravel and singletrack in the off-season.
Currently building up a 2016 CAAD12 with the 2009 Red group from the cervelo. Still dialing fit on the trainer but almost ready for the road.
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After 20 years of racing on aluminum (bar a brief stint on steel) I just bought a carbon bike. I’ll still bring my purple RAAD9 out for crit duty.
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Another vote for the CAAD12, bought it in 2017 and am very happy with it on every ride. I originally bought the standard Ultegra Disc, but have since upgraded the Wheelset (Hunt), Saddle (S-Works Power), Handlebars (Deda Superleggera), Discs (Dura-Ace) and Pedals (Garmin Vector 3). 8kg exactly for the 58cm. I don’t think a more fun and performance-oriented bike could be bought for the same price!
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I think the high end Cannondale aluminium frames are awesome, and very pretty. Easily a match for cheaper carbon in all areas.
I’m currently scoping ebay for an ally frame to replace my older carbon road bike that has very limited clearance… GP4000s in 25c wont fit!
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2017 Cannondale CAAD12 Black Inc. Mechanical Ultegra. 60mm carbon rims.
Crit race bike and it’s a dream. I went down a frame size and it handles on a knife edge. So much fun.
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+1 CAAD12 - 2017 Ultegra model. Upgrades when the wallet allows but it’s a great bike off the shelf.
No longer on this beast, but it handled great and was stiff enough for what I could put into it.
I’ve had a bunch of AL rigs…more to come…
My daily rider/racer is a trusty lightweight Caad12. I have over 10k miles on her and the only issue was the BB noise after about 1000 miles. The easy solution is to upgrade to a BB Infiniti setup.
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Very nice bikes.
In 2006 I built a black Cervelo Soloist with Campagnolo Centaur groupset and Zonda wheels. It was a great bike for years, but then one day it created the notorious hairline crack near the seat post. Luckily Cervelo warranty is good and I got a new S1 replacement frame. The bike was my rainy day bike for many years, while the main bikes were carbon framed.
In 2017 I saw images of some nice bike projects and decided to build a CAAD12, again in black aluminum. I built that with Campagnolo Chorus and custom made wheels (Easton R90SL and Powertap GS hubs). The bike was originally destined to be my new rainy day bike, but it is just too nice bike for that. It became one of my favorite bikes and I already built another bike for rainy days.
The CAAD is still under construction in the image.
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Sorry I don’t have one without the numbers (and the reach was wrong…58, not 56).
This was a great bike. Stiff, nimble, probably my favorite race bike. Ride comfort, not so great, but so balanced and responsive. Ridley makes full-out race bikes.
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This is quickly turning into a CAAD 12 appreciation thread 
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That’s too funny. Literally the same frames and looks to be same sizes.
My Soloist has the cracks on both sides but still works as well as ever. Just have to make sure the brass shim is positioned just so…
I thought 12 years was enough time to justify a picking up a new ride.
I’ve owned 3 caad10s and was super happy with them. When it came time for a new bike I decided to go a different direction and get a allez. Rides so much nicer than the caads. It strangely feels way stiffer yet more comfortable. This is race day set up but I have some slow wheels for training on 
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Another Cannondale person here, 2015 CAAD10 3. No big upgrades yet, full Ultegra, FSA rings. Eventually want to get better wheels and go Di2 or eTap.
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