Cannondale Road Bike Size and Guiding

What's to say about "Cannondale" except pure admiration. The pursuit for evolution and performance are their prime focus, which has established them as one of the most renowned bicycling brand in the world. They are at the forefront in terms of innovation and technology such as BB30 Standard, BallisTec Carbon etc and many more. They have also developed a suspension fork called the Lefty for their Mountain Bike series. Cannondale is also one of the few leading brands still opting to design and manufacture "Classic" road frame geometry whereas most brands switched to "Compact" frame geometry.

The history of Cannondale is somewhat turbulent. The Cannondale Bicycle Corporation is a major American bicycle manufacturer, headquartered in Bethel, Connecticut USA with manufacturing in Bedford, Pennsylvania USA. It was founded in 1971 by Joe Montgomery, Jim Catrambone and Ron Davis to manufacture backpacks and bags for camping and later bicycle trailers for bicycle touring. The name of the company was taken from the Cannondale Metro North train station in Wilton, Connecticut. The Company is now owned by Dorel Industries, a Canada based diversified consumer products company.

In the late 1990s Cannondale attempted to move into the motorsports business, producing a line of off-road motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles but the company was unable to drive down the cost of their motor vehicles fast enough. This gap proved to be too much and the company declared bankrupt on January 29, 2003. Cannondale's full assets were then purchased at auction by Pegasus Partners in 2003 and the motorsports equipment and inventory were quickly sold off as the company returned its focus to bicycle manufacturing. In February 2008, Dorel Industries announced the purchase of Cannondale from Pegasus for approximately $200 million. Dorel also owns Pacific Cycle which is a distributor of bicycles made in Taiwan and China for sale under many historic U.S. cycle brands, including Schwinn, Mongoose, Roadmaster, and GT.

Now coming back to the Road Bike discussion, Cannondale manufactures a diverse range of models in various price range. Following is the summary of all the Road Bike models (As of 2014 range).

---Elite Race ("Pure thoroughbred racing machines designed for maximum efficiency, with a focus on extreme light weight, balanced stiffness, aggressive positioning and Cannondale’s legendary pinpoint handling")

1. Supersix EVO (BallisTec HI-MOD Carbon/BallisTec Carbon)
2. CAAD10 (Smartformed 6069 Alloy)
3. CAAD8 (Optimized 6061 Alloy)

Pic: Supersix EVO HI-MOD Dura Ace Di2 (2014)

For the people who are curious with the CAAD designation, it stands for "Cannondale Advanced Aluminum Design". Arguably, it is considered the best alloy frame to its competitors. Also Cannondale claims Supersix to be the lightest and the stiffest frame compared to rest of the competitors.

Pic: CAAD10 5 105 (2014)

---Endurance Road ("balance of raw power and all-day ridability to the cobbled chaos")

1. Synapse Carbon (BallisTec HI-MOD Carbon/BallisTec Carbon)
2. Synapse (Optimized 6061 Alloy)

Pic: Synapse HI-MOD Black Inc

---Triathlon/Time Trial ("Slice and Slice RS bikes are engineered to maximize your advantages")

1. Slice RS (BallisTec HI-MOD Carbon)
2. Slice (Full Carbon)

Pic: Slice RS Black Inc (2014)

---Cyclocross ("From dedicated ‘cross racers who spend their entire year preparing for muddy battle or simply people who recognize the versatility and fun these bikes offer, Cannondale has a ‘cross bike perfectly suited to your desires.")

1. SuperX (BallisTec HI-MOD Carbon/BallisTec Carbon)
2. CAADX (Optimized 6061 Alloy)

Pic: SuperX Disc Force (2014)

So you've seen all the models and among them you have chosen your favorite. But now you don't know what size you would need. Below is an estimated guideline for the appropriate frame size. I mention estimated because Cannondales come up at least a size bigger than most bikes. So narrow down the size from the chart and then check the bike geometry of that model to have a proper understanding.

Pic: Cannondale Road Bike Sizing

As we reach to the end of the article, one thing's for sure, Cannondale means business. They are innovative and aggressive with newer technologies and determined to save each and every second without sacrificing the comfort. It's no wonder that they are so popular in the racing scene for such attitude. It brings us the image of Peter Sagan dancing and sprinting on his green machine towards the finish line. So if you're interested to get a road bike, then look no further from Cannondale. It surely'll bring a smile to your face.