Bike buyer remorse & new purchase

I've ridden all 3 brands you mentioned.
It's a coin toss between Cannondale and Specialized.
I had a catastrophic failure with a Trek, followed by gawd-awful customer service. Avoid Trek at all costs.

The Tarmac is pretty hard to beat, that would be my choice.

BUT, they fits quite differently… the Synapse is shorter and taller than the Tarmac for example. The Madone falls in between. Just make sure you get a bike that actually fits YOU.

The tarmac actually felt very similar to the TREK Madone.

The problem was the fit. The tarmac was a size smaller, 56, and I am usually 58. The Specialized shop body-scanned me with all the measurements and said that for them the 56 was slightly too small, and 58 would have been perfect. I test rode a basic 58 allez and it was a night and day experience in terms of fit. The shop tried to say I could adapt to the 56 by adding stems. Or they could order a 58 one but at the regular 2100US$ cost which I can't afford.

What's the Madone 3.1 reputation? seems like it is a race bike, but with a slight comfort attitude?

In term of comfort and pace, compared to the "bulky & Heavy" Felt Z85 , both the Synapse Tiagra and the Madone 3.1 seems WAY faster.

They cost the same, around 1400-1500 US$. they have same weight, 8.85kg, same material, and I could handle both quite smoothly.

I could ride them stretching a lot over the handlebar, and loved it.

Maybe, I was a bit more confident and faster on the Madone. But again, noob question, is a component mix any good? The Madone has 105 shifters but one of the derailleurs is Tiagra, the other 105, chain set is from SRAM. Even the Brakes are non-standard "Bontrager".

Is a component brand mix any good? All synapse components are "Shimano Tiagra" labeled.

If the mix is not a big problem, my first choice might be the Madone. There are no other discounted models in the 3 LBS, and it was the one I felt more racier, while fitting best.

I am sure there were no Specialized nor Giant fitting me at the LBS, TREK felt awesome, as did CANNONDALE.

The battle will be between that Madone 3.1 and any other Cannondale I can find in that price range. Maybe, I could give a shot to the 105 CAAD8 too. Should be around that price-tag (I think).

Test riding the bike is usually not a very good way to determine size… nor is "usually 58" since pretty much all brands will not only vary the geometry, but also how that geometry is measured… A 58 from one could be very dissimilar to a 58 from another…

Bontrager is Trek's house brand of components and wheels. It's good stuff, so not to worry. I also bet that the rear derailleur is 105 and the front id downgraded to Tiagra, which is not that big of a deal, the rear derailleur is much more important. SRAM chains work just fine, so no need to worry about that either.

So I went back to LBS, and found out they got an AMAZING deal on CAAD10 with 105.

Cannondale is putting the 2014 model on sale for 1300 US $. I would had to order it though, and I do have a sprint race this Sunday.

The shop owner said that was an absolutely fantastic deal, and as I know the Caad reputation, I am sure it is.

But I was able to test ride a 2013 Caad10 with electronic-shifting. Actually, I didn't enjoy it as much as the Synapse Carbon.


I felt the Synapse Carbon was still quite quick, while handling slightly better at the corners and being more stable and smoother on the ground. I also find myself way more stretched and Aero than with the Caad10.

The Cannondale seller was a bit surprised, but said that probably I do have a preference for Carbon-frames over Alloy.



So I Went back to TREK, and found out the Carbon model they would offer at 1499 US$ is not a Madone 3.1, but 4.5...!


So basically I got to decide between the 2013 Carbon Synapse with Tiagra (1350US$), the 2013 Madone 4.5 with 105 (1500US$), and eventually CAAD10 with 105 (1300 US$).

It has been a week I am test riding and I feel the LBS will start to get annoyed if I keep trying the bikes.

For now, I might feel the Madone 4.5 a tad better, but I am afraid I might have to pass on the CAAD10 deal. Maybe I didn't tested the CAAD10 the right way...?

I am starting to say that either deal, is good, they're still 105 bikes, same 8kg weight, and 2 good brands.