Old School vs. New School......

lorrod said:

I currently ride a 1990 LeMond steel road bike(Columbus TSX tubing) with old Campy components. The thing weighs a ton.....I mean, it's literally a tank(tipping the scales at a plush 29 pounds with two full water bottles). I'm looking at upgrading to a 2005 Cannondale R5000 with a Ksyrium SSL wheel upgrade. Can anyone tell me what kind of differences to expect between the two bikes - for instance, do you believe I would have a noticeable difference in Average Speed on a flat ride? Obviously hills would be a bit easier dumping an additional 10 to 12 pounds of bike weight.....but I was more curious about flat-land riding, flat sprints, criterium racing speeds, flat group rides, etc. Do you think there would be a noticeable difference between the two bikes during this type of riding and terrain?

The Cannondale is a great frame. You will ride a little faster and whole lot stiffer and this will benefit you in sprinting, crits (when pedalling hard while turning), and when you are riding uphill in theese circusmtances the difference will definitely be noticable (because of the stiffer frame). I think you should keep your old steed for bad weather rides and long distance rides because I´m sure you will notice that your old steed is a lot more comfortable ride than the new one and that might be something you will be missing once in a while. I dont think you´ll regret buying a caad 7 just don´t get a six13.

Two answers from me:

1) Take a look at this site. Plug in some numbers and you can get a basic idea of how helpful the lost weight will be on hills.

2) I've put thousands of miles on my Cannondale T2000 tourer--all of those miles with a rack; most with panniers, clothes, a laptop, etc. Last Thursday, I got a ~17 pound titanium bike with full Campy Record components. On Saturday, I rode my first century. The difference was huge! I rode with a friend, so I mostly maintained his pace, but my sense was that I picked up like 4+mph of just basic pedaling speed . . . and as for the hills?? Forget it. It was night and day.

Go for it! You'll be soooo happy 🙂

lorrod;

I went from a 24 lb bike to a 19 lb Trek. The difference was obvious in the first block. You can only benefit from losing 10 - 12 lbs.
Also, I doubt your old bikes wheels measure up to the Ksyriums.

Definitey test ride carefully before you buy your next bike. LeMonds have very distinctive geometry and rider position which goes against much of the conventional thinking about road bikes. If you are used to your LeMond, then a new non-LeMond bike is going to feel very different. The handlebar will be closer and possibly more narrow. Your hips will be more forward over the pedals. The bike will likely steer a lot faster so you have to pay more attention to what you are doing when hugging the white line out on the roads.

Cannondale's are well known to be about the stiffest bikes you can buy. That is good for efficiency especially when standing on the pedals. But expect to feel a lot more road buzz transmitted through the ultra-stiff frame. You'll have to decide if that's a tradeoff you can live with.

lorrod said:

I currently ride a 1990 LeMond steel road bike(Columbus TSX tubing) with old Campy components. The thing weighs a ton.....I mean, it's literally a tank(tipping the scales at a plush 29 pounds with two full water bottles). I'm looking at upgrading to a 2005 Cannondale R5000 with a Ksyrium SSL wheel upgrade. Can anyone tell me what kind of differences to expect between the two bikes - for instance, do you believe I would have a noticeable difference in Average Speed on a flat ride? Obviously hills would be a bit easier dumping an additional 10 to 12 pounds of bike weight.....but I was more curious about flat-land riding, flat sprints, criterium racing speeds, flat group rides, etc. Do you think there would be a noticeable difference between the two bikes during this type of riding and terrain?

The R5000 is going to feel a lot faster and more responsive under you when you jump and climb. If it picks up your average speed by as much as 0.5 mph, that would be huge gain.

Have you test-ridden it yet? Believe you'll love the response and smooth ride of the R5000 compared to your old steel heavyweight.

I am in a similar boat. I ride a 1985 Trek and it is heavy. I test rode some bikes last weekend and couldn't believe the difference, especially when climbing!

I wish there were somewhere in my area to test ride Cannondale bikes. As a 6'3" 230lb Clydesdale, I understand that they might be a good fit!

Good luck with your search. It seems that looking for a new bike is half the fun.

I want to thank everyone for their input on this question - it is really appreciated. I know that the 10-12 pound weight difference between the two bicycles would make a huge difference on hills, and it sounds like it would probably make a pretty big difference on the flats as well. I also think that the stiffness of the Cannondale R5000 would really make a difference too....after 15 years of use, my LeMond is pretty comfortable, but the frame flex is quite noticeable nowadays.