Replace or Upgrade: CAAD8 Sora 7

Hello Jack,

I own both a CAAD 8 Tiagra (2013) and aTarmac SL4 Ultegra (2014)
Only upgrade on the CAAD 8 - Contin GP 4000S II 25mm / Mavic Aksium wheels.
No significant difference in speed at all (quantified avge speed / route times) despite weight difference (8.6 vs 7.9km) including hillier routes - it's really all in the legs.

Ultegra smoother shifting ( no real functional difference though)
CAAD 8 has Cannondale C4 brakes - not as grippy as the Axis II on the Specialized in the dry

Can't speak from experience on wet weather braking though as try to keep off the road in wet.

Food for thought

Cheers
Mike

I use Conti GP4000s (25mm) on my "race" wheels (Shimano Ultegra 6700 - less than 1.6kg, bought for £220 - 6800 will deal with 11 speed). Great setup - stiff, light wheels and great tyres. RS81 24's will probably be even better.

New tyres should be the first thing you get as has been said, Conti GP 4000 S would be a good start, 4 seasons are slower.

I have a CAAD8 (2013 Tiagra), and recently decided that next year I'll upgrade the groupset and wheels instead of getting a new bike.

The CAAD8 frameset is really good. If I buy a new bike it will come with average wheels. Instead I could spend £1500 on some great deep carbon wheels (for time trials & road races) and 105 11 speed.

As well as upgrading brake pads, decent tyres will make a massive difference. I use 25mm Michelin Pro4 SC most of the time - they really improved my confidence on the bike. They're also very light, reducing the rotational weight of the wheels.

A lot of love for the CAAD8 here!

Hiya!

I had pretty much exactly the same dilemma, I have several bikes, the Caad 8 was my first and I loved riding it loads. I did not want to sell it as the ride is too good. I wanted to spend just a little to make it better! I also weigh 93 Kilos.

Mine is a Caad 8 Sora 2010, 9 speed.

I had done 5,500 miles on it and some of the components were looking a bit used. I did the following, and gave it a new lease of life.

1) New Shimano 105 5800 brake callipers - £18 each off Chain Reaction - works BRILLIANT - a MUST upgrade if you hate your braking- this will sort it!
2) Shimano 105 5700 chainset (10 speed chainset on 9 speed works perfectly) £73
3) Ultegra Bottom bracket to go with the above. £11.99
4) Campagnolo Khamsin CX wheelset - £100 in Halfords, I think I paid a bit less with british cycling discount. 1750 grams for the price is pretty good.
5) New Cinelli Bartape - £8
6) All new gear and brake cables - Jagwire, from wiggle £18
7) Planet X - superlight saddle £20
8) some new jockey wheels, £8
9) Vredestein Senso Tyres- really fast, and great reviews - £42 for two from Ribble. 700 x 25.

Weight of the bike is now 8.4 Kilos and it rides and stops like a dream.

£1500 gets you a very nice Canyon or Rose bike... it'd also get you a Disc Equipped Giant Defy, which probably would be all you'd need.

The CAAD8 SORA is a great crit frame, components are only just entry level - it'd make a perfect winterbike (put some 25/28mm tyres on and work on lower pressure to increase grip.

I'd look very seriously at the god knows how many years it's won bike of the year Giant DEFY Advanced 2 @ £1399 (Ultegra, disc brakes, carbon, decent finishing kit).
You can probably knock another £100 or get a bike fit thrown in for buying local

"it doesnt feel as quick as other bikes that i've ridden."

Really? Sounds a bit like purchase justification to me.

And why upgrade a perfectly good almost-new groupset?

Disc brakes won't transform a nervous descender into Steve Peat and I wouldn't call Gatorskins an upgrade from anything. I'd buy some decent tyres first.

another one for the 'own a CAAD8, living in the Chilterns' club here.

Mine is a 105, upgraded the wheels and brakes/pads (6700/ss). Whilst I already loved the bike, felt comfortable and fast enough, I love it even more now. Can't see myself getting another bike any time soon. It's about as good as I need it to be. If I was to get another one I'd look at upgrading myself first.

As said above, Gatorskins aren't great in the wet. 25mm GP4seasons are.

Gatorskins are not exactly the finest tyres in the world; good at not getting punctured, but not really a great tyre.

Get some race tyres*, accept that they will wear out quickly, and you should feel the difference.

* Which race tyres is a whole new question, but Michelin pro 4s, Spesh Turbos, Schwalbe Ultremos etc., should get you in the right bit of the store.

A side issue perhaps but I find my otherwise excellent gatorskins to be a nightmare in wet conditions... And I have disc brakes.

I also have a caad 8 which has been upgraded to an ultegra groupset , a carbon seatpost a pair of Keswick wheels with Michelin pro4 tyres and latex tubes for better rolling resistance and my preferred selle italia saddle - lush for riding around snowdonia

I've got a CAAD8 and ride in the chilterns. I love the bike. Mine was the 105 version and to be honest the tektro brakes and pads that came with it are incredibly good.

I run a fancy set of wheels in the summer (easton 90SLX) and they do make the bike feel a bit more sprightly but they are not as stiff as the originals.

However if I was to buy again for the chilterns I wouldn't be as bothered about discs but I would get something that can take a load more tyre volume for going down the little lanes with poor surfaces. A nice set of supple 30-35 mm tyres would probably be about right. A lot of what I do at the moment is a quite frankly a bit savage on the bike and with the fancy wheels I tend to have to ease off because i care about them, somthing which is not a problem on the original wheels.

Ultimately - girind the CAAD down to aluminium paste before bothering to buy another!

I have a CAAD8-sora myself, and a not inconsiderable BMI...

Fitted with slightly better wheels, and or an upgraded groupset, you'll have a lovely speed machine. I upgraded wheels and levers. The original callipers and chainset on mine work fine for it's usual commuting role.

The braking surface on some wheels are better than others. And I find that my braking performance, wet or dry, improves with regular cleaning of the pads and rims. I choose to avoid the worst weather, when I can, and just take it easy when I can't.

But there's only so far you can go tweaking calliper brakes, maybe discs are the most sensible long term option for your hilly wet rides.

Happy shopping,
J

a CAAD8 is as good enough frame most people will ever realistically need, it just depends how much money you have or how much bling you want really. Swiss stops are so good that they make regular pads seems like they don't work at all if you go back.