For years Cannondale have been making brilliant aluminium frames under the CAAD moniker, which means the decision making behind the purchase of Aldeo Plato's 2015 CAAD8 105 was a no brainer. But knowing the nature of this blog, you'll rarely found us babbling about a factory-stock bicycle...
With him being one of the honchos behind Life Behind Bars Jakarta you'd fully expect Aldeo to have an excellent taste in design. One thing about his new CAAD8 that bothers him was the factory liveries that Cannondale applied to their entry and mid-level frames. The original green colour scheme was considered too loud and gaudy for him. So Aldeo took matters by his own hands, having us completely disassemble the frame and fork off its components, and then proceed to strip the frame and fork off its original paintjob.
We then set to work with various levels of abrasive papers to bring out the raw aluminium look. New, simplified Cannondale decals were then applied, and we top it off with layers of clearcoat to protect it. The fork was repainted in black to emulate the carbon fiber weaving underneath the paint and resin layers.
Apart from the finish that only a mother could love the CAAD8 is still wearing its stock components, mainly the 11-speed 105 drivetrain and Tektro brakes. Cannondale developed the BB30 bottom bracket standard that incorporate large 30mm spindle diameter and oversized bearings that were pressed directly into the 68mm-wide shell in the frame, aimed to create stiffer, lighter crankset system with narrow Q-factor. Coming as a design feature in the CAAD8 frames this leads the use of FSA Gossamer compact crankset to transfer Aldeo's pedaling movement to the rear wheel.
Apart from the finish that only a mother could love the CAAD8 is still wearing its stock components, mainly the 11-speed 105 drivetrain and Tektro brakes. Cannondale developed the BB30 bottom bracket standard that incorporate large 30mm spindle diameter and oversized bearings that were pressed directly into the 68mm-wide shell in the frame, aimed to create stiffer, lighter crankset system with narrow Q-factor. Coming as a design feature in the CAAD8 frames this leads the use of FSA Gossamer compact crankset to transfer Aldeo's pedaling movement to the rear wheel.
The seatpost and saddle were replaced with Thomson Elite and Selle Italia Flite respectively, and during the rebuilt process we ditch the front derailer cable barrel adjuster and make the cable setup tidier. If you cringe at the sight of the stock wheels, worry not because they will be replaced soon.
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