It was an enjoyable switch

I had the fortune to drop off this
yesterday with the guys at http://rideoutspoken.com/ for a little pre race prep.

In the interim Derick the owner and newly crowned amateur race team owner allowed me to take out his personal Cannondale super-six Hi mod Carbon. His bike is well equipped as you can imagine with Sram red group, cannondale compact carbon crank. Laced up a nice set of Kysrium race wheels etc. It has some bells and whistles lets say. Not over the top but a sweet stead. I'm a huge fan of my Felt F-1 and I really am shocked that the headset hold up in European standards held up any large corporate teams to run them in 2011. With that said it is what it is.
I felt (no pun) compelled to look into the brand do to OC VELO had an agreement with a local bike shop and that was at the time one of there main brands. With that said I really fell in love with the fit and geometry of the bike and so I ended up getting one.

Now, since I originally had look at the Cannondales early on and had not really ridden one I thought I would do a brief bike comparison.

I rode this one today

  For all fairness in testing we will say that legitimately both bikes retailed new at approximately
$ 6,000.00 and likely closer to $ 7,000 or better with carbon wheels.


frame and fork

Cannondale = Hi mod super six full carbon   - size 52
Felt = F-1 Hi mod full carbon team issue -size  54

Both are running compact cranks.

Cannondale = Cannondale carbon compact.
Felt = Dura ace hollow tech 2

brakes calipers-
Cannondale= Sram Red
 Felt = Ultegra

Brake shifters/brifters
Cannondale = Sram Red
Felt = Dura ace

Derailleurs- (front and rear)
Cannondale = Sram Red
Felt = Dura ace

Bars and seat post (both Carbon)

Cannondale - not sure of brand on either
Felt - Oval carbon

Wheels
Cannondale = Ksyrium sl blacks with carbon hubs
Felt = Ultegra s-l

Seats
Cannondale =  fIZIK
Felt= Fizik

Tires
Cannondale= Schwalbe ultimo zx
Felt = Specialized pro comp race

The fit ? Notice the Cannondale is a 52 cm and the Felt is a 54. I have always ridden a 54 cm road bike (51-52 Triathlon bike)
But road is a 54 cm.
When I first road the Cannondale a few months back I stood over and peddled a 54 super six. I hate the geometry and feel. It felt too up right and counter productive.
I noticed that Derick who is just a smidgen shorter than me was riding a 52cm. I never would have considered that before but I asked if I could stand over it, and like we now know ride it. The Cannondale 52 cm fits like a standard 54. Of course there are several manufacturers that this happens with. I found Bianchi to be similar in the other direction by 55 fits like a 54 to me.
This made a huge difference to me. The cockpit of the 52 cm Cannondale Super six is snug and comfortable, but allowed me to jump up off the saddle on slight hills and easily rock it side to side.
That being said I love the stiffness off the frame in that intense. There was NO over twisting on hard side to side throws up hills or on sprint take offs. This is spot on with the Felt.
I do believe that the F-1 may feel a little lighter on climbs though.
I would really have to have more time on it, But the Felt just has that feather feel. Great on climbing and whipping around. But I really think I like the absoluteness and solid feel of the Cannondale for racing, (especially criterium closed course). It just sets up better over the bars. I would race this bike today.

The components -

I had never spent much time on Sram (red). There money !! I'm liking them a lot. And I'm a huge shimano Dura ace fan.

The wheels -

Not even close. The Ultegra s-l is a great mid end fairly light wheel that you can train on with little worry about killing them, but at 1689 grams they are certainly race ready for most people.
But the Ksyrium S-L blacks are lighter, fast but wouldn't say faster and a better wheel with less flex. Flex is huge to me because I tend to really throw my bike side to side initially on sprints. This is brutal on wheels. I also like to do this in some climbing situations.

This was just a personal observation. I am certainly no bike tester, but I should be :-)

It made me feel like this

and yes that's the best smile I can give you one handed doing 25 mph, sorry.   

Train hard, train smart, be active.

thanks  Derick