Cannondale Slice 5 105 - £399 - Is this worth it?

[Khaled123]

Hi,

I've found a second hand (reputable seller) Cannondale Slice 5 TT (pictured) with a shimano 105 groupset for £399, I thought this was a steal but I am fairly new to race bikes so was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on if this is a good price.

I have owned an entry level boardman road bike before but that recently got stolen hence I am replacing.

Thanks for any help

 

[DCLane]

This will have originally been a TT bike that's someone's converted for road use. It can happen as people want the latest frameset and older ones lose value quickly. The original's from 2008 and was about £3000-3500 back then. It'll have had less use as a TT bike, the question is: when was the conversion done?

If that's the seller's photo they've got the saddle tilted up rather than flat/slightly down and the bars tilted too far up.

There's nothing wrong with riding a TT frameset for road use - my son's done that as a training bike before - but you will struggle to get anything beyond quite narrow tyres in and the front forks are designed for straight line speed. Cornering / descending will feel a bit different so I'd recommend a test-ride first to make sure you're OK and that it fits you, particularly as TT bikes are designed for an elongated position rather than typical more upright road use. A later model's on eBay for £1000 currently: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133578306088 to give you an idea.

Is it worth £400 ? Just. The wheelset's basic and the groupset, with what looks to be Shimano 105 5700 shifters, is OK. Ultimately it's about whether you can live with the limitations of a converted TT bike.

 

[Cycleops]

+1 to the above. Sounds like a good price. It's a carbon frame so check it over very carefully for signs of damage or stress cracks. Do all the usual checks on the wheels ( spokes and rim wear) , BB, head bearings etc. It's quite an old bike so might have a fair bit of wear. Also make sure the gears change cleanly.
As said the ride on those very narrow hp tyres isnt going to be very comfortable and position is going to be rather different to your Boardman.

 

[Khaled123]

@Cycleops @DCLane Thanks guys, a lot of valid points here which I hadn't thought of yet - really appreciate this a lot!

 

[Cycleops]

No probs Khaled. I suspect the reason that the current owner has the bars turned up like that was that he didn't like the 'arse in the air' stretched riding position and was attempting to make it more upright. A better way to fix that would be to swap in a higher shorter stem.

 

[sheddy]

Try to check if its stolen.

 

[Pale Rider]

Try to check if its stolen.

I doubt the owner would want it back.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

No probs Khaled. I suspect the reason that the current owner has the bars turned up like that was that he didn't like the 'arse in the air' stretched riding position and was attempting to make it more upright. A better way to fix that would be to swap in a higher shorter stem.

The fit looks rather compromised and I doubt it would be very easy to live with unless the rider is of a fairly small stature. The back tilt on the saddle may be an attempt to stop the rider sliding forward if the bars are not rotated and are thus set rather low. Combine that with limited tyre clearance and it's probably not going to be great for degraded tarmac full of potholes and patch repairs. TT bikes are designed to be fast over half decent surfaces, unfortunately most roads in this country are far from half decent.

 

[biggs682]

oh and no mudguard clearance either

 

[bikingdad90]

Whoever set the bars up needs telling off! The hoods need moving up the bars about an inch and then the bars need rotating down to a sensible angle before sorting out the saddle.
I suspect whoever put the Frankenstein bike together to use a TT bike as a road bike didn’t really have much clue and I would not be surprised if the shifting is messy and not aligned too.

if your not a bike tinkering person you would need to factor in something like £100 to get it “correct” and at £500 there are plenty of better offerings out there.

 

[matticus]

Does it only have bottle-cage bosses on the seat-tube? That would irritate me on my only road-bike. Although probably fine until April!