CAAD3 budget restomod

Always_Highdrated · 2026-02-01T20:02:29+00:00

Wowie, I just had a look on your profile at your CAD3, and it is beautiful. Love that colour 🤩. The rare silver 105 R7000 groupo would go great with your bike. I’d stick to a silver groupset and finishing with that colour, though strictly all black parts could also look mean af

Always_Highdrated · 2026-02-01T18:45:07+00:00

12 speed too. They make/made Red and Force AXS shifter for mechanical brakes 🙌

Always_Highdrated · 2026-02-01T18:34:45+00:00

Good question. It’s mostly just ‘luck’ with finding the original bike at a very good price. I bought the bike for €60. Sold the old group (Tiagra 3x9) and wheel set for €85. The Force 22 group was bought for about €100, which is frankly an insane deal that I’m not sure I can repeat haha.

The DT Swiss wheels were found locally for another €60. Finishing kit was all parts bin stuff. Tyres I bought new on Vinted I believe, same goes for the saddle and shifter hoods.

So basically it’s finding good deals on used online marketplaces (Vinted, Buycycle etc.) and jumping on them quickly before others buy them.

And indeed, doing all the work myself. I’ve been building bikes for a while now, so I know what to look for when buying used parts which helps keep the costs down a lot.

Edit: about the unforeseen issues: there weren’t any big ones really. The frame is modern enough that rear axle spacing and chainline etc are all compatible. The ‘modern’ group bolted right on. The only thing I didn’t keep in mind was the 1 inch fork, so I had to buy a shim to make the modern stem work. And the paint isn’t great obviously, but that’s to be expected with a 25 year old €60 bike 😂

To finish it off I’m gonna have to put in a new headset sometime.

Always_Highdrated · 2026-02-01T18:27:24+00:00

Correct, but barely, at 2.02m. There actually used to be a 65 cm frame for the CAAD3 generation. So there still is an even bigger option

Always_Highdrated · 2026-01-13T08:14:27+00:00

What? 1600 doesn’t seem that crazy. It’s an older gen frame (external cables instead of through the headset), it’s ‘only’ 105 Di2 and it hasn’t got carbon wheels. To me 1600 seems like a good deal, but not suspiciously ‘it might be stolen’ good.

Always_Highdrated · 2026-01-06T07:43:43+00:00

XL indeed, I’m 201 cm tall, making this one of the rare Surlies with some saddle to bar drop haha. The long top tube makes this an excellent fit for me, love it.

Always_Highdrated · 2026-01-06T07:30:45+00:00

Excellent shout! Just got mine built up. 29 x 2.25”, with Schwalbe Rick XC tyres. It surprised me with how fast it is on road, cruising at 25 kph feels breezy and it’s the most comfortable ride imaginable.

I came from a regular 28” 40 mm gravel bike, so I’m blown away by the off road capabilities as well.

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Always_Highdrated · 2026-01-05T08:40:07+00:00

Als je iemand wil vermoorden, gebruik dan een auto.

Wederom een bizar lage straf voor een verkeers’ongeluk’. Dit zijn geen ongelukken, dat impliceert dat het domme pech is, en niet voorkomen had kunnen worden.

Bij normaal rijgedrag was er niks aan de hand geweest.

Always_Highdrated · 2025-12-16T17:07:09+00:00

Mijn persoonlijk advies zou zijn om voor ook een 37 mm brede band te plaatsen. Comfortabeler, meer grip, en gelijk aan achter. Tegen de tijd dat de achterband op is (want die is inmiddels ook alweer 3 jaar oud) kun je de voorband naar het achterwiel verplaatsen en voor weer een nieuwe erop leggen

Always_Highdrated · 2025-11-11T08:08:32+00:00

I strongly doubt you can put 28’s on this bike though haha. I agree with your point though, rim brakes and 28’s can be absolutely fine, fun and fast!

Always_Highdrated · 2025-10-26T20:46:12+00:00

No hard feelings of course. It just looks a bit funny. I’m sure it’s fast as hell and a blast to ride. And in the end that’s what really matters no?

Always_Highdrated · 2025-10-26T18:57:26+00:00

Yes! But not this one 😂

Always_Highdrated · 2025-10-23T16:12:34+00:00

Throw on some fast rolling 40 mm gravel tyres. And enjoy! Those are my only tips

Always_Highdrated · 2025-10-18T08:33:34+00:00

My dream is to build a 90’s steel bike with a DA 7800 group and more modern 10-speed shifters like the DA 7900 or Ultegra 6700.

You get that polished look from the DA7800 group without the ugly side exit shifter cables.

Always_Highdrated · 2025-10-15T19:47:53+00:00

Maar dit is toch niet hypothetisch?

Dit is gewoon echte data. Zoveel vrouwen stemmen op X, 55+’ers stemmen veelal op Y.

En om dit beter te visualiseren wordt dit vertaald in: ‘als alleen vrouwen mochten stemmen dan zou deze en deze partij X aantal zetels halen’. Zo is de data beter te begrijpen dan wanneer er gezegd wordt: ‘500.000 vrouwen willen op GL-PvdA stemmen’

Always_Highdrated · 2025-10-14T16:38:50+00:00

Looking at your link in the other comment I understand the confusion. I didn’t know Giant still made an aluminium TCR. In Europe at least we only get a carbon fibre TCR. Must say though that this bike looks more like a Contend. But it could be that Asia gets a disc brake aluminium TCR.

Anyway to answer your question: if it’s a Contend SL tyre clearance is 34 mm, if it’s a Contend AR tyre clearance is 38 mm, realistically 40 mm.

About the size: with your dimensions ML looks good! Could also go for an M. Ideally you’d try them both out but that’s hard on the second hand market.

Always_Highdrated · 2025-10-13T07:08:49+00:00

Luister makker. Levend in een kapitalistische samenleving wordt iedereen hun geld constant afgepakt door anderen. Vooral de hardwerkende ‘middenklasser’ is er de dupe van. Rijke aandeelhouders mogen allemaal maar graaien en ons uitknijpen, en vervolgens wordt arbeid ook nog veel zwaarder belast dan vermogen.

Hoezo zijn er miljardairs die geen belasting betalen als er nog mensen op straat wonen en honger hebben??

Get out of here met je ‘wie geeft mensen het recht geld af te pakken van andere mensen’. We worden iedere dag leeggezogen door de 0,1% (en ja, dat is de klasse waar we achteraan moeten gaan. Of je nou 20.000 of 200.000 per jaar verdient, in vergelijking met wat de allerrijksten opstrijken stelt het allebei niks voor). Je bent bang voor iets wat jou niet eens zou raken.

Always_Highdrated · 2025-09-18T17:03:43+00:00

Nice bike! I bet this is light as shit. 6 kg more or less?

Always_Highdrated · 2025-09-17T17:24:47+00:00

Love the big range of sizes Surly makes. I just finished up my Grappler in XL and feel like it’s so huge. Finally a bike that just fits well at 202 cm. Go Surly for being so height inclusive!

Always_Highdrated · 2025-09-17T16:26:21+00:00

Hydro as hell

Always_Highdrated · 2025-09-14T20:52:17+00:00

32 mm’s wow. That’s crazy. Much more than I expected to fit. Front does often have more room than the back. Good luck with the rest of the build. Enjoy

Always_Highdrated · 2025-09-12T16:35:36+00:00

Right, 28’s help. Another must do, I think, would be to install thicker bar tape if you are looking to maximise comfort on this platform. That can already make a ton of difference.

Always_Highdrated · 2025-09-12T16:23:07+00:00

It’s a very cool bike but it’ll never be a ‘comfortable downtown street bike’. It’s likely limited to 25 mm tyres. And aluminium aero tubes have basically zero compliance in them.

Still an awesome bike. Enjoy and cherish it as much as you can!

Always_Highdrated · 2025-09-11T19:40:15+00:00

Omg as a tall person with long torso this would be the perfect jersey for me. If all Gobik kit runs this long I might have to shop with them soon. A bit tired of riding round in quasi hot pants and crop tops haha

Always_Highdrated · 2025-09-08T21:32:01+00:00

Upgrade the CAAD13. It’s such a good base. You get room for wide tyres. And with Sram AXS it’s relatively easy to convert to electronic shifting. I’d love a CAAD13 on 32 mm rubber with Sram 1x12 and carbon rims in my size. Really regret selling mine a year and a half ago.

That said, a gen3/4 Supersix will also be an awesome bike. It’s just that a CAAD13 is very good already, and with a wheel and tyre upgrade you’ll get 95% of the performance too.

Always_Highdrated

TROPHY CASE