Riding Cannondales Optimo (R1000) ...

I have done some ridings now, and here's my report. These are my private perceptions and its worth for the reader to mention some contraints:
acutally i ride 2 other road racers; a large (frame size 56) corratec la strada (heavy steel frame) for work; a litte to large for me but comfortable. A 54 cm sized steel filled brazing frame (hardo wagner) made of tange prestige tubes. it has exactly the same top tube length as the Optimo (size 54); its 54.5 cm.

Sitting position very long. first a had massive problems with the fitting of saddle and handle bars. maybe because of the seat post (not a straight one) and seat angle, it lengthens the sitting position about ca. > 1 cm. (in spite of the same top tube length as mentioned above) So it feels like a having a longer top tube. It reminds me of the sitting position for mtb/xc bikes. Actually i adjusted the saddle several times for achiving a more "shorter" position. with this i had to lower the handle bars maybe because the top tube is a bit longer; this is the case for the 54 sized frame (see specs below)

absorption for rough roads. excellent. in spite of max. air pressure, the frame swallows "nearly everything" on the road. sitting on light cobblestone pavements is nearly possible. turns road into a silk road ;)

rigidity/sprint excellent load transmission. unfortunately the heart rate limits the fun during sprinting on climbs. the frame offers an extraordinary stiff transmission. no flex, just going forward. it stands in no conflict with the shock absorption.

tends to understeer a little bit. the buildin carbon-fibre fork (Slice Ultra Si.) shortens the wheelbase in my opinion. a turn over results in touching/blocking the front wheel if you dont take care of your feet. There's even a technical paper about this. driving is very agile with this. But in spite of this, the driving line is very stable during high speed downhills (70-80 km/h; driving straight ahead). But driving turns is a bit too agile in my opinion. I'm not used to it a this point of time.

maybe too lightweighted ? in spite of a lifetime-long warranty (for the first time owner only) theres a technical paper describing constraints for Optimo and Caad7 Frames. Heres a quotation:

Please understand that you are choosing light weight and a shorter frame life over more weight and a longer frame life. Please
understand that you are choosing light weight over more dent resistant or rugged frames that weigh more. All frames that are
very light need frequent inspection for cracks that would indicate that the frame is worn out from fatigue.

the optimo/cannondale oem brakes are too weak. its a long way for the braking lever because of massive flex. my weight is 71kg, this is absolutely not suitable for heavy drivers.

Heres an ugly colored 2004 R1000 model. (i purchased the black one). Look at the seat post (lenghtens the sitting position; see above) and the slice fork (tend to understeer).



Geometry:
cannondale specs.