Cannondale is giving the new CAAD14 the Team Dream treatment, and the result is exactly what you’d expect: lightning bolts, throw-back paint, matching kit, and fun. Because no matter how tough and hard we try to look, we’re all just kids riding bicycles.

(Photos/Cannondale) CAAD 14 DREAM TEAM – What is This?

The Cannondale x Team Dream CAAD14 is a limited-edition frameset drop, with a worldwide cap of 100 numbered framesets. That’s it. Not 100 per region. Not 100 per color. One hundred total.

CAAD14 Team Dream BlueCAAD14 Team Dream Red

And because Team Dream doesn’t really do “quiet,” there are two versions: Player 1 (Red) and Player 2 (Blue), each limited to 50 framesets. Yes, “Choose Your Player” is the theme, but I’m getting some vibes of Ride The Lightning, and maybe some of those Wolf Shirts you’d find at truck stops on the road, but in the best way possible.

But it’s an alloy bike…

First off… how dare you talk badly about the CAAD? Secondly, the CAAD line has always had a special place in the road world. For some of us, the CAAD embodies a time in cycling where alloy was “aerospace” and just seeing an older CAAD SAECO edition frameset sets the blood on edge.

A Paris Roubaix ridden Team Cannondale Saeco CAAD with a HeadShock, as seen at the Flandrien Hotel (Photo/Jordan Villella)

But alloy isn’t a material of the past; it’s damn good for a bike and pretty much spot-on for a criterium creature like the CAAD 14. It’s sharp, direct, honest, and usually a little more fun than it has any business being.

A stock Cannondale CAAD 14 with SRAM Rival AXS (Photo/Jordan Villella) CAAD 14 Recap

If this is all new information to you, check out our first ride review of the Cannondale CAAD 14. If you’re too lazy to click that link, here’s the brief: The CAAD14 is crafted from SmartForm C1 Premium Alloy, with integrated cable routing, flat-mount disc brakes, a BSA 68mm threaded bottom bracket, and UDH.

The frameset also gets a full-carbon CAAD14 fork with Cannondale’s Delta Steerer, which is a pizza-slice-shaped steerer that routes the lines neatly into the frame.

Tire clearance is listed for measured 32mm tires with 4mm of space on all sides, which is the right call for a modern aluminum road bike. Fast road tires are bigger now. Roads are still bad. Everyone wins.

Choose Your Fighter: Player 1 or Player 2?

The two colorways are the whole vibe here.

Player 1 Redgets a hot red rear triangle and fork legs fading into purple and lightning graphics up front. It’s loud, fast-looking, and just unhinged enough to feel right on an aluminum race bike.

Player 2 Blueswaps the red for a bright blue base, with the same Team Dream lightning treatment and yellow-green graphics. It’s maybe the cleaner of the two, but only in the way a fireworks display can be “restrained.”

CAAD14 Team Dream

Both have that Team Dream energy:part bike race, part arcade cabinet, part fever dream after drinking too much gas station coffee before a Tuesday night crit.

Proper Kit Included

Every Cannondale x Team Dream CAAD14 includes an exclusive Cannondale x Team Dream cycling kit, available in two colors. Buyers get an access code that opens a private Team Dream page, where they can pick their kit and have it shipped directly.

That’s a nice touch. Also dangerous. Because if you buy the bike, you basically have to wear the kit at least once. It’s the law. Not a real law, but a deeply important fake one.

There’s also a separate casual apparel collection from Team Dream celebrating the collaboration. And like most Team Dream drops, the advice is simple: move fast. When it’s gone, it’s gone.

What You Get

The frameset comes with the CAAD14 aluminum frame, a full carbon fork, an integrated headset, and a Cannondale SAVE carbon seatpost with a 27.2mm diameter and 11mm offset.

• Size:48, 51, 54, 56, 58, and 61cm
• Price:$2,499 / €2,499 / ¥398,000.

Is that cheap for an aluminum frameset? No.

Is it cheap for a numbered, limited-run Cannondale x Team Dream CAAD14 with exclusive kit and paint that looks like it was designed during a thunderstorm inside an arcade? Also no.

But that’s not really the point here. The point is to craft something fun that inspires and reminds us that bikes are playful. Yeah, it’s a bit pricey, but there’s a 9/10 chance you’re gonna be the only one on your local group ride with this bike and kit. So ride the lightning!

Cannondale.com