oneofpr

Already clocked 40 miles like it is, my hands were destroyed at the end of the ride with those handlebars. As much of a fixie look those bars may have, its impossible for me with my wide shoulders, maybe on quick short rides.

Will install a conservative 42cm handlebar, newer levels, change the cables, bar tape, more comfortable saddle for longer rides and maybe a good nice paint. Shifts smoothly, all components work, some minor adjustments / TLC, lube and done. Got somewhere a new chain, quick project for the week.

Bike has some punch out of the saddle, front fork has a lot of vibration on rough roads, but it will kill the look of the bike if it gets replaced, and defeats the purpose of having one after all.

sloar 

Nice bike, I like those older cannondales.

jjhabbs 

I was a cannondale dealer when those came out. Very hot bicycle. Couldnt keep em in stock. I think new they were $799

OldsCOOL

Congrats on the find. These are getting difficult to find....unless you are 6'2 and taller.

Sirrus Rider

Love those old Cannondales; however, I'll never own one.. They all run large and I've yet to find one that is 47cm..

3alarmer 

You find something like that every week ??!

Shame about the bars......is it possible that fatter tires
might be the answer for your hands ? Cannondales of
this era are infamous for transmission of road bumps.

that_guy_zach

I love feeling the road on those bike. It goes great with the sound the shifter makes when it "clicks"

monsterpile

There was one of these for sale locally last summer and I really wanted it, but the price was pretty high and I didn't really need another bike so I passed. They look pretty sweet though.

roccobike

That looks like one of the first Black Lightnings. The frame looks like a pre 3.0 and the brakes are not aero type. I like those the best as they have the steel fork that softens the ride instead of the aluminum fork. Excellent find. That original black rear DR is worth a lot.

WNG

Sweet, another Black Lightning thread! Nice find. Those bars appear to be criterium bend bars. Similar to track bars. Those brake levers don't appears to be stock, being Modolo. Also set very low on the bars. A new bar, padded tape, and IMHO, a pair of black Tektro 200a levers, and you'll feel big improvement.

Next attempt to lessen the road shock is a CF fork. I think you can still find a threaded 1" model. And the nice thing being that they'll be black.

Chombi

Funny thing about Cannondale frames were the main frame tubes usually have a a very slight arc/bend to them that you will find if you sight them down their legnths or put a straight edge against them. This was supposedly caused by the heat treating of the tubes, the dealers told me and my brother when we shopped around for his Black Lightning. Otherwise the frames are released from the factory aligned though all their major points. My brother went through quite a few frames in two dealerships before we found one to his liking.

Chombi

jjhabbs 

Back then we were selling about 300 cannondale bicycles a year at the shop i was at. Some of the tubes were so warped that we returned them. Cannondale would tell us that they were aligned and they for the most part were right. We would find an occasional frame that wasnt right. Some of the seat stays were bowed so much that people asked if they bowed them like that for better performance. It was funny. Worst ones were on the ST500 and ST400 first generation.

oneofpr

First off thanks for the replies, very good info as I bought the bike mostly for the looks, and that it said Made in USA, lol. Got the bike for $150.00 from a buddy who had it in his living room gathering dust.

It does have a steel fork after the magnet test. Must say part of the pain suffered in tha hands was part my fault. I jumped into the bike without making any adjustments so the saddle was pushing me forward creating excessive pressure on the arms and shoulders. Some test / tweaking the next day helped for a much more comfortable ride. The handlebar picture does not show how narrow those handlebars are, and I mean they are very narrow. Handling is very sensitive so any minor movements will throw the bike out of line quick. I kind of like it as it is like grabbing the bull by its horns, I do really got to grip those handlebars and learn to ride the bike. For short quick power laps the handlebars are fine, but for longer rides the shoulders and wrists feel pushed into the bars, and gets uncomfortable real quick.

I may later give it a complete overhaul to make it look "pretty', but I like how it has this used, beat up finish with scratched surfaces, rough edges all around. My goal for now is slightly wider bars, new bar tape, cables, chain, change the spokes to black, but try as much as possible keep it with the components it has even if they are not the best. I have both carbon and aluminum bikes with compact cranks and at least dare to say good shimano 105 components, but there is something about the mechanical clicking sounds of the Black Lightning that I like.


Cheers!

bradtx

oneofpr, While these old frames update quite nicely, the lure of the BL, and the value, is in it's originality. Good decision to leave it 'as is', IMHO.

Brad

OldsCOOL

150clams. Sick. Just sick, man.