Originally Posted by
obrentharris
I share your fascination with these bikes, also the Cannondale MTBs with "Lefty" forks. Both are interesting footnotes to the evolution of bicycle design. I would enjoy owning one of each.
But I would not buy piles of them on speculation. Nor would I care to place any sizable wager on their future collectibility. Look at the Phil Wood disc brake and CHP pedal, the Softride beam, the 3-pulley Suntour derailleurs, suspension stems, and the Slingshot bikes with the cable downtube; all interesting deviations from the standards but none of which are highly collectible... Maybe in 100 years, but probably not in my lifetime.
Brent
HaHa, yeah... I get it! Thanks for the reality check. The 2000 Cannondale catalog gave many, many Headshok equipped versions for practically every genre of bike that existed then. I noticed that the PDF Headshok manual that I brought up has a firmly worded warning that attempting to ride the Silk Road or Silk Tour off road would not only void the warranty but also “possibly lead to serious injury or even death”! Jeeze !! One gets the feeling that Cannondale places all their chips in and ultimately lost with the whole Headshok gamble. With that said, I suspect that these might occupy a niche and actually be in demand somewhat. As a mechanically curious roadie biker, I really find certain hybrid spec bikes to be very customizable. Many people buy these bikes and park them in their garage - just using them on the bike path and not caring what kind of cantilevers, V-brakes, 135 mm hubs, 700c rims that could be retrofitted. Personally - I DO! As a classic and vintage road person I spent years riding 6/7 speed bikes with limited braking and gearing options. The limited options made me have to develop increased resourcefulness in order to keep my older road bikes relevant.
This platform comes with many features that could be optimized and are 2018 relevant for a variety of purposes such as touring or commuting.