I just picked up a Cannondale Road Bike and am having a hard time nailing down the model/ Year. any help would be appreciated




As far as i can tell its a 1989 MY

Given the Serial Number -63062089027
and the use of the Headbadge it has was stopped in 1989.

It does not fit any prebuilt model so i understand it may have been a Frame only

Anybody got some insight

Paint job is unusual but it may have been a frame replacement, serial number confirms date as do the cantilever stays paired with steel fork and as you have noted, the head tube decal.

Could also have been a respray done some time ago.

... and to add to the wisdom of the Good [MENTION=170517]rccardr[/MENTION] some of the components could have been swapped out over the years.

It is a great frameset to work with and build up in any way you choose. Basically back in those days, Cannondale used the same particular frame model across many grades of bikes. Thus the same frameset wore different clothing of different grades. So your frameset could be built with entry level Shimano Road gear like RSX or all the way up to DuraAce.

Best of luck with your build and happy riding.

Thanks guys for the input. I had looked in the 90 catalog but did not see that color scheme available. it looked kind of like the SR600 but the colors were backwards . The SR900 had the graphics pattern but Campy Blue not Red.

FWIW; It has Sport LX Shifting and Exage Brakes, which could have been changed granted, that again did not line up with any model that i could find in the old Cannondale catalogs.

The paint scheme looks like the Campagnolo Blue offered from 89-91, but in red. 89 was the first year of the criterium series and last year of the chalet headbadge logo. Could have been purchased solely as a frameset and then built up by the buyer.

Flip that seatpost around the right way and put on a nice quill stem and shine it up and it'll look great. I'd bet it accelerates like crazy, but it'd probably beat you up pretty good on a long ride.

ps. That front brake cable looks a bit too short.

Thanks for all the input guys its really appreciated. I changed the seat and corrected the seatpost this morning. I am going to tear it all the way down and do a rebuild on it. including new and properly sized cable housings .

I have some Ultegra TriColor that will go on it. and a quill stem. the wheels are mismatched with a wider 700c wheel in the back and a std size 700c in the front so wheels will get changed out also.

Just contemplating going either 600 Tricolor 8 speed down tube shifters or 8 speed Dura Ace Brifters..

Project Update:

After a complete teardown and a cleaning and buffing of the frame. I rebuilt the bike with some parts i had laying around. as I run across stuff to upgrade it with i will.




A quick breakdown
Cranks= 175mm 53/39t Shimano 600 Ultegra Tri Color 6400 Series
Brakes= Dual Pivot Sidepull Shimano 600 Ultegra Tri Color 6400 Series
Rear Deraileur, Brifters= 9 Speed Ultegra 6500 Series
Front Derailuer= 9 Speed 105 FD-5500
Cassette= 9 Speed 12-23 SRAM
Wheels= Borrowed off another bike for now (building wheels)
HeadSet= Stronglight A9 "Bernard Hinault" edition
Only thing left of bike from when i originally bought it was the Tires and the Handlebars.

This has got the bike back in riding order and is pretty solid.

Nice, solid build, ready for you to lay on the miles!

They welded up some stiff frames just over the mountain from me, and they climb like a billy goat (if you do your part). Lovely build...many happy miles to you!

Very sharp! Well done!

Hey, I have the exact same frame! Did you ever figure out which model it was? Rebuild looks great!

I just got this exact same frame, did you make any more headway on what model this is? I'm dying to know. Mine came with a Shimano 105 set.

This is one of the 3.0 Road Race series with the narrower downtube than the Criterium models. I have also looked at every catalog, and it simply isn't there. But this frame didn't come out until 1990, and the steel fork was used in the less expensive models rather than the alloy fork.

And the OP isn't the first to ask:
What model is this Cannondale 3.0 series bike?

I think that this was probably sold in 1990 or 1991, but wasn't advertised because the Exage parts were no longer current Shimano products. The components, though very functional, would have been considered a step down from the least expensive catalog model with Suntour Blaze. So I don't think they have a model number, or that number would have been SR100 because the Road Race bikes were odd numbers.

Really cool paint on these - especially considering the pricepoint.

These were surprisingly nice riding bikes, especially with aluminum forks. Really an improvement over the 1988 design.

My serial number and the head badge imply that this was an 89, though. I guess this will remain a mystery! But I am so happy with this bike, got an insane deal on it with it being in perfect riding condition and having some nice extras that the owner threw in on top. Definitely a joy to ride.

It may have been made in 89, but the Road Race version of the 3.0 was sold starting in the 90 model year - which usually begins toward the end of the previous year. So that would make it pretty definitively a 1990 model.