oldtimeyirv

I have been reading lots of old threads/posts regarding finding replacements for front derailleur hangers/tabs/brackets on mid to late 80s Cannondales. I have a 1988 SR500 that I absolutely love, and ride all of the time. For some reason I decided to start down the rabbit hole of finding such an obscure part. I thought I would check if anyone had updated info on this or has succeeded/failed in the same endeavor. I know Cannondales have a bit of a cult following.

So far I have been in contact with my local dealer, Cannondale customer service, Vintagecannondale.com, cannondaleexperts, and I reached out to Cannondalespares in the UK for good measure. For what its worth, I am currently using a clamp-on FD with no issues at all. I guess I have been bitten by the "original is better" bug.

Looking forward to either hearing solutions, commiserations, advice, or any combination!

clubman 

My R500 CAD2 had a clamp on as OEM.

canopus 

My 84 ST has a clamp on. My 85 SR has rivnuts and the modified mount for a braze on FD.... Keep the clamp on...

steine13

Mine are all clamp on...including friends' bikes: 87 st600, 93 t790, 95 t400, 97 r200, 02 t1000...

I vote frame tabs are rare.

cheers -mathias

Ironfish653

I think braze-on FDs are the exception, rather than the rule as far as Cannondales are concerned.

I have noticed, though, that pre-1990, they were still almost a boutique builder, and there were a number of one-offs, or in-year model changes that didn't appear in the catalogue.

steine13

>> that didn't appear in the catalogue.

Not just pre-1990.
I've got three out of six bikes where the color is not in that year's catalog... they range from 94 to 96.
cheers -mathias

rccardr 

All of the 80’s SR models came with a proprietary front derailleur mount using a braze-on style FD.
ST frames of the same period all used 31.8 clamp on FD’s.
Finding an actual SR FD mpjnt is darn near impossible.
Clamp,works fine, although you might have to relieve it where is passes over the rivnuts.