kemmer

So I scored a pink cannondale sans wheels last week. I was going to set it up as a SS beater to replace my Giant Butte, thinking a pink bike would be cooler and slightly less likely to get stolen than a purple bike. Well, I got it home and realized why the geometry looked wonky. It's because it's meant to take a 24" rear wheel. I understand these things are pretty valuable, but how much would this thing be worth without wheels? It's also missing the front U-brake. What should I do with it? Keep it? Sell it as-is? Track down the correct parts and sell it complete? The paint is also in pretty bad shape, I'll post some pictures over the weekend.

EDIT: Also, if anyone has any idea what year it is, that would be helpful too. I believe the 24/26 combo puts it between 84 and 89 correct? The literature I have been able to find suggests that it's not a 88 because nothing in a 24/26 was offered in pink. Any cannondale experts out there?

Dr.Deltron

Sounds like an SM700.
Mine is an '86 and it came with the beefier '85 cast crown fork. (at my request!)
I reeeeally like the 24"/26" combo!
And the brakes were likely Rollercams, not "U" brakes.
Mine came with the XC Pro version, where the rollerwheels are in a "fork" on the brake arm. The XC version has the rollerwheel on the outside of the brake arm.

Serial # will tell you the exact vintage;
first 2 numbers = frame size, inches for MTB & cm for road bikes
next 6 numbers = the date made
last 3 numbers = frame number that day.

20032686105

20" frame made March 26th of 1986 frame number 105.

DANG! My bike is going to be "drinkin' age" here in a couple of weeks!!

Nice find BTW!! Enjoy it as a bike or reap the profits!!
I'd be curious to know what they fetch these days.

p.s. I have the original catalogue & owners manual. OM is a pretty funny read!

nick burns

Here's my SM600 with 24/26 wheels. I think it's a 85 model. Modded a little, but I still have all the original parts stored away.

Here's a reference table you might find handy:

https://www.firstflightbikes.com/cannondale_specs.htm

kemmer

The rear brake is a u-brake for sure. Many of the C'dales on the link in Nicks post have U-brakes, but none of the 24/26 bikes have came with the Deore IIs that I have. Maybe it originally had rollercams or Dia Comps Us though. OTOH, some of the other C'dales from the era did have the Shimanos, so maybe these are original equipment.

Nick, I wish you hadn't posted that picture. Now I'm gonna have to try to get this bike set up in time of the ice bike race this Saturday, I can't wait to show it off.

Anyhow, I guess I'll just set it up and ride it. Unless I find out it's worth hundreds of dollars, I'll probably keep it around just for the oddity of it. Thanks for the info guys.

Dr.Deltron

Rollercams & U brakes use the same brake boss position, so they're interchangable.
Personally, I like the Rollercams!

JunkYardBike

If anyone in the Northeast is reading this thread and lusting after one, this has been on my local CL for a while now:

https://newjersey.craigslist.org/bik/288446994.html

Dr.Deltron

NOOOOW ya tell me!
I just broke the bank ouitfitting the Merlin!

For $250, it'd be worth it just to have all the stock parts for my '86 Cannonball.
But the seller is about a grand too high on his original cost.
List; SM600/700 = $699.95

BTW, JYB, don't be surprised if it sells, now that you've alerted the media!

kemmer

From the serial number it's an 86. Looks like the chrome fork, u brake, XT shifters and derailers, bar and stem are not original. I didn't notice before, but the front brake was a roller cam, it still has the thingy on the cable. I'm guessing with 90% of the parts non original and the paint in the condition it's in, it's not worth too much. It'll be a fun addition to the fleet though, so overall I'm happy. I'm going to stop by the bike collective on Monday and see if they have any 24" wheels laying around. Thanks again everyone, pictures to come.

pastorbobnlnh 

Hey Dr. D and Nick B, tell us more about the 26" front and 24" rear logic C-Dale was using when they built this bike. Was it to lower and offset the center of gravity? Was it to aid uphill traction? Downhill speed? Or was it just a gimic that had no engineering merit? Help out the design/engineering challenged!

BTW, Dr., you certainly did "pretty-up" your Rollercam brakes! (although your RCs are different from mine?) Can you do mine in a matching yellow or do you suggest a contrasting color?

nick burns

It's a mystery to me. Uphill traction? Maybe...the bike does climb like a mountain goat. The downside is it runs out of gearing pretty quickly on down gradients.

JunkYardBike

Another case of buyer amnesia, poor research skills, or outright deception. At first, I thought it might be a bonded frame with carbon tubes (see black top tube). But what's the point if you're only gonna do the top tube?

I must say, those rollercam brakes do look cool!

JunkYardBike

I imagine another problem is that the rear derailleur has less ground clearance on a 24" rim.

kemmer

I'm thinking is the same logic behind the new 96ers. Bigger front wheel to roll over obstacles, smaller rear for quicker acceleration. The catalogue says something about shorter wheelbase.

Dr.Deltron

PastorB,
If I'm not mistaken, the thinking was that the different wheel sizes was to simulate a "trials" bike. That was one of the reasons I opted for the C'dale. The other was that, at that time, U brakes or Rollercams, mounted under the chainstays were the way to go. NOT! I knew that right away. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should!
So the C'dale got the nod because the Rollercams (cooler than U brakes, IMHO) were seatstay mounted.
The other thing at the time was the incredibly high BB. It's 13" off the ground! Good clearance for log hopping! And even with the 24" rear wheel, the rear deraileur ground clearance was never an issue.

So, with a 24 rear and a 26 front, you CAN climb some silly steep terrain, and drop the thing off a cliff without going OTB!! It also wheelies really well. Another thing is that a smaller wheel is stronger. So far the rear rim has been replace only once, and that was about 10-12 years ago. I also stocked a couple of 24" Ground Control tires for posterity. Don't know what I'll do when those eventually wear out. Love those tires!!!

It's probably pretty obvious by now that the Cannonball is one of my Top 4 favorite bikes! The 4 C's!
Cannonball, Colnago, Clive and the Challenge. And the GTX is a close 5th, but it doesn't start with C!

I will never consciously let the Cannonball go. My girlfriend at the time bought it for me! And she still has the Interclub I bought her for her 16th Bday! So it's only fair.

Oh, did I mention that she is now my wife?

Jeesh, I think I've hijacked my own post!



YEAH, get that Cannondale up & running and enjoy the H**L out of it!!

forgot to address the other question... I like different colors on a bike. The Rollercams were anodized red, as well as the BioPace rings. The rollers on the brakes were anodized gold. The XC Pro grouppo came with the aluminum rollers, as opposed to the outboard mounted BRASS rollers of the XC group.
So PastorB, if you want the brakes to match the frame, I would suggest powdercoating them. Or anodize a complimentary color. But the frame is white(?) and the fenders are yellow. Anodizing doesn't really come in either of those colors, hence the PC suggestion. But be sure to mask important areas, such as the boss pivot hole.
Note about anodizing components; ALL non aluminum pieces HAVE TO be removed prior to anodizing!!!
So to anodize the Rollercam parts, I had to press out all the brass bushings, including the one in the center of the cam roller. This applies to rims also. If the rim has eyelets before anodizing, they will be gone when you get the rim back.
OK, I think that's got it now.

kemmer

Well, I got the C'dale up and riding and there are two problems. 1. The derailer hanger is slightly bent. and 2. It's too big for me. I could take care of problem #1 by single speeding it but problem #2 is a deal breaker. I could go with a shorter stem and rock it, but I think it would be better to find something else worthy of the money/effort. I guess I back to the idea of selling it.