Hi everyone. I hope someone can help me. My good friend at work has a cannondale black lightning 1986. we have worked together for over 20 years so I know how good of care he took of this bike.I would not hesitate to call it mint condition. He hasn't rode it in 10 years and in the last few I have tried to by it from him. well today he told me he wants to sell it. can someone tell me what a fair price would be. I don't want to give him too little but I also don't want to pay too much.. I thank you in advance for your help

That model has a bit of a following, so the prices on it tend to be a little inflated. They usually sell anywhere between $250-$400 (before shipping), with 'mint' examples selling at the higher end. However, this time of year, it's likely it would sell on ebay for a bit less.

What component group does it have?

There's a red 3.0 on ebay now, built on an NOS frameset, with Suntour Sprint 9000 components, for $275 BIN. (I think this belongs to a BF member). In my opinion, that's a very good price, especially for the component group...I'm surprised it hasn't sold yet.

I'm sure it has suntour not sure witch one

Thank you JYB he was thinking 500, I was thinking 300.so I just called him and offered 400 and he said that since it for me...OK. I appreciate your help. By the way my wife is from Westwood NJ...jersey girls rule!!!

Are you sure it's an '86? Looks like '87 was the first year for the Black Lightning model: https://www.vintagecannondale.com/catalog.html

I'd pay more for Suntour Superbe, Sprint or GPX...but less for Edge or lower. Here's a hierarchy chart for Suntour: https://equusbicycle.com/bike/suntour...d-range-89.jpg

Limited edition bikes are worth whatever collector wants to bid/offer. $300 bucks sounds reasonable as probably it did not cost him more than that back in 1986
Owned a limited edition C'dale (believe model 1200) built earlier than BL. This series of bikes had all the tig welds hand-filed for a super clean fillet brazed look. Also was numbered on the top tube '13 out of 150' and was painted a special gorgeous light blue. 149 of the 150 bikes were in blue and one was black.
Got a decent price for it years later, but buyer was not overly interested in the limited edition, but that the bike fit properly and was in A-1 shape.

Well, be sure to post some pics! I'm married to a jersey girl, too, and they do rule...with an iron fist!

Hey thanks for the plug JunkYard . The suntour parts on mine are from a Black Lightning in fact

I imported my jersey girl from texas.

This jerseygirl escaped to the sane lands of PA!

This is from memory, but I believe in '86 the R400 was around $450 (I paid $300 for a used one that year). The Black Lightning MSRP'd at somewhere between 550 & 650. I remember walking into the bike shop and seeing it. It was gorgeous, at least I thought so, but more than I was willing to shell out for a road bike (had it been a touring bike however...).

Cannot remember if that was in the fall of '86 or spring of 87, so no help there. I'm kind of thinking '87.

That '87 catalog gives the MSRP as $899. Pretty pricey but a beautiful bike.

I can believe that. I remember looking at it there in the shop thinking it was nearly Campy priced for a Superbe Pro spec. Really made an impression.

Superbe Pro works better anyway.

where are the pictures of this bike already.

(mine is gone. thanks junkyard)

I think the OP is done with us.

Congrats on the sale. I was very tempted, having sold mine recently. Was having some remorse, and yours was equipped with far superior components than mine (RX100). So where's my commission for having helped with the sale?

wow, old thread...

a customer at my shop upgraded his Black Magic to Campy Record Ergo, and has offered me his leftovers - black Superbe Pro crankset, shifters, derailleurs, brake levers, and wheelset. Not sure if he still has the pedals and bb but I sure hope so. I'm pretty pumped about it, as I've got a bit of a thing for Suntour.

All I need now is a frame to hang this on, preferably black. I'm such a hipster.

why yes, it is an old thread......In any case, nice score on the Superbe Pro swag. Whether or not your customer actually 'upgraded' is debatable . The Superbe Pro on my new ride is so smooth and tight it's a blast to ride. That black gear would look great on a chrome frame as well. Be sure to post up some picks when you get it completed.

It'll probably be a while before it's done, as I'm frameless, but maybe something nice will come along.

As for the upgrade - his bike is niiiice. I wouldn't kick a Campy record group outta bed for eating crackers. The kindly parts donor does fast group rides with the click-shifting carbon folks, and is enough of a realist to understand that he's a danger to himself and others in a 45kmh paceline.