tdister

I say tourer...it has 3 sets of bottle cage braze ons with front and rear rack braze ons as well. Full Shimano 600 (everything from hubs to starfish style headset) except for a 105 rear der. (probably replacement after a spill). 27" rims.

Paint is light blue on rear which slowly fades to silver up front. Aluminum frame but steel crowned fork.

Except for some road rash on the right chainstay at the dropout it is in great shape, (the "dents" are supposed to be there) no other dents and no major scratches. No decals anywhere. They were about to ship it off for "recycling", whatever that entails, because of the "dents".

serial 23100285020

Picked it up yesterday for a whopping $10...what did I get? I'm guessing '85, but what model? I see the ST400 listed and it gets very similar, but no 2-tone paint listed which I'm pretty sure is original.

More pics https://s233.photobucket.com/albums/e...dister3/cdale/

Thanks

High Fist Shin

This should help ID your bike...

https://www.vintagecannondale.com/

It does look like an '85 ST400 that was repainted. Do you have the serial number handy?
Dan

Mooo

The vintage Cannondale site is your best bet. Somebody posted some links here a couple weeks ago to some catalog scans.

I remember thinking at the time that the ST400 would make a really fine all around bike. Never owned one, though.

tdister

Thanks, I had been browsing those scans and couldn't match it up for sure...I also can't be too sure what is and isn't original.

I say the paint looks original because the serial is so easy to read. The numbers are made of dots and it seems like a repaint would be pretty easy to spot. In another thread I've found someone mentioning a special edition of about 150 being produced that matches this bike description...havne't found anything else. I PM'd them, so we will see.

YoKev

Too bad about the dents in the chainstays...bummer man!










So really, what was the thinking behind Cannondale doing that?

High Fist Shin

I got the dents too.



Dan

Bikedued

Damn Machin, that is a fine looking black bicycle! I don't even mind the black stem and levers. Whoa!,,,,BD


Black Ambrosio wrap? I am putting Ambrosio on almost everything I build now. Very nice stuff and more durable than cork.

Mooo

Let's the crankarms go past. The stays are not petite.

tdister

Nice bikes. I haven't decided if the dents are going to be "crumple zones" or if one side got dented and I decided the other should match.

High Fist Shin

Thanks!

Ambrosio tape is correct. It's my new favorite. I just ordered 10 more from PBK.

zonatandem

Mooo is correct, the 'dents' were standard, you'll find them on many older frames, including steel.
It's so the crankarm will clear the chainstay . . .
The denting was done before the alu frame was heat treated.

redneckwes

Looks like an '85 ST500 to me, nice bike, I briefly had one, traded off because it was way too big, but it was also all Shimano 600.

I gave $15 for mine, gave it a quick and dirty overhaul, then traded it for my '80 Super Course, had it been 23" instead of 25" I probably would have held on to it, it rode very well, and transferd loads of power.

Business810

That's a steal! It should ride very nicely, especially with the steel fork. My ST300 has an aluminum fork that is a bit on the stiff side.

tdister

Happen to have a pic of the aluminum fork? Is it set up for a front rack? Just curious.

I felt pretty comfy saving it for $10, it even fits me and I can probably sell the pedals for more than the whole package cost. It might have to sit for a while though, I just finished up a similarly equipped/same vintage Nashbar frame as a beater/intro road bike.

Already found a saddle, going to be hard to let it sit when it basically just needs rubber, grease, some cables and a little time.

Dr.Deltron

80's serial numbers decoded...

1st 2 numbers...frame size (23")

next 6 digits...date made...(October 2nd of 1985)

next 3 digits...frame made that day..(20th)

A STINKIN GOOD DEAL!!
You paid HALF what I paid for one last year!

Business810

I don't have any pictures handy, but the fork does have eyelets for fenders and a rack. I don't know how anyone could really tour on it though - it's just too stiff! I'll try to grab some pictures next time I get a chance.

Unfortunately, some previous owner decided that the shifter bosses were too nice for the frame and lopped them off. So, the bike is a singlespeed for me. Even with missing shifter bosses I still paid more than $10 for just the frameset!

tdister

A fine example, Chuckk. I will be on the lookout for you around town.

carpediemracing 

+1

Fully loaded Cannondales resembled a normal bike and were sought after by the most hard core of tourers.

I have a van like that too. Empty (5400 lbs) you keep the tires at 40psi and bounce around a lot (causing, among other things, the rear tires to occasionally lock up under braking, as well as letting the tires break loose almost at will when accelerating from a standstill on wintery Connecticut roads). Loaded up (couple thousand pounds more) you keep the tires at 80 psi and the van is smoother, quieter, brakes more evenly, has more consistent traction, and drives like a mushy... van.

cdr

jgedwa

Given the ages you old codgers admitted to in another thread, I would think that stiff, under any circumstances, would be good.

jim

fender1

ZINGGG!

ridethecliche

HAHHAHAHAH!!!

tdister

For anyone interested, I got it "finished" tonight and went for a nice ride...I really like it. I put one of my other projects on hold and am glad, this is my first drop bar bike that I enjoy riding.

I thought it rode very nicely, especially given the 25c tires currently on it.

Will need a new headset unfortunately, but I might borrow one off of another bike for now. Put on some 700c wheels, swapped pedals, greased the BB, new chain and levers etc. I'm really liking the fat stays on this thing...looks nice from behind IMO. they will also be a nice base for dorking it up with reflective tape.

White tape looked better in my head, but it was a learning job anyway (as you can tell). not sure what color it will end up with

Bikedued

I think the white looks great. A white saddle, and you're done. It's the black saddle that makes it look out of place IMHO?,,,,BD

Bikedued

Now, take some pics in the daytime, hehe.,,,,BD

tdister

Yeah, a white saddle would help it tons, was hoping the black on the brake levers would cancel it out...but I got this one for $20 (REI garage sale, take-off saddle) and really like it so far. Tried it on my Trek for a few hours and it was great, it almost stayed there. Fizik Rondine.

Price and function over form for me right now. Will replace with daytime pics soon .