Lubers! I saw your thread before purchasing this. Nice work on a beautiful bike.

Grim, I thought the gearing was odd too. I'll see how it is tomorrow on my first commute to work. I've fitted it with a rack, a headlight and a small bag under the seat and it holds everything I need. Tomorrow will be a 28 mile round trip that I used to do on my road bike + back pack. This should be a vast improvement.

Oh how strange it is to look forward to work for once! I guess it's just the way there, though :-) I love that a bicycle can do that to me!

-Collin-

Do some research on half-step gearing. To get the full benefit, you'll have to learn double shifting. So, for instance, if you're on the big ring and smallest rear cog, you shift to the middle chainring in front (leaving the rear untouched) for the next-to-highest gear ratio. Then, to get to the next step, you have to shift back to the big front chainring and up to the 2nd smallest cog on the rear - at the same time! Doubling shifting! Of course, you don't have to do this, but that's how you get the smallest jumps between gear ratios. Otherwise, you get bigger steps or changes in gear ratio.

Make sense? I've tried it, but I've never really put much effort into learning how to do it right because half-step gearing is really not very useful on the roller coaster terrain I normally ride.

Apparently, people used to tape cheat sheets on their top tubes to help them remember the shifting patterns!

Here's Sheldon Brown on it: http://sheldonbrown.com/gear-theory.html#halfstep

I'm just learning about half step. It is interesting. The close ratio on the crank split the gears on the rear. Its sort of like driving with overdrive or under drive in the upper gears. It makes the difference between gear changes on the rear approximately half. So when you get to a steady cruise and need a little to climb a hill you would drop to the middle ring on the crank solt of like dropping out of overdrive. you would use the gears on back to set your overall pace.

I have a 84 Fuji that is close to half step with 50-45-28. Going to try to optimize it with a custom stacked freehub.
Here is a thread with some knowledgeable folks.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...f-step-gearing!

Normal 6 speed indexed Shimano downtube shifters should work fine as long as the Deore RD is SIS compatible. All the 88 touring Cannondales in the catalog use SIS Deore RD's so you're probably OK there. The front will most likely be friction and should work fine as well.

Just did a 14 mile ride to work and will head back again in about eight hours. There's one thing I have to say about this bike: commuting on it is a night and day difference compared to the road bikes I've been riding to work. With all my gear strapped onto the rack, it's so much nicer to ride rather than a backpack. I rigged up the head light and tail light and this morning's dark commute was a total joy. It was SO stable and relaxing to ride. I'm not sore at all and I just love the larger tires. Riding in traffic with a heavy backpack in the dark on 700x23 tires is not very safe at all. Hitting small sticks and things I can't even see has almost made me wipe out a few times. Not so with the Cannondale; solid as a rock.

110% happy with my purchase. Love the gearing too. I'm already used to the half-step gearing and I don't think I'll ever ride my road bike to work again unless I have zero luggage to carry. So, so pleased with this thing!

-Collin-

You'll find reasons to ride your road bike. It will be a warm, sunny day, and you won't have anything to carry, and you'll want to apply some real power to the pedals. But yes, this sounds like it will be your regular commuter bike.

Anytime you can lower the Center of Gravity the better. Getting that weight off your shoulders and below your butt is a HUGE change in CG. Wait till summer when you are in the sun and no longer have that mess on your back retaining heat. The long wheel base makes for a smooth ride. I am goign to try some 700x32s next go around. I have 700x35 Conti Toptouring now and they are a reasonably fast tire compared to what I had on the 95. Going to give the Vittoria Randonneur Pros with the reflective sidewalls next. Most of the reviews have been positive.

Road bike is fun when you have nothing to carry and you want to go fast. A Touring bike is like a SUV. Not particularly fast but you get there in comfort with the relaxed riding position and can bring what ever you want. Its not about the speed its about the steady sustainable pace.

I did my First metric last year. I ran across a smoking deal on a 89 SR600 that I thought would be a stellar bike for the ride.. I wanted to love that bike..it was so pretty. Every time I took it for a long ride I came back feeling like I had been beat. My back was screaming due to a problem I have in my lower back. I went and drove a good portion of the route for the upcoming century. I right then knew there was NO WAY I was going to ride the SR600. Took my T700 with my MTX bag and fenders. Got heckled the first 20 miles by all the weekend "teams". Had the silver rain fly on the bag and kept getting asked "whats in the cooler"? and stuff like that. 22 miles into the event it starts to rain> I stopped and put on my rain cap hat coupled with my helmet visor kept my glasses dry and pressed on. It was plenty warm and the fender kept my shoes from filling with water. It rained all the way to the end. I slowly passed most of the weaker riders that got dropped on all those "teams". Getting tire spray they could not keep their pace lines and pull the slow riders . Most of them were the hecklers. LOL

My moving avg speed was 15.1mph and there was some pretty good rollers on the course. I was passing members of the team that couldnt handle them and were off the bikes pushing them up the hills because of their 50-42 cranks and 11-22 cassettes. LOL 36x28 is an awesome gear for rollers.

I did have new respect for the strong riders that could pull those hills with those gears though. It did wake me up to how most vintage bikes had a lot better gearing for the average rider. THey may be old but the people that designed them knew what they were doing (still trying to figure out the reason for the compacts my 98 came with LOL).


Sold the SR600 a few weeks later.
Keep us posted on how you like it in a few weeks.

You bring up some valid points. Some rides like the MS150, or any given charity ride not only could be run on a touring bike, but the touring bike might outshine the race bikes that most people bring and are sold into riding.

Long benefit rides like that are more the rider (usually a novice weekend rider) just making it to the end in one piece. That was my goal. The over all speed was not important. It is NOT the Tour de France. LOL

A full on race bike is overkill for most riders. They never get strong enough to make it worth buying. I think 90% of current bike sales people are way in over their head and actually leads to them giving it up. They would get more enjoyment out of a little less bike (in respect to a nice relaxed road bike verses a crit bike).

That's a hell of a story Grim. Thanks for sharing. I did blow by someone on a Madone on my way home today, but that must have been because he was scared me and my careless ways :-)

The ride home was tougher than I'd thought, but that's only because I haven't done the commute in about a month. Nothing to do with the bike of course. I'm now in dire need of either panniers or a bike-specific duffel bag to strap on the back. My backpack was just a mess the whole way. Straps flying, strings waving, etc. etc.

Checked the bike when I got home and everything is grand. The commute to work was my first ride that was longer than 100 yards on it. This may have been risky, but I trust the bike as much as I trust my other two. As I suspected, it rode like a brand new bike and never missed a beat (or a gear). I can tell we are going to be good friends.

This will be opening a can of worms, but it needs a new saddle and I didn't realize I was going to have to spend a hundred bucks on a Brooks if I wanted anything decent. I thought I could take my two $20's down to Performance Bikes and buy something decent. I was wrong. I'm now in the never-ending quest for a saddle. Wish me luck on that.

Cheers,

-Collin-

I've found some $20 saddles that are just fine. I think most people don't really need expensive saddles.

Can you give me any examples to look for?

I was looking at this one - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

-Collin-

Oops, I actually just won a Brooks saddle for $21 + $11 shipping :-)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

Weird that the seller says it's vinyl. Hmm. Maybe it's not one of the great ones.

-Collin-

It's not.. It is a Brooks; however it's a vinyl mattress saddle.

That's a "mattress" saddle, made for upright bikes. Not the type for your bike.

I can't say what you'll like. One person's pleasure is another person's torture.

That is exactly right! The big thing with saddles.... they are totally personal and only you know what feels right to you. You can find good saddles at low and high prices.
I have personally had good luck with:

- Selle Italia Turbos (new for $50.00, junkfoodjunkie is selling one for 30ish in the sales section)
- The Vetta turbo copies (I find these around for $20 on average... and know of a NOS one for that price)
- Wrights leather saddles (got their B17 clone dirt cheap on ebay, $13.00 and it gets used daily on my commuter)

I do have 2 Brooks professionals, I think they are very attractive and they have been just ok on long rides. Maybe mine aren't quite broken in but I would not rank them at the top for me.

Glad your bike worked out so well, pannier bags will be a great investment. You can usually find some decent ones at Nashbar.com pretty cheap.

damn, sounds like I wasted 32 bucks. That's sort of a lousy mistake. Is this saddle good for anything? :-(

Thanks for the tips on decent saddles. As I forecasted, the hunt continues!

-Collin-

That saddle is pretty typical for an older 3 speed bike, something like a Raleigh sports with upright handlebars. I am pretty sure you could resell it and get back what you bought it for on craigslist or ebay. I have one, on a 3 speed and I think it's just fine but I would not ever put it on a road bike like you have.

Good price on Brooks B17 http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Br...le/5360023051/
Free shiiping if your order is >$77. Buy extra tubes?

That's a good idea for a 14 mile commute. Extra tubes, tire levers and a good quality frame like a zefal HPX or a topeak road morph. They aren't cheap but they are SOOO worth it, my zefal has bailed me out a few times last year.

Mike's Bikes locally has a B17 for $99 and I found a 20% off coupon for signing up for their email list. That will put it at 80 bucks plus tax, so about $87 to buy it locally. I think I'll do that.

Still a little bitter about the therapeutic temperpedic mattress thingy I bought though :crash:

-Collin-

Don't worry, you should be able to sell it for what you paid for it. Just a bump in the road.

Oh I do love a black bike! It looks good. As for the question earlier about Al frames, I've got a '93 R900 Canondale and its got no cracks in it at all. I have destroyed three steel frames (all at the top of the downtube) in my youth, but this frame seems strong and durable.

Call me crazy, but I swear the top tube has a slight dip in it. Is that even possible? Is it just my eyes playing tricks on me? I thought I saw this on my other road bike as well, so maybe I'm just insane. Would this ever happen and if so, why? Has it stretched?

-Collin-

Old Cannondales were heat treated, and the frame tubes would warp slightly, it's normal. I was looking through their old catalogs, and they even mentioned that it was normal