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Cannondale identification...I need help please

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Cannondale identification...I need help please

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Old 04-03-11 | 09:24 PM
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Cannondale identification...I need help please

A friend asked me to sell this bike for him. It looks to me to be a mid 80s touring commuter of some sort. The ID number is 18081387148.
It has Suntour FD anf BD, Sugino VP crank, Vello seat, Diacomp brake levers and 26" X 1.50" Aray wheels.
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Old 04-03-11 | 10:15 PM
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Bikes: Vassago Moosknuckle Ti 29+ XTR, 90's Merckx Corsa-01 9sp Record, PROJECT: 1954 Frejus SuperCorsa

Looks like a 1987 SM800 or SM500 Mountain Bike. The VP crank suggests the SM500, though the 500 wasn't available in white, according to the catalog, whereas the SM800 was.
To confuse things more, the SM500 came with the same color combo on the stem and handlebars as what is shown in your pictures.

The slick tires probably threw you off, but it is definitely a mountain bike, and almost certainly a 1987 model.

Last edited by canyoneagle; 04-03-11 at 10:22 PM.
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Old 04-03-11 | 10:28 PM
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I can see that it may be a mountain bike but the fork and the back stays have double eyelets for what I would think to be fenders and front and back racks. Also there is a good distance between the back tire and the down tube. It has a triple crank and a large cog on the back wheel. The brakes are unmarked but they are different then anything I have ever seen.

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Old 04-03-11 | 11:27 PM
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According to the Vintage C-Dale website https://www.vintagecannondale.com/info.html, it is an 18" frame, production date of Aug. 13th 1987, and frame #148.
Checking the 1987 catalog they have online, it is an SM800. They came in either white or hot pink.
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Old 04-04-11 | 01:54 AM
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Bikes: Motobecane Gran Record, Motobecane touring, Cannondale CAAD4 r800, Fuji Finest

Thank you for your help on the identification of this bike. I am much appreciative.

ARed
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Old 04-04-11 | 08:45 AM
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Bikes: Vassago Moosknuckle Ti 29+ XTR, 90's Merckx Corsa-01 9sp Record, PROJECT: 1954 Frejus SuperCorsa

Originally Posted by AlphaRed
I can see that it may be a mountain bike but the fork and the back stays have double eyelets for what I would think to be fenders and front and back racks. Also there is a good distance between the back tire and the down tube. It has a triple crank and a large cog on the back wheel. The brakes are unmarked but they are different then anything I have ever seen.

ARed
The eyelets were quite common on mountain bikes in those days, and are not uncommon now. Wheelbases tended to be much longer then than now, with ridiculously long chain stays. The triple crank and large cog are typical for mountain bikes to deal with the varying conditions encountered on the trail.
Mountain bike designs have changed in the past 25 years. I raced in the 80's, both on and off road, so seeing those catalog pages brings back some memories. Regardless, it is a mountain bike with slick tires.
It could certainly be used for commuting, and, in fact is the very type of bike many of us in the commuting forums recommend to people getting into bike commuting (rigid 80's/90's mountain bike).

The brakes are an oddity- The early mountain bikes had cantilever brakes, and several alternate designs (attempting to increase the length of the lever arm) came out. The brakes on your bike were Sun Tour's attempt, that lasted a few years at most. Revised cantilever design prevailed before the V-brake essentially took over in the 90's.

That's a great bike.

Last edited by canyoneagle; 04-04-11 at 09:03 AM.
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