I bought this bike off Ebay about two weeks ago:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/350488118276...84.m1497.l2649

The seller didn't really know much about the bike, but I did a little research before I bid, and found out it's a 1986 Cannondale SR400. All of the components are original, based on the catalog at vintagecannondale.com. I swapped the broken bike computer it came with for a Cateye Mity 8 that I got for $14 on Ebay, and replaced the back tube because the inner core of the presta valve was gone. It's in amazing shape, and it rides like a dream. The only thing is, I've got some money burning a hole in my pocket, and I want to start upgrading the components on this thing! Where should I start? I was kind of thinking of getting a new saddle because I weighed the one it has and it weighs 457 grams. The seat post is only 255 grams, which seems pretty good. The saddle I'm looking at is the Origin-8 Pro Road saddle. One review online says it weighs 299 grams, which seems good for an 18 dollar saddle. What do you guys think? Where else should I start?

Take it to a shop and have it overhauled.

It should take a little while for your wallet to recover from that.

Thanks, you're right. It could definitely use an overhaul.

The sky is the limit, and as the old saying goes "How light do you want to go?? How much money do you have??". I would ride the **** out of it and spend some time adjusting the seat position and stem height to get every thing tuned to you. Saddles can be a place to spend a little money and save some weight but if it don't fit your backside it's wasted money. Decide before hand how far you want to go, 10speed or SRAM RED, maybe 8spd cassette and stick with DT shifters. When you have a written list of what and how much you want to spend you can start looking for parts or the next bike deal. Most of the time the next bike deal is the way to go and you finance it by selling the old bike or you become.....N+1

Learn to work on you own bike, buy old bike books closer to or newer then your bike on a book site.

better yet, learn for free by searching this forum and look at https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help

i've got an sr400 recently myself and have been riding the snot out of it. I absolutely love it. My suggestion is service the bare minimum to get it roadworthy and then ride it for a while before upgrading. You'll get a better understanding of what and how you'd like to upgrade this way and likely save yourself money and end up with a better fitting and performing bike.

I love mine already too. A lot of people on the internet bash older aluminum bikes, saying they're jarring, and don't absorb vibrations like steel, but I love the way the bike feels. The other half of people are right about aluminum in that you really can feel all of your pedaling power being turned into forward momentum. Getting a better feel for the bike before shelling out tons of dough is a great idea, thanks!

Yup, that is exactly my feeling about the aluminum frame as well, just a rocketship. Fine if others don't like 'em, more for us!

That's a sick bike man! I'm trying to get my old aluminum road bike into a first class machine... Thinking about a Wound Up fork, just cuz they're so sexy!

The first thing you do is ensure the bike is safe to ride and then ride it for the better part of a season. Once you and the bike get to know each other, then you consider spending big bucks to make it the way you want it.

Also, get to know how to maintain your bicycle, as others have suggested. And you will be surprised how easy it is to learn to do many fundamental tasks.

And, if the interest is there, spend some time learning about vintage bicycles. I publish MY "TEN SPEEDS", a website intended to help people, new to the vintage bicycle interest, get a head start on learning about them.

And lastly, from me anyway, have a look at my Cannondale400, which I rode quite a bit a few years ago...

WHOA WHOA!!!! this is a great loking classic Cdale. it was rather light in it day to begin with, so there is little reason to change parts just to save a few grams. I agree with Tugrul get it overhauledbefore you start riding it alot. just get it greased and some new cables to make the brakes and derailleurs perform better.

as for the saddle, yes change to one that feels better so you ride more, but don't change it just to make it lighter.

after you get it overhauled just ride it! get the feel of the bike. changing alot of stuff before you know you like the ride can be bad news. also while, as Alan says "the shys the limit" may be true, the real limit is the spacing of your rear triangle. with that stiff Aluminum frame you can go sliding a 8+ spd wheel in there so easily. also some of the uber light and stiff modern wheels will make the already stiff cannondale ride really harsh.

if you really wanted a uber light bike with atleast 847 speeds you should have bought one. treat this classic like an old Morgan or Fiat Spider. just cleaner her up and do what restoration is needed.

What are the tires on it? I recently refurbished a friends SR400 and it had 20mm tires on it. Narrow tires seem to have been more popular in the past. For his use those are way too narrow and he would have to run such high pressure it would be unpleasant to ride.

I agree with Bianchgirll. Keep it original and put some miles on it before you try fixing something that ain't broke.

+1 for keeping it original. Rather than dumping your money into it, do some research on maintenance, see if there's a bike co-op nearby that can help with tools and know-how, get it cleaned up/tuned up and ride!
Don't worry about saving a few grams here and there - you get far more bang for your buck by improving the rider weight and fitness first.

I agree with everyone else. Ride it a lot, including some rides of at least 40-50 miles, before you make any significant changes. That looks like a pretty competent bike. You'll get faster, quicker by putting in miles than you will by shaving grams.

Also, in my experience, you can burn through a lot of money chasing after saddles that might be comfortable. If you have friends with parts bins, see if you can borrow some saddles to see what works and what doesn't. Choosing a saddle based on weight seems like the worst idea.

I'd invest the money in some tools for now, and read up on bike maintenance. The tools will pay for themselves in no time, and it's a rewarding pastime.

+1, though I'm not so sure you'll find paradise by borrowing saddles that your friends didn't like. Looking at what your friends do like should be more educational. At any rate, getting comfortable on a bike saddle is mostly a matter of getting comfortable on a bike, so the first step is ride, ride, ride.

I followed the most common advice, and just rode the bike, and invested in tools to overhaul the bike. I've overhauled everything but the headset so far. I cleaned and repacked the bearings in both hubs, the bottom bracket, and even the pedals. I soaked the freewheel in ethanol, flushed it with hot water, and flushed the water with oil. I replaced all the cables and housings, and wrapped the handlebars with new cotton handlebar wrap. I took off and soaked both derailleurs in ethanol, scrubbed them, rinsed them, dried them, and oiled all the parts that move. I took apart and cleaned the shifters, and greased them before putting them back on the bike. I soaked and cleaned the chain, and oiled it and put it back on. I haven't ridden it as much as I'd have liked to, because it spent a lot of time apart while I was waiting for tools to get to my house. After the overhaul, and adjusting everything, it rides like a dream. No noise, the shifting is great, and the tires are true. It's great to be able to do everything on your own bike. Now hopefully, I can do some overhauls on other peoples' bikes to make back some of the money I've spent on tools! I put some pictures of the overhauled bike, and the tools I've bought.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/69279243@N05/

It looks great, amazing condition. You did well learning to work on your own. If you ride a lot it's something that will pay you back manyfold. Don't be so anxious to upgrade for the sake of lightness. As most will indicate, working on lightening and strengthening the engine will do more than losing 200g in a saddle.

That's what I've realized.

Willt, Came out very nice, congrats! In the future, clamp the stand to the seat post with an aluminum frame. You can get away with gently using the TT on the pre 2.8 model Cannondales as the 3.0 and SR frames don't have butted a TT.

Older Cannondales in OEM condition are as uncommon as hen's teeth. Save all of the original parts if in the future you decide to update and then sell it. The old parts would go with the bike.

Because you mentioned weight, realistly a SR or 3.0 frame, depending on size, can be expected to weigh around 20-23 lbs.

Brad

Nice job. That's how I started out...with an old Cannondale. You can learn a lot from those bikes and they pay back every minute of attention with increased performance and durability.

If you are looking to upgrade, consider better brakes and levers. Those old Diacompe side pulls are weak compared to more modern stuff.

Tektro 530's and R200L levers make a nice combo that is very strong yet progressive.

Fantastic first restoration! I agree with the good Doctor, the only upgrade I'd recommend would be in the brakes, and a saddle you like to ride on for hours. The paint is stunning!