zigmin

Hey all, I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on an unused 1996 63cm Cannondale 2.8 frameset. I've been riding a fixed gear for the past year and I'm looking to get back into shifting. I've only ever really ridden steel road frames though, but I've heard really great things about some of the pre-CAAD series handmade aluminum frames from Cdale like the SR series and 2.8/3.0's I'm just fishing for some opinions on the idea of building this bike up as a daily rider, perhaps even a 1x8. I'm used to track geometry and I'm 6'3" approx 190lbs but given that I'm a larger guy is a frame like this too stiff and unforgiving to ride everyday?

non-fixie 

This is my '94 R900. Bought the frame because of the bling factor and built it up as a sort of general purpose fast bike. It has been my daily (and nightly) ride for quite a while. It's very light and agile, but also pretty harsh. Longer rides on less than perfect road surfaces are no fun at all on 23 mm tires at 130 psi. I will be changing to a slightly wider tire and choose lugged steel for the longer trips.

zigmin

Thanks for the input.

bradtx

zigman, The 2.8 was a break through road frame for Cannondale and I consider it one of their best. While it retained the cantilever seat stays of the previous 3.0 frame, everything else was changed. The CAAD series frames are based on this frame.

In every sense of the word this is a race frame and like any other race frame, regardless of material, it's stiffer than a comfort bike. The larger frames are less stiff than the smaller frames. Ride harshness is controlled by tire pressure and size. 700X23 at ~100 PSI or 700X25 at ~90 PSI (I'm in the same weight range as you) delivers a ride good enough for a century. Tire life is also extended by not running max pressure, IME.

Brad

pastorbobnlnh 

I've ridden my '96 2.8 SR500 (which I bought as a frameset last winter) more than any other bike this season. It has the Silk Road Headshok, so is not an "apples to apples" comparison, but I have found it to be as comfortable as my '71 Paramount. The Headshok does a fantastic job absorbing the road cracks which plague northern New England roads. It does add about 2-3 lbs, so this bike weighs in about 24lbs as pictured with 8X3 speed Shimano 105 and Brooks saddle.

P.S. I weigh about 50-60 lbs more than you do.



Late last Fall I picked up this '93 2.8 R600 off CL. It needed a really good cleaning and about the time I finished the work, snow and winter had set in. I thought it would be out of storage and in the regular ride rotation by May, but I've only had it up and down the road for short test spins. Kind of a shame because it is my lightest bike at 20lbs with its 8X2 Shimano 105 (mostly) drivetrain. It is very stiff and fast to accelerate.

Barchettaman

Zigmin, I did exactly this - built up a 2.8 frame with a 1x8 speed setup.

It was a fast and agile city bike. Clearance with 700c/28 tyres was very very tight and I had to reverse mount the rear brake to clear them

kralizec

I thought I was crazy for thinking I was the only one to do this. So silly that it hits the brake bridge. Do people riding a 63cm frame really run 23 or 25 mm tires? SRSLY?

tugrul

Is there a reason for the brake bridge not to be parallel to the tangent of the wheel?

bradtx

Sure. Not everyone requiring a 63 cm frame is heavy enough to need tires over 25 mm. For a city bike the 28 mm tires are an excellant choice, IMHO.

Brad

non-fixie 

Like your setup, Barchettaman. You're ahead of me. What shifter are you using?

kralizec

From Rivendell site:
We don't offer any tire skinnier than a 27mm Roll-y Pol-y or Ruffy Tuffy. Even if you weigh 100 pounds, there's no reason to ride a tire any skinnier than that. Even under ideal "skinny tire conditions" you gain too little and give up too much.

Pretty much the reason I ride larger tires. Weight don't matter. Suspension does. Wide tires give better suspension/(weight+cost) than forks or full suspension frames.

riva

I'd say get it if the price is good. You could always put a different fork on it to absorb some of the road. I think my bike is a 2.8 also.. mine needs some work.

Barchettaman

1x8, Shimano XT trigger shifter I think. Works beautifully.

TBH the whole bike was a parts bin special.

Trakhak

Keep an open mind about the supposed harshness of aluminum frames. I've been riding high-end road and track bikes since the mid-'60s, and every bike I've ever owned rides exactly the same as every other bike with the same geometry and tires. My aluminum bikes are equal to my steel bikes for long-distance comfort. The lighter weight of the aluminum bikes makes them superior to the steel bikes for accelerating and climbing, and their lateral stiffness makes them easier to control for descending.

About Cannondales and taller riders: in 1985, a weight lifter (6' 4", 275 lb) came into my bike shop who said that every bike he tried felt too flexible and fragile to him. I sold him a Cannondale sport touring bike. He came in the store a couple of months later and told me, "You get any other big guys in here, tell them that the Cannondale is the only way to go."

dwellman

Just finished my first, full from ground up bike build. It was supposed to be an '86 c'dale I bought this stuff for, but the frame was too good a deal to pass up, so. . . yeah, the red stuff doesn't go as well



bling:


I have a nice clamp coming to replace that gawd awful clamp

shrinkboy

i race, and train, on a BBQ CAAD9/DuraAce- i'm 6'2"/190- and find i have no trouble with ride or pinch flats riding high quality clinchers at 90 psi in back and 85 psi in front....smooths things out a good deal. racing, i run 100 psi/95....

Harlan

That Cdale frame in Olympia is pretty expensive for what is IMO. A friend lives there and it's been listed for quite a long time. Try to chisel him/her down on price.