Thanx, you've given me hope for repaint/powder coat just in case I get one that is scuffed up too badly....nice to know the decals are there and it can look like new again. Nice refit you did, though personally I'd have to have a black chainset

Good job. You guys are stoking my interest in this bike.

FSA rings, baby!

KHATFULL, Nice bike. I can only hope that this one represents the line as well as yours.

RCCADR, When you refinished your bike. How did you reattach the top tube cable guides?

My future wife can't understand why I named the bike "Johnny Player"...

^ Awesome.

When I stripped the frame for powder coating, the last thing I did was to push the little tubies that attach the cable guides to the top tube down through the holes and into the top tube. After carefully removing the cable guides (it's too easy to ruin them by pulling off 1/2 of the mount), I turned the frame on end and shook it for a couple of minutes until all of the tubies came out through the head tube (that's where the hole for the top tube is). After powder coating, it's easy to reattach them by placing the guides back into the holes, then inserting the tubies.

Here's another one I did- this is a very late 88 or early 89, but with original Suntour Edge components in black:


And this is an '85, so before BL's were available- it's a repro, and also with Shimano tricolor:

rccardr, Your pics remind me that I need to find some new chrome caps for my '89's 600 crankset. It looks better bare than with the alternative black caps.

Brad

I've always wanted a Black Lightning. It looks like something Batman would ride while the Batmoblie is being worked on.

I just got back from my first real ride on the Black Lightning. I can say that it's worlds better than the bike it's essentially replacing, the Fuji Espree. (You can see where the wheels came from )


Luck would have it that I rode by a crime scene where all the neighbors where standing around and I met a fellow cyclist just coming back from his ride. Our conversation led to the upgrades that I'm planning to do to the Lightning. He then shows me a take off wheel set he has from his Madone.
The wheels are similar to these except the spokes have a different pattern. (paired)


He said he would sell me the wheelset with skewers (no cassette) along with an Ultegra front derailleur for $200.00 Is this a good deal?
The rear hub is a ten speed. Will this wheel fit into the cannondale chainstays? Also, can I use 9 speed components? Will a 5700 105 RD work?
Sorry for all of the questions. I'm just glad luck was on my side. It seems that the Black Lightning brings me luck at the misfortune of others I'll have to use this power only for good.

I briefly owned the previous year's equivalent to the Black Lightning, the '86 SR800, which came with the original all black Superbe Pro groupset in great shape. It was one helluva bike, but at the time I was new to road biking and I didn't know sh*t about bike fit so I sold it because I thought it was too small for me. I realize now that it actually fit me quite well and these days whenever I see a black C'dale, I'm overwhelmed with regret. Congrats on your new acquisition. Enjoy it!



I also had the original saddle:

It's what Batman would ride if he had a DUI.

wow that sucks, and cAuse of the fact that it had a suntour superb pro all black group

OP, that's going to be a nice bike. I've always liked the older C'Dales. The place to check for frame cracking is reportedly just under the head/down tube junction. Use a very strong flashlight, and any cracks will show up. While you're at it check the rest of the tube junctions, but this was where a C'Dale factory rep told me to check several years ago. An additional tip is to use a dental pick or other very sharp needle-like tool to trace the junction from tube to tube. Any crack will immediately feel apparent.

For your crankset, if you ever thought about maybe a compact consider a SRAM compact. I just put one on my winter bike, and it looks great in black. I peeled off the deals so it's just black. It would fit the look of your bike perfectly.

https://www.amazon.com/Sram-Apex-Comp...0&color_name=x

Damn, all these black bikes are simply awe-inspiring

In the OP's first post, the front 3/4 photo shows the fork off to good effect. Is it just me - or is that a steel fork mated to the aluminum frame?

Sorry, I dunno squat about C-dales, but I like to learn new things.

DD

I always was under the impression that the earlier Cannondales had the cantilevered dropouts. It's interesting to see that they actually came later.

Any idea why Cannondale did that? I always thought that was a pretty ugly treatment, myself...

From what I've read in the catalogues of the day Cannondale mated Tange forks with the aluminum frames.

And like you, I know squat about Cdales but now catching up because I'm going to have me one of these black beauties for riding this summer.

Superfast213:

Those Bontrager wheels sound like the old version Racelites (RL) or RaceXLites (RXL) with 16 paired spoke rims. The lower end model used a Formula sourced hubset, while the higher end used a DT-Swiss sourced hubset. But these had a reputation of losing trueness and cracked rims. They use a 'J-bend' spoke, but will fit a conventional 14GA spoke in emergencies. Hmmm.
Bontrager/Trek soon dumped the paired style for a conventionally spaced rim and hub. So, YMMV. If you're a heavy guy, stay away.

Oh, you can wedge a 130mm rear hub onto the Cannondale. You can't cold-set Al, but it's only 2mm per side.

I bought the wheels. The seller gave me an ultegra FD with a stripped mounting screw ( i guess my bike didn't want a silver component). The wheels are in great shape with only 800 miles. I was able to get them for $175. I'm in the process of removing the BONTRAGER! and RACE! decals. This bike has to stay SUPER clean with these upgrades.

I'm getting excited. I think I would have bought this bike in 1987 if I wasn't 10 years old at that time...

Those Black Lightning Cannondales are so well put together. I like the Black with a very slight metal flake to the undercoat. I had a 91 SR300 in that colorway and i regret selling it to this day.

Bill

I hope they made a bunch of them because I'm going to get one. Those that have ridden them really like them.

The Black Lightning was just one of the various colors & models available. Other road bikes of the same year have the same frame. The black lightning was not unique under the paint & components.

Yup, been doing my studies....but I still want that black lightning. (thanx)

I also want a Black Lightning...... 63cm frame..... the Batmobile on two wheels...

Very cool looking bike. I've heard that early Cannondale's, this one in particular, were not that comfortable? (Not trying to start that old debate again). Much as I enjoy steel these days, I probably have far more miles on vintage aluminum, between an Alan and a Vitus, so I'm curious how a Black Lightning would compare. What is typical for stock weight on these?

WOW thats tall