Greetings all,

I have just taken delivery of an old Cannondale frame. It seems to have road race geometry but some of the measurements don't seem to jive with the Vintage Cannondale website. It is serial number BB06098 which, according to Vintage Cannondale, dates from 1984.

It has a third pair of water bottle mounting bosses on the bottom of the down-tube above the bottom bracket. It also has a 130mm rear wheel spacing.

Is it possible that a 130mm rear spacing came from the factory? Is it more likely to have been "tweaked" at some point. The rear dropouts each have a singular rack mount and seem to be parallel with each other.

The frame looks to be in excellent condition, apart from a possible chemical reaction that has stained what appears to be powder-coating.

Any ideas or Cannondale information will be greatly appreciated.

At that age, OLD spacing would have originally been 126mm. 3X water bottle bosses sounds MUCH more like a touring frame. Put a rear wheel on it and compare the gap between tire and seattube with pictures of similar vintage C'dale touring and road frames.

The wheelbase on my frame measures a little over 38-1/2 in. The wheelbase measure for that size touring frame is over 41-1/2 in.

700C wheels and Campy short reach brakes seem to fit quite nicely. I don't have any 27x1-1/4 wheels to try.

I'm just wondering of the possibility of a later date of manufacture. (Such as the early 90's.)

I originally thought that this was a touring frame, in spite of the lack of fender and rack-mount eyelets. Now, I am very curious about this frame.

It also has an allen head secured "braze-on" front derailleur hanger. The sport touring frames had clamp-on.

Any Cannondale experts out there?

Old bikeforums proverb, "photos are worth a 1000 words." Outdoors, drive side, and large. Link to a host works best.

Third bottle cage mount, sounds like an ST series. If it were a full on touring model it would have obvious cantilever brake bosses. Does yours have fork leg and rear seat stay rack mounts? My ST400 for an example.,,,,BD

Stev8del8, Where is the SN located? There are plenty of questions and comments, but let's start here.

Brad

+1, pictures are the best tool for figuring out what you have.

I didn't think the earliest Cdale tourers had cantilevers, I though they had regular side pulls.

That is correct. I had a 1983 one (the first year they were sold) and it had NGC side pull calipers. I don't know when that changed.

Yep, that's an ST touring frame. Originally came with 27" wheels but easily converted to 700C. No cantilevers until later in the 80's.

Spacing should be 126, but possible it's was more like 128 as 1) some 130 OLD hubs were out by then, and 2) with handmade frames there can be some minor variability from frame to frame. Later ones definitely were made as 128's to accommodate either 126 or 130 hubs.

Solid frame, makes a great foundation for almost any kind of bike, just don't expect to put anything larger than a 32 on it.

I looked at catalogs up to 85, and you're correct. I thought there were two separate lines classified as Sport Touring and Touring. How did they fare so well when other manufacturers had been using cantilevers for years? I know I'd be a little nervous cresting the top of a hill fully loaded, with the 600 sidepulls on mine. I am not saying sidepulls are bad, but they have their limits IMHO.,,,,BD

What is with the braze-on derailleur? I don't have an 84 but my 83ST and 85ST both have clamp on front derailleurs.

Here are some images.

I'm thinking that this is the largest SR frame made in '84.

It must have been constructed early on a Tuesday morning, right after a 3-day weekend.

The SN is on the bottom bracket shell, but is upside down, according to Vintage Cannondale.

Stev8del8, My guess is that you have an '84 manufactured frame that may've been slated as an '85 model year SR if the shifter boss location wasn't changed mid year in '84. Here's the '85 model year catalog https://vintagecannondale.com/year/1985/1985.pdf .

A problem with these very early SR frame sets is that there are just so darn few of them. Cannondale at the time was primarily a touring bike manufacturer dabbling in roadies and all terrain bikes. The third set of bottle cage screws probably point to the down tubes being used on ST and SR frames and something I was unaware of. My '86 manufactured frame doesn't have that provision.

Great find!

Brad

Here are some images of Mavic GL330 rims with Vittoria tubular tires on the Cannondale. They are shown with Veloce dual pivot,short reach brakes, with recessed nuts.

In the '84 Cannondale catalog, the SR series is shown with recessed nuts and the ST with external brake mounting nuts.

As you can see, there is not much room for fat tires and fenders.

Looks like this frame is, indeed, something special.

Thanks again, for your input.

Stev8del8, Looking forward to see how you build this bike.

Brad

Now that I see the pics, clearly a VERY early (and very tall) SR frame. I had a BB SR frame for a while and while it had the braze on FD mount, there was no third cage mount.

Thanks for your help and support.

Here are three more images: The serial number on the bottom bracket beneath the cable guide,(you can see the original color), a Pat. Pend on the right seat stay above the brake bridge and the head-tube emblem. The Pat. Pend and Cannondale emblem are on top of a very thick, hard finish.

The finish is not chipped, just discolored. I may just leave the finish the way it is. It definitely won't rust.

I was going to install an 8 speed Veloce group that is in my Campy parts stash but this frame may deserve something Campy that is a little more upscale.

The bike will be worthy of whatever group you build with. The Veloce is certainly nice enough to build into a rider, and beyond.

Brad

Thanks, Brad

So, there it is.

I've been wanting to build some more wheels. I'll use the 8-speed Veloce stuff 1st, ride it for awhile, build some 9-10-11 speed wheels and if I like the ride, ponder the paint.


Steve

Since you brought it up... Ride quality on any stiff frame is determined by the wheels, tires and tire pressure. I'm 180 lb. and run my 23 mm tires at 95-100 PSI and the 25 mm tires 2-5 PSI less.

Brad

Unless it's a CAD3, then it just rides bad regardless.,,,,BD

I've built two CAAD3 frame sets and have to disagree.

Brad

Mine was HORRIBLE, it beat the crap out of me on the roads around here at least. I installed a CF seatpost to try and get some relief. The saddle actually buzzed ?!? I got rid of the frame soon after. It's well known that CAD3 is great for racing, but not if you want to take a long comfy ride. IE: I am not the only that has mentioned this. My CAD2 rode like 531 by comparison.,,,,BD

This probably belongs in a different forum but since I started it and got so many helpful responses I will continue here with the Cannondale.


After many years of fighting European frames with the installation of seat-posts and handle-bar stems, I find it refreshing to be able to just slip them in to the Cannondale. No muss, no fuss, no scaring. In fact, no marks at all. Fits like it was made for them.


I must be doing something wrong!


Thanks all.