CPW

Here's a Cannondale MTB I got for free:
Can anyone identify what this is?
It's got Deore XT derailleurs, shifters, brakes and hubs. Rims are Ritchey and show some wear from brake pads. Tires are Avenir 1.5" Kevlar belted.
The fork and cranks have a lot of rust and I'd like to replace cranks, fork and stem as well as bars. The headset and BB probably need replacing as well.

Can someone recommend a good fork? What headset and BB should I buy for this frame? I plan to turn it into a commuter or maybe a hardtail trail bike.

It's pretty light and kinda cool.

zaphodbeeblebro

you've got some pretty high demand retro parts on there. The bullseye cranks and acutrax fork are fairly well regarded among retro enthusiasts out there, although yours are in fairly poor condition. The bullseye cranks were the first "integrated" crank design.

cyccommute 

It's probably a '88 or '89 since it has the same frame as a 89 road bike that I have (and the same color). Like the other poster says it's got a lot of old high zoot stuff on it. Keep the Bulleye crank. Go with a short travel fork, no more than 80mm but you might have trouble finding one if the fork is a 1".

With the short rear triangle the bike is going to be very stiff. My road bike will beat you to pieces if the road is rough. I suspect that this one will ride the same.

CPW

Is it worth trying to rehab forks and crank by getting rust off and repainting or is that more work than it's worth. The forks turn w/ a lot of resistance right now. Not what that is most likely indicative of.
Is this frame really the same as a road frame of same era? If so could I make a decent loaded toring bike out of this thing?
CPW

CPW

How do I figure out what fork will fit? What is the 1" dimension? Diameter of steerer or...?
Thx,
CPW

LowCel 

The rough steering is probably due to the headset being rusted up some. It looks like it does have a 1" headset.

Personally I would just sand the fork down and repaint it, either that or buy another rigid fork. It doesn't look like that frame is really designed for a suspension fork. Plus if you go with a front shock you will need to go with new brakes as well. I would probably just do minimal work to it and then use it as a commuter. You don't want the commuter to look like it's worth a bunch of money anyway.

CPW

Assuming I replace the headset, can someone recommend a specific one to order?
Thx,
CPW

Chumley360

The 1" is the diameter of the steer tube. You'll also need the length. I've been searching E-bay lately for a shock to replace the crappy one on my girlfriend's bike, and they seem to have a good amount of old Rock Shox stuff. I've even seen a few 1" threadless forks up there. All of these have been small travel, 60-80mm. I've been thinking of putting something one on my old Topanga daily rider. Good luck with your project.

Chumley360

The 1" is the diameter of the steer tube. You'll also need the length. I've been searching E-bay lately for a shock to replace the crappy one on my girlfriend's bike, and they seem to have a good amount of old Rock Shox stuff. I've even seen a few 1" threadless forks up there. All of these have been small travel, 60-80mm. I've been thinking of putting one on my old Topanga daily rider. Good luck with your project.

LowCel 

The headset is a good thing to have your local shop replace. If you have no experience and manage to do it wrong you can actually ruin your frame. You may want to take the bike by your lbs, they will probably have a cheap one in stock.

swifferman

That's a hawt frame. Are those smooth welds I see?

rigid4life

Well, there's a reason it's free that you might have figured out already - look at that huge dent in the non-drive-side chainstay! I'm with LowCel on this one - keep it as it is, fix up or replace the headset, and ride around town on it. It's a rare commuting bike that combines both retro-bling and theft-preventative rust and scratches, and I think this is one of those bikes (I personally think the frame looks totally *****ing).

CPW

Erm, I'm pretty sure that dent is supposed to be there considering there's an identical one to it on the drive side chainstay.
I think it's a cool frame too. I think it's gonna be a stiff ride so the 1.5" tires may be the right choice. Might look into some Panaracer Paselas for it later.
Yeah, I'm going to have an LBS rehab the headset and BB then I'll spend some time cleaning things up to the degree it makes sense. I suppose the rust does have the "don't steal me" vibe but I can bring my bike in at work so I may get bored this winter (when there too much snow to ride and not enough to ski) and make a restoration project out of it.
CPW

LowCel 

Sounds like a good plan CPW. I imagine the dents (or bends) are there to allow foot clearance while pedaling. I imagine the bike will make a perfect commuter for ya.

nos

Those arn't factory dents on the side. Chances are, the person had them dented in some to clear the bullseye. If you like the whole retro look, just get a chris king headset, and clean it up. I would lean against repainting, since, that seems to make the parts like the bullseye and atac stem not worth as much. The atac stem back in the day was a $75 part.