Ronius_Maximus

Hi all, I am contemplating whether or not I should purchase a particular early 90's Cannondale. I don't know what model it is as there are no decals on the frame that indicate it, but it says 2.8 Aluminum on the frame. I am a bigger/taller guy so the frame is a 63cm frame. I know it has a Shimano 600 rear derailleur and Shimano RX100 front derailleur, shifters, brakes, crankset, and hubs with Mavic Wheels. The bike overall is in excellent condition with no rust and very nice/clean paint.

I know that prices may differ by market and I just so happen to live in an area that over values bikes (Portland, OR) so I was wondering if anyone can chime in and tell me if this is a good bike and what you would pay for it or tell me what the fair market value would normally for this type of road bike with the mentioned components.

THANK YOU all in advance very much for your time.

Bluechip

If it's in great shape-$250 tops and go from there if things don't look so great. Check for dents. It has very thin tubes and is prone to collecting dents. Stay away from any dents bigger than a cm or two. Better to stay away from and dents altogether. You said the paint looks good. Has it been repainted. It's easy to hide dents with a repaint.

It's an 8sp so it may or may not have the wider spacing the 9 and above would require (130mm) for later upgrades. It is a very rough riding bike. That said it is also a great handling bike. I have a 3.0 and love it (a little older). I turned it into a fixed gear so it doesn't get ridden every day.

Good luck.

Ronius_Maximus

Thank you Bluechip for your input. The bike is going for $425 firm... The paint is original and looks excellent, no dents, just a few very very minor scratches. So I guess $425 is would be way too much. I really like to do my due dilligence and from my knowledge, the old Shimano 600 is the older Ultegra so I thought maybe this would be a good deal.

merlinextraligh

$425 is way over priced. Also, Al frames can and do wear out, and sufffer from corrosion over time. That frame could last a long time, but it could also be coming toward the end of its useful life. 20 plus years is a pretty good run for an old Cdale, if it got a lot of use.

Phantoj

$250 in good shape, IMO.

Your market may vary... what's an early 2000's CAAD4 go for?

mrt10x

The owner is way too proud of his bike.. dont be afraid of Ebay. I have bought several bikes/frames and never had an issue.. ymmv

mprelaw

Way too much for a 20 year old aluminum frame with obsolescent (if not obsolete) components. You're better off with a new CAAD 8 with Tiagra. Bet you that you can get one for under a grand when they start trying to unload 2012 leftovers.

mvnsnd

I believe those frames had the cantilevered rear wheel dropouts and the derailleur hanger is not replaceable. I agree that about $250 tops would be all it's worth now.

Pictures of similar bikes can be found here: https://www.vintagecannondale.com/

pmt

Way overpriced; $250 is good though. I have one of those myself and absolutely love it.

StanSeven

It's a very stiff and rough riding bike. About the only thing it's good for is crit racing where you are worried about crashes. For the asking price you could do much better

Ronius_Maximus

Awesome, thank you all soo much... I got the seller down to $350 and the bike is truly immaculate but I am a good "listener" so if you guys are all coming to a consensus that $250 tops is as high as I should go then I will remain patient. I'll just wait it out.

Bluechip

Give him a week or two and he might be willing to meet your price. A taller bike is probably harder to get rid of than a smaller bike. Good luck.

prathmann

OTOH, if a 63cm frame fits the OP then he may not have all that many bikes on the used market to choose from. My favorite bike is a Cannondale 3.0 just a year or two older than this one. Rides nice and I like both the ride and handling better than any of my steel frames (don't have any carbon yet). Mine has about 115,000 miles on it so far and hasn't had any abnormal issues. If the bike in question is in good condition then it should give the OP many years of service and the exact amount of the purchase price won't be significant.

carpediemracing 

Unless the seller has a pro's 2.8 the frames had replaceable dropouts. I know because I replaced the one on mine a bunch of times (tip: if there's creaking from the bike when pedaling remove, grease, and reinstall the replaceable dropout). The pros didn't have replaceable dropouts (they normally don't, even now) because replaceable dropouts have their disadvantages, the primary one that they break instead of bend and a broken dropout is unrideable/unraceable and a bent one, even if you don't have that many usable gears, still allows you to keep rolling.

Check in the inside of the thinned out part of the seat stay at the bottom, just above the dropout. You'll see it's virtually flat so the chain won't hit it. It's one area that cracks.

Check also the inside of the chainstays near the bottom bracket. That's the other place it cracks. This area tended to have more problems.

Make sure the fork is okay, not bent back. I forget which frames had problems but some Cannondales (all of them at the time used outsourced forks) had some fork problem/recalls. I can't remember a 2.8 problem but I definitely remember problems with 3.0s and the earlier frames (which we jokingly called 5.0s). Keep in mind that this is the era where epoxy and aluminum type forks started making a huge dent into the market share (as were the factories in the Far East), and carbon forks were a novelty.

rebel1916

Guy needs a big bike in Portland. Bikes are gonna be way more expensive there than in say, Texas or Florida. At $350, if you like it and the condition is good, pull the trigger.

Ronius_Maximus

I decided to take the consensus advise from this forum so I moved on and spent a little bit more for a Gunnar Roadie that I am just ecstatic to get out and ride. Thank you everyone!

Banzai

I think Cannondale called it the "2.8" because the frame weighed 2.8 lbs. I'm not joking. That was a decently impressive claim to make at the time.

But at 2.8 lbs, how thin could the tubes really be?

StanSeven

I had a 2.8 and still have a Waterford, which builds Gunnar frames. You made a very good decision and will really like the Gunnar. It's a very comfortable yet top performer.

carpediemracing 

You could flex the top tube and watch the paint refraction change. The tubing was under a millimeter thick. Keep in mind that aluminum is 1/3 the strength of steel, and the wall thicknesses of aluminum were approaching the steel tubing's thickness.

Also the tubing was getting close to the "50:1" beer can ratio where it's possible to collapse the tubing simply by crushing it with your hands.

The problem with the seatstay bend was there were some very sharp edges so natural stress raisers.

To lose some weight they machined out the center of the BB shell and head tube, among other things. They really felt like they were pushing the boundaries with the tubing at that time.

I wish I kept mine but I bent it up in some falls and tossed it. I still have my 3.0 and "5.0" frames.

Banzai

Interesting.

I have a CAAD9, which is a lighter frame than the 2.8, and at the same time feels quite solid.

Ronius_Maximus

I "had" a CAAD8 with Tiagra rear/sora front that was pretty darn light but decided to get rid of it because after trying so hard to get comfortable with it, I realized that I just couldn't see myself riding that bike for for a few thousand miles and enjoying it. Something about the CAAD8 (2008 by the way) that made me feel like I was going to break it every time I rode it. I'm 6'4" and 250 pounds and after selling the CAAD8, I wanted to save some money and down grade. The Cannondale 2.8 was a bike I was considering, which is why I started this thread in 2 different forums. As mentioned, I got a really solid deal on a Gunnar Roadie with Campy Centaur components and i'm glad I invested a bit more for it. It is probably the most comfortable road bike i've tried out (and trust me, i've tried several over the past few weeks).

shelbyfv

Excellent choice. Gunnar makes a fine bike.

rebel1916

And campy centaur is sweet to. I'd say you definitely got a much nicer ride. How much if you don't mind my asking...

Ronius_Maximus

600 with Centaur components and hand made 32 spoke wheels using Daytona hubs & Mavic Open Pro rims. The bike is just a joy to ride and after putting on my 700x28's I just love it. Tires are much easier to take on and off for some odd reason. I had the harshest time installing and removing the same Gatorskins on the Maddux R3.0 rims on my previous road bike.