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The Roadie Arrived

Old 10-26-06, 10:31 PM
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The Roadie Arrived

As some of you may have noticed I've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new (to me at least) road bike. Well, it finally arrived on Monday, but it arrived at the wrong apartment . I finally tracked it down and got to work putting it together and making sure everything was ok. It's an 88 and judging by the photo’s on ebay I wasn’t expecting it to be in great shape, but it was maybe a little more neglected than I’d have liked. It has more than it’s fair share of paint chips, the tires and tubes were dry rotted badly and it was rather filthy in general. I unboxed it, put it together and tried to pump up the tires to at least take it for a spin around the parking lot before starting to tear it down and replace the parts that needed it. The back tire blew out at about 60psi, loudly. I rode my commuter over to the LBS (Bike Land in Cypress) and started shopping for parts.

Well, at this point I’ve got it rideable but I’ll obviously continue to work on it. So far I’ve replaced the spokes and nipples (corroded and unable to true the wheels), the tires and tubes, shifter cables, brake cables, cleaned and repacked the bottom bracket and headset bearings, re-wrapped the bars (in vintage yellow Benotto Cello Tape) and gave the whole frame a good cleaning. I need some new pulleys for the rear derailleur and apparently Suntour used a size incompatible with Shimano (or anything modern) but after digging through the bin at the LBS I’ve got a pair that are ok for now and I won a pair of Bullseye’s on ebay that should work much better.

I took it for a spin around the neighborhood and it seems to ride very nice, but I think I’ll be replacing the bottom bracket sooner rather than later. Tomorrow I’m planning on throwing on my SPD pedals and taking it for a longer spin. Hopefully it will hold together. It’s very strange being on a roadie again after all these years, but also very nice. Hopefully I'll be joining you guys on some rides shortly.

Here’s a photo of it now that it’s done, and there are more here.

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Old 10-26-06, 10:35 PM
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Nice! How much did you pay for it?
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Old 10-26-06, 10:36 PM
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Just paint those cranks and you are rollin in style!
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Old 10-26-06, 10:49 PM
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nice buy! keep us informed on the new additions.
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Old 10-26-06, 10:54 PM
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very nice.....

that cinelli saddle might be worth something.....have you checked Ebay?
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Old 10-27-06, 06:59 AM
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Is that the "Black Lightning"? I remember lusting for one when I saw the magazine ads. Stiff riding, maybe the stiffest of all Cannondales.
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Old 10-27-06, 09:51 AM
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I'm hoping to get the cranks stripped and hopefully powder coated. I may go ahead and try just doing it with a rattle can and see how it turns out. The stem also has a large chunk of paint missing but I'd like to just touch that up so I don't lose the the writing on it.

I picked it up for $280 shipped, and yes it's the "Black Lightning". Considering all the work it needed, I probably could have done a little better but overall I'm pretty happy with it now.

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Old 10-27-06, 10:24 AM
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nice rig you got there
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Old 10-27-06, 12:19 PM
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sweet find, hope you enjoy it.
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Old 10-27-06, 12:25 PM
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Gee...that's a Cannondale Black Lightning (ca. late 1980s early 1990s). I was so in love with it at the time. I have one in my garage given to me by my LBS. Components are all non-original (unlike what looks like original in your photo). I find it a harsh ride. But then, I'm really too big for the frame. I installed wider handlebars and longer stem, didn't help too much.
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Old 10-27-06, 03:44 PM
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Originally Posted by devilinblack
[SIZE=2]I'm hoping to get the cranks stripped and hopefully powder coated. I may go ahead and try just doing it with a rattle can and see how it turns out.
I know so little about bikes, but nice-looking ride you got there! You're riding the Stagecoach, yes?
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Old 10-27-06, 07:34 PM
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What material is that frame made out of ?
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Old 10-27-06, 08:35 PM
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No offense meant but I can hear that bike sing...

"I'm too sexy for my rider, too sexy for my owner, so sexy it hurts."
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Old 10-27-06, 08:48 PM
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Originally Posted by cjbruin
No offense meant but I can hear that bike sing...

"I'm too sexy for my rider, too sexy for my owner, so sexy it hurts."
Ha ha! Thanks for all the nice comments everyone. Now that I've actually put a few miles on it (15+ today) I'm really starting to like it. It is a very stiff frame and the ride seems harsh, but part of that may just be the fact that I haven't spent any serious time on a road bike in 15 years. It's amazing how much faster it accelerates over the mountain bike though, even with slicks on the MTB for cummuting that bike now feels like a tank. I'm planning on 50 miles tomorrow so we'll see if my opinion changes at all.

M.E., I am signed up for the Stagecoach in Jan. Hopefully this new bike won't beat me too badly during a century.

The frame is aluminum and right now all of the components are original, I'd almost be willing to bet that the tubes and tires were original. The 7 speed sountour freewheel is geard rather high though so I'm going to have to get a lot stronger if I ever plan to do any hills on the thing.
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Old 10-28-06, 03:43 AM
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I love the bike, it looks awesome. Cranks need to be painted or something lol, they are in some serious chipped stage!!

GL show us pics of when you fix everything!
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Old 10-29-06, 12:39 AM
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There's a reason I prefer silver components.
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Old 10-29-06, 09:34 AM
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Originally Posted by devilinblack
M.E., I am signed up for the Stagecoach in Jan. Hopefully this new bike won't beat me too badly during a century.

The frame is aluminum and right now all of the components are original, I'd almost be willing to bet that the tubes and tires were original. The 7 speed sountour freewheel is geard rather high though so I'm going to have to get a lot stronger if I ever plan to do any hills on the thing.
Well, I'm sure I'm way off since I know crap about bikes other than that I want to ride them, but I road all of my centuries up until April of this year on a TREK 1000. It's all aluminum and a great starter bike. I know all of the bike aficionados on here are probably laughing at me as I'm sure I can't even (nor should I even) compare the two bikes, but in terms of stiffness, the TREK 1000 was a rather stiff ride. I still managed just fine and loved that bike. I named it Fred and when I sold it, I actually felt a tinge of guilt. Anyway, point being, ride the hell out of your new set of wheels until January and you'll be use to the way it feels. Just in time for the climb during Stagecoach!

Last edited by merider1; 10-29-06 at 10:04 AM.
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Old 10-29-06, 10:35 AM
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niiiiiiiiiiiice
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