Jzaharek53

As my first post, allow me to introduce my self. My name is Jonathan and I am a professional landscape photographer. I’m 20 years old and I am from a small farming community in Southwest Ohio. Every year I try to take a big international road trip, and this year I’ve decided to do something new. On May 9th, one of my really good friends and I will be embarking on a 3,000 mile cycling tour of Europe from Portugal to Slovenia. Let me tell you that I have no cycling history or experience at all and I am learning a lot! I live a quarter-mile from the longest continuous bike trail in the United States and my dad was the head bike mechanic of his department in college, and I never got in to cycling. Most of which was because I never owned a really good bike.

Over the past several months I’ve been researching and learning about these kind of things, and when it came time to purchase my bike, I came across the bicycle bluebook. There, I found a “1999 Cannondale T700” For $250 and it was perfect for what I was looking for. I couldn’t believe it. Now, I don’t have any knowledge about bikes, but I knew that it was a good bike for the price. After having the bike shipped to me, I eventually got to the point where I was researching my bike because the frame size was just a little to big and I wanted to see if there was another one that could potentially fit me. Of course I could have gotten a different brand all together, however I really wanted the same make and model. Upon my research, I realized that trying to find a Cannondale T700 in general was really hard. I found R– types, a few 200’s, a beat up T2000, and a few other ones. However, I did not find another T700 for sale. That led me to google imaging every single picture of a Cannondale T700 to see what has sold in the past and to see if there is another one like the one that I have. And eventually I realized that I have a rare bike (mainly because of its condition).
As you can see from the photo (file), the bike is almost entirely stock. I changed the pedals, handle bar tape, tires, and seat. The paint is immaculate and almost not a single scratch on it. It also has less than 100 miles put on it. Please let me know what you think of the bike and what you think of my trip! If you would like to witness the documentation of this adventure, you can follow my YouTube channel “Jonathan Zaharek” or Instagram @jonathanzphotography.

samkl 

I can't speak much about the T700 in particular, but Cannondale's touring frames are by all accounts classics--truly terrific bikes. Treat it well!

robert schlatte

In the 80's I would hear that if you had a inch or more when standing over the bike flatfooted between the top tube and your crotch, the bike was probably an okay size for you. Of course that was a very simple rule of thumb. Today bike fitting is a lot more sophisticated. Unless the bike is way too big for you, you can make adjustments to make it fit better. That is a very nice bike and yes, you would have a very hard time finding another tour specific bike for $250 that was a perfect fit.

jefnvk

Looks nice! As mentioned, unless it is wildly incorrect for you, playing with things like seat height and stem positioning/length can probably get you comfortable. Then again, if you are riding it 3000 miles, any mild annoyance you have now may really blow up 1000 miles in.

I wouldn't get too caught up on rarity in such things, though. Lots of bike models were made over the years, trying to dig up information on anything but the most beloved or commonplace of them can be a pain, especially for anything made pre-internet days. A search on my wife's Maruishi mixte or my Univega is a big old NO as well.

indyfabz

I have a junked '98 T700 rotting away in my basement. Even though the '99s were available when I got mine, I wanted a '98 because it had bar ends.


Toured on it for three years. About 10,000 miles. The wheel set (think they were Sun 17 rims) was not up to task of carrying my relatively heavy load. The rear wheel had to be replaced in Ohio during my W-E Northern Tier Tour. The front wheel had to be replaced before I went to Spain the following March.


BTW...It's helpful to shoot the drivetrain side of a bike..

fantom1 

1) Congrats on the new bike

2)A mass produced Cdale is not rare.

3)That is the longest disguise at a somewhat spammy post I have ever seen.

If you want people to follow you on youtube or check out your photography, just say it.

LeeG

Good tires for very heavy load and bad roads. If you aren’t doing that consider trying out Panaracer T-Serv in 35mm as the difference will like nice passenger car tires compared to 11ply truck tires.

phughes