roccobike

The circumstances that explain how this bike fell into my hands are too strange to explain. Suffice it to say I wrote a check to my church to get this Cannondale. When I first saw it, all I saw was "Cannondale". Later I realized it was a Black Lightning. It's not pristine as the paint is bubbling in several locations. The rear DR, rear rim, saddle and headset have all been replaced. Still, it's a cool bike. I'm not sure where I'm going with it but it is my size so I think I'll keep it a while. I'm guessing all cleaned up with nice tires we're talking around $200 to $250, but I don't know if I want to sell it as I think these are some of the coolest Cannondales ever made.
Based on the components that are original, it's the 1990 version. I think that's the last one made.

DRietz

I see that the crankset and shifters are still black. Good luck finding those black Suntour derailleurs if you wish to return it to its original state.

Beautiful bike, though.

CV-6 

For some reason I have always wanted one of those...even though it is aluminum. Nice bike.

repechage

Its the Black, and the Gold, classic JPS Lotus F-1 colors. Find a vintage Lotus Europa in that scheme for real vintage fun and sorrow on the same day, Or a Cosworth Vega. For some reason they are climbing in value...

zonatandem

Saw a Black Lightning frame built up with Campy 50th anniversary gold anodized gruppo . . . stunning!

EjustE

Nice. I had one of those a few months ago (totally unblackened and upgraded) and I used it as a parts bike and moved the frame forward to another BF member (too big for me and I really don't do foil). Looks like a '90 (like mine). Put up a picture of the headbadge, and I'll telly you the date. The Black Lighting model was at different levels at different years. I think that yours was an SR500 (all numbers were components dependent), but the 90 has an alloy fork, unlike the earlier models. And yes, that's the last one made. Check the serial number under the non-drive chain stay. That will tell the story. One more thing you need to know: Cannondales of that era are notorious for nasty peeling paint. Not the black ones. They did a great job with those....

redneckwes

Beautiful bike!


'89 had an alloy fork also, '90 has a replaceable deraileur hanger. '89 the hanger is fixed.

randyjawa 

I have always wanted to get my hands on a Black Lightning. I doubt that I would like the ride, but I do like the bicycle. Why would I not like the ride? Because I have owned and ridden two similar aluminum framed Cannondales, and neither ride suited my fancy. But that is just me.

Force 

I've got a 1987 Black Lightning with Suntour Sprint. Very smooth shifting. It's a little too small (60 cm), so I will probably be selling it soon. I always wanted one when I was younger (they came out when I was in my teens). Very cool looking bike.

Bianchigirll 

is that a 105 RD, how does it shift? nice looking bike but that 'all black' motif is not my cup of tea

roccobike

Thanks for all the comments.
When I looked through the Cannondale catalogs a few months ago I saw the Black Lightning and thought it would really be cool to own one. Now that I've got it, I like the look (it is as awesome as the catalog) but, like Randyjawa, I'm concerned about how it's going to ride. An Aluminum bike is harsh, a Cannondale is harsher and a Cannondale with an aluminum fork goes all the way to the New York taxicab status, i.e. very harsh. I had a 91 R-400 and it was terribly stiff until I put a carbon fork on it. I wish I had that fork now. BTW, it doesn't show in the pics but it's having paint peeling/bubbling problems.
Bianchigirl, On the work stand it shifts great, no problems. But I don't know how it shifts on the road under a load. The back tire has a slit on the side so I don't want to ride it until I get that tire replaced. I don't expect any problems as the 105 is a great derailer.

khatfull

We still have one pop up here in Minneapolis on CL for the price of $1500...um, right.

svt4cam

Or a Cosworth Vega. For some reason they are climbing in value...
Because even if you bought one new hermetically sealed it in a bag, kept it in a climate controlled warehouse and sprayed wd-40 on it on a daily basis you would still only have a handful of red rusty powder now. There must only be 2 of those left.

Shp4man

Nice bike. My size, too. Black is the easiest to restore.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

...I'll bite.

Whats the appeal of this bike? I think its cool lookin, and I happen to like Cannondales, but Normally nobody at C&V seems to give a rats ass about Aluminum bikes unless it represents something monumentous.

Why's this one special?

roccobike

First let me qualify my comments by saying I'm a big steel fan, not so much aluminum. To answer your question, Cannondales have an almost cult like following for a number of reasons. They have a reputation for being fast, they were an inovative designer, they held out moving to their manufacturing to Asia and they had some beautiful bikes. Novice racers with little cash are regularly encouraged to buy a used Cannondale over all other brands over in the Road Bike forum.
This particular bike has a beautiful color scheme with the all black with gold accents. But that's about it. It will never sell for $1500. But I would estimate it could get as much as $100 more than another Cannondale of similar vintage and model that doesn't have the same color scheme. It's sort of a cult thing. Ask yourself, what's so great about a Dave Scott Ironman? Nothing except they are well made with good paint, Tange 1 tubing and a whole lot of C&V types want one. Thus the price goes up.
Finally, some C&V types shun aluminum, some shun STIs. However, this forum is not about conformance. We know we don't all like the same thing. That's why there's so much trading going on here.
Hope that answers your question!

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Right on.

What going on with the rear dropouts? I mean how the Seat stays and Chain stays intersect...usually they come together at a point...these are sorta like hanging out back a bit.

tugrul

Something about infringing on a Klein patent is the commonly offered theory.

The 1989 catalog has a page about the new 3.0 series frame that says:


The goofy drop out dulls my interest... the 1988 Black Lightning is the last year with a "normal" drop out but the first year with 7 cogs in the back... the sweet spot for me.

rccardr 

Refurbed an '89 Black Lightning -it had the cantilever seat stays- last October. Pretty original, had the black ano Edge drivetrain and brakes, correct rims, etc. Only non-original parts as far as I could tell were the tires, chain, FW and stem. Put on wider ergo bars, a black stem, tires, cables, new bar wrap, regreased everything, etc. Ride and shifting was very, very smooth (I also tend to prefer the pre-cantilever frames), even on long rides. Bike was sold before it was finished, to a guy who specifically wanted one and wanted everything black.

I think these are popular because they were kind of the only 'pop culture' statement cool bike from a company that at the time was considered pretty serious and racer-oriented. While a lot of other companies were going through their Miami Vice (Centurion, Schwinn) or heavy-decal period, Cannondale sold pretty much one-color bikes with minimal graphics. The BL was just as competent as the rest of their mid-range bikes, but the only one with a name instead of a number. And for some reason, that name resonated (and still does) with a certain type of bike buyer. I can tell people I'm selling a fully restored SR800 (which with full 600 Tricolor is arguably a better equipped bike) and they'll express some interest. But say it's a BL and an amlarming number if buyers start to salivate like Pavlov's pup.

Good news is that gold BL decal sets are now available through Vintage Cannondale and I have a couple black framesets that have just been powdercoated. I'd never represent them as original BL's, but I bet they sell real quick.

wrk101

+1 Cannondales have a strong following. Sell a couple and you will see. The last one I sold I had two competing buyers wanting to be first in line: one was 200 miles away, and the other was 150 miles away. Incredible.

Myself, for the keeper fleet, I stick to lugged steel. But I gladly scoop up every Cannondale I find at a reasonable price.

+1 The Black Lightning enjoys a hefty premium. It is visually more appealing, and easier to deal with the crappy, chippy Cannondale paint from that era.

norskagent

This portland CL black lightning is getting no love:
https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bik/1700787443.html
https://portland.craigslist.org/clc/bik/1700749506.html

artimus

Didn't Fuji also have a black and gold bike, with a release date of around '92? I remember seeing it in Bicycle Magazine and fell right in love with it.

Found it......Fuji Ace s135

OrangeOkie

I was fortunate to find a "Black Lightening Grupo" on ebay a few years ago. The seller took it off a Cannodale just like yours. I decided to put it on my black Schwinn Voyageur 11.8. I just went upstairs and pulled it out of the bedroom "garage" and took some woefully inadequate photos to post on here. It's night time and I don't have good lighting upstairs. This is a Suntour Superbe Pro Gold 5200 Grupo. Very striking on my black Schwinn if you could see it in the sun light.