This Cannondale Criterium Series Is Killing Me
 

Granted I only had a 1/2mi test ride on my friend's too big 58cm Criterium last summer, today I began Century training on my fresh build 54cm '88 crit. Darn near killed me. At the 15mi mark I was flying up hills 2 gears faster than my Trek 460 and started laughing so hard I darn near passed out from the giddy joy. At the 30mi mark I gave in to temptation and wildly broke the 25mph speed limit risking life and limb (in a safe zone, of course).

Parody aside, all my fillings are intact, no road buzz in hands, no scrobutt numbness. :lol:

I am an unashamed Cannondale Criterium Series lover....even with an aluminum Litage fork and 115psi 23's.

Just another good example why we "C&V"!! We don't need "modern" bikes to have the best rides of our lives!:thumb:
Have a great season on your "new" C-dale Crit, OldsCool!!:thumb::thumb:

Thanx, Chombi! It's starting off pretty good. :)

That's fantastic news OldsCOOL! You had me going after reading your headline, I feared the worst and after all your hard work too, I was expecting you to have listed the Crit bike in the for sale section. I started out on a white Crit frame, it medium blue decals with matching blue painted Nitto stem and 105 components, I loved the bike! Almost immediately after getting the bike I began hearing from other riders how awful the bike was and questions about when was I getting rid of it. That continued for a couple years until I bought my Schwinn 974, a bike that was even more stiff and supposedly "unforgiving" but turned out to be more of a rocket than the C'dale! Nobody I knew back then that rode a 974 was ever wishy-washy about the ride, it was purely a love/hate experience. I loved it then and still do to this, so many other new road bikes have come and gone but the 974 always makes the cut.

Yes, I'm sentimental but that bike has carried me on so many adventures, it even had an adventure of it's own when it was stolen by a meth addict for a few hours before I recovered it... I guess when you have a good pal, it doesn't matter much what the crowd has to say!

OldsCOOL, you should post some photos your Cannondale, some people might not have seen your rebuild thread.

Congrats and great job!

-D-

p.s. Here are a couple of my 974, repainted and restored after the scumbag stole it, maybe one day I'll be rattling my dentures on it!

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=382824http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=382825http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=382828

Your 974 screams "RACE ME!!!". What a story! Love the Meth People decal even more knowing the story. Glad you got it back. And the camo bartape. Hoo-ruh.

Thanx for your encouragement, as always! :lol:

I have one. It does ride great. I am selling mine but if it does not sell I won`t mind. I really like the ride. Fast bike. http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps00cf00c1.jpg

Steve,

My first Crit bike that I spoke about above was the exact reverse of yours... white frame, blue decals, with a blue painted Nitto stem, but it did come white bar tape and white brake hoods. I've seen a number of white Crit bikes over the years like mine but yours is a first. Yours must be the dark sheep of the family!

Thanks for sharing!

Beautiful Crit, Steve. Very fast and a blast to ride. Looks like a 56cm?

@neo_pop_71 you wont have to ask twice :D

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h8...7B18071BC6.jpg

Just got back from another short camping tour with my '90 Cannondale Crit. heading down the Pacific Coast from SF to Paso Robles and the Great Western Bike Rally. Here's the route and some pictures from the end of the trip (doesn't cover the first three days from SF to Big Sur):
Big Sur Park to Paso Robles ride - Road biking trip | EveryTrail

The ride seems fine to me and the aluminum fork does a nice job of absorbing some vibration. When used with the same size tires it's a bit more comfortable than my steel bikes, but those do have an advantage in being able to take wider tires when desired.

59 cm or 23 1/2 inch with a 32 inch stand over. The seat tube sticks up pretty far above the top bar so I am not sure if that is the right measurement or not?

C-Dales are tough to eyeball guess by looking at the headtube. That's bigger than I'd thought.

You are the first I've read that has toured with a Crit. I'm century training with mine and yesterday I was pondering the topic of supported tours with such a fun bike.

Haven't done any supported tours with mine, but it handles very nicely with a full camping load in the rear panniers on self-supported tours.

Where are you in N. Michigan? Our daughter recently joined the new med. school at CMU and I'll probably be up that way later this year (but with my Bike Friday, not the Cannondale).

I'm up in Boyne City, the cycling mecca of the north.

Can't compare it to Mecca, but I did stay at Hemingway Pointe a few years ago and took my BF for a loop around the lake, incl. Boyne City, as well as some other rides in the vicinity. It is a nice area.

Hope you enjoy many happy miles on your Cannondale.

Hemingway Pointe is less than 2mi from my house. :)

Glad it's working out well for you. BITD (when I was racing USCF Masters) I had a Crit series, loved the handling, hated the harsh ride. Replaced it with an Eisentraut Rainbow - virtually identical geometry, lugged steel construction, 1 pound HEAVIER, smoother riding, better climbing, faster (tho' not hugely so) in all conditions. 20 years on I still have the 'traut, trying to gather the funds to get it repaired (cracked head tube) and resprayed.

SP
OC, OR

My C'dale is not a Criterium, but is a great ride anyway.

http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/y...e/89a8951f.jpg

jyl, There isn't any difference between the crit. geometry and the road race geometry for 98% of riding. Criterium geometry has been phased out by many, if not most bicycle manufacturers perhaps because the parking lot style crit. racing has, at least in my area, dwindled down to a pretty much extinct sport.

For the 2% of riding the crit. frame is better, it is unforgiving. It will turn on a dime in a fast, sharp turn, but it won't warn with a bit of understeer plowing when nearing the limit like my road race geometry Cannondales, it'll just lowside.

Brad

Love your taste in rides (both car and bike). Is that a full mavic group on the cdale? Was it stock on the ride?

The 1992 R1000 came with full Mavic. Only that one year. The previous owner replaced wheels, seatpost, stem, handlebar with lighter components, but the drivetrain and brakes remain Mavic.

Oldscool's Criterium turned out great, a real stealth fighter bike. What did you do with the cable guides?

OldsCool,

I just completed a makeover on my '93 R600 2.8. I think we must have been channeling the same "bike build spirit." :roflmao2: Very sharp and stealthy looking! :thumb: I like the "solar water heater" black bottle. Nice touch!

I do think I have a few more hills here in the NH mountains then you do in "Northern Michigan" (as Kid Rock likes to sing), so I went with the Nashbar compact double (50-34) and a wide range 9 speed cassette. I was also able to pick up the Nashbar/microShift 9 speed brifters at a great price, so I'm running modern gear on this 21 year old frameset.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...psspfiosoc.jpg

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...pswbpm0pte.jpg

I've had the Vuelta wheelset for a couple of years and want to remove the rim decals, but my racer nephew keeps telling me they scream "look how fast I go!" and wants me to leave them. This is the bike he rides when he visits from TN. I need to weigh it. As shown it might be a sub 20lb bike.

I had one new guide from Shapeways (thought I had ordered 3) and used two that I'd removed. The new one pressed in quite snug and the two used guides without pins I glued with Goop. So far, so good.

We dont have mountains, we just have hills everywhere here in Boyne country. Your Nashbar compact double I have on my shortlist of things to try. I'm rocking a 12/28 cassette but it really isnt low enough for the 1.5mi Cat 4's. Did you ditch the Silk Road fork? Nice looking ride!