Originally Posted by
rickpaulos
I have a Cannondale Carbon Synapse 2 in my possession. Donated to our local bike coop from the original owner who bought it from a reputable dealer. I could not find a serial number on it anywhere. There is a sticker on the bb that looks more like a date of manufacture code. I often look up expensive donations at Bike Index and this number came back as stolen but as a different model. I suspect another Cannondale owner entered that same dom/part number as their serial number. I guess you looked up the dom/part number and got a hit due to Cannondale owners not knowing what their bikes real serial number is.
I asked about this "serial number" at vintage cannondale but got no reply. I think it's just too new for them.
IMO, a sticker is not a responsible way of putting a serial number on a bike frame. I've seen many bikes with bar codes and numbers on a sticker but they all had a legitimately stamped serial number in the metal that matched.
Cannondale never used stickers for their serial numbers. They embossed them into the frame at various locations over the years, including, e.g., on the bottom of the left chainstay. If I were unable to locate a serial number on a name brand bike, I'd suspect that the bike had been refinished with overly thick powdercoating.