Lemond1985

I am in a unique position to comment on this. My first new bike I ever bought was a 1987 SR500 in Blueberry. I paid $750 for it out the door. It had indexed Shimano 600 6 speed SIS (the first year for Shimano indexing) and crappy Wolber wheels that lasted me about 2 weeks.

During a crash while riding in a paceline, I broke the derailleur hanger on the frame. Since these were not replaceable back then, I went back to the dealer who sold me the bike, who got me a brand new SR500 frame, also in Blueberry, under warranty, which I transferred my parts over to, and the dealer sent the broken frame back to Cannondale.

The 1987 and '88 frames were identical, paint and geometry-wise, but the decals were slightly different. The 1988 had the "Criterium Geometry" sticker on the seat tube, and the "Patented Construcion decal on the right seatstay. It also had the "Shimano 105" decal on the chainstay. Based on that, I would conclude that the frame in the picture is a 1988 model, not a 1987. IIRC Shimano 105 had not yet been introduced in 1987.

Tpcorr

In 1987 the SR 600 came with the Shimano 600 group and was available in the Blueberry colorway. If you search for the 1987 Cannondale catalog you will see this is accurate. In 1987 the SR500 came in Teal or White. In 1987 the cost of the SR 500 was $600. So I would think your bike is indeed the SR 600, so named for the equipped Shimano 600 group.

https://vintagecannondale.com/year/1987/1987.pdf

rccardr 

It’s pretty easy to tell the exact date of manufacture for any 86-89 Cannondale ST or SR.
It’s part of the serial number, most often located on the top of the DS chainstay, occasionally on the inside of the DS seat stay.
A manufacture date of August 86 through June 87 would generally indicate an 87 model year; later than June they would be changing upnthe line, using up the last of the paint, etc.
Shimano 105 indexed was introduced for the 1987 model year; a number of bikes used that group in 87.

curbtender

Got it up and running, thanks to Doc for the brake guide...

bargo68 

Been riding the ST1000 a lot lately. It rides much more S than T!

himespau 

Beautiful. I've long wanted one of those in the forest green like you have.

RollingRubber

So nice.

RollingRubber

For the 1991 road models. Did the SR600 have the name logo on the top tube and the SC600 have the name logo on the downtube?

curbtender

https://vintagecannondale.com/catalog/

bargo68 

Thanks! It's a great riding bike. I have Panaracer Gravel King 32's on it pumped up to about 35 psi and it really rolls smoothly.

caschnd1

fasthair,

Sorry for the delayed response. I somehow missed your post and just saw it today when I was updating myself on this thread.

I rode that SR a LOT up until about 1990 and then not much at all since that time. So in terms of wear/tear it's about like a typical 3 year old bicycle. Being a bicycle mechanic working in shops for 15 years, I fairly meticulous about maintenance it when I was riding it. But I haven't done anything with it in 30 years, so it's sort of a time capsule. The frame measures out at 58cm (top of the seat tube to the center of the crank housing). It's a pretty small frame. It's not currently for sale, but I'll post it here if that changes

-Craig

RollingRubber

Yup thanks, the catalog doesn't really give me much of an idea as it only displays either the SC or SR models. I'm even thinking that the SC and SR models both shared the same colour schemes just with different logo placements in 1991. Been researching but want to make sure before I respray mine.

jeffmendoza

Just finished building up, the wheelset was the last piece.
'89 3.0 crit frame, size 58.
Originally an SR400, but the bottom bracket, headset, and stem are the only original parts left.

curbtender

Looked a little, seems the Cannondale logo is on the downtube for the SC.

tyler_fred

Cool! My late year ‘88 is the same color, the same BEAUTIFUL blue!!

IpIp Biker

Deerman

Trakhak

That's what people who have otherwise ridden only steel bikes with sport geometry (i.e., longer-wheelbase bikes) always seem to say.

It's not the aluminum frame that makes it harsh. It's the criterium geometry (essentially track bike geometry, or close to it). Those of us who rode steel criterium-geometry bikes (usually Italian bikes, sometimes U.S. bikes) with the same short wheelbase in the old days know that the Cannondales rode no more harshly than the steel crit bikes and were significantly lighter and thus faster on climbs.

pmferna

I have an 87 white Cannondale SR 1000. Mostly all original parts. The paint still looks great. Bike rides fine, but I wanted to know if I can find a good thread or someone that could guide me for upgrades. The previous owner switched the original rear derailleur, crank arm, and chainrings with a Shimano Tiagra 9 speed. I'm looking to replace the downtube shifting to brifters (already have a pair of Shimano RSX brifters to install). Not looking to spend a lot of money, but wondered what others have done with theirs.

I'm sorry if this is ins the wrong thread. I will post pictures when allowed.

Thanks!

Night Treker

rccardr 

This thread has a lot of good ideas in it. Like this:

curbtender

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...l#post21513018

pmferna

Looks good! It seems yours has a freehub with 6 or 7 cogs in the cassette. What's the pathway for you to convert the 6speed freewheel to a freehub giving that it's almost impossible to find freehubs to fit the 126mm spacing? I have a Shimano 7-speed freewheel that I plan to swap when installing the brifters (7-3 STI), but I don't really like how it's going to look.

Also, mine seems to have an issue just right where the B-screw touches in the derailleur hanger. I tried to adjust it so it will pull the pulleys away from the sprockets. It's now slightly touching the smallest cog. Not too loud and happens when I push it harder for speed, and it's annoying! While trying to adjust, the screw starts to come out of the frame. I don't think the frame is misaligned. I appreciate any suggestions.

rccardr 

That's 11 speed Shimano 105 installed on an 88 SR500 frameset with 11 speed wheels. 130 width wheels easily slide into the rear dropouts.
A 7 speed Shimano freewheel should work just fine with 7 speed STI's. There's no way to convert a freewheel hub into a freehub style, gotta replace it. But any 8-9-10-11 speed rear hub will fit easily as noted above, and you can use a spacer behind a 7 speed cassette to get the correct spacing.

Not sure what the issue is with your B screw, but that RD won't shift anything larger than a 28 tooth cog in the back.

pmferna

So, you're saying that a 130 width wheel will fit into my 87 SR 1000 frameset? I just want to make sure before I make any expensive decision in the future. I believe last time I tried measuring it looks just shy of 130mm.

Also, what about the headset? Assuming from the 1 1/8 internal diameter seat post, I believe the headtube also has a full 1 1/8 internal diameter, right? I'm wondering if I can go threadless or if I need a quill stem adapter and again, appreciate any help here.