Hoss Cartright

I'm a newbie to this forum. So howdy.

I have some forum experience for many years with my vintage auto collection.

This is not a "what's it worth?" post..

This Cannondale was collecting dust at the local bike shop. Was traded-in on a spinning machine. I have known the bike since it was new. A friend of mine owned it. (knowing him, I got a better deal buying it from the bike shop after he traded it. )

So last week, I threw them a "polite" low-ball cash offer and they accepted.
(I was thinking about this bike for a month and then after looking at used Campy groupos on ebay and figured out I got this for about half the value of the second hand grupo alone, so couldn't go wrong.)

Yesterday was unseasonably warm so I took it for a 20 mile spin and I like it a lot. First aluminum bike I have ridden for any distance. I was told they ride very rigid and that you feel every little crack in the road. But honestly I think it is superb. (And especially a very light feel in comparison to my 1970s Paramounts.)

I'm not sure about the series or level of quality of this Campy group and the shifting is not indexed, the rear cluster is six speed. I searched the net for the past few days and the VIN tells me it is a 1987 model made on February the 17th.

But looking at the 1987 brochure on the vintage Cannondale web site, I see no reference anywhere for them being available with Campagnolo components. (The 1987 brochure says that they didn't sell bare frames at that time due to demand for complete bikes.) Even the head-set is Campy as well as the seat post. Campy hubs, 700C wheels with super-nice Continental tires. Has a very nice Brooks saddle. The bars and stem are Nitto. The frame had lots of paint knicks but I brush-touched them and it looks pretty good now, no crash damage or frame dents of any kind.

I feel lucky to have found this in my frame size with these components. What is your opinions? Is this some odd-ball? Anything I should watch out for on this model?

Thanks in advance.

Jim in Indiana.

auchencrow

Merry Christmas and welcome to C&V Jim!

I am basically a fan of lugged steel but I picked up an '87 Team Comp, (same size different color) for a flip a while back, and was so impressed with it that it is now a keeper. It does not ride nearly as harshly as some suggest, and the transfer of power to the rear is incredibly efficient. A great hill climber.

Mine is all stock Suntour Alpha, with the original white Vetta saddle. Not a hint of Campy about it.
It sounds like you got a great deal.

Italuminium

Hello jim, welcome! For an id of any bike parts you may find, I highly recommend velobase.com, maintained by one of the regulars here. It seems that group is in very good condiion, and my first guess would be Athena, but a longer look at velobase for each component individually might come up with other conclusions.

Anyway, it looks like a really nice bike and I'm glad the test ride left you very enthousiastic. Campagnolo from that era has many followers for the beauty of the design and finish. I think both campy and cannondale represented the state of the art in alu technology in that era, so the combination of group/frame works very well IMHO. The black on black colours really make this a very classy bike. Purists would say you need to turn the handlebars a bit more downward to get the levers in the right position btw other than that, I can only recommend getting another bottle cage to match the other!

Many happy miles!

qcpmsame 

Hi Jim, welcome aboard,
Very nice score for the Cannondale. The Campagnolo grouppo looks really nice on the bicycle.

Bill

randyjawa 

Welcome to the Bike Forums.

I put close to, if not more than, 4000 miles on my Cannondale Team Comp one year. I must say that I like the OP's black one more than my grey, with pink accents, offering. Actually, though I found the ride to be harsher than any of my steel bikes, I did like the ride quality and enjoyed my year with that old Cannondale...

tugrul

If it actually was a Team Comp, which isn't listed as having come in black, it was the cheapest model available, though with a more relaxed geometry than the top end models.

So if he wanted to discard the parts and build it up himself it might have been the way to go.

Hoss Cartright

Thanks for the heads-up on that website. Yes indeed it is an Athena group, except the seat post which appears to be Super Record as it is not Aero type.
BUT, it seems Athena is 1988 and later.. So, maybe this was torn-down and rebuilt with Campy group after my buddy bought it new. Or maybe the shop had it a long time and built-it-up there to bring it up a level. Was sold new at Mulhaupt's in Lafayette Indiana. (Sold-out last year after more than 100 years in the Schwinn business) Going to try to contact "Scott" who bought the bike new and ask him about the history and the components as my curiosity is gnawing at me now.

The VIN is 58021787XXX which according to the vintage Cannondale web site is 58CM built on 17 Feb 1987.

Yes, the 1987 catalog says not black color option as well. My background as auto-body repairman gives me good eye on finishes. There is clear the fine laser-etched VIN and the employee stamps on the dropout are crisp, so no possibility that this is a re-paint, and it does have the "team comp" sticker on the chain stay.

Kind of a contradiction it seems.

RFC

I am also a fan of the early Cannondales. My 1987, below. Yes, they take off like a rocket (maybe the stiffest production bike ever built), but do not ride particularly harshly.

rccardr 

Clearly not original equipment, but despite the claim in the brochure, Cannondale did sell replacement frames that year (I actually owned a rosy pink one with a similar build date). There are also some unusual non-catalog color combos running around out there. Finish is original but prone to chipping and bubbling around the top tube cable guides and edges of the BB, especially if stored where the atmosphere was not completely dry. Nitto stem might be original to the bike, but probably not the bars.

But, plenty of opportunity during the last 25 years for someone to have built and rebuilt that bike several times to their liking & that wasn't unusual for the period, especially if there was a knowledgeable and well-stocked LBS in the area.

lotek 

Howdy Hoss
(gee I never thought I'd get to say that here).
I can tell your a car type, VIN we use S/N here for serial number or just SN.
As for the components, they can be and often are swapped out, Campy was a frequent
upgrade. Did your friend own the bike from new or did he get it used? could he have upgraded
the components.

SJX426 

I may be mistaken, but a lot of that get up and go is attributable to the geometry. Putting a fender on that rear wheel would be next to impossible!

Hoss Cartright

I like this bike! Took it out today for a 26 mile ride with some friends from the bike club. (Ridden it about 50 miles this week) - The bike as a whole works very well and the ride is pretty darn good.

The Indiana prairie is pretty windy but the temp was 41F so at least I didn't completely freeze. (Only the toes)

My helmet liner is Army surplus Korean war. (Just like Radar O'Reilly's)

khatfull

Welcome Jim!

Your bike looks like it's in need of proper disposal. Please send me your postal address and I'll send a prepaid UPS return label so that I might recycle the metals properly.

It's and old bad joke here when we REALLY like a bike. Congrats, that's an awesome machine.

Henry III

Nice find as it looks be Athena I'm guessing. Still getting the mid 80's Campy line up figured out. Very nice bike and group. I wouldn't change a single thing about the bike. Look at the rear end clearance...thing must put the power down before you even start pedaling and not flex whatsoever. Those things were built like tanks with sewer sized tubing and the 1/4" thick dropouts.

wrk101

Many bikes shops have zero appreciation for a fine vintage bike. Well done!

Michael Angelo 

Very nice bike, you're a brave man to ride in that weather.

The Golden Boy 

This is comparatively Summer weather here!!!


Great bikes Jim- I'm enjoying your posts and threads!

old's'cool

Welcome to the forum, Hoss. Very nice bike. In your OP I noticed "Northwest Central" under your avatar, and read about the "unseasonably warm" weather,... thought to myself, "must be having a chinook in Montana"; I got a laugh when I reached to bottom of your post to see you're in Indiana!
Although I move around quite a bit, my heart is on the west coast, we west-coasters look at anything the other side of the rocks as "east"!

jr59

Very sweet indeed.

I too don't care for that type of frame, but the parts are very nice.

max5480

yea id rock it fo sho

OldsCOOL

Nice bike, Jim!

noglider 

Welcome. I bet that bike would would ride as well as many modern bikes, maybe better.

I don't envy your prairie. I feel weak in headwinds. I'd rather ride hills. But I bet your tailwinds are a blast.

Hoss Cartright

Yesterday we were cruising Eastbound at 30 mph effortlessly. The ride out to the turning point was a bear! One day in September I had ridden West about ten miles into the wind. (Average speed about 6mph) Turned back and was thinking about just heading on over to Ohio. I was in top gear pedaling away on the Paramount at 32mph. But then realized that going beyond the 10 mile return meant coming back home into the wind.. "Never-mind" - Like I said.. "It's sailing"
Even on the club rides, every route plan usually centers around the wind direction.

bradtx

H C, I've run across many of the earlier Cannondales that don't quite match the catalog. The Campy group is probably the result of a build up on a frameset or simply a replacement group, my guess is that the bike was originally bought as a frameset. That era of Campy is one of the most attractive, IMHO.

Brad

fietsbob

not model specific , but it is time to overhaul all the bearings with race inspection,
and replace the bearing balls and clean grease,
just so you know the condition of all the moving parts , yourself.