Rooney 

Thanks! It certainly took me a few years of casual searching to find this 25" frame. Even then, there were some logistics to get it shipped across the country.

Rooney 

I'm not sure if scans of these instructions exist elsewhere, but they were included with the bike when I bought it. I thought it could be useful to share them here.

I also made some progress on the ST1000 to get it riding. Bought cable guides from vintagecannondale.com to replace the middle one and ordered a pump peg from eBay for the headtube as the original was missing. It'll probably be a slow build over the winter. I'm thinking faceted fenders and 32mm tires — maybe some burgundy/gumwall Fairweather Travellers. Unsure of what to do with the frame pump color, so it's staying orange for a little while longer. I certainly need a different saddle and longer stem. Need to decide on bar tape color as well as order 48/38/28 chainrings. I'm thinking of running a gold chain as well and maybe upgrading to a 9-speed cassette.

curbtender

https://chico.craigslist.org/bop/d/c...396292472.html

Cannondale saddlebags - $80 (Chico)

ehcoplex

Do the 1990 touring frames have dimples on the inside of the chain-stays? How wide can you go with tires & fenders on it would you guess? I can just fit 38c tires on my '97 T900 (interestingly, the '97 catalog lists 38c tires as stock on the T900, but I really can't imagine Cannondale letting bikes go out the door with the extremely minimal clearance I have- they must have been using narrower 38c tires..... ). The 23" frame is just a tad small for me, so I'm casually casting about for a 25" frame, but really want to be able to still ride on 38s. From what I can gather, the earlier touring frames didn't have the inside dimples and can't clear wider tires, but I'm not clear on when the change happened....

Rooney 

There are indeed dimples on the inside of the chainstays. The bike currently has 35c tires and could probably go to 38, but I think it would have the same clearance issues you're experiencing. I'm sure I could finagle fenders with the 35s, but it'd be a tight fit, which is why I plan to run 32s with fenders. I recall seeing a '99 T1000 on Flickr that could clear 38s — I can't remember with or without fenders. I picked up an '89 ST600 for my brother a couple of months back that does not have chainstay dimples. I'm not sure if it's a year distinction or caliper vs canti brake thing.

Clearance at chainstay bridge showing dimples; it was difficult getting an accurate representation. I think I could go to 38c, but it would be very tight.

ehcoplex

Yeah, that looks about the same clearance as my '97 T900. 38c will work with fenders on mine with the fenders stopping at the chainstay (as opposed to extending below...).

kanawa

tombc

oldtimeyirv

This was in pretty rough shape when I got it. No wheels, no seatpost, all original components. I plan to get it powder coated and modernize it with a collection of 105. Currently battling a seized BB. Slowly getting the better of it thanks to all the knowledge here and a very big hammer.

What can you guys tell me about the Black Lightning? Was it just a marketing thing or was there anything unique about the bikes? I know the SR500 was kind of entry level, but I've seen higher end models with the Black Lightning also. Thanks!

Photos are of my current battle with the BB. Evidently previous owners didn't keep the derailleurs adjusted... The paint is gnarly!

brandenjs

I've had a couple of them over the years and have kept this 1987 model. They were a special edition with some unique gold and black components, but the frames were the same for the other models. I have since upgraded mine to 7 speed Microshift with 105 derailleurs. These frames are stiff and excellent climbers though a bit harsh for longer rides. It has always been one of my grail bikes.

Roger M 

Just finished servicing this 1989 SR series.

due to the weather, I have only ridden it up and down the driveway.

oldtimeyirv

I really like using the frames as a base to build from! They are great to match up with modern wheels and componentry.

rccardr 

Agreed!
Here's an 88 SR that I built up with 5800 11-speed for my former spin instructor:

oldtimeyirv

Great frame, looks awesome! I have one just like it waiting its turn for new life. Did you repaint/powder coat it? The original paint on mine is bubbled and scrapes off very easily.

rccardr 

Did that several years ago and don’t remember but was probably powder coated, finish looks too nice to be original.

EnzoRWD

Any chance you can tell me what the model and serial is? I have a frame with the same sparkle blue and silhouetted CANNONDALE on the top tube that doesn't match any catalog. It has an ST400 chainstay protector and a July 30 1985 serial. Trying to figure out what model year this bike was supposed to be.

OutnBack

Sorry, but I ended up selling the Cannondale a while back. Others here might be able to assist.

Andy_K 

I got this 1990 ST400 about a month ago. It had all the original components, including the tires. Lots of chips in the paint, but otherwise it was in very good shape. The original components were painfully heavy, so I decided to go with an updated 3x10 build.



My touch-up paint isn't a perfect match, but it looks really good from a distance or in poor lighting. I also touched up the decal with white nail polish, but didn't put enough effort into that. I could probably improve both the paint and the decal with some patience, but I'm not sure I'll bother. In the light of day, it looks like this:



I acquired a set of Shimano CX-70 cantilever brakes for the build, but then at the last minute I decided I wanted to try mini V's so I bought a set of Tektro RX6's. I really like the feel of V-brakes -- much better than cantilevers. Mini-V's are supposed to give you that feel while working with road levers. How well they do that depends on your tolerance for tight rim clearance. I've only had this out for a few hundred yards up and down the street, but the power of the brakes is outstanding. The rim clearance on the other hand.... Let's just say the wheel will need to stay perfectly true. My wheelbuilder (me) comes along on all my rides, but I don't think this is suitable for touring. We'll see.



The drivetrain is Shimano 10-speed with an FSA Gossamer crankset that I recently polished.





The build, as shown above, including bell, mirror, and bottle cages, comes in at 22.25 pounds. I didn't think to weigh it in original condition, but it was heavy. The Cannondale catalog claimed it weighed 25.5 pounds (and that was without accessories).

Finally, a couple of acknowledgements are in order. The saddle was given to me by @RustyJames and the Crank Brothers pedals (which look like they might never have been used before) were given to me by @Dfrost. Many thanks to both of you.

ehcoplex

Nice! What size tires are you running on it? The polished crankset looks great- tempts me to polish the one on my '97 T900...

Andy_K 

They're nominally 700x28, but being Conti GP 4000s, they measure closer to 30mm wide. I'm looking at options for 700x32 or 700x35 -- maybe René Herse Bon Jon Pass.

ehcoplex

I'm not sure what the geometry changes were between '90 & '97, but I seem to recall there were some... I was able to just barely shoehorn Barlow Pass tires (38c) into my '97, and it made the ride heavenly- it really transformed the bike for me! Eventually I decided that the clearance at the chainstays was juuuuuust a little to tight (something like 2, maybe 3mm/side) so I dropped to the Bon Jon Pass, which have plenty of room. I did notice a difference in the ride quality, but it's still very nice! In both cases there was room for fenders, though again, tight clearances with the 38c.

Roger M 

That turned out great, Andy. Good choices in the parts.

If I understand you correctly, these brakes work well with traditional road levers? That would be good to know.

How do you like those Sram brake levers? I have a set, and the seem to feel right in my large(ish) hands. However, I can't bring myself to use them on an old steel frame. They do look better on an aluminum frame.

RustyJames 

Looks great @Andy_K! Glad to help.

Andy_K 

I can't give an unconditional endorsement of these brakes with road levers. The issue is cable pull. I completely geeked out on brake cable pull a few years ago, so I had some idea what it was going to take when I started this. As you probably know, traditional V-brakes require a lot more cable pull than road brakes. Mini V brakes were intended to address that problem, but they don't entirely do it. One issue is that the amount of brake cable pull varies from one brake lever to the next. You can also get mini V brakes in different lengths. These are 90 mm, which is about the limit of what can be considered "mini" -- traditional V brakes are generally in the 105-115 mm range. You can get minis as short as 80 mm. The longer brakes have more mechanical advantage, but they don't move the pads as far for a given amount of cable pull, so the longer the brake the more cable you need your levers to be able to pull.

I first tried these brakes on this bike with Tektro RL340 levers, which Tektro kind of implies should be compatible on their website (https://www.tektro.com/products.php?p=49), but I couldn't get the pads close enough to the rim without rubbing and not have the lever bottom out. The SRAM levers pull a bit more cable, and I was able to get them to work, but there's still very little gap between the pads and the rim -- maybe a millimeter. I had to true the wheels a bit to get them to spin without rubbing anywhere. In theory, newer Shimano STIs pull more cable and they're likely to work a bit better with this brake.

On the other hand, the power (per hand force input) is just ridiculous. On my test ride up and down the block, when I gave the lever a quick and firm squeeze my body weight lurched forward enough to scare me for a second. I know a lot of people would hate that, but that's what I wanted. I hate single pivot side pulls because you have to squeeze the lever so freaking hard to get maximum braking power. I prefer to squeeze gently and get results. I'm sure you remember driving cars without power brakes, right? That's the kind of difference I'm talking about between these brakes and cantilevers (no matter how perfectly you have the cantilevers set up). Both will stop you just fine, but the feel is a lot different. I'm sure when power brakes first started becoming ubiquitous in cars there were a lot of retro grouches who hated how responsive they were. Now, if you put most people in a car without power brakes they'd think something was broken.

So...if you pick the right brake lever, and you don't mind having the pads really, really close to the rim, and you like very responsive brakes, these brakes work really well.


Like I said above, they were a choice of necessity. I've had them for years and haven't used them since I gave up singlespeed cyclocross racing. I don't like black levers, but I think they look OK on this bike. They feel OK when I'm riding.

JacobLee 

Any reason those front brake pads are on the wrong side?