# Please help ID this Cannondale!



## bigbluenation (Sep 15, 2008)

I found this bike on my local craigslist, the seller is asking $450 US. Its supposedly a 98 or 99, with a recent tune-up, new tires, cables, etc. There are no identifying marks, no serial, etc. The LBS told the seller they thought it could be a team bike.He thinks its all stock except for the seat. Is $450 a good deal? Can anybody help me ID it? It will be my first road bike. Thanks


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## cb400bill (Jul 26, 2007)

I think that bike is older than 98 or 99. The stem, downtube shifters, and font and position of the Cannondale sticker indicate so. But the non-cantilever rear dropouts say newer.

Try digging around on www.vintagecannondale.com looking at catalogs and you may find something that matches.

BTW, getting a list of components used, and most importantly, the bike's serial number, will help you ID any bike much better.


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## Bill Silverman (Apr 2, 2007)

Biopace crankset? That's gotta be an oldie. Try late 80's-early 90's. As far as "team bike" goes, that's neither here nor there. I've bought and sold quite a few more recent Cannondale frames (CAAD 3's, 5's, 7's) in and around the $200-$300 range.

Personally, I think $450 is a tad too high. $350 seems more in the ballpark to me, but I'm not the one buying it. If this bike gets your juices cookin', go for it.


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## Hooben (Aug 22, 2004)

That is a 1987 SR600 and it has steel forks. There was no such thing as carbon forks on Cannondale back then. It also has shifters on the down tube without index shifting which means there is no clicking sound to tell you that you are in the gear. *All* cannondales have serial numbers under the bottom bracket. They are underneath the plastic guides for the shifter cables. The guides must be unscrewed to see the serial number. I have a team bike, and it has serial numbers. The top tube cable guides are just glued on and not brazed. Typically the guides would just fall off after 3 or 4 years. I would love this bike because I used to own one. This bike was produced the first few years that Cannondale made bikes. By todays standards this is a very heavy bike that is way behind in technology. I could understand buying if you were a collector for sentimental value. 
Since this is your first road bike, then pass. 
It is overpriced, doesn't have carbon forks, and doesn't have shifters on the brake levers.

Link is at...

http://www.vintagecannondale.com/year/1987/1987.pdf.


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## HikenBike (Apr 3, 2007)

Or it could be 1988 SR500 (I used to have one in blue/white).


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## holstein71 (Jul 17, 2008)

Get em down to $300 and F yeah buy it...that things a beaut....freakin clean, all stock..the shifting levers are fine...you actually treat them more like a single spead...shifters on levers...pfffft ! carbon this and that... for a first roadie thats bulletproof and you dont have to fine tune everything just to ride it...perfect..but yeah get em down to $300 or less.


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## OneGear (Aug 19, 2005)

its his first road bike. pass, and dont' look back.. you can spend your money better. you need a bike that you like and will ride all the time, not a piece from the time capsule.


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## ArubaBob600 (Sep 29, 2008)

*Check the Serial Number for good info*

Don’t know if I’m reaching you before you made your decision… I just wanted to mention… Check the serial number. 1986-1992 Cannondale used 2 different formats. You might try looking under the chainstay for a punched in serial number. Version 1: 

-The first two digits are the SIZE in centimeters
-The next 6 numbers are the MONTH, DAY and YEAR of MANUFACTURE
-The remainder are the UNIT NUMBER.

Their archived vintage website: http://www.vintagecannondale.com/info.html

That cb400bill suggested will provide you with detailed information to interpret most of Cannondale’s serial numbers from 1983 to 2001.

If she is in decent maintained condition, has good paint, runs well and doesn’t need anything try to get him to shave a couple of hundred off his asking price. If not I wouldn’t pay more than 300 to the 350 that Bill suggests. Don’t forget most vintage Cannys give up a good deal of info from their serial numbers - check it out. Good luck with your decision.


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## Buck Satan (Nov 21, 2005)

I won a crapload of races on a 'dale older than that one. As long as you can deal with the shifters, there's nothing wrong with that bike. They are super stiff and relatively (entry level these days) light. $450 is too much though.


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## AWILSON (Sep 20, 2008)

I just bought my first road bike last Sat. It is a 3.0 criterium I think from the mid 90's and I paid $200. I figured buy cheap and find out if I want to spend $1500+ and then use the old bike as a bar bike or sell it.


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## casioqv (Sep 28, 2008)

It looks like an early 90s to me. I had one just like it for many years. Weight is relative, but they are pretty light bikes IMO. If you can get it for under $300, go for it!


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