Another Cannondale

I was at the Boise Bicycle Project the other day picking out some wheelsets and other small parts for the yard sale frames. (Even picked up a Gates carbon belt drive system, too bad I don’t have a compatible frame…yet.) A little ways into shopping, a member of the staff comes out with two Cannondale frames to hang for sale. One of them was a lower end mountain bike, but the other was a fire engine red road frameset that just looked awesome. I knew that I should say no, but I also know that I wasn’t going to be able to. $30 later I had another ‘Dale to work on.

My research - again thanks to vintagecannondale.com - points to this frameset being a Criterium frame from 1989, likely from the SR800 complete bike. The original fork, headset, bottom bracket, and Shimano 600 downtube shifters came on the frame.

This is in better shape than all of the other Cannondales to come through my garage. Typically the ones I get are completely hammered, so I’m not sure if I will be stripping this one down to bare metal, or polishing up the factory paint to the best of my ability. This bike also could be an interesting flat bar conversion like some of the ones I’ve made before for town duties, or it could be a light and stiff singlespeed? Time will tell!

This frameset as listed in the 1989 Cannondale catalog. Looks like a match!