The Bogus Bonanza

The Bogus Bonanza

Non Profit. All Good.

The Story

Bogus Basin has always had a special place in my heart. It is a true gem of a community resource. Beginning around 2 years old, my folks drug me up the 16 miles of twisty corners every weekend to get me hooked early on skiing. It took a while, but their faith in the long game paid off and I’ve been skiing ever since. I grew up in the Bogus ski racing program, learned to downhill bike at the summer Gravity Park, and even proposed at the top of Chair 6.

All that to say, Bogus Basin is an incredibly unique treasure that has been, and continues to be, an important part of my life.

After decades of enjoying the mountain, it felt like a great time to give back. With the annual Bogus Bash fundraiser at the end of the summer, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to build up and donate a custom shitbike! This bike hopefully will help raise money to a cause that helped me become who I am.

Enter, the Bogus Bonanza. Hope you like blue!

Design Goals

Bonanza is a backside mainstay run accessed off of chair 3. It’s got some great turns, fun side hits, sneaky access to some pow shots, or you can rip the morning cord all the way down. The goal was to create a fun town-centric bike that rides like skiing Bonanza! This two-wheeler will be at home commuting through downtown, cruising the greenbelt, or crawling to the pub.

This bike started its life out as a 1995 Cannondale F400. There’s some ambiguity to the exact model, as the original frame and paint don’t match up with the catalogs of the time, so maybe it was a mid-year refresh? The paint was hammered, but overall the frame was sound. The 400 series frames didn’t have as nice of weld finishing as some of the higher end ‘Dales, but there are still hallmarks of the handmade USA craftsmanship that old Cannondales are known for.

For parts, the goal was to put together a build that would look good, ooze style, and require low-to-no maintenance. Trusty Avid brakes and a Box Prime 9 wide range drivetrain will be good for miles and miles to come.

The Problems

As far as problems go, this one was pretty straightforward. Old Cannondales will always have some weirdness to them, but in this case I was lucky enough to have the proprietary brake bosses on hand to complete the bike. Other small things like forgetting to measure the headtube diameter before ordering the stem adapter, running out of brake cables, and having stem-handlebar diameter mismatches were about the extent of the challenges.

The Outcome

The Bogus Bonanza turned out well!

Giving an old frame with rough paint a completely new lease on life is always fun! Even more so if this bike is able to contribute to a community cornerstone like Bogus Basin. I hope to spot this bike ripping around downtown Boise someday, see you out there!