1987 Cannondale Drop Bar Build
- Thread starter doctor-bond
- Start date
doctor-bond
Feature Bike
Re:
Have been getting to know this beast and the drop set-up, and am pleasantly surprised and impressed. I was skeptical that a crouched position would be much good down hill, and very gloomy about the prospects of dirt drops being any use wrangling an old tank up hills.
But the overall ride is great fun, and downhill performance is superb:
We dropped off the edge of the hill in the photo below and had a fine old time getting through a grass track deeply-pocked with cattle tracks. Yet unlike Mr Tomac, I was in perfect control and got through the oomsca without fuss (although not as comfortably as on my steel bike).
When the track firmed up into a puddly chalk highway, the Canny came into its own and is a flyer. Hovering over the saddle in the drops and pedaling hard was a sweet - the old girl floated over the ruts, and the directness of the ally frame was a boon.
Getting to the top of the hill was less easy (!), but in-saddle climbing worked nicely holding the middle of the bars, and out-of-the-saddle-on-the-hoods riding still kept traction. Drop bars on this machine are never going to offer the technical uphill ability that a nice wide riser set on a light bike will, but hanging onto the hoods is by no means catastrophic.
Birdsall (3)
(You'll notice that, rather than encumbering the 'Dale with a kickstand, I bring an assistant. My fear is that minimum wage levels and workplace pension legislation will put an end to this convenience. Such is life.)
Have been getting to know this beast and the drop set-up, and am pleasantly surprised and impressed. I was skeptical that a crouched position would be much good down hill, and very gloomy about the prospects of dirt drops being any use wrangling an old tank up hills.
But the overall ride is great fun, and downhill performance is superb:
We dropped off the edge of the hill in the photo below and had a fine old time getting through a grass track deeply-pocked with cattle tracks. Yet unlike Mr Tomac, I was in perfect control and got through the oomsca without fuss (although not as comfortably as on my steel bike).
When the track firmed up into a puddly chalk highway, the Canny came into its own and is a flyer. Hovering over the saddle in the drops and pedaling hard was a sweet - the old girl floated over the ruts, and the directness of the ally frame was a boon.
Getting to the top of the hill was less easy (!), but in-saddle climbing worked nicely holding the middle of the bars, and out-of-the-saddle-on-the-hoods riding still kept traction. Drop bars on this machine are never going to offer the technical uphill ability that a nice wide riser set on a light bike will, but hanging onto the hoods is by no means catastrophic.
Birdsall (3)(You'll notice that, rather than encumbering the 'Dale with a kickstand, I bring an assistant. My fear is that minimum wage levels and workplace pension legislation will put an end to this convenience. Such is life.)
shogun700
Retro Guru
Your Cannondale is spectacular, I particularly like the color, and the build looks spot on. I love the roller-cam fork also-cams up front make a bike look like it means business.
I have a drop bar Cannondale as well, an '88 running Specialized RM-2's, our frames look to be the same size, I'd be interested to know how tall you are. I too am not keen on bar-end shifters-your solution was simple and clean, well done. I went with 7-speed Shimano RSX brifters, not period correct, but so far reasonably effective. This bike is my commuter, but my commute has some dirt:
As you said it's not as harsh as expected, and there is a certain directness to the ride that is really enjoyable. I think they were using more ductile aluminum then, with greater wall thicknesses than the lighter-but-more-brittle stuff we started to see in the '90s.
I am still working on my setup and riding position, I am not in the sweet spot-yet. I've been looking closely at your pics and also the Bridgestone, I think they will help a lot.
I have a drop bar Cannondale as well, an '88 running Specialized RM-2's, our frames look to be the same size, I'd be interested to know how tall you are. I too am not keen on bar-end shifters-your solution was simple and clean, well done. I went with 7-speed Shimano RSX brifters, not period correct, but so far reasonably effective. This bike is my commuter, but my commute has some dirt:
As you said it's not as harsh as expected, and there is a certain directness to the ride that is really enjoyable. I think they were using more ductile aluminum then, with greater wall thicknesses than the lighter-but-more-brittle stuff we started to see in the '90s.
I am still working on my setup and riding position, I am not in the sweet spot-yet. I've been looking closely at your pics and also the Bridgestone, I think they will help a lot.
Attachments
doctor-bond
Feature Bike
Re:
That 88 looks in great condition and about the same size: mine is 20" c-t with a 22 at the beginning of the serial number. According to the frame stamps it was put together by SC and RS: who did yours?
You're right about getting things dialled: ideally I'd like a position a bit more like my son's Brodie in the pic: sitting 'in' the frame with drops around saddle height, but even though I'm only 5 10 ish, long old legs make that difficult with off the peg frames.
I was drawn to the 'Dale because of the high front end and generous head tube: but they also have high BBs, so I'm still a bit tail up.
The RM2s look a bit more flared than the BB1s: how wide are they?
Cheers
That 88 looks in great condition and about the same size: mine is 20" c-t with a 22 at the beginning of the serial number. According to the frame stamps it was put together by SC and RS: who did yours?
You're right about getting things dialled: ideally I'd like a position a bit more like my son's Brodie in the pic: sitting 'in' the frame with drops around saddle height, but even though I'm only 5 10 ish, long old legs make that difficult with off the peg frames.
I was drawn to the 'Dale because of the high front end and generous head tube: but they also have high BBs, so I'm still a bit tail up.
The RM2s look a bit more flared than the BB1s: how wide are they?
Cheers
sinnerman":8q8c5ihe said:
I remember seeing a few threads discussing the DB of Tomac. Apparently a dozen or so were specially made by Cincelli and never sold to the public. Essentially they are beefed up, wider, and have a shorter reach and drop than a road bar of the period. Ironically, more similar to a modern road bar.
BTW, great pic
shogun700
Retro Guru
Re:
It's in decent shape, quite a bit of touch up in various spots. The paint seems to be getting a bit more delicate as time passes, but it also gets used in the winter, and lives in a cold garage. I should be nicer to it.
My frame measures the same as yours, and is stamped RS and JD, so we have one employee in common. I'm about 6'1", I think this frame size is better suited for a DD build at your height than mine. After posting in the thread I decided to dig it out for a ride around the block. The setup isn't too far off as it sits, but the stem is flexy at this extension length and the width of the RM-2's (57cm) exacerbates that.
I guess the long head tube makes these frames look relatively larger than they are, and what I truly need is a larger frame to get it proportionally correct for me. I don't think I would have believed that if I didn't see your bike!
It's in decent shape, quite a bit of touch up in various spots. The paint seems to be getting a bit more delicate as time passes, but it also gets used in the winter, and lives in a cold garage. I should be nicer to it.
My frame measures the same as yours, and is stamped RS and JD, so we have one employee in common. I'm about 6'1", I think this frame size is better suited for a DD build at your height than mine. After posting in the thread I decided to dig it out for a ride around the block. The setup isn't too far off as it sits, but the stem is flexy at this extension length and the width of the RM-2's (57cm) exacerbates that.
I guess the long head tube makes these frames look relatively larger than they are, and what I truly need is a larger frame to get it proportionally correct for me. I don't think I would have believed that if I didn't see your bike!
Sketchyxup
Retro Guru
Just curious but im struggling with this as a concept.
Run me through the basics of running a drop bar but having a stem and headtube so high that it negates any of the drop, and looks to put the lower hand position where a normal straight bar would be and the tops much higher?
Not being negative but wondering what the benefits or reasons are?
Run me through the basics of running a drop bar but having a stem and headtube so high that it negates any of the drop, and looks to put the lower hand position where a normal straight bar would be and the tops much higher?
Not being negative but wondering what the benefits or reasons are?
