Hi All.
Although I've got a healthy number of retro rides, I must admit I've always had a thing for Cannondales - the F1000 'Woody' was the dream bike at Uni and BITD, the SM1000 was a firm favourite.
Back in 2012, I bought my then girlfriend (now wife) the blue and yellow F700 in the pics below. ( It had to be those colours as they are the county Clare colours!)
We would ride off road routes around Long Melford in Suffolk - until the children came along
….and it was relegated to storage. But in 2014, I needed a bike to take to the Isle of Man TT with a group of lads from work, and this seemed the ideal candidate - especially as it only needed a swap of seat post and pedals. I really liked how the bike rode, a started using it on after work rides and attaching the child seat to take my daughter out on the suffolk lanes at the weekend.
I continued to use the F700 a lot! - The back wheel slowly began to fail, the Magura Louise brakes lost their bite and the pistons were continually binding. The bottom bracket started to play as did the cassette. The Headshok continued to hold air and work well so I decided I should sort the niggles of the bike out properly.
The Coda wheels with the Magura discs were a 4 bolt type which meant suitable replacement
were not as easy to find. In the end I bit the bullet and built some 6 bolt hubbed wheels myself - Novatec on Mavic 321's and replaced the brakes with Shimano. New bottom bracket, cassette and full overhaul. I then broke the whole thing in by doing a 100 mile day ride in the Peak District - and the bike felt ace! It's also the turbo Trainer bike, so out of all my moderns and retro, this is the bike getting the most use!
Now all along, I was acutely aware that although I'd turned this into a well sorted bike, It was not actually mine.
Our 2nd born is now getting to the age where he needs to be in the child seat, and my daughter is confident enough to use a tag along bike….. but we can't use both together.
Another bike was needed so we could go out as a family.
Enter the 2000 F400.
This started out as an impulse eBay purchase. £25 plus postage and I had a project.
Most of the kit on the bike was Junk though, the more I delved deeper, the more I threw away. Many of the replaced parts on it were BSO junk. In the end, I was left with just the frame and fork….even though it was a basic Headshok, I thought I couldn't scrap it.
I've always liked the 1990 SM1000 colour scheme, so a plan was hatched and a build planned from accumulated parts.
So what is it?
- a Retromod?
- a newer frame with older components?
- Who knows! - it's going to be my Isle of Man TT bike this year and the Child seat carrier for this years family holiday.
Cheers.
boy"O"boy
Although I've got a healthy number of retro rides, I must admit I've always had a thing for Cannondales - the F1000 'Woody' was the dream bike at Uni and BITD, the SM1000 was a firm favourite.
Back in 2012, I bought my then girlfriend (now wife) the blue and yellow F700 in the pics below. ( It had to be those colours as they are the county Clare colours!)
We would ride off road routes around Long Melford in Suffolk - until the children came along
….and it was relegated to storage. But in 2014, I needed a bike to take to the Isle of Man TT with a group of lads from work, and this seemed the ideal candidate - especially as it only needed a swap of seat post and pedals. I really liked how the bike rode, a started using it on after work rides and attaching the child seat to take my daughter out on the suffolk lanes at the weekend.I continued to use the F700 a lot! - The back wheel slowly began to fail, the Magura Louise brakes lost their bite and the pistons were continually binding. The bottom bracket started to play as did the cassette. The Headshok continued to hold air and work well so I decided I should sort the niggles of the bike out properly.
The Coda wheels with the Magura discs were a 4 bolt type which meant suitable replacement
were not as easy to find. In the end I bit the bullet and built some 6 bolt hubbed wheels myself - Novatec on Mavic 321's and replaced the brakes with Shimano. New bottom bracket, cassette and full overhaul. I then broke the whole thing in by doing a 100 mile day ride in the Peak District - and the bike felt ace! It's also the turbo Trainer bike, so out of all my moderns and retro, this is the bike getting the most use!
Now all along, I was acutely aware that although I'd turned this into a well sorted bike, It was not actually mine.
Our 2nd born is now getting to the age where he needs to be in the child seat, and my daughter is confident enough to use a tag along bike….. but we can't use both together.
Another bike was needed so we could go out as a family.
Enter the 2000 F400.
This started out as an impulse eBay purchase. £25 plus postage and I had a project.
Most of the kit on the bike was Junk though, the more I delved deeper, the more I threw away. Many of the replaced parts on it were BSO junk. In the end, I was left with just the frame and fork….even though it was a basic Headshok, I thought I couldn't scrap it.
I've always liked the 1990 SM1000 colour scheme, so a plan was hatched and a build planned from accumulated parts.
So what is it?
- a Retromod?
- a newer frame with older components?
- Who knows! - it's going to be my Isle of Man TT bike this year and the Child seat carrier for this years family holiday.
Cheers.
boy"O"boy
