Cannondale Super V. Which one?

[warrior4life]

I've sold my Scott Spark RC, a 10kg XC whippet and I regret it.
I've had plenty of retro MTB's over the years but never a Cannondale. I have a bunch of Cannondale road bikes that I love.

I've narrowed it down, top of the list being a large Super V. Max budget £500 but ideally a little less.

Are there any Super V experts? I want something that I can race XC on occasionally. Disc brakes and either headshok or Lefty.

I love the 98 Super VC 1000 with the negative stem.

There seem to be a lot of Super V's on ebay at the moment. The only one I like is a medium, (pi below) feel that could be too small at 6ft

Any info or tips is much appreciated.

 

[BlackCat]

There seems to be a fairly low level of love for Cannondale on rb, as I have remarked on before. When I was young, a state of the art mountain bike was a Super V in my head. It was so wild looking vs the average Joe Raleigh MTBs that predominated amongst my peers..

Annnnyway. I digress.

If you want authenticity, you’ll need to go for an early SV, with the aluminium (or carbon) one piece swing arm and a headshock. ‘Dale made the SV for a ridiculously long time and the one above is a later model, though not quite Leftie-late. As with all things, if you want practicalities, you’re probably better off with a later model, if you intend to race or ride hard regularly - the suspension just works better.

Size-wise, I think at 6’ you should be looking at a large, not a medium. I am 5’11 and ride mediums, but I traditionally tend to go for slightly smaller frames, when given the choice. Naturally the SV provides pretty good top tube clearance, seeing as there isn’t one, so, so long as reach is okay for you..

 

[warrior4life]

Thanks for that, a large it is. With racing I'm no expecting to be fast, more participating and also nothing too technical.
Prices on ebay are all over the place, from £100-£1000 with no discernible reason.
I'm in no rush at all so I'll see what comes up.
The only set in stone criteria I have is no disc brakes. I raced V's in the 90's and never had any problems. Seems a safe bet mechanically as well. I might even look at the Delta V.

 

[lukewheels]

I've got the 98 fr1000 with the moto fork. It rides really plush but not very xc. It is weird how dale doesn't get more respect in retro circles, I'm always drawn to them.

 

[BlackCat]

I’ve had a quick look on eBay. The bikes at the upper end (say c.£800), tend to be earlier SV 2000 types, with full polished frames and carbon swing arms… to my eye anyway, these are the most collectible from a retro perspective (though few people here seem to). The sine qua non of Super Vs must be the SV DH 4000… (or, in a fever dream, a Fulcrum), but these are rare as hell and hence expensive as hell - with DH focused collectors fighting over them. There is actually a DH 4000 frameset for sale at the min on eBay (but no sign of the Moto forks, Sachs discs, Magic Motorcycle cranks or other impossible to find but obligatory parts).

Late model SV 400s are always knocking around eBay at fair prices.. but, for me, the OG Super Vs are early (pre-v brake) models.

Still.. you pays your money..

 

[lukewheels]

 

[warrior4life]

Wow.

 

[Debiker]

I am certain you are too tall for the medium-my comparison is that I am 5'3", and the small SV500 is so very small that it fits me perfectly.

 

[hot chilli]

Keep away from the raised chainstay late Super V frames. (Same swingarm as found on some Jekyl frames.) The swingarm is bonded/glued together and they do crack. There were a number of different swingarm used on the Super V and if you like v brakes then it's still worth looking at the lower /middle level frames as these normally came with both brake bosses and disc tabs. The standard rear shocks were often nothing special so if you find one that's been upgraded it's normally because the owner has seen the light rather than the original has died.
Jekyl swingarms the non raised chain stay type can be worthwhile doing as you get more shock choices and some jekyl frames has v- bosses too.

 

[Vesatoro]

For racing I would suggest 1st generation Raven with Lefty/Headshok and disc brakes. I have one with Headshok and Avid v-brakes. Fine when it’s not wet…