S
Street Wolf
Guest
I just picked this up for a little of nothing, what model is it?
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
This is one of my favorite games. :bike_rider:
That looks to be a pretty original Cannondale M800. It has a first generation Pepperoni fork. It looks like the original Dia Compe brake levers with the little rubber boots. The rear dropouts are the "cantilever" dropouts that I think are from about '89-92. I'd guess this is from '90 or '91. Are those Araya or Matrix rims. Looks like a Matrix sticker on the front.
That looks to be a pretty original Cannondale M800. It has a first generation Pepperoni fork. It looks like the original Dia Compe brake levers with the little rubber boots. The rear dropouts are the "cantilever" dropouts that I think are from about '89-92. I'd guess this is from '90 or '91. Are those Araya or Matrix rims. Looks like a Matrix sticker on the front.
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Street Wolf
Guest
I'm going to take it out to the lake in a few minutes, I'll take note of the names on it and let you know. :sombrero:
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
Giving it a second look, it is definitely a 1990 SM800. The color is the tricky part as it has been stripped. Very common back in "the day" to strip your aluminum bike to raw metal. The wheels don't appear to be original, or at least the rims. It should be Deore DX.
That was a very popular bike at the time. The SM1000 was the everyman's mid to high end. The SM2000 and later the M2000 bikes were the cream of the crop for hardtails. The SM800 and M800 as it was later called was a very affordable bike. That Pepparoni fork was a brute. When they eventually moved to 1x1/4 headtubes, that fork was a stiff jackhammer. Ouch.
Cool bike.
That was a very popular bike at the time. The SM1000 was the everyman's mid to high end. The SM2000 and later the M2000 bikes were the cream of the crop for hardtails. The SM800 and M800 as it was later called was a very affordable bike. That Pepparoni fork was a brute. When they eventually moved to 1x1/4 headtubes, that fork was a stiff jackhammer. Ouch.
Cool bike.
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Street Wolf
Guest
Awesome, thanks. I certainly wouldn't of been able to figure that out on my own. Replacing the fork is already in the plans, don't worry. :sombrero:
Also, the wheels are indeed Matrix.
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
The Beast of the East moniker originally only applied to the mountain bikes produced by Cannondale with the 24" rear wheel and the 26" front wheel. There were three such models available in 1985. In 1986 I think they introduced a couple 26/26 models and by 1987 only the SM600 was a 24/26 "Beast" frame. For the years after only those 24/26 frames were called Beast of the East frames, I think because that was the easiest way to identify them. Working for a C'dale dealer in the 80s, guys would refer to a Beast frame and we all knew they were talking about 24/26 frames.
For some reason, the "Beast of the East" moniker started to creep back into the scene as a general reference for Cannondales, which to many of us was erroneous. There is only one true "Beast of the East" and that's a 24/26 frame.
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
By the way - I'm wrong again. That's a Cannondale SM800 from 1990. No doubt. I didn't look very close. I can't see the components, but they should all be 7 speed Shimano Deore LX. The cranks should be first gen BioPace. The stem is a giveaway as it's a Tioga T-bone.
It has been stripped, but I'd bet my last buck it's a 1990 SM800.
It has been stripped, but I'd bet my last buck it's a 1990 SM800.
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DaveInDenver
Middle Income Semi-Redneck
Sure looks like SIS thumbs and I would not bet against those being early DX front cantis, so you are probably right on.
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
The wheels were throwing me. Matrix was a house brand for Trek at that time and shortly after.
Don't bother replacing the fork. Ride it as is. It will be a huge headache to find a fork, if you can, and it will set you back no less than $300. This is a cool bike, but ride it as-is. That 7speed rear spacing will prohibit updating it to current 9 speed systems.
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
I worked for a shop in Fort Collins that sold boat loads of these bikes. There's a few things on there that aren't consistant with Cannondales of that time, but it looks relatively complete and original. Those shifters are probably the regular "Deore" model that was often paired with LX and DX at that time.
All I know is I must have replaced a thousand of those cheesy plastic cable guides every season at the shop. Looks like Street's bike could use new cable guides.
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Street Wolf
Guest
I worked for a shop in Fort Collins that sold boat loads of these bikes. There's a few things on there that aren't consistant with Cannondales of that time, but it looks relatively complete and original. Those shifters are probably the regular "Deore" model that was often paired with LX and DX at that time.
All I know is I must have replaced a thousand of those cheesy plastic cable guides every season at the shop. Looks like Street's bike could use new cable guides.
Once again, thanks Flounder. It's going to get a few 'tweaks' and adjustments here and there. Perhaps nothing as extreme as replacing the forks now that I have your opinion on it, but cable guides are certainly on the list. :sombrero: