Dark Angel, the bike she rode in the series

channel flicking and noticed Dark Angel, used to watch it years ago . . . . mmmmm . . . . jessica alba, but anyway i digress.

her bike in the series, a Cannondale, it always annoyed me that it had miss matched wheels. why only use a front spinergy?

i need to have words with james cameron.

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It was supposed to be a mash-up of parts built in the post-apocalyptic world, hence the different wheels.
You see a lot of similar setups among fixies here. I love Jessica, but she has a lot to answer for.

Still, I wouldn't mind building a replica of that bike, if only I found out what it is. According to some Dark Angel fan who claims he called Cannondale it's a 2001 Bad Boy Ultra, but those had discs instead of Vees. I also think it has 26" wheels as opposed to the Bad boy's 700c ones.

Perhaps I should check the DVDs for better footage of it. I know the frame tubes were all covered in black tape, so no markings to be found anywhere.

I always heard it was a 2001 Specialized P3

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no defo a cannondale as it has a headshock on it, personally i think it was an F??? (whatever number) just with a changed front wheel but miss matched wheels is just one of my many no no rules! the badboy was available in 26" wheel though originally but i think it had a rigid fork, remember that cannondale usually had 2 colour options on most models so i'm sure there was an f600/f800/f1000 that would have been available around 1999/2000 when the series started filming

i wouldn't specifically blame the lovely jessica alba for miss matched fixie riders wheels across the planet though!

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ok, bored and can't sleep!

looking at old cannondale catalogues on vintage cannondale, for 1999 cannondale has 2 catalogues for that year model, looking at them it suggests these models as options:-

possibly 1999 f300, the description is right regarding brakes and colour and headshock but the catalogue doesn't have a proper photo, scroll to page 18, cannondale also specced some spinergy wheels that year

http://vintagecannondale.com/year/1999/1999V1.pdf

another option would be the 1999 f400, catalogue 2, there is a picture of the bike but it's in the other colour option, also the chainset is the wrong colour but the v brakes are silver which is correct to the picture in my first post, scroll to page 32

http://vintagecannondale.com/year/1999/1999V2.pdf

the other thing that makes me think it's these models is that the pic in my first post the bike looks like it has a "Pbone" as opposed to a "fatty" fork.

but my main suggestion would be the year 2000 F400, it has the correct chainset colour, correct v brake colour, has a pbone headshock fork, available in black, would have been available in 1999 when the series commenced filming, page 23 of the catalogue, and yes i know they show a bike being raced next to it that is a "SOBE" race bike with a fatty headshock but remember the F400 would have been a replica race bike hence the pbone fork as opposed to the fatty fork in the race pic.

so i think it's this one but in black option:-

http://vintagecannondale.com/year/2000/2000.pdf


thoughts?

p.s yes i know i'm a bit sad :facepalm:

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You think you're sad? I was quickly browsing through the episodes most of the night. :facepalm:

At first it appeared that they only used the Dale after season 2 episode 4 (she totals her bike there), but I also see her riding a black headshock-equipped bike in season 1.

They used multiple Dales though, even in the same episode. Silver brakes, black brakes, lots of tape on the handlebar, less tape, etc.


black V brakes, chrome Cannondale badge on the headtube.


silver V brakes, no badge. Also note the very shiny adjusters at the levers. the ones in the pic above are much more dull.
Also more tape around the handlebar than you'd think the first one has. And ... eww ... grip shifts.


Side view. Looks like an F-type seatstay indeed, all the way from the wishbone down to the way it sticks out over the axle.

As for the size, my Scott is 16" C-C and it looks like my seat tube - top tube intersection is a bit higher up than the Dark Angel bike. I'm thinking that the Dale is a 14" C-C or thereabout.
Cannondale mostly worked with S, M, L, X sizing in that era, except for the F300 which was available in 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22". I think that's C-C because 14" C-T would be a bit silly.

The pilot was first aired in October 2000, which would put the recording in late 1999 to early 2000. So the 1999 catalogs are the place to start indeed.
However Cannondale only had gloss black color options, but the bike certainly isn't gloss black. I'm thinking they took a new bike and repainted it matte black to begin with. That puts the 1999 F500 (2nd catalog) in the running as well, especially since it has a black crankset as stock.
Then again the F400 has SRAM Centera grip shifts, whereas the F500 has Alivio rapidfires. You may be right about the '99 F400.

I can't help but feeling that something is off about those seatstays. On the Dark Angel bike they seem to go straight until behind the rear axle, whereas in the 2000 catalog the F400's dropouts point downwards more starting from before the axle. To me that almost excludes that bike.

I'll go through the entire series more thoroughly this weekend and see what other screenshots I can come up with. Luckily I have the DVDs and had already ripped them at 1:1 quality, so it shouldn't be too hard to get the best possible pics.
For being such a famous bike, it really isn't that well documented and doesn't appear in the show that often either.

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bloody hell Xav i thought i was bad but you're too far gone to save!!!

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No need to save me, at least not from Jessica.

I guess it's time to put some stuff up for sale then to fund a Dale.