OK. Bike now finished, so I thought I'd summarise my experiences, as I'm new to this lark. Hopefully it might be of interest to some other inexperienced retro MTB lovers.
The bike is a 1997 Cannondale F900 in Tangerine. I am guessing it's an L but haven't checked the serial numbers as it fits me fine. Frame, DD60 Headshok, stem and cranks bought on ebay from a chap who'd been running it as a singlespeed.
My second MTB as a teen was a 3.0 Cannondale, black with white speckle. Nothing after that gave me so much pleasure so I thought I'd try to rekindle some of that Cannondale feel. Not everybody's cup of tea, I know, but I love 'em.
I decided that top exotic spec wasn't for me, so plumped for a core of XT with a smattering of random bits. For price, availability and for me a nice clean look the M750 fitted the bill. Not the purist's choice, perhaps, but great for me, particularly as the bike came new with the predictable lowly STX & LX bits on it, plus CODA branded 'Dale items, often made by A N Other and rebranded.
I love the idea of sourcing bits on ebay & RB and building a bike - what could be more sustainable than that? Plus you get exactly what you want.
So, before I start thanking the people who've helped me here's a brief spec summary, with notes for each item where appropriate.
Frame:
F900 hardtail in tangerine. Wishbone stays, nice slope to top tube, fat main tubes. square chainstays. Paint has a lovely deep lustre and decals are 100%. Only quibbles are the odd scuff and bubble in the paint.
DD60 headshok & fork, rebounds & locks out perfectly.
Decided on mostly black bits with some silver, plus accents of gold & white. Some red crept in later in the process.
Wheels:
Built up new for this project, as I couldn't find a complete set in budget with the spec & look I wanted.
Mavic 317 black rims.
Sapim race spokes.
XT T-780 hubs.
Conti Race King 2.2" tyres.
They feel stiff and smooth.
Hope gold skewers.
Stem:
Black CODA OE item.
Bars:
X Lite riser bars in black. These are uncut and I suspect I'll shorten them to quicken up the steering a bit.
Brakes:
Magura HS33 'Olympia' special editions, with gold lever arms, boosters and red adjusters.
Sadly the boosters don't fit over my tyres, so rather than go for the EVO 2 I'm running them without.
The red adjustment wheel meant I could introduce a bit more red here and there to tie everything together visually.
Grips:
Happily I found some in period OE CODA grips on ebay, which tied in with the Maguras a treat.
Bar plugs:
Hope grip doctors, again in gold to match skewers.
Seat post:
Race Face Deus, lightly used off ebay. Great looking 27.2 x 400 pin with lovely quick adjustment mechanism. Gold & white branding also matches overall scheme.
Saddle:
Love this. From the US, it's loosely in period but up-spec from the original. It is in superb condition and all gold (!) badges are unworn. The side panels are in some kind of Alcantara fiabric. Love it.
Cranks:
OE 175mm CODA M300. Branding worn off.
Pedals:
Crank Bros 'Candy' in black, used off ebay. Running with the brass cleats. I find these SO easy to engage. They are brilliant.
Chainrings:
OE spec was compact, 22/32/42, 94BCD with a 58 granny.
Bought TA rings as a direct replacement. I put them on and the granny spacing was way out. It's now spaced off a few mm. In hindsight I should perhaps have gone for black.
Chain: HG93
Cassette:
M750, off ebay. 9spd.
Front mech:
M750, 34.9 shimmed down to 31.8. Bottom pull.
I overtightened the anchor nut but it's now been rescued by my LBS with a bigger diameter bolt.
Rear mech:
M750 long cage.
Shifters:
M750 rapidfire. I love these. Having experience of XC Pro thumbies, LX Rapidfire, SRT-800 Gripshift and road bikes rapidfire is still my favourite.
Top tube hydraulic cable mounts:
BBB, off ebay. About a tenner. hose is too thick to fit thro' cable guides.
Chainstay protector:
orange Lizard Skin. Was going for black for practicality but the orange was such a good match I couldn't resist it.
I THINK that's it.
So now to the thanks.
Thanks to Malcolm at cycleclinic in Suffolk, for building the wheels and sourcing parts. Exactly the kind of small indy bike shop I love to use. Reminds me of John Machin in Melton Mowbray (anybody?). I would recommend him to anybody in East Anglia. He's based near Cavendish, a lovely village spot for lunch or a country ride.
Recommend Grannie Gear ebay shop for components, he couldn't have been more helpful.
Thanks to Revel Outdoor in Newmarket for spacing the rings and bleeding the Maguras. I want to do this from now on. Revel are super helpful and I would definitely recommend them.
Thanks to Veedubba for the Maguras and Jussa for a bit of advice and for buying my XT skewers.
I think that's it. Here are some pics. The bike rides exactly as I had hoped. Quick, stiff and precise. I also like the look. It's just what I had in mind.
Next project when I move to a bigger house? Klein, no question.
Thanks for looking and sorry for the poor photos. My wife dropped my camera on the beach a couple of weeks back and the sand has killed it.
The bike is a 1997 Cannondale F900 in Tangerine. I am guessing it's an L but haven't checked the serial numbers as it fits me fine. Frame, DD60 Headshok, stem and cranks bought on ebay from a chap who'd been running it as a singlespeed.
My second MTB as a teen was a 3.0 Cannondale, black with white speckle. Nothing after that gave me so much pleasure so I thought I'd try to rekindle some of that Cannondale feel. Not everybody's cup of tea, I know, but I love 'em.
I decided that top exotic spec wasn't for me, so plumped for a core of XT with a smattering of random bits. For price, availability and for me a nice clean look the M750 fitted the bill. Not the purist's choice, perhaps, but great for me, particularly as the bike came new with the predictable lowly STX & LX bits on it, plus CODA branded 'Dale items, often made by A N Other and rebranded.
I love the idea of sourcing bits on ebay & RB and building a bike - what could be more sustainable than that? Plus you get exactly what you want.
So, before I start thanking the people who've helped me here's a brief spec summary, with notes for each item where appropriate.
Frame:
F900 hardtail in tangerine. Wishbone stays, nice slope to top tube, fat main tubes. square chainstays. Paint has a lovely deep lustre and decals are 100%. Only quibbles are the odd scuff and bubble in the paint.
DD60 headshok & fork, rebounds & locks out perfectly.
Decided on mostly black bits with some silver, plus accents of gold & white. Some red crept in later in the process.
Wheels:
Built up new for this project, as I couldn't find a complete set in budget with the spec & look I wanted.
Mavic 317 black rims.
Sapim race spokes.
XT T-780 hubs.
Conti Race King 2.2" tyres.
They feel stiff and smooth.
Hope gold skewers.
Stem:
Black CODA OE item.
Bars:
X Lite riser bars in black. These are uncut and I suspect I'll shorten them to quicken up the steering a bit.
Brakes:
Magura HS33 'Olympia' special editions, with gold lever arms, boosters and red adjusters.
Sadly the boosters don't fit over my tyres, so rather than go for the EVO 2 I'm running them without.
The red adjustment wheel meant I could introduce a bit more red here and there to tie everything together visually.
Grips:
Happily I found some in period OE CODA grips on ebay, which tied in with the Maguras a treat.
Bar plugs:
Hope grip doctors, again in gold to match skewers.
Seat post:
Race Face Deus, lightly used off ebay. Great looking 27.2 x 400 pin with lovely quick adjustment mechanism. Gold & white branding also matches overall scheme.
Saddle:
Love this. From the US, it's loosely in period but up-spec from the original. It is in superb condition and all gold (!) badges are unworn. The side panels are in some kind of Alcantara fiabric. Love it.
Cranks:
OE 175mm CODA M300. Branding worn off.
Pedals:
Crank Bros 'Candy' in black, used off ebay. Running with the brass cleats. I find these SO easy to engage. They are brilliant.
Chainrings:
OE spec was compact, 22/32/42, 94BCD with a 58 granny.
Bought TA rings as a direct replacement. I put them on and the granny spacing was way out. It's now spaced off a few mm. In hindsight I should perhaps have gone for black.
Chain: HG93
Cassette:
M750, off ebay. 9spd.
Front mech:
M750, 34.9 shimmed down to 31.8. Bottom pull.
I overtightened the anchor nut but it's now been rescued by my LBS with a bigger diameter bolt.
Rear mech:
M750 long cage.
Shifters:
M750 rapidfire. I love these. Having experience of XC Pro thumbies, LX Rapidfire, SRT-800 Gripshift and road bikes rapidfire is still my favourite.
Top tube hydraulic cable mounts:
BBB, off ebay. About a tenner. hose is too thick to fit thro' cable guides.
Chainstay protector:
orange Lizard Skin. Was going for black for practicality but the orange was such a good match I couldn't resist it.
I THINK that's it.
So now to the thanks.
Thanks to Malcolm at cycleclinic in Suffolk, for building the wheels and sourcing parts. Exactly the kind of small indy bike shop I love to use. Reminds me of John Machin in Melton Mowbray (anybody?). I would recommend him to anybody in East Anglia. He's based near Cavendish, a lovely village spot for lunch or a country ride.
Recommend Grannie Gear ebay shop for components, he couldn't have been more helpful.
Thanks to Revel Outdoor in Newmarket for spacing the rings and bleeding the Maguras. I want to do this from now on. Revel are super helpful and I would definitely recommend them.
Thanks to Veedubba for the Maguras and Jussa for a bit of advice and for buying my XT skewers.
I think that's it. Here are some pics. The bike rides exactly as I had hoped. Quick, stiff and precise. I also like the look. It's just what I had in mind.
Next project when I move to a bigger house? Klein, no question.
Thanks for looking and sorry for the poor photos. My wife dropped my camera on the beach a couple of weeks back and the sand has killed it.
