‘92 Cannondale Delta V 1000 / The Race Bike

[MSYT]

I own way too many bikes already but this popped up and I though… ‘Ah… new race bike!’

So I bought it after a bit of negotiation with the seller. The story goes he used to race on Cannondale back in the day and the Delta V was his race bike… but not this one. This one was a ‘spare’ and was imported from the US as apparently they were extremely hard to get parts for. A year (or two) later though he began racing in the Super V so this went in to retirement.

It’s clearly not original anymore. The LX drivetrain, Deore rear wheel, Risse shock, XT front mech and saddle. They’ll all go. I have a Suntour XC Pro group sitting around doing nothing so I though this might be a good frame for it all to hang on along with a pair of Rider T1s and a Flite.

Then it can become my retro race bike. I’ll still be slow but at least it’ll be comfier than full rigid.

 

[Thias]

That Risse shock sure is interesting! I've never seen a CD with one of these! Is it maybe even custom made? I'd absolutely leave that one.

 

[MSYT]

That Risse shock sure is interesting! I've never seen a CD with one of these! Is it maybe even custom made? I'd absolutely leave that one.

I'm not 100% clear on the history of that part. The previous owner just mentioned how it had been installed with the valve in a terrible position so you can actually access it to pump it up in the frame. I'm guessing it was done before him but either way... it has zero pressure in it at the moment and gurgles/farts when I compress it. It needs a rebuild!

 

[MSYT]

Bit of an update.

Got to working on the bike over the weekend, leaving it way too late. It came apart nicely although I seem to have lost the tip to my crank extractor so that’s something else to order..

The LX rear looks like it’s taken a whack and the pin has gone missing as well as part of the lug to hold the pin back. Might be one for the parts bin.

Suntour XC brakes are currently soaking in Evaporust to clean them up a bit… but maybe I put XT on? I’m going XT everything else instead of XC sport just to make things easier with changing cassettes.

I think the only other thing I found was the rear triangle pivot is held in with a 5.5mm Allen key… or a 7/32. Haven’t checked with the imperial yet. With it being a US frame I do wonder if it is imperial.

Oh and the Risse shock. I bought a rebuild kit and some extra tools. They’ve all arrived so fingers crossed I can get that shock running!

 

[MSYT]

Oh look who’s out of storage



With the Cannock Chase Summer Classic at the weekend I thought I’d try and get this running. Over the last year or so I’ve collected the Suntour XC Comp group, bought a service kit for the Risse and then… well done nothing until today.

Frames and fork are chipped but I’ve given it a good scrub down, T Cut, second polish, and then Ceramic spray. It has a bunch of silver blue speckles over the frame so I’m not sure if that’s overspray or if it’s factory… but looks like overspray.



Everything went on great. Apart from the brakes. The nut on the cable clamp for the Suntou brakes is threaded somehow so I’ve stuck a nyloc M5 on there. Then there’s the whole Force 40 that I’ve never worked on before so not sure how they balance out. I’ll do some reading and work it out tomorrow.



Risse didn’t get serviced because I forgot to get oil but I have filled it with air to see if it holds. I do need new bolts in there because there’s some play between the shock eye and bolt so it clangs around a bit.



Headshok also didn’t get opened yet because I need to do more reading and maybe get new bearings for it too.

Pivot bearings are forever holding their secrets because the 5.5mm Allen bolts will not budge at all!

Apart from that… almost there. Hopefully I can work the brakes out tomorrow. The shock holds air and I can give it a test ride to see if the Suntour cassette is still any good. If it isn’t… it’s going to have to be a Shimano wheel for now.

 

[clubby]

If the Headshok isn’t too bad, I’d leave it be. Needs a specialist castle tool to remove the inners and there are a few varieties depending on year. The elastomer in mine was toast and it took 6 months to find the tool and that cost me £30. Was worth it as I replaced mine with a combo coil and elastomer spring. Worked pretty well considering it was only 50mm travel.

Force 40 are pretty easy once you figure them out and give V brake power from cantilevers. These are the instructions I used.

https://vintagecannondale.com/tech/Force40Plus.pdf

 

[MSYT]

If the Headshok isn’t too bad, I’d leave it be. Needs a specialist castle tool to remove the inners and there are a few varieties depending on year. The elastomer in mine was toast and it took 6 months to find the tool and that cost me £30. Was worth it as I replaced mine with a combo coil and elastomer spring. Worked pretty well considering it was only 50mm travel.

Force 40 are pretty easy once you figure them out and give V brake power from cantilevers. These are the instructions I used.

https://vintagecannondale.com/tech/Force40Plus.pdf

I was reading that guide as you posted it And you’re right! Once you get the idea of how they work they’re simple! I did need to pull them apart and line them up to get it working properly but it’s done now, no brake squeal, nice and strong braking, yeah really happy with them.

I don’t think I will pull apart the Headshok any time soon but I’ll definitely have a go at the Risse. It does leak some air but it’s useable.

Great riding bike though. Very smooth along the canals and round the country park. I’m getting a little pedal kick back when the rear suspension flexes and I’m pedaling but I’m pretty sure I have the chain spot on. Any longer and it’d be rubbing on the cage/jockey wheels in some gears!

 

[clubby]

I’m getting a little pedal kick back when the rear suspension flexes and I’m pedaling but I’m pretty sure I have the chain spot on. Any longer and it’d be rubbing on the cage/jockey wheels in some gears!

That’s just a characteristic of such a high main pivot. Most modern designs have the main pivot in line with chainring so it’s more pedal neutral. High pivot has made a bit of a comeback, especially in DH racing but most use an idler pulley at the pivot to stop the kickback.

 

[MSYT]

Apparently I only took one pic today but here it is before the race!

I ‘just’ missed out on the podium.

Fourth!

Best result yet!



I mean there were only 4 riders in the retro category but fourth sounds better than last

Ok so considering it was the second ride out I did find out a few more things. The gears aren’t 100% happy because of the wear on the old Suntour cassette. There were a good few times I had to change gear to stop it slipping. Also front derailleur needs slight adjustment because it wasn’t liking dropping down in to the granny ring!

Rear shock actually seems to hold air and work pretty well. Headshok on the other hand might not be. Admittedly it’s something I completely overlooked but it had zero pressure after the race and was knocking like crazy. Hope I didn’t damage it!

Does anyone know what sort of pressure a 92 model Headshok should be running??

 

[MSYT]

That’s just a characteristic of such a high main pivot. Most modern designs have the main pivot in line with chainring so it’s more pedal neutral. High pivot has made a bit of a comeback, especially in DH racing but most use an idler pulley at the pivot to stop the kickback.

Figured as much! I did wonder if it was just down to the design.