1988 C'dale SM600 - botm

[24pouces]

So, after the vote, the story of this bike.

We are in september of 1988. It's the first day of school after the summer hollydays. I'm 17 years old and I'm talking with a friend. He says to me : A bicycle shop has just open. He has mountain bikes…
-mountain bikes ?
- yes, and if you see the prices ! they have a bike which cost 7000 francs !!!
-7000 francs ? They are crazy !
So, later, we go to this shop, and I met this so expensive bike : the bike is black with very big tubes : "it's aluminum, it's very light !". The geometry changes from the mountain bikes we can find everywhere : the bike seems a BMX ! And, it's funny this little rear wheel !
- Do you want to try it ?
-Yeeeeeeeeesssss !!!!!!
And this day, I fall in love.
This bike was the first cannondale I saw. It was the bike of the wife's boss.


We are in february 2006. I'm in the town wherre I was in school 18 years earlier. The shop has grown and it's one of the bigger bike shop in the south of France. I visit him and I met the wife of the boss…
- … and do you still have your cannondale with the 24" rear wheel ?
- I have sold it a long time ago. But, the buyer was my neighbor/ I can ask to him if he still has it…

One week later, my phone rings : it's the neighbor :
-Yes, I still have this C'dale. If you want it, I'm open to sale it !!

So, here's the bike I recover in a dark garage :

• 
  Frame : SM "alpine" cannondale alu, size 18"
  Fork : tange Chromoly (original)
  Rims : anodized rim Araya RM20, Sansin offroad hubs,(original) tires : wolber chamonix (évolution)
  crank : Suntour XCD 6000 28/38/48
  Free hub : Suntour 14-16-18-21-34-30
  rear mecht : Shimano altus C20 (not original)
  BB : Sugino
  Front mecht : Suntour XCD 6000
  Shifters : suntour XCD 6000
  Bar : ?
  stem: ITM (not the nitto)
  Headset Tange seiki Falcon
  brakes : rear :U brake dia compe , front : shimano STX (not original)
  Brakes levers :Shimano Altus C20 (not original )
  Saddle : Vetta anatomic

Details…






The catalog picture

So happy to have find this bike and in a good shape, I don't wait any more for riding it…

And, the beginning of the restoration :
buiding new wheels (the original were dead) :

drawing new decals :

finding shifter-brakes levers combo suntour XCD :

for doing that :

(sorry for the last pictures : the only day I could take them for the BOTM was a very rainy day. So, I shooted the bike in the garage)



But, the story is far from the end…

 

[Martin]

Great to see how things go, love stories like these!

And the bike off course..

 

[saltyman]

wow, its great to hear you actually got to own the exact bike of your dreams!

 

[Augustus]

Glad you got your dream bike.

very cool bike, i always wanted one. had to make do with the catalogue.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

cool story! nice bike! looking forward to see some progress.

 

[utahdog2003]

That is a great story. Now if I'd known the back story, I may have voted for the Can-o-snails over the Marin, despite the Mavic hubs!

Again, a great story.

 

[24pouces]

Thanks, but I prefered to not write this post, before the end of the BOTM.
The rules say that we have to show only 2 pictures of the bike

The story is only the cherry on the cake

So, the difference between the bike I owned and the bike shown for the BOTM :

• 
  Frame : SM "alpine" cannondale alu, size 18"
  Fork : tange Chromoly (original)
  Rims : mavic anodized front, Bontrager Mack 24" rear with the mavic ParisGaoDakar hubs (offered). I really wanted quality wheels for appreciating the bike tires : wolber chamonix (évolution)
  crank : Suntour XCD 6000 28/38/48
  Free hub : Suntour 14-16-18-21-34-30
  rear mecht : I have found a rear suntour XCD
  BB : Sugino
  Front mecht : Suntour XCD 6000
  Shifters : suntour XCD 6000
  Bar : ?
  stem: ITM (not the nitto)
  Headset Tange seiki Falcon
  brakes : rear :U brake dia compe , front : suntour XC 9000 (but I have a pair of suntour XCD)
  Brakes levers and shifter :combo suntour XCD. On the catalog, the brake levers were the very strange diacompe AD290 )
  Saddle : now, a black old turbo. I changed the original seatpost for a black kalloy with the same design. And, a hite-rite

I didn't respray it. It was the first idea, but I gived up : I couldn't make the decals with the same quality of original.
I've got a nitto stem, as the catalog, but it was an upgrade of the first owner, and the ITM is not so bad on this bike. When I remember the first time I saw a cannondale, it was all black, only the brand logo in gold or red

 

[24pouces]

I have find this picture…
This 2 bikes were Botm
The green 86 SM700 was Botm (tied with the Kev's Roberts) in december 2007 and the black, this month. 24" give me luck !!!

(please, don't look this picture if you are eating )

 

[slimjoe]

Cool

A job well done fella

I really dig that XCD stuff! Would love to find a mint XCD chainset

 

[24pouces]

I had to clean the crank because it had some scuffs…. But it was originaly paint in dark grey (like the picture of the catalog). But I need to respray it with a very strong paint (I would destroy it so quickly…)

The catalog picture of the original Dia compe brake lever