Inspired by a few other polished cannondale's on here lately, I decided to start a project of my own. My goal was to build an ultimate urban trail rider to tear up the neighborhood trails with the kids.
First, I picked up a V500 on the local craigslist. I've always loved the uncommon looks of the V cannondales and alpine stars. Here's a representative original photo of the V500 I picked up for $100 (except for the thompson post and saddle.)
I merged this bike with the parts remaining from a 1993 Marin Eldridge Grade which was a mix of XT and DX. I'm mainly a roadie, so this bike always had the feel of a monster cross and turned out to be almost a monstercross but with standard MTB bars.
I went with a '93 DX derailleur, which was quite small. Actually it's almost a road derailleur. After putting this on and realizing how similar it was to Shimano road products, I almost switched it for a 7700 series dura ace derailleur but I wasn't sure about using an 8sp chain on the 7700 so for now I am using this. The cassette is 7sp., 12-28.
Up front, I went with the XT square taper crankset from my '93 Marin. This crankset set VERY close to the frame. I took off the inside ring before installing it, but I doubt the inside ring would have fit anyway. I really can't tell the difference between this crank and say a road ultegra setup. Unfortunately the DX front deraileur didn't fit, so I dug around and found a NOS Dura Ace 7700 derailleur ready for action.
Digging around my garage, I recycled cables(hence the mixed colors), brake calipers (from '93 Marin), and tires. Coda parts came original on the Cannondale.
Back
Mavic hoops with LX Hubs holding a 7sp 12-28.
I picked up these grips cheap at a swap meet, but had trouble with them interfering with the shifters so a sanding wheel took care of that.
To finish it off with a touch of class, it gets a Campy Record cap to go with its' NOS dura ace derailleur.
Finally, here's the semi-finished product, I still need to order reproduction stickers for it, but it's still pretty sweet as it is. Finished with the same Thompson post and saddle that just happened to be attached to that post. Might dig up a new saddle as this one is a little too minimal.
I wanted to do this on the cheap, and total investment is $130 US for the bike, a new chain, pedals and grips, all other parts were already in my garage. I'm a roadie at heart, and had really considered making this a monster cross, and I still might. I just need the right set of road bars to make it a go as I have a set of ultegra 9sp shifters, 9sp dura ace deraileur, 9sp cassette, etc to make it happen. The polish job wasn't perfect but it looks great from 5 feet away. This was a fun project and I'm happy to add it to my stable of bikes. Now I just need to get the kids of training wheels so they can ride with me.
First, I picked up a V500 on the local craigslist. I've always loved the uncommon looks of the V cannondales and alpine stars. Here's a representative original photo of the V500 I picked up for $100 (except for the thompson post and saddle.)
I merged this bike with the parts remaining from a 1993 Marin Eldridge Grade which was a mix of XT and DX. I'm mainly a roadie, so this bike always had the feel of a monster cross and turned out to be almost a monstercross but with standard MTB bars.
I went with a '93 DX derailleur, which was quite small. Actually it's almost a road derailleur. After putting this on and realizing how similar it was to Shimano road products, I almost switched it for a 7700 series dura ace derailleur but I wasn't sure about using an 8sp chain on the 7700 so for now I am using this. The cassette is 7sp., 12-28.
Up front, I went with the XT square taper crankset from my '93 Marin. This crankset set VERY close to the frame. I took off the inside ring before installing it, but I doubt the inside ring would have fit anyway. I really can't tell the difference between this crank and say a road ultegra setup. Unfortunately the DX front deraileur didn't fit, so I dug around and found a NOS Dura Ace 7700 derailleur ready for action.
Digging around my garage, I recycled cables(hence the mixed colors), brake calipers (from '93 Marin), and tires. Coda parts came original on the Cannondale.
Back
Mavic hoops with LX Hubs holding a 7sp 12-28.
I picked up these grips cheap at a swap meet, but had trouble with them interfering with the shifters so a sanding wheel took care of that.
To finish it off with a touch of class, it gets a Campy Record cap to go with its' NOS dura ace derailleur.
Finally, here's the semi-finished product, I still need to order reproduction stickers for it, but it's still pretty sweet as it is. Finished with the same Thompson post and saddle that just happened to be attached to that post. Might dig up a new saddle as this one is a little too minimal.
I wanted to do this on the cheap, and total investment is $130 US for the bike, a new chain, pedals and grips, all other parts were already in my garage. I'm a roadie at heart, and had really considered making this a monster cross, and I still might. I just need the right set of road bars to make it a go as I have a set of ultegra 9sp shifters, 9sp dura ace deraileur, 9sp cassette, etc to make it happen. The polish job wasn't perfect but it looks great from 5 feet away. This was a fun project and I'm happy to add it to my stable of bikes. Now I just need to get the kids of training wheels so they can ride with me.
