My new old bike

[El Lobo]

I found this 1989 Cannondale SM2000 mountain bike on Craigslist. It is in pretty decent shape for a 20+ year old bike. I am setting it up for commuting to work.

First, I traded out the old pedals for a newer pair that I had in my "bike box". Then I swapped the old seat for a new one from WTB. I also added a Planet Bike LED headlight and a pair of clip-on Planet Bike fenders.

The knobby tires that came with the bike were pretty worn so I got a pair of Forte' Gothams from Performance Bike. It has been a lot of fun working on this bike and I look forward to putting some miles on it very soon.

Here is a picture of my new old bike as purchased. I will post an updated picture when I get it all set up for commuting.

Take care.

Lobo

[Bill]

Very nice find. Your correct for bike that age it looks well taken care of!

[Alex Ramon]

Nice ride... Cannondales from that era are great bikes!

[JonB]

Yeah, very good find.

From the condition alone it only looks a few years old, it's very well hiding it's age.
Look forward to seeing the finished bike!

[hcjg1]

thanks for checking out my ride. i like your old skool cannondale too. check out retrobike.co.uk i think you would like it. i'm also a retro guy myself check out my marin also. that cannondale looks perfect looks like an ideal base for restoring back to its former glory. old skool rule. mate.

[El Lobo]

(02-05-2010, 05:10 PM)hcjg1 Wrote:  thanks for checking out my ride. i like your old skool cannondale too. check out retrobike.co.uk i think you would like it. i'm also a retro guy myself check out my marin also. that cannondale looks perfect looks like an ideal base for restoring back to its former glory. old skool rule. mate.

Your bike is a work of art. It is really well done. I think of mine as more of a workhorse. I didn't want to pay a bunch of money for a theft magnet so I got it used at a good price. It is in decent but by no means perfect shape. It has a fairly deep scratch in the top tube, the inner side of the chain stay has lost most of its paint and the paint in general has a few dings and scratches. It is a good base to work from, though. Eventually I may have the frame powder coated a nice dark matte grey and the forks and stem done up in shiny black. That is a while off though. Right now I just want to get it all set up and get riding!

Lobo

[jr14]

Powder coating a commuter? Big bucks. My solution? K to the R to the YLON.

Nice bike. I had a similar Cannondale back in the day. Beat the crap out of that bike till I FINALLY busted the frame. Took a LOT of abuse to do it though. That thing will last you a LONG time commuting.

(Oh, and by the way, lock that thing up good, because no matter what you do to the paint, a good bike thief will recognize quality and take your bike. Keep it as long as possible.)

[El Lobo]

Thanks for the sage advice. Powder coating is just an idea at this point. For the time being, I will get a couple of tubes of generic touch-up paint at my local auto parts store to deal with the biggest chips and scratches. Luckily it is black and white so matching should not be too difficult. I can even take the bike into the store. Try that with a Ford Taurus!

My boss okayed me storing the bike indoors at work. She is a big time bike commuter and hangs her bike on the wall of her office.

Well, I better get back to work. I want to get the new tires on before dinner.

Ride on.
Lobo