What Mathias says is right about older Cannondales with cro-mo forks. I also had a T600 Cannondale that I bought in 1988 for about $650-700 - red 18-speed with half-step gearing with a Biopace(remember those?) Deore crank...bike was a mix of 600 and Deore. It was a fine touring bike that also rode well unloaded; quick enough and actually a lot more fun and chill than the Rossin with Campy SR that was my go-fast...which I hardly rode after I got that Cannondale. The Rossin I sold on without a tinge of regret. Loaded touring, centuries , fast club rides...it was a great bike...until I fell in love with a 93 X0-1...which over 50 miles in my fitter youth, I didn't like as much as the Cannondale, if I'm honest.
On Saturday, August 5, 2023 at 9:38:38 PM UTC-5 mathiass...@gmail.com wrote: > Hi Alan, > > I have a habit of taking in a stray bike every year, usually in the fall, > and then make it my baby for the following season. Living in Michigan, > that's a sound approach with plenty of time for the rehabilitation. My > tastes run to the old and cheap, but maybe I can offer some perspective for > your question. > > In 2021, that bike was a 1997 Cannondale R200 Criterium bike. Look up > "harsh aluminum" on wikipedia, and there'll be a picture of it. Quick > handling, maximum tire size 28 mm [GP5000, 26 mm actual] and there was a > 16th of an inch gap at the seat tube. I liked riding it, and with a > Technomic stem I found it comfortable, but if you rode over a coin in the > road, you could tell whether it was heads or tails. Last year's bike was, a > 1987 Cannondale ST600 that I got as a frame set from a friend on > bikeforums. Fantastic riding sport touring bike, no vices, quick-enough > handling but not nervous, and with 32 mm GP5000s, 30 mm actual, a fine > ride. It has a classic steel fork with a proper crown, I'm guessing that > helps. It's not harsh at all, and dirt-road capable so long as there's no > deep sand or gravel. This year I'm riding a 1981 Motobécane Grand Touring, > light-weight Vitus tubing, 27x1-1/4 Paselas, also 30 mm actual width, and > it rides just like the ST, only it looks better doing it. The ST is at best > 1 mph faster on my timed rides, but those Contis are low-rolling-resistance > tires. I don't believe I'm wasting energy anywhere else on my bicycles. > > Finally, my Forever Bike is a '95 Cannondale T400 -- so I'm partial to > 'dales, what of it? -- that I bought new. It's shod with 700x35c Paselas > measuring 36 mm and I run them in the 40s. That bike is not harsh at all > the way it is set up, and it's my go-to ride for mixed roads. When the > things being pushed around by a frame are the rubber tires below and my > ample hind quarters above, there is no difference in "give" between a > triangle made from steel vs. aluminum tubes. I will say that any kind of > rattle, like from the pannier hooks on the racki, sounds nasty on a > big-tube aluminum frame. Maybe that's where the myth of the "harsh riding" > aluminum frames comes from. > > "Comfy aluminum" really does exist. Look for a frame with a geometry that > suits your riding and with room for the kind of tire you like. Problem > solved. Aluminum will never look as korrekt as steel does, but that wasn't > what you had asked. Please let us know what you find in your travels... my > foray into different bikes has mostly taught me what I'd read before.. it's > hard to build a bad bicycle. > > cheers -mathias > > On Monday, July 24, 2023 at 5:02:56 PM UTC-4 alan lavine wrote: > >> Haven’t ridden aluminum in many years, it always beat me up. But >> technology improves and maybe there’s something new I don’t know about. So >> is “comfy aluminum “ an oxymoron or can it really exist? Interested in your >> thoughts and experiences, >> Alan nyc >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e866ff7b-567a-4b69-8dcc-ac7212c80b57n%40googlegroups.com.
