Cannondale Stems

SUPER RIDER

Hello Guys, If one were to use the adapter rings in bringing an inch and a quarter steerer tube to an inch and an eight, would that also entail using a new headset altogether?

By the way, Sam is right, I do not think one wants to mess with the geometry of the Killer V900 by installing a suspension fork on it.

The bike as it is (with the rigid fork) handles like a charm. Why ruin things with a suspension fork?

Regards to all,

Lucas

tyler_derden

Here are two more head tube adapters:
Pricepoint

Universal

TD

__________________
"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

SUPER RIDER

Hello Tyler, thank you very much for your replies to my posts. I have been fortunate to find an inch and a quarter stem from a supplier in California. I have now used the 120mm; 30^ rise stem in conjunction with a short rise riser bar to get a good fit. The fit I have now seems to have eliminated my back aches.

Once again, thanks.

Regards, Lucas

sssamcz

Hi Lucas,

Glad things have all worked out well for you!! If you were to use the head tube adapters yes, you would need a completely new headset as well as stem and fork (or at least fork steerer).

Sam

SUPER RIDER

Hello Sam, It sure is good to hear from you again. Let me keep you up to date as to how my Cannondale issue worked out.

Firstly, I was able to find a 120mm;30^ stem, which I then combined with a short-rise riser bar. This combo was then installed on the Cannondale.

Secondly, In the meantime, while waiting to put the combo together, I had taken note of your advice to do back-strengthening exercises. I added those exercices to my gym routine.

The combination of the exercise and the new set-up on the bike has eliminated my post-ride back aches.

I have not been able to get to the Cycling Forums to post my gratitude for all the contributions to resolving my predicament, because I recently lost my mom.

I am now using this opportunity to say a big thank you to you and all the other contributors to my post(s).

I am now enjoying cycling so much, that I am thinking of getting a road bike for short fitness rides. I am thinking aluminum frame with an ultegra set-up.

Sam, do you have any advice re: a good road bike? Also I am torn between aluminum and carbon. I know I do not want steel. Keep in mind that I am a muscular 210-215 Ibs guy.

I also do not want to spend mega zillion dollars on the bike.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Lucas

sssamcz

Hi Lucas,

I'm glad to hear your issues with the fit on your Cannondale have been worked out, and you're getting more out of your cycling because of it.

As to a road bike - I firstly have to ask why you are so dead set against steel? IMO this is the most appropriate frame material for the vast majority of recreational road riders out there. Sure, it weighs a little more than some Al or Carbon wonder bike, but it will ride just as nicely if not better, be much more durable, and probably less expensive as well. There are a number of US designed/Taiwanese made, good quality/low price, "heavy road/light touring" type frames around these days from the likes of Surly and Soma which are perfect for recreational riding. There are a number of factors to this type of bike which might not make them ideal for racing, but great for everyday riding.

• Steel lasts almost forever, and tends to be more forgiving than Al
• There should be enough clearance for bigger tyres (>28mm) which are much more comfortable for general riding than ~23mm tyres
• If you're lucky you'll also have room for mudguards (fenders) so you needn't let wet weather stop you getting out on the bike.
• The geometry of these bikes is often more "relaxed" (slack head angle, more trail, lower BB) which makes them much more predictable and comfortable to ride
• They're usually made so you can get the bars nice and high - crucial for a comfortable position as you've already found
• IMO nothing look so nice as a nice steel frame

There is no reason you need to be riding around on the same bike Lance can win the tour on - do you drive an F1 car to get the groceries?

Here's a couple of things worth looking at
Soma
Surly

Good, sensible bikes for everday riding, making very little sacrifice to the carbon/al full blown racers in speed.

If all this didn't convince you and you really want an Al road "racing" bike you can do a lot worse than another Cannondale! Very reasonably price, and for mine, the nicest riding mass produced Al bikes out there. You can pick up the older CAAD4 and 5 frames (a good idea to steer clear of the proprietary bottom brackets of you ask me) from places like GVH bikes for very reasonable prices, and in fact he also does very good deals on groupsets/build kits.

Also to extend my condolences about your mother's passing - a death in the family is always a horrible thing and certainly your mother is probably the closest person in your life - I know mine is. Luckily for us cyclists, getting out on the road or in the woods on the bike is about the best therapy I know of.

Regards,

Sam

SUPER RIDER

Hi Sam, Thanks for your response. You are absolutely right that I do not need to buy a bike like Lance's. I do have issues with the ability of steel frames to withstand rust. I know that steel rides have been described as magical by a lot of people in bicycling literature, but I just can not get over the "rust" issue. Also aluminum has really been good to me. I am a big guy, and I do pound those pedals every now and then.My Cannondale has been really good in not having too much flex when the pedals are being pounded.This is the main reason I am besotted with aluminum as a frame material. Carbon frames on the other hand,I always feel, is a bike spill away from disaster. It sure would make me really angry to have to spend a lot of money on a bike frame, and then to condemn the frame because of just one spill. Spills do happen. I remember falling off my bike about ten years ago because I swerved to avoid a toddler who had broken free of her mother on a bike trail. If my bike had been made of carbon, I am pretty sure the frame would have been a write-off.

I sure would not mind a Cannondale road bike. I should ask you though, why you prefer the CAAD4 or CAAD5 frames. Also, which proprietary BBs are you referring to?
Are you saying that the BBs on Cannondale road bikes are proprietary? I really do not want any part of anything "proprietary" in cycling.

I have folowed your GVH link and I have seen some Cannondale frames for sale. I definitely would consider ordering a frame and having him put Ultegra components on it for me.

My modus operandi is to buy a quality item once and then hang on to it. I do not see myself buying another bike in at least ten years, once I buy a road bike.

What do you think of Cannondale's 6/13 frames? Does any of Cannondale's road bikes excite you?

Also, any feelings about Ultegra, Dura Ace or Campagnolo components? Keep in mind that the bike is to be used exclusively for fast/long fitness road rides early on weekend mornings, so as to avoid auto traffic and too much interference from traffic lights.

Thanks.

Regards,

Lucas

sssamcz

Hi Lucas,

Your fears about rust and steel frames are understandable, as of course steel can rust, while most other frame materials have the advantage of being corrosion resistant. However, it's really not too difficult to prevent rust in a steel frame, simply by coating the interior of the frame with oil - you can either do this yourself, or pay for an expensive "bike specific" version. If this is done you can ride that steel frame through the foulest of conditions without it rusting. If you take reasonable care of your bike rust should not be a concern.

I've had Cannondales before and agree one of their greatest attributes is being stiff under pedalling loads. While a steel frame could be built to be as stiff if not more so - but a production frame may not have the stiffness you're after. The best thing to do is really to try and have a ride on the bike you are looking to purchase.

At this stage though, I should say that I wouldn't condone going to your LBS and test riding a bike, talking to them about fit and buying it on-line. By all means go to a shop which has the bikes you are looking at, and if you really find what you're after be reasonable about considering buying it from them rather than on-line as they've already given you the advantage of service, advice and the ability to see the bike in person and perhaps ride it. On the other hand if your bike shop is as useless as many (most?) around, read us much as you can and get as much advice as you can from other sources then go online. If you know what you're after you don't necessarily need the services of an LBS, but you never know when they might come in handy in future.

Carbon can be a little fragile, and this would be one of my main reservations about buying one as an everyday riding bike. However, steel is the real king in this area - it is much tougher than Al - the only thing better is Ti, but of course you're talking big money there.

If you want to learn more about frame materials and their properties in a biek application, about the best primer around is this article by Scot Nicol, a US framebuilder of high renown. It's a little dated, but the basics are there in an easy to read fashion.

So as I said earlier, I've had Cannondales before, and I would still be hard pressed to choose another bike as a road racing frame. They also have the advantage of riding quite smoothly for an aluminium frame. The downside to this is that they eventually break. The other potential drawback with Cannondale is they do have a tendency to go off and do their own thing, in search for a better way of doing something. Sometimes they hit gold, like the Headshok forks; but sometimes consumers get stuck with obsolete products, like you and your 1 1/4" steerer. This is the case with the Cannondale SI cranks. They are an oversized bb bearing and spindle also requires their proprietary crank. While the idea itself is sound, it's very easy to picture getting stuck with an obsolete frame somewhere in the future that you couldn't use because the bb is gone. I just had a look on the Cannondale site for 2005 and it appears they are using this only only their highest end framesets the CAAD 8 and Six13.

Here are a few links below so you can read up a bit more about frame materials and construction if you're so inclined.

interesting site for weight and strengths of various tube manufactures: http://www.fortunecity.com/olympia/...echnology_2.htm

This site has some interesting articles, see Bashing the Steel bashers and see Limitations of lightweight aluminum : http://www.roadbikerider.com/UArant.htm

See this site for info about how various tubes are made: http://www.desperadocycles.com/The_...ng_frameset.htm

And this site answers some myths of the various tubings: http://www.henryjames.com/faq.html#strong

As for the Shimano v's Campy debate, I'm not going to go there! Both are very good quality and reliable, I prefer the ergonomics and styling of Campagnolo, but it's really just a matter of personal choice, you can't go too far wrong either way. I think Centaur and 105 are both really great value groupsets though - the difference from the high end groups is minimal (mostly finish and weight) and they are a lot less cash.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes - probably best to open up a new thread on this topic actually...

Sam

Lloyd_joy

Guys,

Good day... I had newly purchased a used Cannondale Killer V 900 bike w/ Shimano XTR groupo, original Peperroni Aluminum rigid fork, control tech stem and handle bar and Mavic 217 Sup rims on it. I am planning to change the control set to Amoeba Scud (stem and handle bar - oversize) and the fork to Manitou Skareb Elite suspension fork. Is the head tube diameter of my Killer V 900 frame the same as that of the new Cannondales? I'm planning to buy a Cane Creek Double Xc head set so that I can install the Skareb fork on it.

Thanks...

sssamcz

Lloyd,

I'm afraid it sounds like you're pretty much in the same boat as the other guys, and therefore I'd offer you the same advice. Stay rigid, your bike is a very nice classic bike as it is (if it's in good condition you'd probably be surprised at the resale value - especially if all the XTR is original and in good shape) and I'd leave it that way if I were you for the reasons stated before - PITA and throwing out the geometry. The only reason you need to change anything is if something breaks or the headset goes south.

Good luck and post some pics of your fine soun ding killer V.

Sam

Lloyd_joy

Sam,

Thanks... i'll just leave my bike as is. I'm located here in Cebu, Philippines and I think i'm the only one here who have this kind of rig... the good old Cannondale Killer V. Anyway, have one rig for trails and freeride... a Mosso. Back to the V, the groupo is still the original XTR (8 speed) and in its top condition. The groupo series is M-900 except that I had changed the shifter and brake combo to M-910 model (with the optical display). I'm thinking of changing the XTR cantis to XT V's... what do you think of this swap? As of the moment, the bike is still down... had performed maintenance on all moving parts... had also shined the frame using a metal polish applicator - now the frame looks superb - very attractive. I'm also planning to put a 26x1.39 size tires on both front and rear wheels. What tire width size do you recommend on my rig (I'm 140lbs)? I intend to use the Killer V on asphalted and cemented roads only.

Update:

Had changed my mind, i'll just install a 26x2.00 Maxxis Mimo tire for my Killer V rig. This is to keep the MTB look and feel.

Thanks... for the record, this is my first time to post some meassages on this board and you guys are very helpful... once again thank you...

regards,
Lloyd

Lloyd_joy

My Killer V update:


Installed Maxxis Larsen Oriflamme tires (26x2.0) since the clearance on the Maxxis Larsen Mimo tires with respect to the fork is very small. Instead of the planned Shimano Xt V-brakes I installed a pair of Avid 1D 20 V-brakes. I'm on a tight budget . Fo the rig, we'll its very good to look at ... I'll post some pictures for you guys to see... Whenever i ride my rig, heads starts to turn...

Happy trails...

regards,
Lloyd

sssamcz

Hey Lloyd,

Glad you're happy with the new tyres, though if you're using this bike solely on the road you'll find slicks really roll much better - I like Schwalbe Big Apples for a slick tyre that's still big volume, or the WTB Allterrainasaurus for something to do dual duty - you'll be amazed how well they actually do go in the dirt.

On the brakes, stick with the cantis - if set up properly (see sheldonbrown.com for info and instructions on proper canti set up) and forget about those nasty rattling XT V's. Actually, by all means go right ahead and get the V's and send your worthless old XTR cantis to me

Happy trails,

Sam

cydewaze

Hey this is a great thread! I have an old Alpine Stars Al Mega frame in my basement, and I've been pondering trying to get it back into riding order. It also has the 1-1/4" head tube, and right now it has an old Manitou 3 suspension fork. It's nice to know I have options when it comes to forks now, should the M3 be unusable due to spending 5-ish years sitting in the basement.

The bike was really the best mtb bike I've ever ridden, other than the 27-ish lb weight. Maybe I'll start to build it up with my leftover parts and see what else I need to make it a bike.

__________________
my bike page - my journal