I recently began cycling when I acquired my father's old Cannondale. He was a semi-serious cyclist in his hey-day until he fell 10 or 12 years ago, going around a corner, on some gravel, landing squarely on his hip, breaking it, which ultimately required a plate and pin, etc.
Anyway, the bike is a Cannondale which, from what he tells me, was a sort of top-of-the line bike at the time, with all sorts of customized gear. From what I understand, it's about 15 years old, although I can't tell the model number or its exact year. I've emailed Cannondale with the S/N to try to find out, but have not heard from them yet. While the name "Cannondale" appears on either side of the top tube, no other markings are on the frame - as the "Cannondale"markings are fading, it's possible that there was a model number that has faded. Anyway, I think the frame is probably aluminum, but I'm not really sure - is there an easy way to tell?
Anyway, the bike was sitting in a dry shed for probably ten years. It was in pretty good shape and I have been riding it for a couple months without any major problems. Yesterday, though, the back tire blew out, I think because it's dry rotted. Same thing with the front. So I'm ordering some new tires and new innertubes. Since I can't ride the bike now, I decided to take it apart and look at everything last night. Despite the fact that it rode OK (it was a little noisy, not extremely smooth, etc., but still comfortable and efficient), as I took the gear apart, there was lots of obvious wear, both from my father's use of the bike and probably just from age. For instance, when I took the fork out, there is some rust inside the head tube (does this mean the bike is steel? - it seems pretty light, but who knows).
So, long story short, I'd like to buy some new component parts, probably keep a few parts, but mostly just keep the frame and build from there. Because the bike is older, though, and thus the standards used are different than modern standards, I'm curious about both what is possible, in terms of updating, and what is preferable.
First, the bike has 27" wheels, not 700cc's. It's got a threaded fork. Is it possible to replace the fork with a newer (probably threadless) carbon fork if I maintain the 27" wheels? If I wanted to upgrade both the fork and the wheels, is it possible to keep the frame and use 700cc's (giving me, of course, far more tire options, etc.)? Is there any reason it would be preferable to buy new wheels? Though the tires were dry rotted, the wheels actually seem to be in pretty good shape. There's a sticker on them that says "Wobler. Modele 58. Super Champion. Made in France."
Second, will a nonthreaded fork work here if the bike originally came with a threaded fork? Would I need to install a threadless headset, and is that even possible? I'd also obviously need a threadless stem (the original stem is like an upside down "L", and threaded). The tube of the original fork seems to have a 1" diameter, which current forks also seem to have, so it seems like it would be possible to me.
Finally, I'd like to upgade the whole drivetrain. I've been reading about a number of different systems and the Shimano Dura-Ace 7800 10 Speed sure looks nice. Is this overkill though? At $1200+ for the main components (crankset, cassette, brakes, shifters/levers, and pedals, I believe), is this akin to putting a Porche engine in a Honda Civic? Can anyone possibly suggest a nice drive train group that would be good for someone who is relatively new to cycling but interested in becoming more serious about it, increasing training times, distances, etc.?
Also, does anyone have any general advice on upgrading my bike? I'm a little nervous as I haven't tinkered with bikes much, but I like the idea of doing it myself (as opposed to brining it to an LBS which, here in NYC, are quite expensive), and think I can probably hand it OK given internet and published resources.
Sorry for the long message, but thanks so much in advance!
-Jack
Anyway, the bike is a Cannondale which, from what he tells me, was a sort of top-of-the line bike at the time, with all sorts of customized gear. From what I understand, it's about 15 years old, although I can't tell the model number or its exact year. I've emailed Cannondale with the S/N to try to find out, but have not heard from them yet. While the name "Cannondale" appears on either side of the top tube, no other markings are on the frame - as the "Cannondale"markings are fading, it's possible that there was a model number that has faded. Anyway, I think the frame is probably aluminum, but I'm not really sure - is there an easy way to tell?
Anyway, the bike was sitting in a dry shed for probably ten years. It was in pretty good shape and I have been riding it for a couple months without any major problems. Yesterday, though, the back tire blew out, I think because it's dry rotted. Same thing with the front. So I'm ordering some new tires and new innertubes. Since I can't ride the bike now, I decided to take it apart and look at everything last night. Despite the fact that it rode OK (it was a little noisy, not extremely smooth, etc., but still comfortable and efficient), as I took the gear apart, there was lots of obvious wear, both from my father's use of the bike and probably just from age. For instance, when I took the fork out, there is some rust inside the head tube (does this mean the bike is steel? - it seems pretty light, but who knows).
So, long story short, I'd like to buy some new component parts, probably keep a few parts, but mostly just keep the frame and build from there. Because the bike is older, though, and thus the standards used are different than modern standards, I'm curious about both what is possible, in terms of updating, and what is preferable.
First, the bike has 27" wheels, not 700cc's. It's got a threaded fork. Is it possible to replace the fork with a newer (probably threadless) carbon fork if I maintain the 27" wheels? If I wanted to upgrade both the fork and the wheels, is it possible to keep the frame and use 700cc's (giving me, of course, far more tire options, etc.)? Is there any reason it would be preferable to buy new wheels? Though the tires were dry rotted, the wheels actually seem to be in pretty good shape. There's a sticker on them that says "Wobler. Modele 58. Super Champion. Made in France."
Second, will a nonthreaded fork work here if the bike originally came with a threaded fork? Would I need to install a threadless headset, and is that even possible? I'd also obviously need a threadless stem (the original stem is like an upside down "L", and threaded). The tube of the original fork seems to have a 1" diameter, which current forks also seem to have, so it seems like it would be possible to me.
Finally, I'd like to upgade the whole drivetrain. I've been reading about a number of different systems and the Shimano Dura-Ace 7800 10 Speed sure looks nice. Is this overkill though? At $1200+ for the main components (crankset, cassette, brakes, shifters/levers, and pedals, I believe), is this akin to putting a Porche engine in a Honda Civic? Can anyone possibly suggest a nice drive train group that would be good for someone who is relatively new to cycling but interested in becoming more serious about it, increasing training times, distances, etc.?
Also, does anyone have any general advice on upgrading my bike? I'm a little nervous as I haven't tinkered with bikes much, but I like the idea of doing it myself (as opposed to brining it to an LBS which, here in NYC, are quite expensive), and think I can probably hand it OK given internet and published resources.
Sorry for the long message, but thanks so much in advance!
-Jack