New F600 project

[JohnnyD]

I just picked up another ebay find project bike frame. Not much to do other than wheels and drive train. That's good since it's too darn hot to spend a ton of time out in the heat building up another bike.

I love the custom riveted look. Reminds me of WWII aircraft and as a former aircraft maintainer that look is right up my alley.

 

[letsbike]

Pretty neat graphics. It even has WW2 D-day invasion stripes.
I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.
Do you know the production year?

 

[JohnnyD]

2006 I believe. That year the F600 came in raw aluminum. I am thinking that a previous owner stripped off the original decals and had this paintjob custom done over the raw aluminum. Which makes sense.

 

[letsbike]

I've looked around the internet. It looks to be a 2005 F600 Furio model.
Pictures are from the 2005 catalog.

 

[JohnnyD]

I definitely missed that while I was looking in the catalogs, thanks!

 

[JohnnyD]

I apologize for not uploading any pictures of the bike sooner. Life has just been busy with some personal matters that have prevented me from having enough free time to work on it. However, it is assembled and rides fantastic.
Still need to decide one way or another to turn this bike into a drop bar gravel bike or not. Until then, it's sporting a nice MicroShift 1x9 with 11-46T and a 34T oval chaining. I never thought an oval would make much difference but it is quite noticeable when you have a good cadence going.

Since I don't plan on riding the bike on any serious trails, I decided to spread a little tan side wall love and used some 2.3" Maxxis DTH. With the way the oval chain ring behaves and how light the bike is (still need to weigh it but I am guessing sub 28lbs based on my calibrated arms compared to my other bikes) this bike is pretty fast for a 1x setup as a commuter. Which is what I will be riding it as until I decide on the whole drop bar idea.

 

[IdahoBrett]

Looking forward to whatever you decide. I like the drop bar gravel bike idea.

 

[JohnnyD]

Looking forward to whatever you decide. I like the drop bar gravel bike idea.

I've been considering it for a while but didn't have a correct size frame to do it. This is an XL whereas the other hardtail I have is the Delta V. That is a medium and a too small to do it and make it a comfortable ride for any longer distance. I 100% will not do it to my M700.
If I do it with this bike I plan on using the RedShift Topshelf handlebar that has 50mm of rise to it.. That should get into a pretty comfortable position with the stems that are available for the Headshok. I'll be sending that off to Mendon Cyclesmith to get serviced in the next month or so. That way I know it's good to go for a while.

 

[JohnnyD]

A user on r/Cannondale posted a picture of his F600 as a gravel bike. I thought I would have a unique looking bike, but I guess I am year late as his post if over a year old.
However, I think it looks incredible. I wasn't sure I wanted to have yet another 1x bike, but I don't think they made a 2x 11 GRX groupset that will accept an 11-42+ cassette. 11-34 was the highest I know of. I will have to check.

So this bike is pretty much what I had envisioned..

 

[black lightning 1987]

I think it's a very practical gravel bike idea as long as you can get a reasonable saddle to bar drop number.

 

[JohnnyD]

Shimano GRX shifters are expensive! Other than that most things are ordered already.

 

[black lightning 1987]

Price of Shimano STI has always steered me towards other options like bar end shifters and Campagnolo.

 

[JohnnyD]

Recieved a nice new addition to match the bikes finish. Plus a bonus fun Zippo little multi-tool keep in the pocket for quick bike bolt checks.

 

[JohnnyD]

OOPS, I might have bought something on Ebay last night.

couldn't pass on the price for everything, I checked and others are having no issues installing an 11-42 cassettes and still keeping it 2x11. Definitely don't neeed that big of one here on the flat part of Texas I live in so I'll keep it just 11-34 for the time being.
Now off to order some IS to flatmount adapters.

 

[black lightning 1987]

34/48 chainrings?

 

[JohnnyD]

34/48 chainrings?

46/30

 

[JohnnyD]

46/30

Good news is that all the GRX components arrived and are perfectly new. Bad news is that the 46/30 crank is just a bit TOO close to the chainstay as I have about 1-2 mm on the 46T if I do some jury rigging around with using MTB BB cups and spacers. Not a chance in hell that the 46T chainring fits with road BBR60 that Shimano recommends. I might have to forgo the 2x11 and make it an 1x setup using a 44T chainring. Or I can chance it and order some TA Specialties 44/28 chainrings made for GRX from Europe. The fun of making things work when it comes to working on Cannondale bikes, AND fitting modern components on older frames.
Gives me something fun to do regardless or and excuse to find a good XR or XS frame.

 

[JohnnyD]

The A.S. Solutions IS to flat mount disc brake adapters work and fit perfectly, doesn't look like I will have any issues with the 180F/160R disc brake rotors.
I might have jumped to conclusions on the GRX 2x crank not fitting . I did the math and with the road BB fitted the over all width of the BB will be 90.4 mm . With an MTB BB and the added 2.5mm spacer you get 90.2 mm . So it should move outboard a tiny bit more . Not enough for my liking but should be usuable. It's about 3 mm of clearance in the picture.

 

[kickflip]

Great stuff with this build - that paint job is so cool.
I had never seen it before you posted.
I'm curious.....is it all 'paint'.....or are the 'rivets' some kind of decal?
Chainring clearance makes me wince a little, but there's only one way to find out (as they say).
If it was single speed or fixed, i would say it was perfect, but with a chain flying around.....
Looking forward to more on this thread - thanks for posting.

 

[JohnnyD]

Great stuff with this build - that paint job is so cool.
I had never seen it before you posted.
I'm curious.....is it all 'paint'.....or are the 'rivets' some kind of decal?
Chainring clearance makes me wince a little, but there's only one way to find out (as they say).
If it was single speed or fixed, i would say it was perfect, but with a chain flying around.....
Looking forward to more on this thread - thanks for posting.

Since I purchased the bike last year, it has become my favorite to ride by far. I bought it with the intention of turning it into a cyclocross/gravel style bike. That is why I posted the picture of the other F600 from Reddit that someone else did. I am trying to emulate that as it has all the features I wanted. Although, I am considering an external dropper post. I would have to replace the right brifter with a GRX 810 one that supports one. I am not a fan of mix matched brifters though and there are small differences between GRX 600 and 810 brifters. Plus that's another $100ish that I would have to spend. So unless I can find a small unobtrusive drop bar lever I will probably do that at a later date. As well as make a proper gallery post here.

To answer your questions, the paint job is pretty nice. I can't be 100% certain, but based on the consistancy of the detail in the rivets I would say they are a water slide decal that was applied during the painting process before clearcoating was applied. As you can see in the pictures. The only decals on the bike you can feel with your fingers are the Made in America and frame size decal on the seat tube, all the others are under the clearcoat.