I grew up in California, not too far away from Mt. Tamalpais and Specialized. Growing up, I always thought the Hard Rocks, RockHoppers and Stumpys were the bomb. I noticed Cannondale in the early 90’s. There were not many Cannondales in my area, and the internet was not a thing. My 1st purchase was in 1998, an all black Cannondale. It rode great, however; an XL was just too big.
My second purchase was in 1999, a pink Cannondale. The person I got it from said it was late 90’s. I thought it was weird with a 24” rear. I heard of these but didn't know much. I thought the bike was older, so I collected all the information I could. This was back when Cannondale was cool and they shared information. It took me about a year to learn that I had a 1987 Cannondale SM800. I took all of this info and shared it with everybody. This bike is what started VintageCannondale.com. The site was created in 2007 on my off hours working at a startup company. I loved this bike, although it was not perfect. I upgraded a few parts and rode it everywhere, even up and down Mt. Tam. I owned newer bikes, including a 2003 Jekyll, and a 2007 Prophet, but the SM800 was just special.
In 2013, people broke into my locked garage and stole about half of my bike collection, including the 87 SM800. I was devastated. About 6 months later, my father-in-law stopped a guy riding a bike that had a weird smaller rear rim. I came over, my heart dropped. It was MY ‘87 SM800, totally unrecognizable! He said he bought it for $10. I paid him $10 and retrieved the bike. Every part was swapped, the only thing that was original was my Brooks saddle. The bike, including the saddle, looked like it was used and abused for maybe 20 years. The photo below is what it looked like that day. I thought maybe someday I can restore it. It has been sitting as a frame since 2014.
A month ago, on Craigslist, a pink 1987 Cannondale popped up. I saw it and thought…OMG! I went to purchase it from a very cool guy. He just bought it from the original owner, but it was too small for him. So excited, I purchased it, brought it home.. and OMG!!
This bike spent it’s whole life in San Francisco. Everything was original, including tires, chain, and saddle. It even seems that the grips and cables (Yellow) are original. It is an early ‘87 built in October 1986. It has a lot of parts from the SM900 (odd). I just cannot believe the condition. I have changed the cables back to white, and a new chain. I now have my 1987 SM800 back. The tires will be changed soon…
My second purchase was in 1999, a pink Cannondale. The person I got it from said it was late 90’s. I thought it was weird with a 24” rear. I heard of these but didn't know much. I thought the bike was older, so I collected all the information I could. This was back when Cannondale was cool and they shared information. It took me about a year to learn that I had a 1987 Cannondale SM800. I took all of this info and shared it with everybody. This bike is what started VintageCannondale.com. The site was created in 2007 on my off hours working at a startup company. I loved this bike, although it was not perfect. I upgraded a few parts and rode it everywhere, even up and down Mt. Tam. I owned newer bikes, including a 2003 Jekyll, and a 2007 Prophet, but the SM800 was just special.
In 2013, people broke into my locked garage and stole about half of my bike collection, including the 87 SM800. I was devastated. About 6 months later, my father-in-law stopped a guy riding a bike that had a weird smaller rear rim. I came over, my heart dropped. It was MY ‘87 SM800, totally unrecognizable! He said he bought it for $10. I paid him $10 and retrieved the bike. Every part was swapped, the only thing that was original was my Brooks saddle. The bike, including the saddle, looked like it was used and abused for maybe 20 years. The photo below is what it looked like that day. I thought maybe someday I can restore it. It has been sitting as a frame since 2014.
A month ago, on Craigslist, a pink 1987 Cannondale popped up. I saw it and thought…OMG! I went to purchase it from a very cool guy. He just bought it from the original owner, but it was too small for him. So excited, I purchased it, brought it home.. and OMG!!
This bike spent it’s whole life in San Francisco. Everything was original, including tires, chain, and saddle. It even seems that the grips and cables (Yellow) are original. It is an early ‘87 built in October 1986. It has a lot of parts from the SM900 (odd). I just cannot believe the condition. I have changed the cables back to white, and a new chain. I now have my 1987 SM800 back. The tires will be changed soon…
SM800 is back in full glory