IdahoBrett
Well-Known Member
A beginning. And in that beginning there was light. A heartbeat before the existence of that visible light was…..
BLACK LIGHTNING!!
BLACK LIGHTNING!!
1988 Black Lightning
- Thread starter IdahoBrett
- Start date
kjop
Well-Known Member
nice frame!
at the moment there is a CAAD7 BlackLightning on german 'kleinanzeigen'... Limited to only 300 pieces... with special edition of cmapagnolo record-groupset in gold&black. prize when it was released: 12.000DM (5000-6000€) Super interesting item! asked the owner to come over here to tell the story about it. Maybe he will follow
do you know if your old one was delivered with similar setup back then?
at the moment there is a CAAD7 BlackLightning on german 'kleinanzeigen'... Limited to only 300 pieces... with special edition of cmapagnolo record-groupset in gold&black. prize when it was released: 12.000DM (5000-6000€) Super interesting item! asked the owner to come over here to tell the story about it. Maybe he will follow
do you know if your old one was delivered with similar setup back then?
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IdahoBrett
Well-Known Member
The CAAD7 version was (my opinion) the pinnacle of The Black Lightning. If I’m not mistaken it is full Campagnolo. Each previous version had their own different set of components. The 88 was a mix of Suntour, Sugino and Dia-Compe. All with different levels of gold accents.
Hope you get together with the owner of that CAAD7 and hear the specifics. It’s quite a bike.
Hope you get together with the owner of that CAAD7 and hear the specifics. It’s quite a bike.
IdahoBrett
Well-Known Member
Paint matching for touch ups is going to be difficult. And decals…well I’ve read enough on here to know that situation isn’t very good. But I don’t expect to be entering any “show and shine” events like a classic car. The idea is to go for a ride.
Frame looks good. I think if you touch up small spots with black they won't be noticeable. What do you have for the build?
IdahoBrett
Well-Known Member
I sourced a Suntour Sprint 9000 derailleur set. They won’t have the gold color. But they’ll work. Chainrings I got are Suntour Superb pro (black). As of right now the only thing I’m lacking are brake cables. I don’t know interchangeability if any.
And a gold chain of good quality. The only D.I.D. chains I’ve found are motorcycle ones. I may just put a standard chain on.
The Suntour (nos) cables I found online look correct. I’ll find out during assembly.
I did get a Nitto quill stem. But it is 100mm length. I don’t know for sure, but I think it should be 120mm. For me, stems were quite the learning curve. I still couldn’t talk like an expert. But I at least know I got the diameters correct.
I’ve got a Nitto mod. 55 handlebar set in transit. And it has the gold rings. A lot of photos of BL’s have that part covered by termination taping for the bar tape.
I’ve read that some folks have decent luck with paint matching by using finger nail polish. I’ve got my doubts. It seems to me, looking at the paint with a focused light, it has a gold metal flake and not silver. Like the paint formula for black in the restoration link.
I haven’t done a thorough clean and inspection of the headset bearings yet. I did find some non-magnetic metal shavings stuck to the grease on the fork and inside the tube. I also haven’t checked the bb yet.
The Wolber wheels look serviceable. I’ll have to learn how to service the hubs before assembly.
I found a seller of decals in gold for the Cannondale logo. It’s the correct font. But a tad big on size. And not an exact match on color. The seat stay and chain stay decals are going to have to stay as is. Fortunately the train depot decal looks nice. Being that the decals I got aren’t a perfect match for size and color, it’s unlikely I’ll attempt a full repaint. Just touch up on the missing spots.
Whew! A lot of planning and work to do. Didn’t seem like a lot, until I typed it out.
And a gold chain of good quality. The only D.I.D. chains I’ve found are motorcycle ones. I may just put a standard chain on.
The Suntour (nos) cables I found online look correct. I’ll find out during assembly.
I did get a Nitto quill stem. But it is 100mm length. I don’t know for sure, but I think it should be 120mm. For me, stems were quite the learning curve. I still couldn’t talk like an expert. But I at least know I got the diameters correct.
I’ve got a Nitto mod. 55 handlebar set in transit. And it has the gold rings. A lot of photos of BL’s have that part covered by termination taping for the bar tape.
I’ve read that some folks have decent luck with paint matching by using finger nail polish. I’ve got my doubts. It seems to me, looking at the paint with a focused light, it has a gold metal flake and not silver. Like the paint formula for black in the restoration link.
I haven’t done a thorough clean and inspection of the headset bearings yet. I did find some non-magnetic metal shavings stuck to the grease on the fork and inside the tube. I also haven’t checked the bb yet.
The Wolber wheels look serviceable. I’ll have to learn how to service the hubs before assembly.
I found a seller of decals in gold for the Cannondale logo. It’s the correct font. But a tad big on size. And not an exact match on color. The seat stay and chain stay decals are going to have to stay as is. Fortunately the train depot decal looks nice. Being that the decals I got aren’t a perfect match for size and color, it’s unlikely I’ll attempt a full repaint. Just touch up on the missing spots.
Whew! A lot of planning and work to do. Didn’t seem like a lot, until I typed it out.
kjop
Well-Known Member
KMC has gold chains, but just from 9 speed upwards. not 'timely' for the age of the frame, at least a gold chain
IdahoBrett
Well-Known Member
While at my LBS yesterday getting tools, I talked chains with one of the bike mechanics. Other than KMC, which isn’t an option like @kjop mentioned, he didn’t know of any makers of gold chains.
I told the mechanic about my project. He‘d never heard of a Black Lightning. He is old enough, a bit less gray hair than myself, but old enough. Until a few months ago I didn’t know about them either.
He said he would like to see it when I’m done. Now I better do it justice. I can make it look like a bike, good enough for pictures on the internet. But a bike mechanic in person? I’m going to have to be some kind of wizard. Because I’ve never built a bike before.
I told the mechanic about my project. He‘d never heard of a Black Lightning. He is old enough, a bit less gray hair than myself, but old enough. Until a few months ago I didn’t know about them either.
He said he would like to see it when I’m done. Now I better do it justice. I can make it look like a bike, good enough for pictures on the internet. But a bike mechanic in person? I’m going to have to be some kind of wizard. Because I’ve never built a bike before.
kjop
Well-Known Member
same here... learning everytime when i'm into the things with it's details and getting more 'n more deeper into this 'cannondale-thingy'... finding things i didn't knew before, i'm more and more impressed what they did at all. the love to the cannodales is growing each time a little bit more^^ and i don't need to own all the nice stuff. having my favorites but it's sometimes enough to see which beautiful bikes they did. like the thing with the CAAD7 BL... wouldn't buy a CAAD7 but the black lightning edition is awesome! man, only 300 of those bikes... when do you see such a rare 20 years old beauty^^
over the last couple of years it's even so far, i'm not interested in other road bike brands at all... xD
i'm looking what the others are offering and did back in the days... but in the end you are deciding: naahhh!! i like the cannondales more... crazy^^
Neal A Conijn
New Member
I have a full Suntour Edge, aswell as a Sprint groupset, including wheels, bars stem. Shoot me a message if you are still hunting.
IdahoBrett
Well-Known Member
One bike out of the stand. Another one in. I hung some parts just for my own gratification.
My ok set of bars arrived.
My ok set of bars arrived.
I'm using 9 speed chains on several 6/7/8 speed bikes and haven't had any problems. Not sure if I have one on a SunTour Accushift bike though.
IdahoBrett
Well-Known Member
I did some measuring of a couple of new “8” speed chains this past week. A Shimano and a Sram and I came to the conclusion they’d work fine for a 9 and maybe 10. So the reverse would probably work also. Thanks.
I have the same bike!
I did a full strip down and rebuild from the bearings up to the whole thing:
community.vintagecannondale.com
I tried a few chains and found the KMC 9 speed to be the best
I did a full strip down and rebuild from the bearings up to the whole thing:
1988 Black Lightning Resto
Found this on fb marketplace for a few hundred and the seller even delivered it to me! It had most of its original components but was in pretty bad shape, pretty sure it still had the original tyres and chain which was stretched nearly an extra inch. Here's what I did: - Somehow bought a...
community.vintagecannondale.com
I tried a few chains and found the KMC 9 speed to be the best
IdahoBrett
Well-Known Member
IdahoBrett
Well-Known Member
Well that went together quickly and easily…
IdahoBrett
Well-Known Member
I am joking. It is ANOTHER Black Lightning. I needed another one to figure out how to assemble the first one. Not really. Joking again. I couldn’t help myself. Another 88 Black Lightning in my size (60cm) came up for sale after buying just a frame. Wish it would have come up for sale first. For many reasons, of which most of you here probably know.
That one looks nice. Where is it?
IdahoBrett
Well-Known Member
The picture is of it on my bike stand. I just finished reassembling it as I just received it yesterday. It is pretty nice. If you look close enough its age does show. Needs a tune and lube. Maybe new shift cables. New brake cables for sure. And the dia compe calipers are a pain to center!
I took it for a pedal up the street this morning. I noticed I had the stem installed a bit off. Like 5 degrees. Doh! So I didn’t get far.
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IdahoBrett
Well-Known Member
Not to confuse the difference between the 2 Black Lightnings, but….
While working on the complete one I discovered the script Black Lightning logo on the stem is hidden below a layer of paint.
I’m wondering if I can save them.
While working on the complete one I discovered the script Black Lightning logo on the stem is hidden below a layer of paint.
I’m wondering if I can save them.