Obi
Member
My focus is on Cannondales from 1990 to 2000 since that´s the time when I discovered, owned and fell in love with them. Sadly I never had them for longer. They always got stolen. By that time I was living in Berlin and quality bikes didn´t made sense there. Therefore I only rode klunkers from then on which got stolen too. But that didn´t hurt so much.
In 2019 I had left Berlin for a small town and stumbled over a 1994 H400 which became my daily ride. The fun it provides to ride a quality bike made me come up with an idea: "I want all my bikes back! Even the ones i dreamed about but couldn´t afford then!" and therefore started searching.
Originally I had a 1994 M800 BotE in viper red with yellow decals as well as a 1999 M800 in matte black. Both bikes were purchased new from "Zentralrad" in Berlin- Kreuzberg.
I like my bikes "original and unmolested" to quote Jay Leno and so far i managed to "get back" the following bikes:
1990 Colnago "Mountainbike" with very early LX group set (the "Mountainbike" always makes me smile as if you have to explain what it´s meant for. Besides that I was curious about italian steel frames)
1991 Scott Racing Pro with early AMP fork (it´s like owning a vintage Formula 1 racing car)
1992 Cannondale M700 with XT group set in red (sadly in bad shape and molested, purchased used in 2008 in Berlin, it was never stolen there since I came up with the idea of not having a lock any longer, therefore it was never unobserved and I carried it every day up to the 5th floor in a building without elevator)
1993 Heavy Tools ALU PRO LE with Manitou 2 fork (90ies Berlin street styler on fat slicks, one of my dream bikes then)
1994 Cannondale H400 (any place, any time)in teal, Raleigh USA 400 (with Girvin fork!, my most nonchalant bike) in red and black , Specialized Stumpjumper in grayish green (the steel frames again)
1995 Scott Vantage 2.0 in yellow (I just like it´s appearance and the Scott bull bar)
1996 Cannondale F800 in viper red (the first suspension bike i ever own)
1997 Cannondale M800 BotE (still looking for the 1994er)
1998 mysterious Cannondale with Nexave T400 deraillieur in yellow (could be an M series but there are no markings)
1999 mysterious Cannondale Silkpath with Nexave T400 group set in viper red (roller brakes!, no markings besides "Silkpath Series"), mysterious Cannondale with Nexave T400 group set in blue (could be H series, no markings, roller brakes, the year/month code only shows a "K", Shimano components were made in late 1998, could also be a 2000 model for Europe)
Does the missing markings have something to do with Cannondale going public on the stock market during that time? Or is it a european market thing? Also I´m curious about what happened to all the welders in Bedford after C´dale closed the factory there as well as the rest of the staff since they actually built the bikes.
Besides I use the bikes for lessons. They are "speaking objects" regarding mechanics and the students really like them nevertheless these bikes are more than twice their age.
Enclosed an impression of my mancave
Yours respectfully
Obi
In 2019 I had left Berlin for a small town and stumbled over a 1994 H400 which became my daily ride. The fun it provides to ride a quality bike made me come up with an idea: "I want all my bikes back! Even the ones i dreamed about but couldn´t afford then!" and therefore started searching.
Originally I had a 1994 M800 BotE in viper red with yellow decals as well as a 1999 M800 in matte black. Both bikes were purchased new from "Zentralrad" in Berlin- Kreuzberg.
I like my bikes "original and unmolested" to quote Jay Leno and so far i managed to "get back" the following bikes:
1990 Colnago "Mountainbike" with very early LX group set (the "Mountainbike" always makes me smile as if you have to explain what it´s meant for. Besides that I was curious about italian steel frames)
1991 Scott Racing Pro with early AMP fork (it´s like owning a vintage Formula 1 racing car)
1992 Cannondale M700 with XT group set in red (sadly in bad shape and molested, purchased used in 2008 in Berlin, it was never stolen there since I came up with the idea of not having a lock any longer, therefore it was never unobserved and I carried it every day up to the 5th floor in a building without elevator)
1993 Heavy Tools ALU PRO LE with Manitou 2 fork (90ies Berlin street styler on fat slicks, one of my dream bikes then)
1994 Cannondale H400 (any place, any time)in teal, Raleigh USA 400 (with Girvin fork!, my most nonchalant bike) in red and black , Specialized Stumpjumper in grayish green (the steel frames again)
1995 Scott Vantage 2.0 in yellow (I just like it´s appearance and the Scott bull bar)
1996 Cannondale F800 in viper red (the first suspension bike i ever own)
1997 Cannondale M800 BotE (still looking for the 1994er)
1998 mysterious Cannondale with Nexave T400 deraillieur in yellow (could be an M series but there are no markings)
1999 mysterious Cannondale Silkpath with Nexave T400 group set in viper red (roller brakes!, no markings besides "Silkpath Series"), mysterious Cannondale with Nexave T400 group set in blue (could be H series, no markings, roller brakes, the year/month code only shows a "K", Shimano components were made in late 1998, could also be a 2000 model for Europe)
Does the missing markings have something to do with Cannondale going public on the stock market during that time? Or is it a european market thing? Also I´m curious about what happened to all the welders in Bedford after C´dale closed the factory there as well as the rest of the staff since they actually built the bikes.
Besides I use the bikes for lessons. They are "speaking objects" regarding mechanics and the students really like them nevertheless these bikes are more than twice their age.
Enclosed an impression of my mancave
Yours respectfully
Obi
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