Holy Smokes! Cannondale just said they are going to warranty my cracked 1996 road frame. The bike shop says I'll get a CAAD8 or 9 but no headset & fork. Therefore, it's only going to take another $130-160 to get back on the road. Certainly not my dream bike but a bargain for the $350 I'll have spent on the project. If I don't get too lazy I'll try to post a pick of the build here.
rectumdamnnearkilledem
Yay, that is awesome! Phew!!!
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
jules2
That's a good result I think you are very lucky.
Old age is when you move from illegal to prescribed drugs.
Still waiting for Cannondale... I seem to recall taking the frame in for warranty on a pretty warm August day. Now I just hope to get a couple rides in before the snow pack settles. Go figure.
MTA: Just heard back from the bike shop. I'm getting a 54. That means I can now commit to actually using it. Really wasn't happy about trying to make a 56 work.
Still waiting. I'm getting anxious. I just ordered a fork, headset, spacers, and steerer cap. I need to pull and clean what I think I'll salvage from the old bike and clean it up soon. Those parts have become fewer and fewer. This morning I took a look at the carbon seat post that I thought was fine and found a big crack and bulge on the back, yet another testament to the violence of the crash.
If it weren't for the new 54 cm frame I've got coming from Cannondale this project would have turned out to be a bad idea. I've been picking over the internets for deeply discounted stuff that would be of the quality found on a bike in the $1200-$1500 range.
So far I've got:
New Shimano wheel set
New Vittoria tires
New Easton bars
New cables, tape, brake pads
New seat
Used stem (from my boss)
New monocoque carbon forks
New FSA Orbit headset, spacers, & cap
All of the above ran me less than $400.
I'll try to pull the 9 speed Ultegra drivetrain and see what works. Might need to figure out a BB30 adapter for my precious Dura Ace cranks. Also need a seat post.
I'm trying to have fun with the project.
It wold be nice to kinda like the bike and just ride it a couple years. I still want that dream bike so this could be a good crap weather bike. We'll see.
Neat project! Someone in our 'hood has a mixte in their yard for sale. My guess is it's too big, but I've thought it would be cool to buy an older (steel?) bike to learn how to do my own wrenching. I'd love to find something that I could spec out as an ideal ride for trips down to the farmer's market or grocery store (<mile away) with a basket and panniers.
Just picked up a used Bianchi seatpost for .99 + 9.99 shipping on ebay. If I like the bike I'll spring for carbon later. In the meantime this will do.
I'm having fun with the project. Searching and picking up deals over the course of a couple months has paid off. About the only thing I've bought anywhere near retail has been bar tape.
Learning to do your own wrenching is worth it. I started when I was about 9 and only got decent when I was about 22. I find it's usually cheaper to go and buy the tool than to pay someone to do it for you. Sometimes you can make your own. Here's my $15 headset press.
Just picked up a used Bianchi seatpost for .99 + 9.99 shipping on ebay. If I like the bike I'll spring for carbon later. In the meantime this will do. I'm having fun with the project. Searching and picking up deals over the course of a couple months has paid off. About the only thing I've bought anywhere near retail has been bar tape. Learning to do your own wrenching is worth it. I started when I was about 9 and only got decent when I was about 22. I find it's usually cheaper to go and buy the tool than to pay someone to do it for you. Sometimes you can make your own. Here's my $15 headset press.
NICE! Yeah, DH does 90% of the wrenching here. Only things he doesn't do are things that require very specialized tools, like when I needed to have a press-fit bearing replaced...and it was under warranty, so there was no reason for him to do it.
OK, getting excited. The bike shop expects it soon. I'm done picking stuff off ebay. Once they confirmed the 54 I went ahead and got the parts I needed to upgrade to 10 speed, mostly new stuff. I got a few great deals, nothing near retail. Everything is clean and ready for the build. I'm such a dork I'm keeping track of it all on a spreadsheet. At the moment the bike totals 19.08 lbs with my heavy pedals, or 18.3 lbs for the typical w/o pedals weight. I've run my budget to almost 700 bucks but I'm done and think I'll have be best 700 bike out there. It won't be exotic or interesting but it probably will be a rocket and perform just fine.
So exciting! Please promise to take photos of the process!
About 10 days ago I contacted corporate about the rediculiousness of the situation. I also tweeted with nice @ & # references to Cannondale...
They contacted the regional rep to get him to do his job and 3 days later the frame was shipped. It arrived yesterday!
That's the good news.
Here's the bad ... they sent me a useless 58cm frame. Back it goes. With luck I might see something by the end of the month but I'm not holding my breath.
From what I'm piecing together, the weak link in all of this is a tremendously incompetent regional rep. He very well may be good at some parts of his job but not this part. Taking half a year to process a warranty and ship a basic CAAD8 replacement frame isn't good for business.
Oh, geez...what a PITA. I'm sorry you're having to light fire under asses, still.
Cannondale really does owe me an upgrade to a CAAD 10 for all the effort I've had to put out to get them to do their job. The bike shop has been great though. Cannondale owe's them too for all their extra effort since there is nothing in this for them. I want to give the shop my business if I'm in a position to get a new bike later this year. The problem is that I'm limited to Cannondale, Specialized, or Redline there.
I am quite fond of my Redline.... We actually have 2, now, since DS got a Redline Conquest 24 for Christmas.
Got a call from the shop yesterday. New replacement, replacement frame shipped yesterday/today... Apparently the ship order had 54, the box said 54 but the frame was 58. They will double check the next one before it ships.
They also confirmed it will be an older CAAD8, a half decade old frame! No BB30, which is ok, but I'd rather take a newer frame and deal w/ the BB30 "problem." I also learned it will be blue. I'm indifferent about the blue. I'd rather green, orange or black, but beggars can't be choosers. It won't be my dream bike but should be a quality fast sub 18lb ride regardless. I'll post photos when it arrives.