1996 Cannondale R700
Part Diary, Part Technical Manual, Part Tips & Tricks

While randomly looking on craigslist, I saw an ad for a Cannondale R700. The paint was a very interesting dark red, called "Matte Cherry Smoke". This specifc series was introduced in 1991, the year they introduced the 2.8 series frameset. The R700 was their time trial bike with 650c wheels and it featured their cool cantilevered rear dropouts. 1996 was the final year of his design, in 1997 it was replaced by the CAAD3 Multisport series, which had a conventional rear dropout. Ever since I bought the Bianchi Krono, I had an extra 650c tubular front wheel hanging around the garage. Later I even bought a matching NOS rear rim, just in case I wanted to build up a watching wheelset. So this was my opportunity to use the front wheel. I never had a bike that used two 650c wheels, so I had this image of a super climbing bike - with the smaller wheels, tubular tires, a compact crankset, and MTB rear derailleur and cassette. So on June 2, 2011, I brought this interesting bike home.

9/18/2011 - After spending a lot of time with Jasco paint remover and brass brushes, all the paint finally came off. Used buffing compound and some rags to get a semi-gloss shine to the frameset. Once the frameset was done, an odd assortment of parts were used. Basically the core components are Campagnolo C-Record, the derailleurs are Shimano 600, and the cockpit is Nitto. Throw in some old Campagnolo Nuovo Record shifters, some modern tubular wheels, and its kind of an odd bike. I just need a few things before I consider it finished: ISO bottom bracket, seatpost, saddle, pedals, and longer brake housing. I was a little intimidated with installing the Delta brakes, but it turned out to be very straightforward - delicate and time consuming, but straightforward. The lever feel of these brakes is like no other type, they don't feel like they have any power upon first bike, but they quickly strenghten and slow down the bike effectively. I took it out for a quick spin, it rides and fits nice, but there is a wierd rattling sound that I have yet to figure out.

9/22/2011 - To my horror and embarrassement, I think I figured the wierd rattling sound. Turns out I put one of the bottom bracket bearings in backward, so the retainer was scraping against the spindle. Fortunately I only put about 7 miles on the bike, so it appears no major harm was done. Besides, I found out of my error because I installed a new bottom bracket with the proper ISO taper, this brought the chainline back into spec. The JIS taper bottom bracket put the chainrings about 4 mm outboard.

12/17/2011 - The Delta brakes just didn't have enough clearance between the bottom of the brake and the tire. There was only about a 1mm gap and I didn't want to risk scuffing the bottom of the brake. So I decided to take off all the Campy bits and make it all Shimano 600. It maintained the same all aluminum look - pretty sharp.

12/18/2011 - Rode back from Palo Alto on the R700. Overall the geometry of the bike fit me very well, surprisingly comfortable when hammering in the drops. With the super oversized downtube, the extra compact rear triangle, and smaller 650c tubular wheels, I expected the bike to climb easy and extremely efficient; however, this was not the case. Even though it climbed ok, it was still more effort than I originally imaged for this build, so I decided to put on the compact crankset that I had sitting around from my first Kestrel 4000. If that doesn't work, there's always a long cage derailer with a 32T cassette!

12/19/2011 - Just installed the compact cranks. The black color doesn't quite fit the look of the bike, but I'll probably get used to it. I was a little concerned that the old Shimano 600 front derailer would not be able to handle the compact crankset, but it ended up shifting just fine on the bike stand. The bike actually lost 4 oz by going to Shimano 600. Looking forward to taking the bike out for another spin this weekend to see how the new lower gearing feels.

2/16/2012 - Sold the bike to a person in SF, hope he enjoys it.

Here are the specs:

Frame: 1996 Cannondale R700, 2.8 Series , 58cm, 130mm spacing. Frame maker initials: JS.
Fork: 1996 Cannondale R700 aluminum fork, 1" threaded.
Hubs: Shimano Ultegra 6500, 28h, 130mm rear spacing.
Rims: Velocity Pro Elite, 650C Titanium Grey color, 28h, tubular.
Tires: Tufo Jet 26" Pro 26" x 19c front and Continental Sprinter 650c x 22c rear.
Cassette: SRAM PG-850, 12-23T 8spd, 42 cm chainline.
Cranks: FSA Vero Compact, 50x34, 170mm, 110 BCD. Cold-forged AL6061/T6 alloy with polished black anodized finish.
Bottom Bracket: Shimano 600 BB-6400, 113mm square taper.
Front Derailer: Shimano 600 FD-6400, braze-on with Shimano SM-AD11, 31.8mm clamp-on adaptor.
Rear Derailer: Shimano 600 RD-6400.
Shifters: Shimano 600 SL-6400, braze-on.
Brake Lever: Shimano 600 BL-6401.
Headset: Shimano 600 HP-6400, 1" threaded.
Chain: Shimano HG Narrow.
Stem: Nitto 1" quill, 25.4 diameter, 100mm reach.
Handlebar: Nitto B115 420, 25.4 diameter.
Brakes: Shimano 600 BR-6400.
Pedals: Shimano PD-A520, silver.
Seatpost: Kalloy UNO, 27.2mm.
Saddle: Selle Italia SLR XP with Vanox rails, black.

The bike currently weighs 19lbs 1oz as shown.