Pictures are from the listing. I’m going to see it in person tomorrow. Obviously it’s missing a saddle and pedals, and the chain and some bolts are rusty and will need to be replaced/cleaned. I’m assuming it’ll probably need new tires as well, and honestly I’d probably just take it apart and clean/grease things as needed at this point to be sure it’s all good to go and start fresh with it. It looks like it’s been sitting outside for a bit.
I’m hoping to gauge what it’s worth in this condition to give her a fair and somewhat accurate number tomorrow. She’s asking $75 but said she’s happy to drop that once I’ve seen it and can gauge just how much work it’ll need to be up and running.
Thanks in advance, all!
by Imaginary-Winter994
13 Comments
$50 tops
I would not pay any money for that project. If it was ready to ride, $100 would be fair
That’s gonna need a lot to work and those specific cannondale road bikes were/are prone to cracking at the rear dropout.
I’d steer clear
I have a small bike shop. When customers bring bikes like this to sell, I turn them away. Not enough there to make it worth the labor and parts to make it saleable.
I’d try for $50. It will be a bit of a project, yes, and as commenter mentioned these bikes did have a bit of a reputation for cracking at the rear dropout. If you were to resell in good shape I don’t think you’d get a ton, maybe $100-$150. On the plus side it looks like it may have Shimano 600 shifters, headset, and hopefully other Shimano 600 parts, so if you were to buy at $50 you could likely get your money back parting it out, if repairing it isn’t feasible.
I had this as my first road bike way back in the day. The aluminum was such a harsh ride, and those wonky rear dropouts were a nightmare for out of the saddle sprints.
TL;DR don’t buy this.
it’s scrap. 110$ in a dream. likely 50
I wouldn’t buy it myself, but it could be worth the $50-75 that she seems to be offering for you. Just know that it may end up costing you easily $300-500 in parts to get it rideable to most people’s standards. Even after getting it rideable, you may end up getting frame failure if the previous owner rode it a lot.
I’d only get this if I had an attachment to older aluminum cannondales from this era or if I really wanted something that I can tinker with and hang up as art.
Same applies to similar era carbon bikes to me.
I generally only buy old steel bikes, so as long as there are no crazy dents or rust, I know I’m good.
$30 is what I would pay
Are you shorter than 5’6”?
I fixed one up, added period brifters and sold it for $250. The frame is crazy stiff but a fantastic hill climber.
Thanks so much for all this info, everyone! It’s super helpful to read first hand accounts and insight from folks who know more about these bikes than I do. Lots of things to mull over before I decide to buy or not, for sure.
Insane corrosion on the levers. Looks like original housing too from the 1990s. You’ll need all new cables and housing, a seat, bar tape and most likely tires. That’s gonna be around $200 minimum. I’d say $50-60 max