In reply to Ian F:
New or used and how much?
In reply to Ian F:
New or used and how much?
Woody wrote: In reply to Ian F: New or used and how much?
Used. For a GRM'er - postage - $6 (Priority Mail small box).
Ian F wrote:Woody wrote: In reply to Ian F: New or used and how much?Used. For a GRM'er - postage - $6 (Priority Mail small box).
That's a good one and I appreciate the offer, but decided that I'd rather just put a new one in. I had to order some tools anyway and found a good deal on a Shimano at Chain Reaction Cycles.
That's cool. I've been ordering from them alot lately. Their Shimano prices are tough to beat. Free shipping for $100+ orders is also nice and it's amazing how fast that shipping is considering it's coming from Ireland.
Woody wrote: Any suggestions from the experts for a bottom bracket choice?
For your purposes, the most basic entry-level Shimano/Shimano compatible cartridge BB will work just fine. I use a no-name cartridge on my '85 Trek 400 roadie and it's just fine.
Cool bike. I love the simplicity of the older stuff.
I don't even remember Force 40 brakes and that era is when I was completely MTB-obsessed. 
gamby wrote: I don't even remember Force 40 brakes and that era is when I was completely MTB-obsessed.
They were Cannondale specific due to how the Headshok fork didn't use a arch like other suspension forks. Eventually, they switched to a bolt-on canti hanger and then V-brakes made both obsolete.
In reply to Ian F:
Ah. Cannondale sure is crazy about proprietary stuff on their bikes. 
gamby wrote: I don't even remember Force 40 brakes and that era is when I was completely MTB-obsessed.
This bike has early/ugly Force 40 brakes.
Force 40 brakes got a little cooler looking the following year.
I just bought an NOS pair of later style Force 40 cams off eBay for $9, so I'll be ditching the ugly little brass pulleys.
While its not AS vintage, couldn't you go with V-brakes on a head shock too?
This actually pertains to my build, which I was hoping the answer was that a V-brake system would work just fine.
I really wish there were some decent options for adapting discs to older frames, but everything I have seen is expensive and janky.
gamby wrote: In reply to Ian F: Ah. Cannondale sure is crazy about proprietary stuff on their bikes.
Cannondale's proprietary components were called CODA (Cannondale Original Design Application). This black bike is a 1992 and doesn't have any CODA stuff on it, but I had a 1993 M800 that had lots of it.
In reply to Woody:
Oh, I remember the CODA stuff well. I used to dig the logo. Reminded me of the Pac Man logo.
I'm still waiting for the new bottom bracket to arrive, but I've repacked the wheel bearings, cleaned the cassette and mounted the Avocets. It's starting to look like a bike again.
asoduk wrote: While its not AS vintage, couldn't you go with V-brakes on a head shock too? This actually pertains to my build, which I was hoping the answer was that a V-brake system would work just fine. I really wish there were some decent options for adapting discs to older frames, but everything I have seen is expensive and janky.
Yes, V-brakes essentially made the Force 40 and the later Force 40 Plus obsolete and elimited the need for the canti-hanger. V-brakes weren't around when I had my Delta-V, so I went with Magura HS22 hydraulic rim brakes (which I just sold a few days ago). Shimano XT and XTR parallel-action V-Brakes still offer plenty of stopping power for most riding situations.
A new old stock Force 40 Plus kit arrived in the mail today. I found it on eBay for nine bucks.
New brake parts have been installed. I still need to trim and cap the cables.
Great work here. Still staring at my m500 deciding it it's worth going nuts redoing it. Trying to talk myself into leaving it painted as the strip and polish will be as much work as the rest of the rest...
I have one of those fancy Park chain cleaning tools, but I haven't even taken it out of the package. Instead, I just took the chain off and dropped it into my parts washer: a plastic bottle filled with an inch or two of straight Simple Green.
I spent some time polishing my crank...
In reply to Woody:
So did I, but my results are an entirely different story. 
Damn, those chainrings are in perfect shape. Gotta love a low-mileage old bike. It's amazing how many older bikes have never even seen 500 miles.
In reply to gamby:
This bike has a lot of miles on it, but they may have been inner city miles, with an occasional mud bath.
The new bottom bracket finally arrived, along with the nifty little tool with which to install it.
Piece of cake, and much better than what I started with, although 70 Newton-meters are more Newton-meters than I thought they would be.
The crank is back where it should be, and smooth as silk.
Reinstalling the clean chain was more of a PITA than I expected, even with the proper tool. This was surprising, since the last few times I've replaced chain rivets, I did it in the woods with a couple of rocks.
After eleven days, I now have a complete bike again. I took a few laps around the driveway and I'm pretty happy with the results.
Time to ride!
Update:
As much as I've enjoyed rebuilding this bike and riding it almost daily for the past month, it appears as if the seat/pedal/handlebar geometry is just not cooperating with my middle aged body on the street.
I'm going to put dirt tires back on it and put it on Craigslist for $275, which is less than I have into it. Anybody near Connecticut need a light, aluminum, American made mountain bike?
In reply to Woody:
Jeez--shame you have to get rid of it. I'm surprised it's not working for you, as it looks like a fairly "relaxed" fit for a mountainbike.
Considering you did everything on it correctly, it should fetch good money on Craigslist. Old Cannondales seem to have a decent cult following.
In reply to gamby:
Yeah, I'm a little bummed about this. The geometry would be perfect if I were riding it through the woods (doh!), but I was trying to make a mountain bike work for the street, and it was acceptable, but not great.
I'm going to swap the tires today and list it on the Classic MTB Trading Center Facebook page. It still has loads of potential as a fun, light trail bike for someone. I just bought another bike for the street and I need to make some room in the basement. I have way too many bikes right now, including a Trek road bike that I bought at the end of the season a couple of years ago, rode for 100 miles and haven't touched since. That needs to go, along with a bunch of vintage Schwinn Sting-Rays. I'm running out of hooks in my ceiling!
Well, the roadie will be no problem to unload--especially if it has STI shifters. Even a frame shifted steel Trek should sell quickly on CL.
I have 6 in my garage
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