What's the deal with Cannondale Track Bikes?

[DCilliams]

I've seen these bikes get the holy grail treatment in various forums. What's the story here?

https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/bik/6124399199.html

[ANAO]

I don't think the new ones hold the same presitge.

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[AngryScientist]

my guess is that they were light, stiff aluminum bikes before such things were much more commonly available.

[echelon_john]

I had one; they were blowing them out to bike shops in 1994; I think I paid $199 for the frame/fork. Pretty heavy by Cannondale standards but stuff as a brick; steel fork with a nice flat crown.

Not sure why they command such a premium now but they were a pretty solid, no-nonsense bike.

[mktng]

Its HIP.

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[Pegoready]

Yeah, these seem to sell for outrageous money, even the heavily ridden and dented ones. It's a great mystery to me. Some cult bikes hold their value nicely, but this era Cannondale track is a true outlier.

The green ones sell for even more.

[estilley]

I thought the track bike-on-the-street fixie craze ended in 2010 but I guess not


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[thermalattorney]

Yeah, these seem to sell for outrageous money, even the heavily ridden and dented ones.

What's confusing is that these prices aren't supported by actual sales numbers anywhere. There hasn't been a single one sold on ebay in the last 90 days but IIRC the last *actual* sale I saw within the last year was $1400 for a super-clean blue frameset.

I witnessed someone purchase a ruined frameset (massive seattube dent) for $500 at the Brooklyn Bike Jumble last year. :crap: Later model CAAD5 tracks are pretty sought-after but only sell for $400 tops.

I thought the track bike-on-the-street fixie craze ended in 2010 but I guess not

Nope, here in NYC it's still a thing. Those kids that were maybe ~10 in the late aughts are now tooling around on Aventons and Crews.

[estilley]

What's confusing is that these prices aren't supported by actual sales numbers anywhere. There hasn't been a single one sold on ebay in the last 90 days but IIRC the last *actual* sale I saw within the last year was $1400 for a super-clean blue frameset.



I witnessed someone purchase a ruined frameset (massive seattube dent) for $500 at the Brooklyn Bike Jumble last year. :crap: Later model CAAD5 tracks are pretty sought-after but only sell for $400 tops.







Nope, here in NYC it's still a thing. Those kids that were maybe ~10 in the late aughts are now tooling around on Aventons and Crews.



Good point. I will say riding a brakeless track bike in NYC is some of the most fun I've ever had. Stupid...but fun.


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[velofinds]

Cult item -- one of those logic-defying things that takes on a life of its own not dissimilar to limited edition sneakers or skate/streetwear. Judged on its own merits, it's a pretty bike, but give me one of these tribute bikes any day of the week instead:

http://www.corsabikes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_3055-1600x1066.jpg (http://www.corsabikes.com/portfolio/cannondale-r-corsa-custom-no-1/)

[parco]

I remember being at a bicycle trade show a few years ago where a a guy at the Cannondale booth told me it cost them 12 bucks to build those track bikes. I do remember them being super stiff and having a steel fork. They didn't make that many so maybe that's why people ask so much for them. Not my cup of tea personally.

[45K10]

Here is another one with a crazy price $6K ????
https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/bik/6118647069.html

[alexstar]

I remember in 2006 passing on one because $400 seemed crazy. $250 was more realistic.

They were decent bikes but now they're 25 years old.... for 3K you can get a lot more bike than that.

[bikinchris]

For track racing, those frames were great. The fork was the weak point.
I sold my track frame with a Record gruppo including with ceramic bearings and a steel track bar to a track racer from Canada. I thnk I got $450.

[spinarelli]

NOOO! It looks like he drilled the back brake bridge. I hope it's one of those kirin clamps, can't really tell in the photo.

Here is another one with a crazy price $6K ????
https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/bik/6118647069.html

[Pegoready]

NOOO! It looks like he drilled the back brake bridge. I hope it's one of those kirin clamps, can't really tell in the photo.

These had factory drilled rear bridges. Probably because they wanted to use the same part from their road bikes.

[velofinds]

These had factory drilled rear bridges. Probably because they wanted to use the same part from their road bikes.

Huh, learn something new every day. Kind of a weak move for a track bike ATMO.

https://mir-s3-cdn-cf.behance.net/project_modules/max_1200/4045ab34474641.56d21cb53f001.png

[spinarelli]

Thanks, that makes sense why he only ran a rear brake.
At least he didn't drill the fork.

These had factory drilled rear bridges. Probably because they wanted to use the same part from their road bikes.

[11.4]

They were stiff, light, durable frames with good track geometry before lots of other people got into the business. And they avoided all kinds of design flaws (insufficient tire clearances, chainstays that wouldn't fit most chainrings, and so on) that plagued other track frame builders. You'd think a track frame would be easy to build but getting the geometry and clearances right is harder than it looks. They are still very good bikes for the track and still popular, though expensive, for road use.

[djg21]

my guess is that they were light, stiff aluminum bikes before such things were much more commonly available.

They were perfect track bikes, built with good components (sun tour superbe track gruppo) and sold at a very reasonable price. I bought one back in 93 new for less than $1,000. I wish I had kept it. $3,000 seems absurdly high.

[nooneline]

It always surprised me when the street-fixedgear scene injected some bikes with a ton of cachet. For a few years, NJS bikes that previously were selling for $500 used and complete were fetching over a thousand bucks for (admittedly nice) frames.

It was also confusing when Bianchi Pista Concepts got absurdly popular. They were still being produced! But they were the hot item for a couple years, and the price went up up up.

For some reason, the interest in those Cannondale Tracks has remained - but those prices are sheer dumb.

[zzy]

CDale track frames are popular because they were great bikes! No doubt influenced by the 'fixie' trend in terms of current popularity. CDale was way ahead of the curve on beefy oversized Alu track frames, which is why the ones from the 90s attract such crazy asking prices if they're in great shape. The Capo was one of the very best street fixies ever made, and they're great for the same reason you still see so many CAAD9s all over the place. The current CAAD10 track bike is a joke tho - they just stuck track ends on a road bike. Didn't even use a track fork.

[nooneline]

The current CAAD10 track bike is a joke tho - they just stuck track ends on a road bike. Didn't even use a track fork.

While it's true that plenty of track bikes are designed without too much thought going into 'em, you could also say that about a bunch of the bikes that are extremely popular with enduros at elite and world-class competition. Sprint geometry is one type of track geometry, not the only type.