The Cannondale Bike Corperation.......

MTB PORN KING · Joined: 02 Aug 2008 Posts: 292

The Cannondale Corp………1970 - 2008

A train pulls out slowly from the old Cannon Station in the sleepy old town of Wilton, Connecticut. It is a hot sunny late summer’s day in 1970, Joe Montgomery was working in his design studio and workshop above the pickle store across the way from the Cannon RR crossing in lower Connecticut. Mrs. Forrester had just stewed up a "smelly" batch of pickle relish downstairs and all the windows were open in the studio because of the overbearing smell, but the incessant barking from Jager (the Forrester family dog) at the 9:27 train from Wilton was driving Joe and Pete (Pete Myers) crazy but what could they do?. This is where Joe and Pete had been working for the past two and a half weeks, working every hour that God sent to design and build their dream. As they had only been at their workshop for a short time, neither had managed to have a phone installed, so Pete was ushered across the street, (by Joe,) to the pay phone to order one for the sake of their business. Pete processed the order without a hitch and was about to hang the phone up when the voice of the operator came back… “Sir, Sir sorry how would you like the phone listed…??” Pete paused and looked out across the way, fixing his stare at the rusty old cannon that had been left there as a monument to the American Civil War, its inscription read “DALE” and to the back of the old train station. Errrrrr!!!! “Cannondale Corporation” he replied…………..From that day on the history that is Cannondale, was born.

Headshok logo.......

So here we are again hitching a ride on my time machine taking us back just a little further to the glorious 70s when 2 wonderful things happened that changed peoples lives forever………I was born and so was the Cannondale Corporation. Joe Montgomery and Pete Myers formed Cannondale in the summer of 1970 struggling to put together an idea that would change the shape of cycling forever but time and money were always a constant struggle. It was not until 1971 that they created their first product, the famous Bugger, the first ever bicycle-towed trailer. It was a rolling backpack for want of a better word; the Bugger rode on an angle and transferred all excess weight directly on to the road by its own tyres. No weight was added to the bicycle itself, cool huh!!!!. The Bugger was carefully designed and tested so it was able to bring you a whole new world of pleasure and convenience. It could have been used as a shopping cart, golf cart, camping pack or mobile picnic hamper, it was towed behind your bicycle or could be used for walking, it seemed that the Bugger’s use was endless on its release in 1972, however until that time it spent a vast amount of time on the drawing board and enduring endless tests.

The Bugger......

In 1973 Cannondale started creating sophisticated backpacking and bicycling equipment for all levels of sportsman. Each product was designed to function better and last longer than all competitors. The materials they used were chosen for long-term, high-stress performance, regardless of cost. In 1974 Cannondale made a claim that almost daily during warm weather, that they receives dramatic testimonials on the Bugger's incredible bike packing ability. A 19-year-old boy averaged 90 miles a day from Oakville, Ontario to Los Angeles with more than 60 lbs. of gear in his Bugger. A 60-year-old man regularly makes the trip from Washington to California with 65 lbs. aboard. The Cannondale Bugger is being used and acclaimed nationally as the scientific answer to bike packing. A pretty bold statement to make but the truth was there, as Cannondale never hid any of the acclaimed tests they partook in. This was what was making Cannondale grow in stature and helped them to take control of the cycling world in the 1970s.

A stunning example of a Cannondale BMX.......

A Cannondale Killer V.....

In 1976 Cannondale bike packs start to log millions of satisfied customer all over the world and now the ball was well and truly rolling, it starts to take the world of cycling by the throat and begins to bring in a large amount of Ben Franklins (dollars) into the company to enable the Cannondale Corporation to grow in size. In 1977 Cannondale’s Bedford, Pennsylvania, factory opens in a refurbished truck terminal and the work force that was once two men, has now grown into a seven man strong company. It was in 1977 that Cannondale introduced the “Camel packs” into the fray, what they were, was a external frame pack with large capacity with frame-supported platforms for carrying additional gear with the comfort and trimness of an internal frame design but all this was just the tip on the iceberg for the Cannondale Corporation. By 1981 Cannondale had now started to make such items as the Cannondale cycling gloves and Cannondale water bottles, they stated from their own catalogue "The Cannondale water bottle is like no other. It is safer and more convenient than any water bottle you have ever used. Don't fight a cage or align a dovetail! Simply place the Velcro loop covered bottle on the Velcro hook covered base…”

Cannondale started to produce self named cycling apparel with a range of road specific clothing for the discerning cyclist and the Bugger III, which was built for carrying children but it had also been toted for the use of carrying groceries, camping gear, picnic baskets etc, a whole heap of choices in one little buggy. It was not until 1983 that Cannondale introduced us to their very first bike a road specific bike named the ST500.

A 1983 ST500......

The ST500 was Cannondale's first ever bicycle. It had a wonderful TIG-welded frame with what was to become the Cannondale trademark oversized aluminium tube. It ushered in a revolution in alternative frame materials. TIG welding was a sophisticated process using an electrical arc shielded by inert gas that made it clean with strong aluminium welds. The large diameter aluminium alloy tubing was precisely mitered, securely and accurately jigged and TIG welded by trained craftsmen. Cannondale stated that welding disrupts the proper distribution of the alloying elements needed to keep an aluminium alloy at its maximum strength. To return the strength lost through welding, the aluminium alloy frames were solution heat treated at a high temperature, rapidly cooled in a quench bath. At Cannondale, they felt they recognized the need for a high-performance Sport/ Touring bicycle. By the time the ST500 had been released they were convinced they created the ultimate road bike.

A 1987 SM800.......

A 1988 SM600.......

1984 saw Cannondale's entrance into the mountain bike market. Their first offering was definitely a new mixture of old and new thrown together in a cocktail shaker. Again the oversized aluminium set it apart from the rest, as did the 13" high bottom bracket and 24" rear wheel. The SM-5000 sold for the then princely sum of £350 and featured the Shimano Deore XT drive train with a Sugino Aero Tour cranks. The strange thing was it included a BMX sized seat post and rear BMX brake and sexy looking European style saddle but to no surprise the actual bike itself looked very similar to a BMX. The 24" rear wheel and BMX brake may have been forced upon Cannondale due to the difficulty in working with the aluminium tubing. More conventional cantilever brake mounts may have been more difficult to attach to the aluminium frame and it may have been hard to convert the stays to fit a full sized rear wheel.

In 1985 the SM500 remained the same with no changes to the design or frame but it was joined by a new model, the SM600, it used the same frame as the SM500 but it had parts manufactured by Suntour that included front and back roller cam brakes. The SM600 had moved to a now familiar 27.2 seat post but the SM500 stuck with the BMX style of things. It was not until 1990 that Cannondale started to move aggressively forward with their own unique style of mountain bike design when they started to develop the SM2000, SM1000, SM800, SM600, SM500, and SM400 models. It was now that Cannondale had started to really get to grips with the mountain bike style of bike that people were starting to demand.

The Cannondale EST.........

The big stop press news for 1991 was the introduction of Cannondale's first ever, full suspension design, the E.S.T. (Elevated Suspension Technology). The front suspension was built by a Girvin Flex stem. According to the catalogue the rear suspension designs always made mounting cantilever brakes difficult so Cannondale created what was called the up with the "Force 40" brake routing. The name came from the 40% increase in stopping power and removed the need for a cable stop on the frame. A pulley was mounted to the frame while the cable housing ended at a machined aluminium stop mounted on the straddle wire. These caused what felt like a very mushy feeling brake, that was a bugger to adjust. If set up properly,they were pretty powerful but it was to be soon updated by Cannondale. For '91, there were three E.S.T. models: SE Omega, SE2000 and SE1000. All three used the same frame, Force 40 brakes, Pepperoni aluminium fork and Girvin Flex Stem but differed in the spec. The Omega used a Mavic headset, Cook Bros crank and bottom bracket, XT clip less pedals, Hyperlite bars and a Suntour XC Pro drive train. The popular SE2000 used a Deore XT thumb shift group while the SE1000 was a Suntour XC Comp bike.

A Cannondale Beast of the East......

As far as Cannondale hard tails went, the bikes had welded on cable stops for the rear brake that replaced the plastic guides and full-length housing. The "Mud cutter" chain stays stopped mud build-up and eliminated the previous crimped chain stays. The SM2000 (Deore XT), SM1000 (XC Comp) and SM700 (Deore LX) carried on the Competition Series with the 3.0 frame and Pepperoni aluminium fork. The SM800 was now to become the ever-famous "Beast of the East" with the 13" high bottom bracket and Pepperoni fork and finally at last it is promoted to a rear cantilever brake. The regular 3.0 Series bikes continued with the SM700 (Deore LX), SM500 (Suntour X-1) and SM400 (Suntour XCM). All bikes used 16.9" chain stays. The SE1000 and SM1000 used the Grip Shift shifters, while the SE Omega, SE2000 and SM2000 used thumb shifters.

A Cannondale F3000 Hard Tail

A Cannondale Delta V900

It was in 1992 that the world saw the Delta V front suspension system. The Delta V moved the inner working of the suspension into an oversized head tube that ran on a 45mm sealed cartridge bearing head set. The fork blades were the oversized aluminium Pepperoni blades. Traditional telescoping forks were having rigidity issues, since the small diameter fork blades moved independently of each other and would bind when side-loaded. With the rigid Pepperoni blades this problem was reduced. The fork used an air spring with a hydraulic damping unit, which was adjustable using the "Dampening Dial" located on top of the stem. The fork rode on 4 sets of needle bearing which eliminated much of the problems of the traditional forks. The biggest negative of the system was the lack of compatibility other bikes didn't have a large enough head tube to accept the system so it could not be retrofitted to other bikes. It also required the use of a Cannondale specific stem.

A Cannondale Super V900

A Cannondale Super V500

It was not until around 1993 that Cannondale gave the world the most copied full suspension frame of all time by all their rivals, the Super V. For me, this has to be Cannondale’s most amazing frame and build of all time. The Super V’s swing arm was suspended on a Fox air shock and it was the 3000 model that was loaded up with the top of the range state of art Shimano XTR components. The other models, such as the Super V 2000 and 1000 had a mix of XT and LX parts and with also the introduction of Cannondale’s own brand of Coda parts. It was not until 1994 that the Delta V shock was replaced by the still standing HEAD SHOCK. The annoying fact about Cannondale was that they started to produce lesser models of the famous Super V, that lacked in quality and parts to accommodate the slower selling models so as not to lose a grip in the market hence the arrival of models like the Super V 900 and 700. Cannondale stated that the Super V 4000 was in the pipe line and was listed as weighing a very light 20 pounds it was described as "in development" It was designed in conjunction with Magic Motorcycle and the one sided fork may have been the spiritual predecessor of the "Lefty" suspension fork. When you sit and think about it, it really is hard to take in, that little over a decade from this point Cannondale offered only one model of mountain bike but by 1995 they were sporting 23 different models. By now the Super V’s were being fitted with Carbon swing arms to increase stiffness that were 40% stronger than the original swing arm. The Coda parts line had now gained great momentum and was being fitted to almost every bike in one form or another, whereas Shimano parts were being used slightly less, to make way for DIA COMPE so that Cannondale could be easily differentiated from their competitors. Also at this time most of the Cannondale range were being fitted with grip shift components like all of the Cannondale Volvo team bikes.

A Super V 4000DH

2 Cannondale Raven's

It was not until after the arrival of the Super V DH Active in 1996 that Cannondale brought out the newest of designs, the ever-famous Raven MKI. This bike was a new breed of the fast growing ever-popular Carbon composite bikes, GT bikes had dangled the STS in the face of Cannondale and they were after gaining some of the action back. Cannondale went back to the drawing board and came up with the RAVEN a carbon bike with a magnesium spine that not only looked good but out-performed its competitors by a mile. This bike was the only bike and still is the only bike that forced me to play the national lottery in order to try and raise funds to buy one (but I never won) God bless you Cannondale. In 2000 Cannondale gave the world the first ever Lefty fork, to mixed reviews, many people felt that it could not handle being thrown down great descents being on a singular leg. Cannondale proved the world wrong by standing by their design in the lefty and to this day it stands strong as one of the best forks ever built. (Please follow the link to the full range of Lefty forks available)

http://www.cannondale.com/suspension/07/

Cannondale Motor Corp Scramble bike

And Quad bike

2003 dawned a bad time for Cannondale the company had branched out into motor sports but were ill advised in doing so and the company crashed due to its lack of experience in the field. Cannondale would never have been able to branch out and be as successful as their competitors like Honda or Yamaha and subsequently went broke. Cannondale Corporation (Nasdaq: BIKE), announced that it intended to file a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on January 28th, 2003,which they did.
Cannondale and its lenders, The CIT/Business Credit, Inc. and Pegasus Partners II, L.P. reached an agreement in principle that, subject to Bankruptcy Court approval, will provide the Company with interim financing to fund post-petition operating expenses and to meet supplier and employee commitments. “The interim financing will be used to continue the operation of the bicycle business.”

Cannondale also reached an agreement in principle with Pegasus Partners II, L.P. to sell substantially all of its assets to Pegasus Partners II, L.P. pursuant to Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code, subject to better and higher offers and Court approval. Pegasus operated the bicycle business as a going concern with the involvement of current management and purchased separately the Company’s motor sports assets, including the intellectual property related to the design of Cannondale’s motor sports products. While management continued to work with other potential interested buyers for either or both of the businesses.

Because the Company had obtained interim post-petition financing, Cannondale were able to pay vendors for goods and services received after the filing in the ordinary course of business.

Montgomery explained that difficulties with Cannondale’s motor sports business made the filing necessary and that the Company has determined to suspend operations of the motor sports division pending a potential sale. “The motor sports division was threatening the bicycle division,” explained Montgomery. “Although we believe in the value of our motor sports products, we did not have sufficient financial resources to make the additional investments necessary. We look forward to bringing a renewed focus to our core bicycle business and to working through this present challenge with the greatest possible speed. The suspension of operations of the motor sports division will mean that production workers who had been furloughed from Cannondale’s motor sports factory in Bedford, Pennsylvania in December will not be recalled. Production workers at Cannondale’s Bedford bicycle factory, who had been idled during the shutdown, are scheduled to return to work in the near future…..”Joe Montgomery.

The future Cannondale design's

Even now after the near end of Cannondale in 2003 they still manage to produce amazing machines that catch the eye and the imagination. Even though the greatest moments for me with Cannondale were during the early 90’s with their fat down tubes and delicious Super V looks they never stop to astound me by the bikes and products they still design. I have watched many bike companies come and go but Cannondale still stand strong and that is something even if you do not like their bikes have to take your hat off to. Nowadays Cannondale bikes are leading the way - building high end bikes and selling over bike 80 models in more than 70 countries! Regarded as the bike worlds best innovator, Cannondale's hand crafted cycles have won many, many design awards - "Award for Innovation" (Bicycling magazine), "Technology Development of the Year" (VeloNews Bike magazine), ""Best Of What's New" (Popular Science), "The Best New Products" (Business Week), "Design Recognition" (ID magazine), "Computer Aided Design Award" (Design News magazine) plus "Design & Engineering" (Popular Mechanics). Cannondale mountain bikes have won 11 World Championships, 17 World Cup Series titles, 16 National Championships with two Olympic medals. Canondale road racing bikes have taken eleven stages in the Tour de France, 27 at the Giro d'Italia and two Giro d'Italia overall victories, a Professional World Championship and two Italian Nationals.

In total over 20 million Cannondale bikes have been built in 20 years.

Fifty-five skilled craftsmen build Cannondale bikes by hand - the artisan initials each bike.

Cannondale bicycles sell over 80 different models in more than 70 countries worldwide - UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and many others.

Cannondale was my first love and like the song says “and it will be my last.” They have grown in strength over the years and if you are a Cannondale fan like me, you can spot one a mile away, much to the surprise of my wife.(In fact even she can now..) The cycling world to me, should owe a debt of gratitude to Joe Montgomery and Pete Myers for doing what they have done for the world of cycling. To this day Cannondale who started out with a work force of 2, now employ more than 1,500 people and are still growing strong, getting bigger all the time. Cannondale are a company that I tend to find are more ambitious than most. There are not many companies that come to mind that have small derivative companies within them like CODA and the HEADSHOK company that produce the infamous Lefty forks. To think all this started in a room above a pickle store way back in 1970…God bless the 70s (forgetting flairs and daft hair cuts and The Bay City Rollers) they were great all of those that were born after this time well you will never know how great they were but those of you like me who were, don’t you feel privileged that you experienced them and witnessed the birth of Cannondale…?

The MTB PORN KING.

My Very own Cannondale Super V1000FR

Should anyone wish to contact Cannondale direct here is their business addresses……….

USA……….Cannondale Bicycle Corp
16 Trowbridge Drive
Bethel, CT 06801
PH# 1-800-BIKEUSA
1-800-245-3872Cannondale Europe

Europe……..Cannondale Europe B.V.
Hanzepoort 27
7575 DB Oldenzaal
The Netherlands
PH# + 41 61 487 9 380

Thanks to all the web sites I gained info and pictures form to do this artical you know who you are.....

K88MUD · Joined: 20 Sep 2008 Posts: 798 Location: New Marske

Awesome report MTB.......i have a raven in the garage in bits......must get round to rebuilding it.

Like the killer V very nice. Very Happy

Gunner · Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 10:09 pm Post subject:

WOW

What an in depth article Wink

A Super V 4000DH

A 1983 ST500......

A 1988 SM600.......

What superb machines, that I had forgotten all about Embarassed

You have excelled yourself Sir, in producing such a superb report Wink

I am, however seriously worried that your work will be copied by all sorts of unscrupulous sites who will not be giving you the credit you deserve for this work.

However, such is life and we must be prepared to rise above it!!

Thank you for providing MTBE with such an in-depth article. Smile

mr-marty-martin · Joined: 30 Jun 2008 Posts: 3780

i'll second that gunner, great write up, and so much detail. i could realy tell by all the info and depth in the write up how much time you must of put into it

keep them like this and mbuk will be after you Wink

sme wierd designs from cannondale at the end there

MTB PORN KING · Joined: 02 Aug 2008 Posts: 292

tomlevell · Joined: 13 Apr 2008 Posts: 714

I am, however seriously worried that your work will be copied by all sorts of unscrupulous sites who will not be giving you the credit you deserve for this work.

Er but most of that info and the Manitou info is pulled off other peoples web sites anyway without credit.

mr-marty-martin · Joined: 30 Jun 2008 Posts: 3780

i think its a bit differant if someone just copied and pasted the WHOLE thing and said they did it Confused

MTB PORN KING · Joined: 02 Aug 2008 Posts: 292

CLATChY · Joined: 24 Oct 2008 Posts: 236

Nice write up MTB......
It was great reading some history on `Cannondale` some really odd looking bikes they made....

As you said in the artical once you own a `dale` you always want too keep hold of one, no matter how many bikes you`ve got.I shall prolly keep my `lefty`no matter what I buy next year..

P.s I could of given you a good pic of my `lefty` shock to add an forum link too the artical. Very Happy

tomlevell · Joined: 13 Apr 2008 Posts: 714

Indeed that is but posting your sources would also give people other avenues to look for more info and quite often links for other brands etc. You should definatley post your sources if your taking photos and text verbatim off their website.

Like the year Cannondale started is up for debate.

Cannondale themselves claim 1971
http://www.cannondale.com/company/history.html

Backed up on Wikipedia but this is probably taken from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannondale_Bicycle_Corporation

But the most reliable site for historic bike first flight bikes (now on Mombat) quotes 1970 from the 1984 catalogue.
http://mombat.org/Cannondale.htm

Dave F · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 703 Location: Darlington

Nice read MTB - but I have to say........ugly UGLY bikes (in my opinion that is!) Even as a small lad I recall seeing them and thinking how unlike bikes they looked.

Still, I've ridden on a couple of 'Dales and they are amazing machines Wink

Keep up the good work Very Happy

mr-marty-martin · Joined: 30 Jun 2008 Posts: 3780

i must agree alot of them are ugly...

and i also agree with you mtb that the v design has been copied, the bikes in argos,toys r us etc are all like that when it comes to full susser's

MTB PORN KING · Joined: 02 Aug 2008 Posts: 292

MTB PORN KING · Joined: 02 Aug 2008 Posts: 292

mr-marty-martin · Joined: 30 Jun 2008 Posts: 3780

when they had money problems they should of just sued the people who copied Wink

am not sure but some of them are too, well... i dont no, Laughing

bulky

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