Surprise n+1 occurrence – Have a funny one here:

Cannondale Silk – (caad2 frame, straight-blade 1″ travel Headshok forks w/lockout, suspension post, magura hydros, 700c, possibly >38mm tyre clearance, 3x? setup)

Anyone hereabouts ever straddled such a thing? And will I die?

This is mine, I’ll just leave this here 🙂

What’s not to like about a gravel bike with some travel. Build it a ride the hole off it.
Mine was a winter hack but it gets used far more than I thought.

I’ve change a few things since the picture. Shorter stem, bigger chainring and a layback seat post.

Oh, if you need any headshok stems, I have a bunch of them in different lengths and angles.

^ That is a thing of beauty (imagined with the shorter stem). How does it ride?

I have seen you post that before and it struck me as a great rig back then. Time for updated pics (hint)

It makes me really miss my F400, might try and buy it back one day, such great, great frames and the 18″ fitted me like a glove.

Bookmarked, thnks for the heads-up on the stems – and I may well be tinkering, as have shorter reach than ideal. The Silk looks to have been basically a road version of yr frankenbike – w/shorter travel forks, braze-ons for front racks.

Cannondale always were a bit outer-space and bonkers/ahead of the game (delete as applicable) – your bike is a tribute to that!

It’s an interesting ride ( in a good way ) on road it encourages you to be smooth to keep the shock from compressing. Off road it’s pretty damn comfy. The fsa bars are 46 wide, which are 2cm wider than I use on my proper road bike.

As the bike was in this pic, I had too much weight forward, hence the shorter stem and layback post.
Happy to do 40 miles onto this now.

I’m off to the shed in a bit so I’ll take a new pic.

wish i hadn’t sold my f400 – served me well – that looks like an interesting mod On And On.

This looks interesting for anybody making a mix n match gravel bike – http://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/collections/derailleur-optimization/products/tanpan

on and on – Member
This is mine, I’ll just leave this here

Very nice. 🙂

As it is now after the changes.

I had one ages ago, loved it. Although it was a flat bar with magura rim hydros. Stupidly used it as a commuter and one night it got knicked.

Kewl update pics! is that stem n’ caps real Goldinium?? 😉

Love these bikes.

As it is now after the changes.

Apart from the pedals and cable brakes, I covet your bike! Just looks….”right”.

The bar end caps are from two bottles of sailor Jerry rum.
I had a few bottles over Christmas and it was a shame to throw them away 🙂

The bar end caps are from two bottles of sailor Jerry rum.
I had a few bottles over Christmas and it was a shame toI wish I had been clever enough to pour them away

and buy some proper rum instead! 🙂

Mount Gay XO FTW!

Sailor Jerry is nice with coke. I have a fair few others in the collection but they don’t come with free bar ends 🙂

You mix your rum. With coke.

I take back any comments about liking your bike.

😉

No no no, only jerry gets Coke, the better stuff is taken neat 🙂 I’m not some sort of barbarian.

Phew. 🙂 Was worried you were about to say you like Fosters Rocks or something….

I picked this whole F2000 bike up for about 150GBP. Fitted some slicks, I may put drops on it seeing on and on’s one up there

I need a bigger chain ring and 42 doesn’t cut it on the road really. I have taken it on gravel tracks and its great fun 🙂

soma rich that’s bonkers cheap for such good frameset, let alone a whole bike.

what’s not to like in a gravel bike with some travel

The goppingness ^

I think it looks ok.

Although I still wish Cannondale did an update of this.

Although I still wish Cannondale did an update of this.

Which bits? Surely the bike in the post above yours is the update to this? From a marketing perspective it certainly includes the modern trends, I accept the slate is no longer an out and out cross bike. Maybe a compromise the wrong way?

The Headshok…..

I just think its a neater solution and doesn’t require a Lefty hub…

Fair enough.

I agree. I love the lefty but the headshok does have its benefits. A new version with carbon legs and a lightweight damper unit would be perfect.

I soooo wanted to buy a slate Force but the super short travel lefty feels like too much of a compromise.

The lefty green one is lovely!

I’ve got a CAAD MTB (1999) frame. I did similar to the above and found the following out:

– With 700c wheels it’s too high – it feels weird.I reckon 650 wheels would work

– 35mm tyres just fit and no more. Just.

– for drop bars I went from a 120mm stem to 90mm

Possibly useless info…

My bro has my old 2003 F1000SL…time to get it back from him I reckon!
It’s got a really lovely bright yellow / lime green SoBe paint job. I’m guessing from what larrydavid said the 700c wheels would fit but the geometry might not be great?
F

Yep, 650 would squeeze in. I went for 26inch wheels with 1.75. It gives approximately the same rolling diameter + this was a parts bin special and I had them in the shed.
Stem, yep, I went from 120 to an 85 to shift the weight back.

Bike Lego is fun, far better than buying ready built stuff 🙂

Might be worth a cheeky offer…

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CANNONDALE-F900SL-CAAD5-FRAME-WITH-ULTRA-FATTY-FORKS-HARDTAIL-HANDMADE-USA-/131795803548?hash=item1eafa45d9c:g:qnEAAOSwubRXEmO7

bike lego is fun

Fully concur. Although am trialling a Genesis Vagabond* before I commit to servicing this Headshok. It (Cannondale Silk) is a very lovely bike to ride in every other way, but unserviced gritty/bottoming-out shock is very nasty business.

Similar thoughts about Cannondale Silk/proto-gravel bike:

here

*an off-the-shelf frankenbike?

Larrydavid

Not useless, just ordered some 35mm tyres today to fit to my 2002 F800 when I get round to collecting some bigger wheels. Getting rid of the Lefty and going carbon rigid, and going for Mary bars so I can keep the brakes and shifters