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  • Improving old cannondale f300 … Making it AWESOME help??
  • ben99
    Free Member

    Hi My bike is small and breaking so i need a new bike. My dads bike is from 2003 so he wants a more moden bike.
    His old bike is a cannondale f300 and the frame is super light and strong but the brakes and front suspension are old also the stem makes me hunch over I know its a more streamlined position but I prefer it more upright. Has anyone got good suggestions on new v brakes new forks and grip shifts, grips and bar ends also a short stem. Thanks anyone ever upgraded an f300 that would be cool to know budget is cheap like 250 quid. It is the yellow model.
    Thanks

    z1ppy
    Full Member

    Looks like the F300 was a 2006 model, so newer than you think 😉
    I’d spend your money on a good set of 2nd hand suspension forks and a new stem for starters. The like of v-brakes and grip shifter should be pretty cheap to pick up 2nd hand, as they don’t tend to be the parts most ppl are looking for (I’d suggest staying V-braked until you got the forks sorted then maybe look into some disc’s later).
    You may well be able to replace all there part within your budget if you take you time and buy wisely.

    Forks wise I’d suggest looking for some Rockshox Reba’s (or recons) with around 100mm travel, as this is what the frame will be optimised to work with & be reasonable weight wise. Longer travel might work too but will start to affect the way the bike was made to work, though reba/recons from a few years back can be pushed up to 120mm if you need more travel later.
    Get some wanted ads going in the wtd-classifieds.

    Be-aware that C’dale do have a different headset size, but as a ‘budget’ bike I reckon yours will have come with a std fork/steerer (1 1/8th), though your bars will probably be 25.4 not the newer 31.8 standard, so make sure you get this ‘older’ stem size (again tend to be less popular now, so can come up as bargains). Look for max of 100mm or shorter, but they might be harder to locate as the newer 31.8 stem sizes become the norm with shorter reach, measure the old one (centre of the steerer to the centre of the bars) & work ‘back’ from there.

    Good luck.

    mrblobby
    Free Member

    All good advice there. Modern supension forks are so much better. Though you may find it tricky to find new forks that take v-brakes these days. Depending on the riding you do though you may also want to consider a rigid fork, will probably make the bike ride nicer than the old suspension fork!

    Worth looking at a new set of wheels too, can make a big difference. There should be plenty of second hand 26er wheelsets out there. New rubber and maybe set them up tubeless.

    I did something similar to my old Canondale M500. Sold but wish I’d kept it now.

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    z1ppy
    Full Member

    good point about the V-brake mounts on modern forks, doh!

    DezB
    Free Member

    Looks like the F300 was a 2006 model, so newer than you think

    What makes you say that? They were doing F300s in the 90s
    1999 brochure
    Remember that Cannondale yellow very well.

    As said, modern forks will help, but will need those reducers to fit in the F300’s 1.5 headtube (designed for Headshok forks). 100mm-120mm travel max, I think.

    z1ppy
    Full Member

    What makes you say that?

    looking at vintage c’dale site, couldn’t find anything from 2001 until 2006… my bad.

    taxi25
    Free Member

    If your dad’s giving you the F300 I’d be tempted to sell it, put what you get for it with the £250 and buy something s/hand more to your liking.

    loughor
    Free Member

    I have a yellow F500 from around 2000. It may have disc mounts on both fork and frame (mine does). This could make things cheaper, if that is a priority. Mine is also very yellow, and is called coldplay

    DezB
    Free Member

    There’s a wanted on the classifieds for a F series frame BTW 🙂

    couldn’t find anything from 2001 until 2006… my bad
    No worries, that question wasn’t meant as aggressively as it may have appeared 🙂

    monkeychild
    Free Member

    I have some avid single digit 5 vees with digit 7 levers if you’re interested.

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