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I've not had a road bike since I was about 16 which is too many years ago to want to remember so forgive my ignorance. I can remember that Cannondale were said to be good back in the day so I've bought one locally. It was a fixer-upper so reasonably cheap.

I noticed having got it home that where the paint had chipped the colour underneath was a different colour. What's more it looks like a bit of surface rust.

Alarm bells are ringing and I'm wondering what I've bought. I've spent hours trawling the web but failed.

This bike is said to be at least 20 years old. The bottom tube is tear-shaped and is slightly larger than the other tubes.

The other thing that makes this stand out for me is that the top tube has rolled at both ends slightly but 90 degrees from the other end. This means when you look at the bike from the side the top bar looks thinner, has a lower profile where it attaches to the head tube, whereas the opposite where it joins the seat post tube so from side on it looks wider, if that makes sense.

The serial number is S followed by about 7 or 8 digits and runs from back to front on the crank drive side. The forks are unusually straight too.

Can anybody put me out of my misery please?

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    A picture and a serial number would help alot. Serial number is often on the bottom of the bottom bracket. Commented Apr 30, 2020 at 14:44
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    A good picture, well lit, straight on, from drive side is necessary if you want a shot at identification Commented Apr 30, 2020 at 14:56
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    Cannondales are aluminum, which doesn't rust, although Cannondales of 90s vintage have steel forks, which can rust.
    – Adam Rice
    Commented Apr 30, 2020 at 15:02
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    We have no hope of identifying your bike without better pictures.
    – David D
    Commented May 1, 2020 at 12:43
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    The cable guide on the head tube is a fairly uncommon feature that ought to help with yhe ID
    – Andrew
    Commented May 4, 2020 at 17:55

2 Answers 2

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That doesn't seem to match any Cannondale serial number formats.

https://vintagecannondale.com/info/serial_numbers/ says that there was a non-drive side placement for serial numbers, but they don't start with S.

That said, it seems to be a decent-enough looking road bike. Simply add yellow paint to cover up the scratches, or perhaps contrast-paint over the damage with a different colour like deep black, or red, or ride it as-is.

The small support for the gear cable, lower on the head tube, is somewhat distinctive, and someone might recognise that. Its not a cable-stop, it is just holding the cable outer.

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Mistry solved. It's a Sunn Roader.

Thanks for your help guys

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  • wow good sleuthing. It's hard to find an image in a brief google search, of a Sunn Roader with the same head tube cable guides, but there is one here: gramho.com/media/2145268677575101040 similar straight fork blades too. This feature rarity might make dating it more specific too. that post is tagged #1996
    – Swifty
    Commented May 5, 2020 at 18:43

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