Back in 93 I bought a brand new M600 Cannondale, I chose this model after I had a Delta V 2000... This was a great bike but in those days FS bikes were not that good, so much so I went back to rigid. The M600 model was a cross between the conservative M1000/2000 and the radical M800 and featured a normal height BB like the 2000 and a sloping top tube like the 800. It was a great bike, however I guess I always wanted the more radical 'Beast of the East'.
One Friday night, maybe after one to many glasses of France's finest I hit buy it now on a bit of a shed of a M800 and this is what turned up....
Painted grey and a real mix and match parts build, a bit of a mess really... Using the website
www.vintagecannondale.com I at least dated the frame to 1993...
So the first decision was how to build it, hardcore retro style as per brochure or hot rod style... It had to be hot rod, the same way we rode them back in the 90's.
The bike was stripped and the frame shot blasted and powder coated in the closest red I could match to Cannondale red. Decals were bought of the ebay and are not great, there is a guy that now does better ones so I may swap these out.
The build currently features XT thumbies with XT short cage mech running 8 speed, American Classic hubs on Mavic 217 SUP rims, FSA Ti b/b with Cook Bros crank and Pace chainrings, Club Roost riser bar, NOS headset, Zoom Stem and DX V brakes.
As a footnote I met Martyn Ashton at the Goodwood Orbital Festival last year and took a liking to the M800 and signed the frame for me. He mentioned that he had fond memories of the bike as when he signed to ride for Cannondale they sent him a Beast of the East and a week later he was World Champion!
