Cannondale Vintage Backpacking

[Eugene Smith]

I'm a young buck who had no idea that Cannondale used to be in the backpacking business.

Yes, the same co. cranking out the $12K Super Six Evo Ultimate of today were once dabbling their fingers in the tent and pack business for hikers. Smart move?

I think so.

Is that Dave Chenault?

Vintage Cannondale Catalogs courtesy of The Creek of Boots.

[Stephen Barber]

Back in the day, my wife and I were ecstatic to get two new Canondale synthetic sleeping bags (we lived in Oregon at the time). They arrived, we promptly took them out for a hike – and froze in the wretched things! It was easily 20* warmer than their rating, and we were both very cold. Canondale was adamant that they would not accept their return, that they were properly rated, and somehow it was all our fault.

It never surprised me that their backpacking line failed.

[Eugene Smith]

Classic!

There you go folks, spoken from an unhappy customer- Cannondale was doomed from the start.

[a b]

I actually have a Cannondale bike i use to get around our little town of 3,000 souls; Ben lomond.
Got my bike for $250 off of Craig's List.
I replaced the tires, tuned up the de-railures, etc and it is still worth $250.
I know because i tried to sell it to pay rent before i got this latest cool job.
Anyhow. here is my Cannondale.. I need about $5,000 more dollars to complete my next expedition.. if someone wants to pay 5,000 for my 250 bike i would be stoked…
.
.
PS. It is really cool and yellow.
Mostly it is yellow.
Oh wait.. Howard Hughs could have possibly rode the aluminum this bike is made from at one point in his life.

Yea, I think i'll just keep riding my Cannondale around town.
As for sleeping bags made by this company.. You MUST be shi##ing' me.

[Rod Lawlor]

Hey Matt,

If it was an 800, you might be in luck, but those 700s are worth nothing!

I loved the old catalogues. I have a 1991/93 T600/700 Frankenstein that I toured through California and Mexico on, twenty years ago. I remember poring over the catalogues, deciding what to buy. All pre Internet of course.

No surprise their camping gear never took off though. Even though their bikes were great, their panniers were always rubbish.

Rod

[David Lutz]

Cannondale tried to build dirt bikes also. From scratch!!

Nearly put them under. In fact I think they had to sell the company or bring in new money after that fiasco.

I admire them for stretching out but there is something to be said for going with what you know….

[Eugene Smith]

I forgot about Cannondale motocross bikes.

Wasn't it this creation that almost put them under?

Things got weird when Cannondale's R&D started sketching up pannier designs for this one.

[David Lutz]

That looks like a combination shopping cart/roto-tiller/treadnill thing……

[Eugene Smith]

How much was tied up in this project? Goodness.

Who knows what they would have come up with had they thrown as much money into backpacking as they have in suspension development over the last several decades.

[Erik Basil]

Well, there's less room for development and viability in backpack technology than there is for suspension in bikes…

[Author]

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