1983 Cannondale ST-500
In 1983, Cannondale introduced its first touring bike. A bike considered radical. Extreme. Wild, even.
1983 Cannondale ST-500
Adjectives were violently tossed around and unnecessary drama ensued all because this recalcitrant band of frame builders dared to eschew the industry-standard steel for something unheard of in a touring bicycle—oversized aluminum tubing. Cannondale prioritized a material that was lighter and stiffer than its competitors. And this caused a mild controversy. Thus, the ST-500, or Sport Touring 500, was born and with it, a fundamental change within the industry. The rest of the major bike makers were forced to shift their mentality to think differently about what a tourer could be.
In their early years, Cannondale always had a distinct look. The unmistakable oversized aluminum tubing and welded fillet joints are iconic to the brand. And in a time when many companies felt that “more is better” for splashing decals and other markings, Cannondale downplayed the visual branding clutter, allowing one to focus on the build. Aluminum is also the stalwart tubing choice of the Cannondale name. Benefits yield an incredibly lightweight, responsive and fast bicycle. This also created a more rigid frame than a steel competitor. Notice I say rigid, not harsh. There is a difference. This is tubing that was made to race or tour, where stiffness is a virtue. Say, when climbing and being fully loaded. It has its benefits and drawbacks, much like any bicycle frame tube choice.
Cannondale decided its first touring bicycle would be a sport tourer. Dipping their toes into the touring world but keeping the road roots they had already long established wasn’t a bad way to enter the market. “The Cannondale Sport/Touring bicycle frame has been designed to give a versatile combination of touring performance and efficient response to pedaling” states the 1983 product catalog.
There is a lovely blend that works well here when it comes to the combination of the words, sport and touring. The “sport” portion of title was achieved with the not-too-compact and not-too-long geometry along with the extra biting power that only sidepull brakes can achieve, pushing the cantilever option to the side for the full touring rigs.
Traditional touring boxes were checked with double eyelets on both the front and rear, double bottle cage mounts, a triple drivetrain for the front and a long cage derailleur to keep the range large in the back. In fact, the entire drivetrain was SunTour equipped from the factory, which is perhaps one of my favorite features of this bicycle. SunTour was nearing its peak component reign at this time, and the erudite Cannondale team wisely selected the best for the times.
Another SunTour surprise came with the rear derailleur. A rare, SunTour Superbe Pro GT long cage model adorns the rear drivetrain. Though, the spec sheet show that this Cannondale would have been equipped with a SunTour Superbe Tech-L. But, with a jewel like the Superbe, I see no reason to change back to the stock mech. As if being reliable, super smooth and quiet isn’t enough for you, how about being outfitted with what is considered one of the best friction derailleurs ever? Though top end SunTour may not have the prestige of a Campagnolo Super Record pedigree, it had no trouble outperforming it, and the Shimano Dura-Ace, at the time.
Since the SunTour topic has risen, it would be amiss for me to not to call out what an absolute joy it was to discover, and lightly service, one of the finest bottom brackets that I have had the opportunity to engage with. The SunTour VX wasn’t your standard cage bearing bottom bracket. It came with pressed in cartridge bearings designed with mountain bike and triple touring cranks in mind.
Note the seat stays. Can you tell that they are both elliptical in shape? Likely not with your eyes but it is easily felt with your fingers. This concept was all Cannondale’s and designed to improve the rear triangle’s lateral stiffness. Particularly if the bike was say, laden with fully loaded panniers, swinging side to side with each pedal stroke. A clever design, and a little gimmicky (more of a fun fact, really), determined to assist with keeping deflection from the load to a minimum.
This bike was acquired from an older gentleman who procured it from the original owner a couple of decades prior. I was told that the original owner didn’t ride it much, but the second owner certainly did. He had quite a fleet of bicycles but none of them were at this level. It was only ridden during better weather, saving the “beaters” for the punishingly wet Oregon winters. Being older, he set the bike up to fit his needs, which entailed removing the drop bars for a more upright ride. Pushing it to be a bike it wasn’t exactly meant to be. But, the mild usage helped it retain an almost new quality. The components were built for pushing but it appears that they were rarely, if ever, taxed. Although I received the bicycle in a status that desperately needed a full tear down type cleaning, the sparkle of the heavy flake, anthracite gray metallic looks nearly freshly sprayed and mind-boggling ethereal after two coats of wax. It never fails to amaze me how beautiful a bicycle can be after a serious cleaning. Sometimes, that’s all it takes to bring it back to nearly new condition.
As it sits, there isn’t much a steed like this needs. Though the Selle Royal Contour saddle installed is new, and of high quality, swapping it out for a well-shaped Brooks would have this paragon floating near perfection.
1983 Cannondale ST-500 Product Brochure
1983 Bicycling Test/Bike Review
This bike is currently for sale
Color: Anthracite gray metallic
Frame Size: 55.5cm (C-T) seat post & 55cm (C-C) top tube
Frame/Drop-outs: Cannondale 6061-T6 aluminum alloy
Fork: Tange 124B chro-moly steel
Bars: Nitto Grand Randonneur B135
Bar Wrap: Cinelli; Natural cork with 5 coats of blonde shellac and natural twine
Stem: Nitto Pearl 7
Headset: Tange Levin
Saddle: Selle Royal Contour; Black
Seat Post: Strong Kalloy
Crankset: SR Sakae Apex; 48/44/30; 170mm
Front Derailleur: SunTour Cyclone
Rear Derailleur: SunTour Superbe Pro GT; Long cage
Shifting: SunTour bar end shifters
Brake Levers: Dia-Compe Gran Compe 202
Brake Calipers: Dia-Compe Gran Compe NGC 500
Cable and Housing: Velo Orange; Metallic braid
Freewheel: 6-Speed SunTour New Winner (13/15/18/21/25/30)
Chain: SRAM PC-850
Hubs: SunTour Sealed Bearing; Small flange; SunTour skewers
Wheels: Wolber Super Champion Competition; 36h
Tires: Panaracer Pasela ProTite; Skinwall; 27”x1-1/4”
Special Features: Double eyelets front/rear; Two bottle cage mounts; Brazed-on rear rack mount; Chain rest
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The Simplicity of Vintage Cycles 
Not to mention the half-step plus granny gearing. A beautiful bike. For those of the eroica persuasion, it is ready to go – just don your wool jersey and shorts. One small typo in the specs – if the gearing noted is correct, it is a six speed, not five.
Great call on being a L’Eroica approved bike. I imagine it would shine on the course!
As for the gearing, apparently counting is difficult for me! Thanks for keeping me honest.
Beautifully brought back to life as usual Josh, I had a Cannondale R800 as my first “serious” road bike and I rode it for a decade. Then I discovered steel and there was no going back ;-). 80s Tourers are hard to come by, especially in that condition, I am sure someone will snap it up. I found a mid 80s Trek 520 at bike works about a decade ago and was super luck to grab it but I eventually let it go to hang on to the Nishiki Cresta GT. The buyer was super thrilled to get it.
You are too kind, Ryan. I am hopeful that this one will land in the right hands and finally be put to use so that it may live up to all of its potential. Nobody can say that it hasn’t been waiting patiently! I like to hear how your evolution has meandered as well. It is fascinating to me to consider how we all get to where we are in our current bicycle stables.
I moved to Spokane in 2021 and reduced the “Stable” to just the Nishiki, hard but also freeing, Unfortunately I was in an Auto accident in Jan 2025, I have not memory of it but was fortunate and am unscathed but I got out the habit of riding and while recovering, need to get on the horse again.
I’m sorry to hear of the crash, Ryan but am relieved you are ok and still with us. I’ve been there too (bike crash though) and I had to take a very long break from my bike. When I did finally start riding again, I was overly nervous and very twitchy, like I was going to get hit at any moment. I know it’s a bit of a different situation but all that to say go easy on yourself. Take your time. Things will be normal again.
Nice job, Josh! And a nice specimen.
One note: You repeated the “Traditional touring boxes were checked…” twice.
Thank you for the heads up! I always appreciate an alert. No matter how much editing I do, there is always something I seem to not catch before pressing the “publish” button.
Oh it happens to me too, especially since I tend to write blog posts later in the day!