90s MTB to Gravel Bike Conversion. 1997 Cannondale F300

In this video we convert a 1990s Cannondale F300 26in mountain bike to a Gravel bike.

[@Downhillsmoothtarmac]

Love the look of this, great quality frames too - I like the forks too, especially as so many folks are adding shocks to modern gravel bikes these days anyways!!

[@MozOnBikes]

@@Downhillsmoothtarmac Hey fellow creator 👋 The look of the forks inspired me as they kind of look similar to the RS Rudy if you squint hard. I did consider going ridged by but thought I’d try something different. I enjoyed your Cannondale Cyclocross build btw. It’s one of the bike I keep an eye out for on the second hand listing in my area. I really love the colour way of the model you’ve got.

[@Downhillsmoothtarmac]

@@MozOnBikes I actually thinking of adding forks to my GT gravel build for an upcoming video - so I loved seeing your build! Man, what a bike the cyclocross is! It’s now my favourite bike pretty much - I haven’t ridden my on one freeranger since I built it!!!

[@VE7QRZ]

👍 Liked the fork rebuild, not a big fan of flat bars. Very nice looking bike, great colour.

[@jeremynorth]

This is a really nice rebuild. I like the shallow drop handlebar. I think a future upgrade would be a rigid fork. Save a lot of weight. Your comment about the colour of the Continental matching the frame made me smile as that's exactly the attention to detail I'd go for. Brilliant bike

[@MozOnBikes]

Cheers dude! Yeah it a really fun feeling handlebar, it’s a Ritchey Venturemax 46cm. It’s very shallow and got a nice ergonomic bump on the drops. Regarding forks, I’ve actually got some early Cannondale Badboy fork that was my plan b for the bike. But I’ve been surprised by how nice the quadra 5s feel. Will see how they hold up commuting and take it from there.

[@jpauldion]

Nice C-Dale conversion! Doing the same currently to my 99 GT Zaskar - also Mango in color!

[@anzrpy]

old frames are just chef kiss

[@BenSambrook]

That looks absolutely fantastic. Great work!

[@gabegoldberg]

Excellent commentary Moz, I always learn so much in your videos!

[@janotran]

Esos cuadros eran maravilloso, y quedo bellisima como gravel....grann trabajo.

[@zackymad1533]

That is a stunning looking bike and an excellent educational video. I ride a road bike most of the times but i have a cool 28" hybrid from 15 years ago I'd love to convert to gravel/off road type. Unfortunately I'm not as gifted as you when comes to mechanics. Thanks for the video!

[@MozOnBikes]

The only way to learn is to try, theres nothing super hard with the older bikes especially when it comes to mechanics. With the internet and youtube there is a wealth of guides and help out there to have a go, make a project and have fun!

[@larsschlepper7583]

Good Morning from Germany, I built up the CAD 1 (look at my profile photo) 3 years ago. It`s very interesting, that the old STX parts are compatibel with the shifters from actuall shimano claris. I think, your frame is in a better condition ( my has some damages because of moisture), but I hope, I can ride my CAD 1 some more years. I like the peach colour in Original. Your project with mono and Hollowtech bottom bracket is also nice and obviously we had the same idea with the contis double fighter😄 Have much fun with yout bike! Lars from northern germany.

[@George-Kliavkoff4Big12]

Very, very nice. Currently restomodding a 97 Mongoose. Maybe I'll do a video as well. Might I suggest upgrading your seatpost to an external dropper? You can use the cable mounts/guides once used for the front derailleur .

[@MozOnBikes]

Hmm I’m in 2 minds about droppers on gravel bikes, whilst I like the idea for the occasional technical section, I’m not sure if it’s worth the weight and cost. However I do like the ideas of doing hack like you said using the cable mounts, maybe I could gut the ratchet in the shifter mechanism and have that actuating the post 🤔

[@George-Kliavkoff4Big12]

@@MozOnBikes yeah, my OCD would have gone into full throttle seeing those cable guides not being utilized. I guess I could have pulled out the grinder and shaved them off. But I have droppers on my two other bikes, and now I don't think I can go back to a QR seat clamp. 1st world problems. Ha ha

[@lojeda]

Una verdadera chulada! *chef's kiss!

[@shane0clock716]

Finished product is incredible, nice work!

[@trailwayfilms]

This is great 🙌 I'm doing the same with an old gt saddleback. Mine has front suspension too but I like the rigid fork look. Could I just do a straight swap or are the suspension forks longer and so creating geometry problems?

[@tengcochristanjaym.8401]

Cool build❤

[@JohnPilling25]

Looks very nice👍👍👍

[@MozOnBikes]

Thank you 👍

[@YogaStrengthProject]

If you don’t mind asking, how tall are you?

[@somethingsmith3242]

Awesome looking bike build. I don’t get the whole conversion thing though. I’m just gonna change out the tires on one of my MTB to some faster road/off road tires and call it a gravel bike. I don't like drop bars and I don’t want to do without my 3x7 drive train. I like my gear options just in case I need something more or less.

[@lukebulmer9254]

I have a almost stock🤓 1999 CANNONDALE F-900 WITH A FATTY D, AND im gravel curious 😁 i have posted videos of all my CANNONDALEs take look at my f900 ,, 🤓 i jus wanna switch the wheelset and nothing else, is this possible?? Meaning i wanna keep the fatty head shok , ect🤓

[@rafacestero]

Did you kept the 26” rims?

[@MozOnBikes]

@@rafacestero yes and no, upgraded the wheels as the original only had a freehub suitable for 7 speed cassettes but kept it 26in…Not a 650, I think there’s not a big advantage for all the hassle, especially with a rim brake bike.

[@highestsprings]

Looks great, did you stay with QR or change it out? If so, how?

[@EnjoyTheRideMTB]

You can see both the fork and the frame are still QR in the end of the video, I don't think there would be a point to changing that

[@highestsprings]

@@EnjoyTheRideMTB yes, have seen some change out the front fork. In the thinking of making it more secure. Personally I think QR is fine. Sort of fits the personality of these bikes.

[@EnjoyTheRideMTB]

@@highestsprings I've seen people switch to thru axles on the frame by simply drilling bigger holes into the frame to fit the axle. I don't think QR is that unsafe for gravel bikes, it actually takes a lot to get a QR wheel out thanks to the little ridges they make around the skewers. If it untightened just a bit there is no big risk, you will feel it right away when you get on the bike as the direction gets flimsy on the front, I forgot to tighten my back skewer back once, I was thinking my rear rotor was rubbing quite a lot, and when I tried to depart at a green light the wheel just dislocated itself and I just got stuck on the spot. So as long as you don't ignore the signs you should be fine, I honestly don't see it being more unsafe than thru axle in disciplines such as road and gravel where wheels don"t leave the ground that much. If it was a mountain bike with which you take jumps and all, I would definitely prefer thru axles. That said, if you check your bike before every ride, as you should, there definitely shouldn't be any problem. Sorry for that long answer, I'm pretty sure you already agree with me on most of that but I just wanted to give a constructive answer

[@highestsprings]

@@EnjoyTheRideMTB No I agree for sure. I think the whole axle thing already went full circle. Its mostly a ploy to market new bikes. I wouldn't let QR define a purchase. There are so many decent bikes out there with rim braking and QR. I don't think its a major issue even doing some jumps, it just requires checking. Obvioulsy if your going mad for it a through axle is good. That said, they can work their way out also. Lets hope more of these beautiful old bikes get revived like this one.

[@EnjoyTheRideMTB]

@@highestsprings Fun fact about thru axles that I learned recently: they are usually not axles but just thick skewers actually, the real axle is located in the hub already. Peak Torque made a video about that some time ago. The reason I prefer thru axle for mtb is the consistency in the rotor alignment for discbrakes, because I always put the same torque in the "axle", which I can't do with QR. Also the axles are bigger on thru-axle-type hubs, and I’ll take anything that makes the bike stronger!

[@silver_c1oud]

what size cassette are you using?

[@MozOnBikes]

Deore M4100 10 speed 11-42

[@roberthopkins4204]

Niiiiiiceee niiicee 👌🏻😍

You were lucky not to deal with some cannondale proprietary parts like the BB.

[@SHWELL11]

Those Bars are Sexy.. Ritchie?

[@MozOnBikes]

Yes sir, Ritchie venture max classic in 46cm.

[@黄辰旭]

Missed a letter 'L' in the title.

[@MozOnBikes]

Whooops! Corrected now, thanks for the heads up!

[@Kirt44]

Why would you do this

[@Tarmaccyclocross]

Another great mountain bike ruined

[@jedunboxing4127]

how?

[@ereira1]

nibble nibble

[@TheRadDadShow]

Another great mountain bike is being used again. It was probably gathering dust before. That's the reality with these conversions. 90s were almost 30 years ago.