Is it true what they say about Cannondale?

AFAICT, Klein was the first with a welded, fat-tubed, heat treated
aluminium frame. He held one or more patents on such frames, FWTW.

So am I the only person waiting for Carl Fogel to dig up some reference
dating back to the early 1900s of fat-tubed aluminum bicycles? If they
existed, Carl's the man to find 'em!

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com


"Ozark Bicycle" wrote in message
...
On Jan 14, 12:06 pm, Chalo wrote:
Ozark Bicycle wrote:

SMS wrote:

Cannondale's claim to fame in bicycles was that they were using
aluminum
when everyone else was using steel. They somehow turned using a
cheaper, less desirable, material into a marketing advantage.

Cannondale's road to success involved ripping off Gary Klein and
making an affordable frame that was light, stiff and very marketable.
It also provided a nice, fat profit to Cannondale.

Someone else, maybe several someones, surely made a fat-tubed aluminum
frame before Gary Klein. They, like Gary Klein, didn't do what
Cannondale did, though. C'dale put fat-tubed frames in your LBS and
mine, where we could see them and (as you point out) afford to buy
them.


AFAICT, Klein was the first with a welded, fat-tubed, heat treated
aluminium frame. He held one or more patents on such frames, FWTW.

Chalo wrote:
Ozark Bicycle wrote:
SMS wrote:

Cannondale's claim to fame in bicycles was that they were using aluminum
when everyone else was using steel. They somehow turned using a
cheaper, less desirable, material into a marketing advantage.
Cannondale's road to success invilved ripping off Gary Klein and
making an affordable frame that was light, stiff and very marketable.
It also provided a nice, fat profit to Cannondale.

Someone else, maybe several someones, surely made a fat-tubed aluminum
frame before Gary Klein.

I don't think so. I actually used to ride with Gary. He made his bike
as part of a MIT course (yes, a course on aluminum welding and bicycle
building, from MIT). He was in the class of maybe '75 or '76, we rode
together in 74-75 (or '76), and he had his fat-tubed frame then. He had
worked with component manufacturers even back then to get clamps that
would fit; I don't remember what components (shifters and front
derailleurs would have been the issues, of course) he managed to get.
But he certainly was ahead of the pack as far as using fat tubes for
aluminum frames then. There were a few aluminum frames available, such
as Vitus I believe, but they were small tubes, with I presume large wall
thickness, and IIRC lugged frames glued together. Heli-arc welding of
bike frames was not done before this -- and if Carl can find something
from 1897, my hat's off to him.

--

David L. Johnson

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries,
and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove
mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. [1 Corinth. 13:2]

On Jan 15, 10:04*pm, "David L. Johnson"
wrote:
Chalo wrote:
Ozark Bicycle wrote:
SMS wrote:

Cannondale's claim to fame in bicycles was that they were using aluminum
* when everyone else was using steel. They somehow turned using a
cheaper, less desirable, material into a marketing advantage.
Cannondale's road to success invilved ripping off Gary Klein and
making an affordable frame that was light, stiff and very marketable.
It also provided a nice, fat profit to Cannondale.

Someone else, maybe several someones, surely made a fat-tubed aluminum
frame before Gary Klein. *

I don't think so. *I actually used to ride with Gary. *He made his bike
as part of a MIT course (yes, a course on aluminum welding and bicycle
building, from MIT). *He was in the class of maybe '75 or '76, we rode
together in 74-75 (or '76), and he had his fat-tubed frame then. *He had
worked with component manufacturers even back then to get clamps that
would fit; I don't remember what components (shifters and front
derailleurs would have been the issues, of course) he managed to get.
But he certainly was ahead of the pack as far as using fat tubes for
aluminum frames then. *There were a few aluminum frames available, such
as Vitus I believe, but they were small tubes, with I presume large wall
thickness, and IIRC lugged frames glued together. *Heli-arc welding of
bike frames was not done before this -- and if Carl can find something
from 1897, my hat's off to him.


ISTR reading that Sheldon's wife was at MIT at the same time as Gary
Klein and made a similar frame in the same course.

Hank wrote:

ISTR reading that Sheldon's wife was at MIT at the same time as Gary
Klein and made a similar frame in the same course.

Could be, but Gary thought that his design was better than anyone else's
in the course -- most of them restricted tube diameters to accommodate
standard components.

--

David L. Johnson

If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a
conclusion.
-- George Bernard Shaw

On Jan 12, 4:58 pm, Chalo wrote:
I've heard a rumor in the last couple of days that Cannondale has been
bought by Pacific Cycle, or perhaps by its parent corporation Dorel
Industries.

My research has turned up nothing conclusive. Can anyone corroborate
this?

I was a little surprised to discover that Cannondale has been trading
at $.04 per share, rising at the end of the week to $.05 per share. I
guess it's true what they say about how to make a small fortune in the
bike business!

The possibility of Cannondales devolving into Wal-dales is almost too
grisly to contemplate.

Chalo

You can verify the current stock price at NYTimes.com. Go to the biz
page and enter the stock symbol BIKEQ. Apparently it's traded on the
NASDQ Pink Sheets

Dave

In article
,
DC1999 wrote:

On Jan 12, 4:58 pm, Chalo wrote:
I've heard a rumor in the last couple of days that Cannondale has been
bought by Pacific Cycle, or perhaps by its parent corporation Dorel
Industries.

My research has turned up nothing conclusive. Can anyone corroborate
this?

I was a little surprised to discover that Cannondale has been trading
at $.04 per share, rising at the end of the week to $.05 per share. I
guess it's true what they say about how to make a small fortune in the
bike business!

The possibility of Cannondales devolving into Wal-dales is almost too
grisly to contemplate.

Chalo

You can verify the current stock price at NYTimes.com. Go to the biz
page and enter the stock symbol BIKEQ. Apparently it's traded on the
NASDQ Pink Sheets

Dave

Dave, we covered this already: the pink-sheet stock is a shell with no
relation to the active bike-making entity; essentially the corporate
remains of the old Cannondale.

The Cannondale that makes bikes is privately held by Pegasus, a capital
fund that specializes in acquisitions like buying the distressed
Cannondale.

Hey, look, there it is in Fund II:
http://www.pegasusinvestors.com/port...de=view&fund=2

In practice, the bike-making part of Cannondale has had nearly complete
continuity from pre-bankruptcy to the present day. The corporate
leadership was changed dramatically after the bankruptcy, and the
albatross motorsports division was sold off.

If you don't believe me, believe Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannond...tion#Ownership

note that they still link to Cannondale's old stock symbol from that
page, but in fact the assets that company had are now wholly owned by
Pegasus II.

I'm not sure why BIKEQ is even worth 300,000. It may be the fiduciary
equivalent of an abandoned bank account, or it may be that the ticker,
corporate name, and incorporating documents themselves are still
considered to have some tiny residual value.

Heck, it could just be an artifact of a certain number of dumb people
thinking they were buying the real Cannondale.

Anyways, Cannondale doesn't publish its financials anymore, being
privately held, but it is owned by deep pockets.

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"My scenarios may give the impression I could be an excellent crook.
Not true - I am a talented lawyer." - Sandy in rec.bicycles.racing

"Dan Birchall" wrote in message
...
| (Chalo) wrote:
| I've heard a rumor in the last couple of days that Cannondale has
been
| bought by Pacific Cycle, or perhaps by its parent corporation Dorel
| Industries.
|
| Pacific/Dorel was one of the companies that looked at bidding on
| Cannondale about a year ago, but pulled out of the auction... but
| yeah there are rumors again. Lebron James (the basketball player)
| bought part of Cannondale last year too, you know...
|
| --
| Oh, wicked, bad, naughty, _evil_ Dan! He is a _naughty_ person...

http://www.bikebiz.com/news/29377/Ca...Dorel-for-200m

Cannondale bought by Dorel for $200million

With the purchase Dorel creates two divisons: Pacific Cycle for the mass
and an IBD-only division
Canada's Dorel Industries has acquired the Cannondale Bicycle Corporation.

Headquartered in Connecticut, Cannondale has facilities in Bedford,
Pennsylvania as well as offices in Canada, Switzerland, Holland, Japan, and
Australia.

The purchase also includes Sugoi Performance Apparel.

The total value of the all-cash transaction will be $190m to $200m,
subject to Cannondale's earnings results for the year ending June 30th.

The transaction, which will be immediately accretive to Dorel's earnings,
is being financed through debt. Cannondale and Sugoi are being purchased
from an affiliate of Pegasus Capital Advisors, which acquired the company in
2003. 2007 sales for Cannondale and Sugoi
were approximately $200m

Dorel's Recreational/Leisure segment is being split in two. The Cannondale
Sports Group will be IBD-only.




--

---

a friendly growl from the bear on the Zephyr that roars

__ __ __ _ __
/__/ / /__/ /_ /_\ /_ /
/_ / _ / /__/ /__ / \ / \ ....Kawasaki Zephyr

barry j taylor
Ulysses #25871: netrider #549
Skype: ursusaustralis



~~~ ~ _@
~~ ~ _- \,
~~ (*)/ (*) . . . bjbear on his treadly






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