What’s the Deal with the Cannondale Track?
You know what a CTrack is, you probably know how much it’s worth and how it stills goes up in value today. So what makes it the hype-beast that everyone would sell their kidney for? Come with me as I try very egoistically to explain why, while interlacing text with pictures of my own Cannondale Track.
Please remember that, this is my own personal opinion on the matter. If you want to listen to the closest thing from an expert, you can check one of our first episode here with Amy Danger —> Ep.11 - Fixed Gear's Most Wanted - Cannondale Track with Amy Danger
1 - Yes, it does look good!
The Cannondale Track is not the only oversized aluminum tubing frame with a 1” steel fork out there. So why is this exact bike so appealing to people.
It definitely has smooth welds, tastefully placed decals and was available in stunning paint jobs. But for me, there is something more… The way the design team chose the tubing size, the fork and other elements, has to be more than plain engineering. For me, it’s a frame that flows, no hard edges, no over the top lugs, no overly aggressive features. Just simplicity and functionality.
And in the end, that’s probably why people like it so much…. That, and the gigantic 2” downtube…
2 - This isn’t a myth. They really have an awesome geometry.
To everyone coming at me with the classic “The Ctrack is such a useless, rigid as dry wood, deadly stiff of a bike”. You're not wrong, but you’re also far from the truce.
Yes, this frame is extremely rigid by itself, but as I said on this blog before, 100% rigidity is a one way ticket for failure, cracks, or just extremely poor energy transfer.
Every road version of the Cannondale 3.0 was shipped with an aluminum fork, but engineers at Cannondale decided to put steel forks on the very special track variant. We’re talking about the same people that thought about a reasonably priced track frame (at the time), that was light, stiff, durable, and look pretty damn good. So the steel fork is here for a reason, and I believe, it’s for that subtle touch of flexibility. It’s probably this exact fork that creates the very fine line between riding a good track bike, or cycling on a brick.
And proving it to you can be easily made with a simple experiment. Let’s replace the original fork with something way more rigid, like a wound up for example.
It does not ride the same, and I know… I tried.
As for the general geometry, well, it’s all you can ask for a pure track frame:
Short wheelbase
High bottom bracket
Toe overlap galore
Tire clearance that will scare your Tracklocross friends
And a slightly pursuit top tube because we know it makes it look faster.
3 - If there is replicas, people will want the original
The Pelizzoli Legenda, Kendo Orbit, Colossi Al Colossione, Heavy Pedal Zephyr, Superb Sprint, Kory York, and many others are all inspired from the same“ iconic 90s track bike”. The presence of replicas implies that the original thing is so hard to get that people started making more or less affordable copies of it, which indirectly, creates even more hype around the original CTrack, unfortunately driving the prices up. (You see the vicious circle we’re in now?)
Some of these replica are as good, if not better than the original one, but they all lack what made the first one stand out… Heritage.
4 – It paved the way for everything after it.
Whether you want it or not, the Cannondale Track is an important, historical bike that changed track cycling history forever. It was the first hand-made American frame, crafted with smooth welds, that held its own on the world stage. Stiff, light-weight, elegant and tough with an Incredibly efficient energy transfer that still competes with some modern bikes. For 31 years, companies have copied this design because it worked so well and is still looking so beautiful. The first CTrack rolled out of the factory in 1992, but now let’s take a look at all the other semi mass-produced oversized aluminum frames with steel forks.
Early GT Tiemeyer - 1996
Aluminum KHS Aero Track - 1998
GT GTB – 1999
Early Calnago Dram Pista - 2000
Early Pinarello Surprise – 2000
And that’s not counting the countless custom frame building projects and one-offs trying to get a piece of that trendy cake
So yes, I believe the Cannondale Track is a special piece.
Is it the best bike I have? Absolutely not! Do you need one of these over mediatized frame to have the best riding experience possible? Again, absolutely not.
Is it something easy to say for someone who owns one, making my opinion completely subjective and invalid… Yes
But, it’s far to be the only option for an oversized aluminum track frame with a steel fork. Some people out there are creating the sickest builds with bike that I’ve never heard about.
Examples : here, here, and here.
So if you really want one, and have the financial means for it, it’s a right choice, you won’t regret it. But if you’re reading this because you’re still doubting a bit… Then trust me, originality, might be elsewhere this time.
Green or blue, the only thing they see is you…
🎞: Kodak ColorPlus 200
📷: Nikon F100
📍: Bidart
