2018 Cannondale F-Si Carbon 5 AKA Slimer

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Buyers Remorse and Incessant Complaining

I bought this 2018 Cannondale F-Si Carbon 5 the other day (October 2021) for $1,500 and immediately began regretting my decision. I initially offered $1,200, but the seller insisted that he had to get $1,500 out of the deal, so I caved on impulse decision and went and picked it up the same evening. I was under false impressions that it was a better model (carbon 2) due to the green neon color of the frame (I assumed SOME the components were swapped). However after some online investigation I found the original Pink Bike classified ad for the bike that stated that it was originally a red carbon 5 frame, but was warranty replaced due to a crack with a green carbon 2 color frame. It was also sold for $1,400 a year ago. Doh.

Bicycle Blue Book also values a “good” 2018 Cannondale F-Si Carbon 5 between $1,117-$1,151. Doh x 2

The next day I tore the bike down and regretted the purchase even more (how is this even possible?). The headset bearings were toast, the bottom bracket bearings… toast. The crank spindle bearing lands… toast. Oh wait, it gets worse. Apparently this particular frame’s centerline is offset by 6mm to the drive side which really puts a strain on using different cranks and requiring a custom rear wheel to be built. (Obviously I want to throw some Chinese carbon wheels on this thing but how do you communicate a 6mm offset on the rear wheel build?)

Thank you Cannondale for such a proprietary piece of shit.

Here are a few changes that had been made between the original Pink Bike classified and when I bought the bike:

• Brand-X Ascend dropper post with Race Face Turbine lever (Sold for $80)
• Syncros FL2.0 70mm stem
• Cheap AliExpress carbon seat
• Bontrager RXL carbon bars w/ crappy grips
• Bontrager flat pedals

But alas! Enough of this complaining. The bike will still ride and so it is time to slap on some cheap weight weenie parts and chase the sub 21 pound dream! I’ll post updates as I make them.

CONS	PROS
Cannondale Asymmetric Integration (Ai) 6mm offset	Frame is pretty darn light, overall weight 24.83 lbs from buyer before any changes
Bottom bracket bearings are toast	Sold the dropper post and lever for $80
Headset bearings are toast	Shimano brakes and drivetrain
Spindle bearing lands are toast	Carbon bars
Fork needs a heavy servicing (damage unknown at this time)	Rockshox Reba Fork (assuming the internals aren’t trashed)
Paint chipped to hell	The color isn’t that bad
Limited crank choices	It still rolls

Initial Setup (As purchased from seller)

PART	BRAND	MODEL	SIZE	WEIGHT
FRAME	Cannondale	F-Si Carbon 2	Large
HEADSET	Tange Seiki
FORK	RockShox	Reba
HANDLEBARS	Bontrager	RXL	700mm
STEM	Syncros	FL2.0	70mm
GRIPS	Pro			96
SADDLE	Unknown			115
SEAT POST	Brand-X	Ascend Dropper	27.2mm	709
SEAT CLAMP	Cannondale
FRONT BRAKE CALIPER	Shimano	BR-MT500
REAR BRAKE CALIPER	Shimano	BR-MT500
FRONT ROTOR	Shimano	SM-RT56	180
REAR ROTOR	Shimano	SM-RT56	160
SHIFT LEVER	Shimano	XTR
REAR DERAILLEUR	Shimano	Deore XT
CASSETTE	Shimano	CS-M8000
CRANKSET	Cannondale	Si
CHAINRINGS	Cannondale		32
BOTTOM BRACKET
CHAIN	Shimano	HG-X11
FRONT WHEEL	WTB	STP i19	29
REAR WHEEL	WTB	STP i19	29
FRONT AXLE	SRAM	Maxle
REAR AXLE	Unknown	QR Skewer	135	109
FRONT TIRE	Maxxis	Ikon	29×2.20
REAR TIRE	Maxxis	Ikon	29×2.20
PEDALS	Bontrager	Unknown		358
BOTTLE CAGE	Ibera

Exhibits

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