[cheepnis]

Anyone riding a single/fixed Cannondale Beast of the East? What ever happened to that raised bb idea anyway? Did it die because it turned out to be a silly-no-advantage concept, or was it just too different? Maybe there just weren't enough East coast wannabe riders back then..

For an off-road fixed gear setup the Beast just might be the ticket, yes sirree.

 

[BicyclePhD]

i didn't have a BofE but i had a Spooky with a 13 bb at the time i had it, it was very early in my mtb days i ended up trashing the frame major dents in the top tube and down tube rear stays are bent and no der hanger broke the last three i had less than a year after they went out of bussiness. I would love to have that geometry in a steel ss frame. I loved the bike but i was comming off raceing bmx and the thin walls didn't get along well with the big rocks. Now that if i can find some hangers i'll take it off my wall and build it back up.
I did love that 13 bb

 

[midtnSS]

I got one

I've got a Beast currently built up as a gearie and a custom based on the beast geo setup. I love em, sold a 92, regreted it for years then found another. Recently had a Suspension corrected, 1/2" longer top tube, horizontal dropout custom built out of Zona steel. Some say the high bottom bracket is unstable at speed and they're not downhill bikes but very nimble and not twitchy. Much better for technical stuff! They all had vertical dropouts otherwise a perfect fixie, maybe that could be the next life for mine?

 

[lef-t]

I own two beasts

I have thought what a great off road fixie the high bb would make, I used to run bullseye 225 cranks on my blue beast.

I love beasts, my son rides one too with 14 speeds. I used to ride trials on the red beast.

My blue beast is a dual range three speed now, it used to be a ss.

 

[cheepnis]

Ahh, I knew there would be some folks out there riding high... so the BB height is around 13" then? Having a custom build based on that must mean it works well for some for sure, very nice.

Three-speed Beast- not going to find that in a magazine gear review anytime soon. I bet that gets the job done well enough.. and that red one, whoa, that looks like fun!

The flipped-fixed side of an ENO hub would work well on those Beasts.

 

[lef-t]

I considered doing a fixie beast and may still

Ahh, I knew there would be some folks out there riding high... so the BB height is around 13" then? Having a custom build based on that must mean it works well for some for sure, very nice.

Three-speed Beast- not going to find that in a magazine gear review anytime soon. I bet that gets the job done well enough.. and that red one, whoa, that looks like fun!

The flipped-fixed side of an ENO hub would work well on those Beasts.

I really like the 13" high bb.

the eno hub is a great idea, enjoy

 

[aosty]

Here's mine... before the BOTE moniker.

 

[shiggy]

Ahh, I knew there would be some folks out there riding high... so the BB height is around 13" then? Having a custom build based on that must mean it works well for some for sure, very nice.

Three-speed Beast- not going to find that in a magazine gear review anytime soon. I bet that gets the job done well enough.. and that red one, whoa, that looks like fun!

The flipped-fixed side of an ENO hub would work well on those Beasts.

My Matt Chester has a ~13" BB. Varies with the tire choice. Love the ride in all conditions and terrain.

 

[Nat]

I'm unclear on my Beast of the East history. My first mtb was a 1988 Cannondale Red Shred, with 26" wheels f/r, 13" BB. It was great for stock trials. At that time the BotE moniker referred to a model that they had discontinued a couple of years earlier. That model had a 24" rear wheel. Did Cannondale resurrect the BotE name a few years later on a 26" f/r bike?

Do I see a rubber band tensioner lef-T???

 

[Scottytheoneandonly]

I'm unclear on my Beast of the East history.

Did Cannondale resurrect the BotE name a few years later on a 26" f/r bike?

I believe that they used "Beast" in their marketing info for their early 90's M-Series frames, up until the point where they abandoned that high bottom bracket geometry. I think at that time only the M-800 (and up) had the high bottom bracket. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I had an early 90s Large Beast frame. To this day it remains near and dear to my heart. It was a wicked great ride on single track. I was crushed when the frame cracked in the late 90s. They warranteed the frame with a polished aluminum Killer V (which I still have gathering dust in my workshop).

 

[Hollywood]

sweet.

Here's mine... before the BOTE moniker.

you got like three feet of air that time.

 

[lef-t]

I love rubber band technology

I'm unclear on my Beast of the East history. My first mtb was a 1988 Cannondale Red Shred, with 26" wheels f/r, 13" BB. It was great for stock trials. At that time the BotE moniker referred to a model that they had discontinued a couple of years earlier. That model had a 24" rear wheel. Did Cannondale resurrect the BotE name a few years later on a 26" f/r bike?

Do I see a rubber band tensioner lef-T???

It's got a steal spring in it but the rubber band stiffens it a little the prevent chain slap when I'm hopping around.

Beast made a come back with 26 in wheels frt and back. They kept the high bb and always had rigid forks. They used cromoly forks on the last ones.

 

[day42]

I had a Cannondale M800 Beast of the East bike. It was a '95 model year, and I purchased it as a leftover in early '96! I loved that bike...it had the high BB that everyone is talking about. I recently sold it to a guy on Strong Island. Hopefully he's lovin' it as much as I did! Here's a pic, or two:

 

[midtnSS]

Some History

The BofE was resurected arround 89 as a all 26" wheel bike but they only made one model of it per year, usually at LX level. My 91 was Red, called a M700, and very near Lef-Ts ride, the dropouts were different till about 94. The M number seemed to change every year, 300, 500, 700, 800. Some years there was more than one size, like 95, but mostly only one size per year. Ritchey Logic forks till 91 when Pepperoni forks came out, those replaced by Pbone forks in 95 or 96. Headtubes were 1", then 1 1/4", then 1 1/18". I think it was called a trials model for a year in there somewhere. My current one is a 1997, the last year made. I've got the Catalog page from 1997 somewhere, I'll stick it up here if I find it.

 

[SanAnMan]

Is this a BoE?

I built this up a few years ago and I really loved it. I think I got the frame for $25. I'm not sure it's a BoE frame or not but it was one of the best fitting frames I had ever ridden. Of course, my Inbred beats it for fit but not by much. I sold this Connondale when I ordered, and had to pay for, a custom Dean SS frame way back then and I have often regretted it.

Sorry for the crappy pic. I had it set up with just a rear brake for commutting simplicity but I did end up running a front brake after I started hitting the woods with it. No fancy stuff - the way I like it.

 

[midtnSS]

Maybe

All Beasts had a stickers on the seat tube and maybe the top tube that said so, I can't see from the picture but geometry looks right. Those are the older 2.8 and 3.2 series dropouts that had a tendancy to break.

 

[Surlydave]

The Carver 96er, bigger wheel in front idea is similar to what the hype Cannondale had on those bikes. Not sure about the BB height on the Carver.