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In the late 1990s Cannondale attempted to move into the motorsports businesss, producing a line of off road Motorcycles and All-terrain Vehicle s. According to an interview with Cannondale Communications Director, Tom Armstrong, (in BikeMag.com #15) the company was unable to drive down the cost of their motor vehicles fast enough. Sales took off when the company was still losing money on each motorbike they shipped. This gap drove the company to seek bankruptcy protection in 2003. However, management was able to quickly sell the company off to a private equity group which supported the company's renewed focus on bicycle production. ROAD RACING FRAMES, HEADSHOKS AND LEFTYS Cannondale started its foray into aluminum racing frames in the 1980s with their CAAD series frames. The earlier models sported ''oversized down tubes'' for increased stiffness, resulting in frames that were super-stiff and super-efficient, but considered by many to be extremely uncomfortable. It nonetheless gained popularity in the US Criterium circuit, helped by its generous Warranty policy. Later editions of the CAAD series sported S-bend aluminum seat stays introduced in the CAAD3 model for improved comfort. The CAAD6 and CAAD7 models reversed the oversized aluminum tubing design and instead used better shaping to retain the efficiency and improve comfort. Interestingly, this change coincided with the transformation of Team Saeco's (a Division 1/ProTour cycling team that rides on Cannondales) from being essentially a lead-out train for uber-sprinter Mario Cipollini to a more balanced team, with grand tour and all-around riders like Gilberto Simoni and Damiano Cunego . The Six13 model was introduced in 2004 which uses carbon tubed sections in the main triangle but still uses aluminum rear triangles, contrary to the usual practice of using carbon rear triangles and aluminum fronts. It should also be noted that the Union Cycliste Internationale has established a 14.97 lb (6.8 kg) minimum weight limit. Cannondale advertised its light weight frameset with the slogan "Legalize my Cannondale". In reality, only the smallest size (50cm) of bike actually approached the 6.8 kg limit. Many in the bicycle industry considered this to be a creative marketing ploy but not unique, as Six13 frames weigh the same as or more than competing frames from many other manufacturers. Cannondale also developed a proprietary Bottom Bracket and Crankset technology called ''Hollowgram'' which has been featured in its high-end bikes since 2001. The crank and bottom bracket set weigh 80 grams less and are 10% stiffer than Dura-Ace1. The hollowgram bottom bracket shell can accept standard 68mm english-threaded bottom bracket cartridges and external bearing cranksets through the use of an adapter. The current generation of Cannondale aluminum frame is known as the CAAD8. In 2005 Cannondale announced its first all-carbon frame in a model named "Synapse." This is also the first Cannondale road bicycle to be built outside of the United States, in China. Cannondale has also developed a suspension Fork called the Lefty. It started with the "Headshok" forks. It uses bearings to reduce friction for super smooth travel with the bearings telescoping inside the steerer tube of the fork. This eliminates flexing of the fork legs, and also eliminates "stiction", a tightness at the top of the travel that must be overcome to initiate travel. The "Lefty" is an unusual looking fork because it only has a left side or leg. It uses the same technology as the Headshok, but desire for greater amounts of travel led to the movement of the telescoping unit off to the side to allow room for the travel. The Leftys are lighter, stronger, and steer more precisely than any competitors forks with the same amount of travel. The Lefty is now seen on many of Cannondale's high-end models, such as all the Scalpels and the expensive models in F series, both cross-country lines. Cannondale has brought a few concepts to market that have since become accepted industry standards. Cannondale was the first to produce a Crankset that uses externally mounted Bottom Bracket bearings, years before other component manufacturers moved to this style. External bearings are now most common type of bottom bracket for mid-level and higher bicycles. In 1992 Cannondale introduced the Headshok and the accompanying over-sized headtube. In 2002 the OnePointFive[http://www.onepointfivestandard.com/index.asp standard emerged using the same headtube dimensions as the Headshok headtube. Cannondale was involved in the development of this standard. PRO SPONSORSHIP Cannondale's sponsorship in the Division I road racing circuit started with the sponsorship of Mario Cipollini 's Saeco (cycling Team) team in the late 1990's, memorable for Cipollini's 4 consecutive stage wins in the 1999 Tour De France . The image of Mario Cipollini approaching the TV camera right after a win to say, 'Cannondale makes the best bikes!' propelled Cannondale's popularity among road racers. Cannondale also currently sponsors numerous road racing teams, including the Saeco team (now Lampre-Caffita as of 2005) which won the Giro d'Italia in 2003 with Gilberto Simoni and 2004 with Damiano Cunego . Saeco's Stefano Zanini won the US Pro Championship in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA in 2003. (Saeco International Group, based in Bologna manufactures Coffee machines.) The Saeco team is known for their pranks and antics. Cipollini's antics are legendary, including showing up to the stage start at the Tour de France dressed in a Julius Caesar -inspired toga complete with an olive wreath, riding on a carriage pulled by his teammates on bicycles. More recently, the entire Saeco team raced a stage of the 2003 Tour de France wearing a ''Legalize my Cannondale'' chaingang cycling kit to protest the UCI's 6.8 kg minimum bike weight limit, claiming that their Six13 prototype team bikes were underweight and required the installation of additional weight. In the Mountain Biking circuit, Cannondale had sponsored the Volvo/Cannondale racing team (including world champions Anne-Caroline Chausson and Missy Giove), the SoBe/Cannondale racing team and various individual 24 hour racers such as Bicycling Hall of Famer and US National 24 hour Champion David "Tinker" Juarez. Other notable Cannondale sponsored riders include Olympic Silver medalist (and World Champion) Alison Sydor and Bronze medalist Christoph "Susi" Sauser, "Flyin" Brian Lopes, Cadel Evans, Kashi Leuchs, Libor "The Bouncing Czech" Karas, Lance Trappe, Aaron Chase, Myles Rockwell, Cedric Gracia, Roel Paulissen and Frederik Kessiakoff. TOP COMPETITORS
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