Colnago C40

Price Paid:  $5000.00 at Bicycles, Inc.

Favorite Ride:
Hotter N Hell 100

Bike Setup:
Colnago C40 in NL4 (blue) paint scheme
Colnago Star carbon fork
Colnago Carbon seat post
Campagnolo Record 10 speed
Colnago (ITM) stem and handlebars
Specialized Fat Wrap bar tape
Selle San Marco Colnago Hoskar Saddle
Bontrager Race-X-Lite wheelset
Vittoria Rubino-Pro tires
Arundel carbon bottle cages (40 grams ea)

Summary:
The C40 was my dream bike for about five years until I broke down and bought one. My local bike shop made me a deal I couldn't pass up on a complete bike with Record 10 speed and Bontrager Race-X-Lite wheels. This bike becomes my daily ride replacing a Colnago Dream Plus (which I still have) equipped with Ultegra and Rolf Sestriere wheels. I'm 50 years old and I wanted to get the bike of my dreams while I can enjoy it for the longest possible time. I ride with a local bike club and I need all the help I can get.

Strengths:
Lightweight comfort in a torsionally stiff frame. This bike is silky smooth, especially in comparison to the aluminum Dream that I rode for the past 4 years. The frame is so supple and forgiving that I have thought I must have a flat tire on more than one occasion when it was just the frame soaking up bumps and vibrations. This makes all the difference toward the end of 100 miles in the saddle. The geometry of this bike falls a little toward stability as opposed to razor-edge handling. That's okay with me because I love to crank out long distances with not so much emphasis on bobbing and weaving in a field sprint.

Weaknesses:
This bike didn't make my legs any stronger.
Seriously, there aren't any shortcomings with this bike.

Similar Products Used:
Colnago Dream Plus, Colnago Classic, Colnago MasterXLite, Trek 1220, Trek 5200, Trek 5900, Trek Madone, Calfee Luna Pro, Serotta Colorado II.

Price Paid:  $3299.00 at The Bike Shop, Hermo

Favorite Ride:
any hilly century or Double

Bike Setup:
SSL wheels, DuraAce triple 30/39/53 with 13-25 cassette, Sella SLR saddle, EC90 bars, Look CX6 pedals, Conti GP 3000 tires

Summary:
I bought a 57cm frame/fork/post/stem, and put my existing setup on the new frame.

Great ride comfort even on the roughest roads. Climbs efortlessly (well, almost).

Handling is quick, and precise.

I rode a Merckx Coras 01 steel frame for 5.5 years, and loved it. Now I could not even consider retruning the the Merckx. My first long ride on my C-40HP was my first double century. I agree with all other reviews that say: "I wish I would have bought it sooner" and "don't wait to get on one of these"

Strengths:
Light, Extremly comfortable, steering and control are razor sharp. Climbs as if by itself. Great paint and finsh TM38 colors.

Weaknesses:
Price but worth even more than the $3200 I paid

Similar Products Used:
several high quality steel road frames over the years, tested Trek 5900 and Lightspeed Classic

Price Paid:  $6000.00 at LBS

Favorite Ride:
Long climb

Bike Setup:
C40 HP, Star carbon fork, full campy record 10 speed, 39/53 crank, 13-29 cassette, Mavic KSyryium's SSC SL, Speedplay

Summary:
This is an AWESOME bike. I cannot say enough good things about it. I have riden steel frames and steel frames with carbon seat stays but they do not compare to the ride of the C40 HP.

Strengths:
The carbon frame is stiffer than steel yet offers a smoother ride. Due to the stiffness it climbs better than anything I have ever ridden. The paint job is unmatched. A real piece of art.

Weaknesses:
Short warranty period.

Similar Products Used:
Test rode a Trek 5900

Price Paid:  $3000.00 at UK (Web Sale)

Favorite Ride:
Anything over 2 hours

Bike Setup:
DA throughout, Mavic Ksyrium SLs, Speedplay X/2

Summary:
Awesome bike. Not sure any bike is worth as much as a C40 costs, but if a bike is this is it. I actually thought I was pulling a slick move -- I purchased the bike from a reputable UK shop with full DA and Mavic Ksyrium SLs brand new for about $3k (before the dollar tanked against the Euro). Ended up costing me about $600 above that for shipping and customs. Still turned out to be a good deal, just not as good. Anyway, the bike is everything I could have hoped for. I have owned some of the very best bikes around (Litespeed Vortex, Trek OCLV, Cannondale CAAD 5, etc.) but have never felt like the bike was a part of me. The Vortex (IMO) felt to much like my aluminum frames. I know some people love aluminum and others would argue that Ti feels more like steel to them than aluminum, but this was my perception. Up until the Colnago, my Trek 5200 was my favorite. I decided to try a 2002 C40 when I saw this one at such a good price. When I saw it in person I fell in love with the worksmanship, but when I rode it for the first time (after the many micro-adjustments) I knew this was my baby. It rides like carbon but has this majical snappiness and response to it that I've never felt on any other bike. My first mountain bike was a steel frame about 15 years ago and I loved its feel. The C40 has the same feel only better and much lighter. The rig comes in at 16lbs and change (not much change) and climbs like a raped ape. If you decide to go exotic, I'd give the C40 a try. I have the B-Stay model. I have no idea how the new HPs are, but whether you are a fan of the chainstay triangle or not, I doubt it functionally feels a whole lot different than the pre-HPs (don't know for sure though).

Strengths:
Weight, feel, awesome craftsmanship -- especially with the nude carbon and paint blends.

Weaknesses:
Proprietary seatpost size makes switching to a favorite post all but impossible unless you use shims.

Similar Products Used:
Litespeed, Trek, Cannondale, Vitus, Specialized.

Price Paid:  $1500.00 at on-line used

Favorite Ride:
Anything with hills and no potholes

Bike Setup:
C40 pre-B stay, Wound-up fork, mix of Campy 10 Chorus and Record, Mavic Ksyrium SLs, Speedplays

Summary:
Bought bike 5 years ago used from a racer who was going under sponsorship. Over the years have had the pleasure to ride this dream bike which has become the one I turn to first when going out for a ride. It is fast, smooth, responsive and handles the nastiest descents with pleasure. I weigh in at about 165lbs and am 6'2" and have never had any problems with flex in the bottom bracket area(seems about perfect)something which I can not say for many other bikes I have ridden/owned. That being said, not all is rosy. The bike has had a consistent recuring problem with the rear triangle (this is a pre-b-stay bike). Specifically, the rear drop-outs at the male-female mating of the carbon chain stays to the dropout unit breakdown (epoxy joint actually fails) over time due to torsional stress. While the bike still rides fine, any extreme torsion (sprint) causes slight separation. Problem is due to both the male and female joining components (chainstay and dropout) being round therefore the geometry does little to prevent high torsional stress being relayed to the epoxy. Epoxy does not handle torsion well. Have had bike re-epoxied by carbon framebuilder Calfee who informed me that yes, this is an inherent design problem that he uncovered years ago in his own carbon frame building, thus he uses square male-female jointing to add geometric advantage to minimize torsional stress to epoxy. One other problem with C40 is that the cable guides, which are aluminium epoxied to the frame, do over time corrode so be sure to keep these clean and at some point you'll need to re-epoxy them.
So, while I truly love this bike, can only give it 4's as it is very expensive to own and their warranty policy sucks (1yr for a $3000. frame?)

Strengths:
Fast, climbs like a scalded monkey and incredibly comfortable ride for such a responsive frame. Really nothing like it in my experiences. Best paint job in the business.

Weaknesses:
Limited Colnago warranty and who in the US wants to have their bike shipped to Italy for a repair.
Poor rear triangle design at drop-out, see above.
Should really have replaceable derailleur hanger.
Corrosion of cable guides.
Cost.

Similar Products Used:
Own Derosa Primato and have ridden numerous road bikes from Look to Merck to Serotta.