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Submitted by
Flanners
a Recreational Rider
from Date Reviewed: September 27, 2009
Strengths: Fast agile a great climber and descender.
Tracks and corners so well stays planted and at speed.
Good looking bike which just oozes classic appealWeaknesses: Finish is not brilliant, like all Italian exotica!
Paint on dropouts peeled, but have repainted these.Bottom Line: Saw this bike on ebay, went for it and got it. Wanted a modern classic and boy have I found it. A superb bike that is just so planted and rides so well both up and downhill. My modern carbon bikes a PX SL carbon and a Focus Cayo are so skittery by comparison. The Ferrari or Ducati of the road bike world.
Price Paid:
$1000.00
Purchased At: 'darn ebay
Similar Products Used: Planet X Sl
Focus Cayo
Bianchi Alu/Carbon
Bike Setup: Daytona brakes and mechs
Centaur carbon brake/shifters
Chorus Carbon Chainset
Mavic SSC SL's
Deda Newtron stem
ITM Millenium carbon bars
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Mike
a Recreational Rider
from Date Reviewed: January 15, 2009
Strengths: Light enough to win a mountain stage
Stiff enough for Tour strongmen to sprint on
Great longevity/durability for carbon
Pedigree
Appearance
almost everyone else ISN'T riding one
Get a used one for less than most new junk costsWeaknesses: I think the rear dropouts are Titanium, which is great- but unless you use a quality skewer like shimano or Campy and not some junk- the rear wheel can move over due to insufficient clamping pressure
would prefer 1&1/8 inch fork- but not a big deal.
odd size seatpost (28.0mm) means you need an expensive colnago post (or a Thomson), unless you buy an adapter shim (28.0 to 27.2) allowing you to run whatever post you want.Bottom Line: At age 54, after lusting after a C40 for years I figured it was now or never. I had owned several other very nice bikes previously including a SEVEN Axiom Titanium, high end FELTS, and many others in 30 years of occasional racing and constant recreational riding. The C40 seems to hold its value quite well, probably due to its incredible race winning pedigree and the fact that it has a well deserved reputation for durability/longevity which cannot be said about many other carbon fiber frames. My 61 cm C40 (measured to the very top of the seat tube), weighs 1260 grams on my digital scale. There are lighter frames, there are frames that I'm sure are stiffer in the bottom bracket, and depending on your own viewpoint, frames that are perhaps more beautiful. It is the best all around machine I have ever ridden because for me it does everything very well- its light enough, stiff enough, very stable handing at high speed due to the long front/center dimension and high 'trail' length, and I think it is a work of art built and designed by people that are passionate about what they do. It is a comfortable bike over long distances and poor road surfaces, but then I don't feel that all aluminum bikes are uncomfortable at all either. I think people confuse 'shock absorption' with 'vibration damping'- and due to its material and construction, I think the c40 is the most vibration damping bike I have been on- it seems totally silent relative to most bikes. The c40 and some of the carbon fiber looks are 2 of perhaps a handful of carbon frames I'd ever consider spending my own money on. I work in a shop where I have an opportunity
to see firsthand all kinds of carnage done to carbon fiber frames- many from incidents that would not harm a c40 or aluminum tubed bike (except maybe a small dent in a metal tube). The reason for this is twofold I believe, the first is that many of the ultra high end frames that weigh 900 to 1000 grams are optimized for one thing- handling the stresses imposed on them by pedaling them, and they do that very well. They are not optimized to resist the types of stresses put on them in crash situations and impacts to tubes.
When you squeeze the top tube or down tube on a carbon frame and can see it deflect without much pressure- that tells you something about what to expect when you go down. The other factor is that for any frame material, if you compare 2 tubes of the same length and weight- the tube having the larger cross section results in decreased wall thickness. I feel that carbon frames like the c40 are much less susceptible to being totaled by a minor fall or other incident. My C40 is not 'faster' than other bikes, but I think it may make me feel like riding more, and I love how it looks, and I appreciate the engineering that went into it. The fact that when I go on a ride with a thousand or more other riders, and don't see 900 people riding the same brand is a plus for me too because I'm a contrarian.
Favorite Ride: Horribly Hilly 200k
Price Paid:
$800.00
Similar Products Used: dozens- steel/aluminum/carbon/titanium
Bike Setup: Alpha Q GS10 fork (straight blades)
Campy ultratorque crank
Time pedals
Campy der and shifters (chorus/centaur mix)
campy hubs- 28 or 32 hole on DT Swiss or MAVIC open pros with SAPIM ot DT spokes
Deda stem
Ritchey bar
USE alien seatpost shim with 27.2mm THOMSON setback seatpost
Michelin PRORACE 2 or 3 tires
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Nody
a Recreational Rider
from Date Reviewed: March 13, 2007
Strengths: Stiff. Previously I had a Scandium-Alu sloping frame. The first time I got out of the saddle going up a hill on the C40 I nearly fell off. I hadn't realised what a stiff frame felt like prior to that. Despite this the ride is great. I do lots of long rides and you really feel the benefit.
Handling is fantastic, Completely reliable in bends. Previous scandium frame would bounce through some corners on rough surfaces. The Nag just sorts it all out and you can just think about your line.
The Price - Yup if you can still get your hands on a C40 - at sub £1500 now an absolute bargain in my book.
Also it's beautiful.Weaknesses: Occasionally creaks. She's very temperamental about it though and will go weeks with nary a squeak - then off she goes. Something I said ? temperature dependent?Bottom Line: Beautiful. Slight indulgence when I bought it purely on reputation. But faith has been repaid. Occasionally during winter, reading bike mags, I ponder a change of frame but spring comes and out comes the Nag. One ride is all it takes.
Price Paid:
$1500.00
Purchased At: LBS
Similar Products Used: Dediacci Alu frames.
Bike Setup: Record 05 10sp
Carbon compact chainset
Campag Eurus wheels
Conti GP3000s
Deda Arimo stem and Deda Electa carbon bars
Record carbon seatpost
Fizik Arione bumrest
Oh - Black bar tape of course.
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
BRS
a Recreational Rider
from Date Reviewed: March 13, 2007
Strengths: Stiff. Previously I had a Scandium-Alu sloping frame. The first time I got out of the saddle going up a hill on the C40 I nearly fell off. I hadn't realised what a stiff frame felt like prior to that. Despite this the ride is great. I do lots of long rides and you really feel the benefit.
Handling is fantastic, Completely reliable in bends. Previous scandium frame would bounce through some corners on rough surfaces. The Nag just sorts it all out and you can just think about your line.
The Price - Yup if you can still get your hands on a C40 - at sub £1500 now an absolute bargain in my book.
Also it's beautiful.Weaknesses: Occasionally creaks. She's very temperamental about it though and will go weeks with nary a squeak - then off she goes. Something I said ? temperature dependent?Bottom Line: Beautiful. Slight indulgence when I bought it purely on reputation. But faith has been repaid. Occasionally during winter, reading bike mags, I ponder a change of frame but spring comes and out comes the Nag. One ride is all it takes.
Price Paid:
$1500.00
Purchased At: LBS
Similar Products Used: Dediacci Alu frames.
Bike Setup: Record 05 10sp
Carbon compact chainset
Campag Eurus wheels
Conti GP3000s
Deda Arimo stem and Deda Electa carbon bars
Record carbon seatpost
Fizik Arione bumrest
Oh - Black bar tape of course.
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Tom Kunich
a Recreational Rider
from Date Reviewed: February 19, 2007
Strengths: The bike handles incredably well in racing conditions. It has pin point steering and is especially good at high speed descents. The fit is perfect for my 6'4" with 35" legs.Weaknesses: The ride is quite a bit harsher than my steel bikes though softer than an aluminum bike.Bottom Line: This is a great bike particularly for racing. It is stiff enough to sprint well and is a great descender. While the ride is very stiff it doesn't enter the realm of aluminum race bikes which cannot be ridden for distance because of the harshness of the ride. I have done 100 miles or more on the bike without problems. I usually hesitate to ride this as an everyday bike because it is so expensive to replace and because it does ride stiffer than anything but my Fuji Newest aluminum frame. But when I'm going to do a long day with lots of climbing this is a good bike. It was designed and refined as a road racer and it shows in every turn of the cranks.
Favorite Ride: Wine Country Century
Price Paid:
$1400.00
Purchased At: Internet
Similar Products Used: Basso Loto EL
Colnago Super
Eddy Merckx Corsa 0.1
Eddy Merckx Ex Pro
Fuji Newest
Look KG241
Bike Setup: My frame and fork has the AD 23 paint scheme exactly like that at the top of this page. I like it but it is bright. I have a large stable of top end bikes. I prefer Chorus to Record so set it up that way. Since there's a lot of climbing in the bay area, I use Chorus Carbon compact cranks. I put on Kyserium SSL's and mostly carbon components. I'm using the "Lance Saddle" which is a Selle San Marco Concor lite - this is a small saddle but I don't have much trouble with it and I usually use a Regal. The all up weight is a shade under 18 lbs which is very light for a 62 cm that can hold up my 200 lbs.
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Reviews 1 - 5 (42 Reviews Total)
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