-Colnago C40 original 3k seatpost 28,0mm
-Mavic Cosmic Carbone 12k wheels, carbon fairings aluminum brake track
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2020.04.27 with Elite Ciussi cages
v2.0
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Love at first sight
I can clearly remember our first encounter. In late 1999, when visiting a friend, his father's new bike stood in their living room. It was all-black and shiny 3k carbon fiber, and covered in screamingly bright yellow 'Colnago' logos.
I had never seen such a beautiful or exotic looking bicycle.
20 years later, when thinking of that first encounter, I frantically started searching old images and catalog scans. Finally, I found that bike! It was a late 90s Colnago C40 in the color 00F.
I read all I could find on the C40. I searched online for a 56-58cm c40 in 00F, Campagnolo Record group, Star Carbon fork, non-B stay and non-HP. In my opinion, the rear stays of this generation C40 retains the classic elegance of a lugged steel frame, while the straight blades of the Star fork gives it a modern look.
Short C40 History
Baptized through the perils of the infamous Paris-Roubaix -a race notoriously tough against bikes and cyclists, a course where it is imperative to compete with a strong and durable bike, built from steel, or at least aluminum.
In 1995, team Mapei planned to debut the C40, a bike whose frame was made of carbon fiber. At the time, it was considered an absurd thought. The night before the competition, Mapei's owner Giorgio Squinzi nervously called Ernesto Colnago:
”... Ernesto, but are you sure that our riders will not have problems tomorrow? Does the frame not risk breaking? And then that fork all straight… [sic]”
The carbon fiber frame and straight fork held, and Franco Ballerini won the gold medal on his C40. The following year, Team Mapei made a triple in Roubaix, on their Colnago C40s, when Johan Museeuw, Andrea Tafi and Gianluca Bortolami arrived together at the velodrome in Roubaix. They crossed the finish line in formation, thus conquering gold, silver and bronze. Unbelievably, the Mapei and C40 repeated the "triple" two more years, in 1998 and 1999.
The Colnago C40 had emphatically started the carbon fiber revolution in cycling. A carbon fiber bike built in a classic steel manner, with handmade lugs, narrow tubes, and classic steel geometry.
We meet again, or "The purchase"
I searched online for a 56-58cm c40 in 00F, with Record 9-speed, Star Carbon fork, non-B stay and non-HP, since I think that the rear stays of that model retains the classic elegance of a lugged steel frame, yet made from carbon, while the straight blades of the Star fork gives it a contemporary touch.
After a lot of searching, I found this bike advertised on an Italian classified page, located in Torino, only 160km from the Colnago factory.
The bike was the right size with the original Record 9-speed group, bar the crankset that had been replaced by a black Campagnolo Veloce.
I set up the purchase by phone and waited for the bike to arrive to Sweden.
The original Colnago cf seat post was included, however it had a longitudinal crack, and had been replaced by a Cannondale carbon post. The stem had been replaced by an unbranded one, which I didn’t like. The whole cockpit looked a bit of, because of the stem angle and thickness. The front wheel had been replaced by a generic black (and heavy) one. The right hand hood had a hole in it and the
Getting to know eachother
After using mechanical DuraAce 9100 and Ultegra 8170 hydraulic di2 disc on my other bikes, I was pleasantly surprised by the smoothness and exactness of this now 20-year old 9-speed record groupset. The ride is really nice, comfortable yet agile, and using it for a 70k groupride left me wanting to build it up to use as my main bike in fair weather.
Rebuild
I stripped it down to a bare frame, cleaned and re-greased and re-assembled all of the Record parts, scraped of some peeling paint on the aluminum lugs and cable stops and re-touching the aluminum frame parts it with Black Hammerite Straight to Galvanized, wich i think turned out well.
My first intentions were to keep the original Record 9-speed group and upgrade the rest to make it as nice, light and fast as possible. I've restored vintage steel bikes back to original condition, and this time I'm not in for the vintage factory look, but prefer to build a neo-vintage lightweight hybrid of some sort. Vintage purists may object, but I'm OK with that.
Selection of parts
At first I planned to replace the crank with an original silver Record. But I found out I liked the crank in black. The UD carbon of the crank makes the clear coated 3k carbon frame really shine and the yellow graphics pop more. The bottom bracket felt rough and the compact Veloce cranks were downright heavy. I replaced them with a Super Record Titanium crank in 53/39 with integrated Campagnolo CULT ceramic bearings.
After getting a slim Thomson X2 -17 stem, replacing the shifter hood with a new original Campagnolo hood and re-wrapping the bars in black, I really liked the front of the bike.
Wheels were a tough choice, I finally settled for a pair of Lightweight Meilenstein Schwarz Edition tubulars and I think their 3k carbon weave goes well with the rest of the bike.
The bike at the moment is just shy of 7kgs. It rides really well and I'm pleased with the look, although it is not 100% finished.
