# What size Colnago would I ride? Considering C40HP



## chiho (Jun 27, 2004)

I am interested in purchasing a C40 HP I spied on closeout recently. I hear that Colnago's are great bikes, but last season, I tried a 56cm CT1 and wasn't impressed at all-the bike just felt slow and sluggish. No pop or acceleration, and way too much trail (I had to use a 100mm stem on the test ride-the top tube was way long). I think it may have been a bit big-I heard somewhere that Colnagos need to be fit differently than a traditional bike (smaller). I hear that Colnago's like to be fitted with a longer stem and more setback than a traditional bike, which necessitates the smaller frame size. 

I currently ride a Lemond with 54.5cm TT, 73.25 STA, and 53cm C-C. On that bike, I am set up with a 110 stem and 10cm of drop. I am comfortably positioned-not totally streched out (I could probably go with a 120 if I wanted, but the 110 is fine for all-day comfort). My standover (not that it matters) on that frame is probably 6cm or so-I have long legs/short arms. I also test rode a 54cm Cannondale that fit me well-lots of standover, but the TT length was perfect. My height is 175.5cm, cycling inseam is 85.3cm, arm length is 55.5cm, and torso+arm distance is 114cm. Pedal to saddle distance is 92.3cm.

I was thinking the 54cm C40 would be just the ticket. It will be of similiar size to my current ride, but a bit more low-slung. I want a fast yet comfortable frame-I ride 400km per week, and race every other weekend. FWIW, I could care less about standover or astchetics (sp?) as long as the frame fits. I probably want to run at least a 110cm stem-it has been my experience that if I have to use a shorter (100mm) stem due to a long top tube, the bike usually feels big and bulky (like that 56cm CT1 did). What do you think?


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## ipaul (Feb 16, 2004)

*similar situation*

I'm in a similar situation. I ride a 54 cannondale with a 54.5 TT and a 11 stem(have used a 12 with little difference in feel). I was thinking of going with a 56 since the TT is only .5cm longer and I can still maintain the seat tube angle the cannondale has. If I drop a size to the 55 colnago, the seat angle is now a 74 and that just makes things worse for the way I like to sit and just pushes the effective tt length longer. Do you really feel the 56 is too big?


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