# C-40 Restoration



## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

My wife and I bought C-40 frames back in 2000 when we were on our honeymoon cycling in Italy. The shop that sagged the tour we were on was a Colnago dealer. The guy took a bunch of measurements and said the frames would be custom built and he could ship them to us sometime in January (the tour was in August), being the 2001 models with the new b-stay. 

We put Dura-Ace 7700 on them. At that time, you'd never see a Colnago in an ad or sponsored race with anything but Shimano on it. Times have changed. So here's the bike from last summer:


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## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

A couple of the cable stops were corroding and there were a few pops in the clear coat here and there.


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## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

My LBS recommended this outfit in North Carolina (Jack Kane Cycling) to do a restoration on the frame. I stripped everything off the frame and shipped it to him. It came back in about 7 weeks. Check out the formerly corroded stops. The guy also sanded the frame down and applied new clear coat. The frame looked brand new when I got it back.


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## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

I decided this rendition was going to be the carbon salami. No more sushi.


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## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

I even went with Campagnolo wheels (Neutron Ultra sans decals). Vittoria Corsa tires with carbon compounds. The rubber is so smart that it gets softer when you corner ... if you believe that. I kept the post and saddle -- mainly because a C-40 comes with an odd sized 28 mm post, and my butt is permanently molded into the shape of a Selle Itala Flite after 20+ years. Ritchey carbon bars and stem -- I like Ritchey bars. Never bought a carbon stem, but I figured why not. Rode it into work today -- and got rained on. After seeing it, my wife's got sent to Kane, so I'll post the results of that in a couple months. Have a good one, Colnago perverts!


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## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

Here's an interesting video on the C-40. Sometimes, I wish I would have got the Mapei paint job. In general, I don't like the look of teal bikes and team clothing. I see a lot of guys clad from head to toe in Bora kits. Still, the Mapei paint job is so classic and cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZpxNytmGAk


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## hfc (Jan 24, 2003)

I have a bunch of bikes made from 1982 through 2009 and every time I ride my '96 C40 I think "they could have stopped making bikes after this". That looks great and you did the right thing to put the money and effort into the rehab. Well done and enjoy!

If you want to trick it out a little more, find a Selle Bassano C40 saddle. It's a very soft saddle, suede like texture and pretty comfortable.


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## Ride-Fly (Mar 27, 2002)

hfc said:


> I have a bunch of bikes made from 1982 through 2009 and every time I ride my '96 C40 I think "they could have stopped making bikes after this". That looks great and you did the right thing to put the money and effort into the rehab. Well done and enjoy!
> 
> If you want to trick it out a little more, find a Selle Bassano C40 saddle. It's a very soft saddle, suede like texture and pretty comfortable.


Still a classic, "did it right the first time" bike that C-40 is! I haven't ridden my WC Mapei colored C-40 in over a year (TBT, I haven't ridden any of my bikes much in the last two years), but it is just a sublime ride.


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## Salsa_Lover (Jul 6, 2008)

Looks great, congratulations 
I still can't get used to see the shape of those new cranks though, I still prefer the more classic looking ones


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## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

Salsa_Lover said:


> Looks great, congratulations
> I still can't get used to see the shape of those new cranks though, I still prefer the more classic looking ones


I put polished Athena on an Eddy Merckx steel frame that I got off ebay a few years ago. It looks really nice, but the shifting isn't as good as Chorus, and the group was downgraded after it's 2011 introduction to the lower level Power Shift. Why did Campy redo its groups to look like Shimano? I have no idea. My wife put Dura Ace 9100 on hers. The cranks got even uglier. Rode it into work today. I'm really liking those Neutron wheels.


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