# The Cristallo has finally arrived



## rossb (Oct 11, 2005)

After months of waiting, my Cristallo frame arrived last week (from Bellati Sport in Switzerland, who were very good to deal with), and after a week at the LBS, I have just picked up the finished bike. Build details are:

Cristallo AE1 size 48
Record
Mavic brakes (with Kool stop salmon pads)
Colnago seatpost
Cinelli Neo Carbo bars
Cinelli Neo stem
Chris King headset
Selle Italia SLC saddle
Ergobrain computer
Campagnolo Neutron wheels
Continental GP4000 tires
Moro D'elite bottle cages
Look Keo pedals














































First, the good. The bike rides as I was hoping - stiffer and more solid than my Look 585, with slightly slower handling, while still being reasonably comfortable and light. The geometry is very similar to my small 585 and first impression is that it fits even better, although needing an extra 1cm of spacers. It is of course a stunning looking bike, although the colour is little lighter than I was hoping.

The bad: the steerer tube had an external seam running up both sides that made it difficult for the LBS to tighten the headset, and they were reluctant to sandpaper it down. Seems like an unexpected quality control issue, and not what I expect from Colnago. For some reason the LBS had also assumed that I wanted the stem flipped up (!) and after they flipped it back the cables are too long and will need to be shortened (which also means new bar tape needed). The LBS also used spacers with "Look" printed on them (seems I accidentally supplied this with the box of parts) so I will have to have these replaced with new blank ones. The Ergobrain does not read the gear changes and I may have to replace this. After about 20km the front derailleur refused to shift into the big ring, so it is back to the LBS tomorrow for adjustment. The Neutron rear wheel seems very slightly out of true - again back to the LBS. The bottle cages are very flexy and I am worried about launching a bottle or two across the road every time I hit a bump. Also, the top tube is so thick that a large bottle will not fit into the rear bottle cage, which is a bit of a nuisance. 

Other than these minor difficulties - and I seem to have something like this every time I buy a new bike - I am generally happy with my purchase.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Congratulations. That is a nice bike. :thumbsup:


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

That is a nice looking bike. Almost as nice as my Cristallo. I have the 50 sloping and I find it tough just to put a regular size water bottle in the seat tube cage. Wouldn't even dream of putting a large water bottle in the seat tube cage. Such is the sacrifice I am willing to make. I have no idea how you even use a water bottle on the seat tube cage of a 48 sloping.


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## rossb (Oct 11, 2005)

fabsroman said:


> I have no idea how you even use a water bottle on the seat tube cage of a 48 sloping.


Like this ...


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

Sure, that is a pic of it sitting in the cage, but how hard is it to get it in there? It is almost impossiblle for me to get me bottle in or out of the seat tube cage without it hitting the top tube. Who knows, maybe the seat tube length on a 48 sloping isn't actually 2cm shorter than on a 50 sloping.

I went to the Colnago website to look at the geometry charts and the new 2008 catalog is up. The good news is that there isn't a thing I really like on it. The bad news is that there isn't a thing I really like on it, and there isn't a geometry chart either. I'll have to try to pick up a 2007 C50 on closeout in a color scheme that I like.


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## rossb (Oct 11, 2005)

> Sure, that is a pic of it sitting in the cage, but how hard is it to get it in there?


Not hard at all - actually pretty easy.


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

I think I know why. I use the old style water bottle that isn't as compact. It has an indent towards the top and it doesn't have as wide a cap. Now I am really interested in knowing how tall that water bottle is. Can you measure it for me from the bottom to the top of the nozzle. If it is shorter than mine, I am going to buy half a dozen of them if they are at a reasonable price. Plus, you have to love the Campy waterbottles. Where did you get them?


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## rossb (Oct 11, 2005)

I'll measure them when I get home (I am currently at the office). I got them from my LBS in Sydney - it might not be worth the trip in your case. I think Total Cycling or Probikekit also had some of similar size.


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## rossb (Oct 11, 2005)

> Can you measure it for me from the bottom to the top of the nozzle.


19cm.


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## monkey9 (Jul 4, 2007)

Beautiful. Enjoy!


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

Thanks. I think I am going to get a couple of those bottles and see if they fit better on the seat tube cage. Enjoy the ride, I know I do.


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## nedworthy (Jan 27, 2006)

*Cristallo weight?*

Hey Rossb

Top frame and one I am trying to get from Mr Maestro in the UK.
Juts out of curiosity, snce this is always a bit of a vague area with Colnagos, did you by any chance get to weigh the frame and the forks before the LBS built it up?


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## Climbing_Clyde (Jun 16, 2007)

I'm sorry to say that even though I don't know you, I now hate you!

Awesome bike, and that would be one of the colors I'd pick too, I am truly envious.

I'd get that frame straightened out asap, floppy headsets are nothing to fook with and on a frame of that caliber, it is unacceptable.


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

I weighed my Cristallo frame and fork before I built it and I posted the weight on a new thread here. I think the title is "Cristallo weight". If memory serves me correctly, the frame weighed around 1,300 and the fork was 500. I think it was a little more than I expected, but I love the frame. Bought an Arte frame that was only 70 grams lighter than the Cristallo, at 1/5th the price of the Cristallo. I use the Arte for most of my racing.


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## rossb (Oct 11, 2005)

I didn't weigh the frame before I took it into the LBS (I'm not really a weight weenie) but subjectively it weighs a bit more than the Look 585 I have and a bit less than the Trek 5500 I recently sold (all with similar build).

Unfortunately I haven't been able to ride it more than a few times since it has been raining continuously here for weeks and the rest of the time it has been in the LBS being adjusted. The bottom bracket keeps unscrewing from the frame. I'm hoping this is a BB issue not a frame issue, since I don't want to have to test Bellati's return policy and ship it back to Switzerland.


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

I do all my own bike and wheel builds, and if the BB cups are unscrewing, try using a little blue loctite on them.

I run the UT setup on all 3 of my Colnagos and haven't had a single problem with the BB cups unscrewing. However, the Arte does have an English threaded BB.


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## TiDreaming (Jul 20, 2007)

Beautiful, as always function and form sublime on Colnagos. Was interested in your stem size and handlebar width.


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## rossb (Oct 11, 2005)

110mm stem and 44cm bars (c-to-c).


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