# C50 Front End



## cei477 (Mar 18, 2005)

Hi

I am thinking of buying a C50. It is just thinking at the moment - we can all dream. But I have been reading around and certainly hera great things about the bike. A review in Cycling Weekly talked about a "hard front end" and a "very firm front end". The review was pretty glowing but I konw what it feels like to have the hands jarred repeatedly and it is not pleasant. Which brings me to my question. Have any of you C50 owners experienced this problem? Is it a feature of a particular fork perhaps? (Or was the reviewer talking though his hat?) 

Generally - am I mad to fork out the money for a C50?


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## SPINDAWG (Aug 24, 2003)

*I guess it depends alot on the your setup.*



cei477 said:


> Hi
> 
> I am thinking of buying a C50. It is just thinking at the moment - we can all dream. But I have been reading around and certainly hera great things about the bike. A review in Cycling Weekly talked about a "hard front end" and a "very firm front end". The review was pretty glowing but I konw what it feels like to have the hands jarred repeatedly and it is not pleasant. Which brings me to my question. Have any of you C50 owners experienced this problem? Is it a feature of a particular fork perhaps? (Or was the reviewer talking though his hat?)
> 
> Generally - am I mad to fork out the money for a C50?



Alot of variables can determine a bikes ride characteristics and with your question of the frontend it boils down to the bar and stem combo,wheel choice,tyre pressure and of course fork choice.

I currently have a 62cm. C50 with Deda Newton bar and stem, Star fork and campag Hyperon wheels.The Star fork in my opinion is the best in the business and is very forgiving and stiff.Which is the feel for the overall bike,in my opinion.I have a feeling,the Force fork is the same,ask me in about a mo. from now,because my dream will have one.

The bike seems to dampen and "cools" the ride.Some call this "dead",I call it"quiet".You feel the road but you don't feel much spring like resonance or hum of steel or titanium.It's a feeling so unlike a metal bike that it disarms at first,I mean in a way that a blind test between great steel and ti makes you think about what you are riding,carbon is carbon.Dampening the vibration,absorbing to the point that when the feeling reaches you,it is nearly absent,the bumps are like gentle thuds or muted distant sounds.The way a bell rings and resonates,is the familiar feel of steel moving up and through your body; in contrast,carbon stops moving as soon as it can,it has no sense of continuing forward,it doesn't want to keep resonating till it fades,but rather fades as soon as possible.Yes,that's it.


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## CFBlue (Jun 28, 1999)

Hi - 

I remember that review. It was a PR10 frame with a Force fork. I think Simon Richardson wrote it.

In general the Force is a less forgiving fork than a Star. The Star now comes as standard - but initial versions of the frame early last year, including the one reviewed, came with a Force fork because of supply problems. The 1 1/8 steerer on the C50 also felt different to many of us who were used to the C40's 1 inch steerer. 

So, yes - it is a stiffer front end - but that's not the same as uncomfortable. It's not at all uncomfortable - it just tracks extremely accurately. 'Jarring' is not a word I'd apply to a C50  

Dawg is right about the Star; it's a great fork - light and comfortable. The walls of the steerer are 3mm thick, so it's also pretty robust.

I've said it before, if I had to have just one frame it would be a 50. It's not a bike that will look faddy and stupid five years from now, it will not snap after a racing season, and you can ride it all day. In a world of increasingly samey carbon compacts, it is a classic-to-be.

CC


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## Number9 (Nov 28, 2004)

Ce Cinquanta said:


> It's not a bike that will look faddy and stupid five years from now, it will not snap after a racing season, and you can ride it all day. In a world of increasingly samey carbon compacts, it is a classic-to-be.


The HP stays already look faddy and stupid!  Otherwise, I agree with you... On the original topic, the C50 front end (w/Star fork) isn't particularly harsh - quite the contrary.


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## dpower (Jul 24, 2004)

I ride a 2004 c-50 with a Star fork, and it is smoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooth...just one biker dude's opinion.


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## KATZRKOL (Mar 4, 2004)

*Best Bike EVER IMO. .*



cei477 said:


> Hi
> A review in Cycling Weekly talked about a "hard front end" and a "very firm front end". The review was pretty glowing but I konw what it feels like to have the hands jarred repeatedly and it is not pleasant.


I go through bikes like underwear but I found a keeper for life in the C50. I have a 52cm 2004 C50 and it's absolutely the best bike I've ever ridden and I've had some VERY high-end bikes under me. I'm not racing any more, and wanted a bike that would be more like a pet than a tool on my 50 to 100 mile rides alone through rural Virginia and the C50 delivers in spades (or Clovers ). The ride on the C50 can be summed up in one word. .Sublime.


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## lpdjshaw (Aug 8, 2004)

*Love my C50*

After 4 years of road riding I decided to get a bike that would be as comfortable as possible and would be pretty bomb proof (ie need to last a long time as the wife won't be going for spending big bucks on another bike for a looooong time). Anyways I ultimately decided on the C50 (with Star fork) and havn't regreted it a bit. I know I could have got a cheaper and/or lighter bike but I liked the Colnago the best. Like most of the other posters have said this baby is SMOOOTH.
If you decide to go that way check out Maestro-uk.com and talk to Mike. You'll save at least a grand over a LBS that pays a kings ransom to the US distributer (Trial Tir) for Colnagos.


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## KATZRKOL (Mar 4, 2004)

*Well Said. .*



lpdjshaw said:


> If you decide to go that way check out Maestro-uk.com and talk to Mike. You'll save at least a grand over a LBS that pays a kings ransom to the US distributer (Trial Tir) for Colnagos.


I'd never buy from the monopoly called Trial Tir (trail of tears), they rip you off on price and then refuse all warranty work. I'd like to add, try Totalcycling too. .They can be a little sketchy on getting back to you, but they always deliver.


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