# The Holy Grail : Colnago C40 B-Stay Mapei World Champion



## Salsa_Lover

Yes Oscarito is my hero, and he won the World Championships 3 times no less

The C-40 is considered by many the Holy Grail of bikes, at least the ones of the Carbon era, and the '02-03 B-Stay version is the best of them all.

I could find a 2002 NOS 56cm C-40 Mapei World Champion, the Freire version that is my friends, at least to me, the Holy Grail of bikes.










I am anxious to receive it, it will arrive in a few days, and I don't know yet if it is as good as the seller described it, many times I have bought a C40, asked the sellers to take all the measurements, they send them just to find out they measured it wrong and it is not a 56  This time, I hope it is. Currently it is at the Customs Office and I will receive it soon.

The frame and fork are brand new, but the fork is the standard black Star Fork, not the painted one like in the picture, that reduces a bit of points, but it is still a superb find.

I will dress it with Record 11 speed and Open Pro/Record wheels, cockpit will be 3T with Rotundos.... can't wait


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## Salsa_Lover

The package arrived today , and yes it is brand new and a 56 !

I am still waiting for some parts to arrive ( headset, seatpost, nicer barrel adjusters), those probably come next week so the build will have to wait until then.


It's in the Box ! by Salsa_Lover, en Flickr

Well Packed by Salsa_Lover, en Flickr

Unpacking the C40 by Salsa_Lover, en Flickr

NOS Colnago C40 World Champion Mapei por Salsa_Lover, en Flickr


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## Salsa_Lover

Some Pics at daylight

The headset arrived, so I can start the build.... here with a Colnago seatclamp and the 28/27.2 shim.

I need a 1" carbón expander though, it didn't come with one.

Should I build it or sell it to Ride-Fly for an obscene amount of money  ?


C40 Mapei WC por Salsa_Lover, en Flickr

C40 Mapei WC por Salsa_Lover, en Flickr

oportunity to use my Mapei NOS Elite Cage and Bottle ?


DSC00727.jpg por Salsa_Lover, en Flickr


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## love4himies

What a beautiful bike, I can't wait to see the finished product.


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## boneman

Nice find. I have a 2003 C40 BStay in AD10 and still ride it almost everyday. 2002 was actually the last year of the BStay but when I ordered mine, they still had a non-HP stay in the greige. Note that some member of the Italian World's 2002 team such as Bettini rode C40's with the HP stay but for basic production, the last full year was 2002.

What gruppo? Campag 10?


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## Salsa_Lover

I have a new 2010 Record 11 that was waiting for the perfect C40 to go with 

Seems I have to wait a bit to build it, no shop around here has a 1" carbon expander, I will have to order them online and will take some days

I am looking for a NOS Colnago seatpost, I was offered a SELCOF but prefer the ATR just like it came on all modern C40s and C50s... but patience, 

I bought a White Dorico Team that I will setup initially, I am expecting it to arrive next week and will try it on first, probably will attempt to custom paint it... we'll see

The handlebars/stem will be Rotundo PRO that I have, or maybe I could use a NOS ITM with a NOS 3TTT Mercx that I also have, I think as they are thinner could go better with the thinner C40 tubes, only problem is the ITM is a 8° and not a 17° 

I ordered the 1" expander, a black 1"-1 1/8" shim for the stem ( don't like the silver ones ) and some 1" carbon spacers... they will arrive next week I hope


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## boneman

*Plug and Post*

Good luck with the 1" expander. As you know, the original one, private label by ITM was a beauty and really hard to source.

Same with the seatpost. I bought a NOS C50 last year from R & A in Brooklyn and they still had a couple 28.0's left but I was too late.

My original C40 seatpost had the front bolt shear after two years of use and I weigh all of 55kg. I repaired it using a front bolt from an ITM millenium post but I bought another one a few years ago, pics enclosed.

Currently using FSA KForce 28.0 on both my C40 and C50. Okay, not all original but they are much better posts functionally.


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## Salsa_Lover

Yes that bolt can be a big problem 

I learned you should not do the big torque on it, it is better to tighten it first with the rear loose and then put the high torque on the rear.

With this method is more difficult to get it flat and tight, you need several try-and-error attempts until it's made right


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## Salsa_Lover

building her...

Building... por Salsa_Lover, en Flickr


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## pmf

My wife and I did a bike tour in tuscany as part of our honeymoon in 2000. The shop that supported the ride was a Colnago dealer. At the time, the euro was worth about $0.75, so we looked into buying C40's. The guy took all these measurements and claimed that the bikes would be custom. I ordered the relatively plain OOF and my wife ordered on of the more ornate ones (these were 2001 C40's, the first year of the B-Stay). As soon as they arrived, I wished I'd ordered one with a fancier paint job. I've seen a GEO that looked really cool. The Mapei is just a classic. 

12 years later, we still have the bikes and still ride them often. They're really nice riding bikes.


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## Mapei

A fine, fine bicycle. And a personal thank you for keeping my name in the public eye.


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## Salsa_Lover

Waiting for parts to finish the build, specially the fork expander...


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## Jonr55

Not sure if you found the expander, however there is a 1" on ebay now. I know the 1" are much harder to find that the 1" 1/8.

That is a sweet looking C40! My Rabobank trimmed 200 C40 is my favorite!


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## Salsa_Lover

Thanks, but it is everything already ordered, I am just waiting for delivery.


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## Salsa_Lover

The parts I was expecting arrived today.

The build is almost finished..... I have yet to decide if I go with white bar tape and hoods or Mapei correct blue bar tape and hoods

What do you say ? 


DSC00758.jpg por Salsa_Lover, en Flickr


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## bikerjulio

Very nice. Go with the blue. It will look nicer longer than one ride, and the bike has plenty of white already.


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## love4himies

I second the blue. It will bring out the blue in the Colnago decal.


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## boneman

Blue bar tape and oem/black hoods. If you want something other than bog standard black hoods, go with white. The contrast with the blue bar tape will be nice.


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## Salsa_Lover

I went for a short test ride, and yes this bike has indeed the fabled "magic carpet" ride. Holy Grail in every way, and that even with normal pants, no cycling shorts 

I decided to go with the Cinelli Caleido and the special WC end caps, the blue shades of tape and hoods didn't match well the blue in the frame.


Cinelli Caleido por Salsa_Lover, en Flickr

Here a pic on my usual spot, but it was full sunny so I will come back later for a final shot with less shadows

C40 Mapei WC por Salsa_Lover, en Flickr

and here on a more shady spot

C40 Mapei WC por Salsa_Lover, en Flickr

As the C40 has a shorter head tube than the C50, I needed a bit higher stack of spacers to have the same setup though.


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## love4himies

Beautiful! Too bad about the different blue colours.


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## boneman

Looks good. It's getting cooler where I live and was riding my C40 yesterday, going past a C50. He came back up and asked "C40?"...iconic. Enjoy the ride and I still think blue tape, if you can find a color you like, is the way to go.


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## Salsa_Lover

I went on my regular hilly ride and this bike is great

The bike rides like "floating on a cloud" climbs like "scalded monkeys" and descends like the "dollar-to-gold parity" 

Excellent, I did miss the C40 ride for soooo loooong.


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## Jonr55

I know that feeling, as my C40 is comfortable with regular pants (not cycling), and even with a Selle Sam Marco ASPide saddle! The C40 is a perfect blend, and is like riding on a pillow.


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## pmf

That's a beautiful bike. I was going to vote for the blue tape too, but the white turned out nice. My only problem with white is how it'll look in a few months.


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## crewman

"As the C40 has a shorter head tube than the C50, I needed a bit higher stack of spacers to have the same setup though."

That stem looks like a -17 degree. If you change it for a -6 it will help and not look bad. 

Nice ride, Colnago always did awesome paint jobs.


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## Salsa_Lover

You are right about the geometrical equivalence of a high rise stem...

But that's not what I look for, I look for the classic esthetics on a classic geometry bike.

I just measured the headset stacks, stem and bars positioning on my 3 bikes and the 3 are almost identical.

Notice this stem heights, are made like this, to mimic the same fit as an slammed -6° Stem, on the C50, that's the reason why there is a need for spacers with a -17° Stem


ColnagoStacks por Salsa_Lover, en Flickr


The Master has a classic quill look and don't look too high at all, however the stem rise is exactly the same as the C40, off course the headset top nut is also there and reduces the perceived lenght

The C50 looks less "bad" because of the tubes being thicker, and the head tube is 1 cm higher, but if you see the picture that cm is over the top tube, just like if it was an spacer, the geometries are still the same for the 3 frames

I prefer the horizontal stem so I will keep it like it is for a while, then I will experiment on lowering progessively the bars to see how lower can I get.


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## Mapei

To my eyes, a few centimeters of stem spacers is always ok. To me, it's much more visually offensive to see the stem too much off horizontal. In any case, the most important thing is not to have to suffer for your aesthetics. Then again, I dig women that wear five inch spiked heels.

BTW, Salsa -- your stems easily pass all the coolness criteria.


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## Salsa_Lover

Thanks Mapei, 

It's great to have your seal of approval :thumbsup:


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## Sweeney

The bicycle is beautiful. Enjoy the ride!


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## El Guapo

Dave Sem in San Antonio (.:: Sem Custom Paint ::.) is an amazing artist with the air brush. He could EASILY paint that fork to match identically. He was one of the few "approved" Colnago artists here stateside. He touched up my LUX14 Dream and it is amazing. He got the top-tube rider spot on perfect. Worth a shot.


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## quikrick1

That is a real sweet ride! Sometimes the hunt is just as invigorating as riding the finished bike! Have fun with her.


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## armstrong

Can someone tell me what "B-stay" is supposed to denote?


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## Salsa_Lover

armstrong said:


> Can someone tell me what "B-stay" is supposed to denote?


It's the name given to the newer ( at that time ) style of seatstays that had a "wishbone" shape instead of the classic steel ones that was carried over to the carbon, titanium and alu models


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## Colnagonista

Great bike i have a passion for mapei bikes and currently have a collection of 9 different mapei bikes nice to see other people with a passion


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## pmf

armstrong said:


> Can someone tell me what "B-stay" is supposed to denote?


Bueno Stay

Don't ask me about the current Q-Stay.


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## Ride-Fly

Salsa_Lover said:


> *Should I build it or sell it to Ride-Fly for an obscene amount of money  ?*


hey Salsa buddy! I didn't realize you mentioned me in your thread! I commented on your Paceline thread and also PM'ed you asking where you got it and for how much (I'm Nags&Ducs over on the Paceline so you might not have known it was me). Anyhow, I just thought I'd let you know that these C40s are soooooooo overrated. Just an ordinary old bike. Not worth too much to tell you the truth. So in light of the fact that you will eventually come to the same conclusion as I did, and you will eventually sell it, I'll be very gracious and take it off your hand. I'll even give you a couple hundred bucks, just because you are my buddy.  

ok now, in all seriousness, I am sooooo envious of you! I would give my left nut to find a NOS WC C40 in size 55!!!! 

Btw, are you interested in a C40 Gold? That's another version of the C40 that I'd love to have!!! A certain Craigslist has one in a size 56 for $5200 obo. It's in all original condition so the seller claims. Looks to be in really nice shape. Pm me if you want more details. 

Once again, you are the MAN!!!! The Colnago connoisseur!!!


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## rplace13

Salsa, congrats to you. I have not been around in a while, been drinking holiday beers and getting fat. Time to get back in shape so I thought I'd stop by for some motivation and BAM! you got the ultimate c-40. Well done and enjoy in good health.


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## Salsa_Lover

Thank you RideFly and rplace!

Indeed I was on the search of the perfect C40 and I was seriously considering yours... Until this one showed up!

I'm very happy with it


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## rplace13

I'm actually happy you passed. I have been giving it some more love. Picked up 11s RD and shifters. I think if I swap it over to 11s like my Pinarello and have the ability to *easily* swap wheels between the two I will ride it a lot more. End of last season I was forcing myself to take it out more frequently and really  liking it more and more. The Pinarello Prince is still the go to bike if I am trying to KOM/PR Strava segments, but there really is something wonderful and magical about the C-40. Can't beat that paint job either. MORE PIX of yours! Again, congrats.


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## Salsa_Lover

spring is almost here 

while waiting, experimenting with WC spacers.... I think I need a silver or white instead of the carbon one.


World Champion Spacers por Salsa_Lover, en Flickr


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## Salsa_Lover

Spring is almost here.... and somewhat this bike calls for more colourful wheels 

Those are blue Open Pro with Chorus hubs, the silver spokes and hubs seem to compliment the silver bits on the record headset and rear derailer... I'm happy with that.


C40 WC - Open Pro wheels por Salsa_Lover, en Flickr

C40 WC - Open Pro wheels por Salsa_Lover, en Flickr


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## rplace13

Looks fantastic with the blue wheels. And you did not like all my anodized bits on my C40. I see the colored or coloUred spacers too. Keep up the good work and keep the pictures coming. Now run off and get some blue chain ring bolts! A blue chain keep while you are at it.


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## Salsa_Lover

This bike is wonderful... comfort and performance mixed at the right proportions.... very happy with it.

and @rplace I like the colored bits, but not in excess, the frames are already very colorful, so I guess I want just to keep it moderate....

my C50 has the green headset, seatpost clamp, cable endscaps and cassette lockring, that's enough...

this one has just the world champion spacers, multicolored ( blue, green, yellow and red ) cable endcaps and now the wheels, I guess that is also more than enough, even though I might go back to the black wheels to keep it sober.


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## rplace13

I just noticed the white hoods. Nice touch! The more I look at that bike the more I like it...and I liked it a lot before it was even put together. Can't believe you found one in your size never built up. Congrats again, very well done. I vote for keeping the blue wheels.


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