# Good deal on a 2004 C40?



## beanwz (Aug 14, 2007)

Hey everyone,

I'm this close to joining the Colnago family. I be found what. I think to be a pretty good deal. On a 2004 C40 with full campy record 10. The components are not all original as. The owner has replace the crank with the newer carbon version and replace the wheel set with some newer eurus wheels. 

The bike has been rider but is in great shape. Probably somewhere in the realm of 2-3000 miles on it. 

He's looking for $1600 for it. Do you guys think this is a fair price? Great price? Or even too high?

Sorry if this is he wrong section of the forum. Not sure where else to ask. Thanks!


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## CliffordK (Jun 6, 2014)

It depends if it is what you want, and if it fits reasonably well.

With the 10 speed Campy Record group, I think you're in the ballpark. 

Looking at E-Bay SOLD listings, the C40 bikes are running from $1000 to a bit over $2000, with the higher component groups often commanding a higher price.

Personally, I think it is at the high end of what I would expect, so not a fire-sale, but not too high either.


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## beanwz (Aug 14, 2007)

Thanks for the response CliffordK. The bike actually fits really well and is a great ride. I've been seeing the same range as you have so it seems in the ball park. Also not sure about spending $1500 on. A 10 year old carbon frame.


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## CliffordK (Jun 6, 2014)

You said the bike is 10 years old, ridden, but only has a few thousand miles on it. Many people put that much on a bike in a month or two. 

I don't think I'd worry about the age of the frame causing it to suddenly wear out. 

I'm not sure I like the lug and tube design of the early Colnago CF frames. However, it should certainly be ridable, and no doubt will be a collectable frame. This may be a good point along a bike's depreciation curve. You probably won't have a warranty, but I won't worry about it.

I might be a little more worried about an older hard-used aluminum frame, but not particularly a lightly used one.

My Colnago predates the CF era. It has had a hard life, but at 46 years old, it is still a viable bicycle, and still turns heads.


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## beanwz (Aug 14, 2007)

What if the bike has 10k miles on it? Is there a certain amount that I would need to start being concerned?


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## CliffordK (Jun 6, 2014)

Perhaps I'd be a bit worried if it had 250,000 miles on it.

I think the jury is still out on the lifetime of the new composite frames. Carbon Fiber apparently has very good fatigue resistance, but the polymer/glue/epoxy that holds it all together may have more of a finite lifetime.

You have me wondering a bit. Some plastics, if well cared for will last forever. Others won't. UV and high heat are often a problem for many plastics (and thus car dash boards suffer, and I have wondered about the vinyl siding that was popular a decade ago). I always hate working on old plastic parts on a car as inevitably one just touches them and they crumble.

But, if the bike is generally in a climate controlled inside environment, the lifespan would be increased.

I certainly would carefully inspect the bike before you take the plunge.


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