Colnago C40. Casino Pro Team Issue. That says enough already, surely? What more needs to be said? This bike was once the personification of excellence in racing bicycle design and manufacture, the veritable King of the Hill. This is the game changer. The frame that signalled the departure of steel from the pro peloton, and heralded the dominance of the new wonder material, carbon fibre. First tested in actual competition by Tony Rominger, subsequently ridden to emphatic wins by the likes of Fondriest, Museeuw, Tafi and Bortolami, to name but the first of many. Team Casino pros who rode just such a C40 include Kirsipu and Lefèvre.
At the beginning of the ’90s, when Ernesto Colnago developed the C40, so named as a celebration of forty years in the business, he partnered with automobile manufacturer Ferrari, who were themselves exploring new methods of joining the separate structural members of their race car chassis at that time. The techniques that resulted from that fruitful collaboration made it possible to produce a frame which did not immediately depart from the classic aesthetic, staying with the parallel top tube silhouette which had for so long been familiar, and also retaining the principle of tube-in-lug construction. The main tubes even mimicked the cross section of their Gilco steel forebears from the top-of-the-line Master, with four pronounced grooves along their lengths. The lugs too were of carbon, and Colnago went to the not inconsiderable trouble of creating individual lugs for every frame size, as geometry varies markedly with seat and top tube length changes.
This lightweight road rocket is assembled with a full house of Campagnolo Record components from the 10 speed era. Because of course it is! The black base colour of that stunning paintjob is nicely complimented by the black deep section rims of the Shamal system wheelset. The bars and stem are by ITM Italmanubri, and the requisite grip at terminal velocity is provided by a fresh wrap of black Lizard Skin tape. The lucky rider perches upon a simple and fittingly classic black leather Flite Titanium saddle, itself mounted on an alloy seat post which has been painstakingly airbrushed in the same colours with which the frame and fork were decorated. As for that lavish decoration, we’ll let the photos do the talking. A great deal of time and effort went into adorning this race winning device with those distinctive graphics. There. Have we said enough now?
Brand: Colnago
Model: C40 Art Decor
Era:2000
Frame size: 53cm ct.- ct. (top of tube 56 cm)
Top Tube Lenght: 54.5 cm ct.- ct.
Head tube height: 136 mm
Stand over height: 79.5 cm
Wheel base: 99 cm
Weight: 8.4 kg
Rear Space: 130mm
PARTS
Headset: Campagnolo Record 1″ Threaded
Cranks: 172.5 mm 53 t. X 39 t.
Brakes: Campagnolo Record
Der’s:Front and rear Campagnolo Record
B.B.: Campagnolo Record (It.)
Seatpost: Colnago custom
Bar: ITM Pro Racing 260 (40 mm ct.- ct.)
Stem: ITM Titanium
Saddle: Flite Titanium
Wheel set: Campagnolo Shamal / Continental Grand Prix 4000
Chain.: Campagnolo Record
Condition: Pristine condition, original paint and stickers, no dents. Like new
