Bumble Bee to Red Riding Racer

[DJR]

DJRs Colnago C40 Project (2016)

The spark:

Sometime in 2015 I noted that my youngest D (15 years old) suddenly started eating like a whole cycling team. Just about an entire loaf of bread, a bag full of apples and 2 litres of milk would disappear in one go! Then, the next morning, I could swear that he had grown four fingers taller! New shoes and pants lasted no more than a few months and he was outgrowing his bike at an alarming rate!

Luckily, there were also some positives!

Yes, his next bike size would be exactly my own and I already knew how to go about solving that little problem! Give him my bike and get a new one for myself! What a beautifully simple and elegant solution! On top of that, my wife, his mother, minister of Home Affairs and Finances, voted for it too! (As long as she could buy shoes without us boys asking uncomfortable questions.)

[DJR]

The search:

Wherever I researched, everyone seemed to agree that the Colnago C40 was a benchmark frame of its era and that it still offers a great ride. I always keep an eye open for good deals and when Hey You advertised a 2000 vintage Colnago C40 B-Stay frame in The Bike Hub Classifieds, I decided to take the plunge. I’ve never had a carbon bike before, always feeling happier on titanium or aluminium. Besides, I like the more classic look on road bikes, with straight tubes and a level top tube.

The particular Colnago frame, let’s be honest, did not have the prettiest paint job that Colnago ever did. The black carbon weave was visible, which I liked, but the yellow details were a bit boring and it looked somewhat like a skinny bumble bee. Not bad, but nothing like the artistic and amazing paint jobs Colnago is famous for! Initially I planned to only clean up the frame, perhaps do a little touch-up here and there, and spray it with a new clear coat. As time went by I started thinking about other possibilities, but more about that later!

[DJR]

As with my other projects, I then slowly collected parts for it, planning to build it up as my everyday road ride. A C40 really deserves the right groupset, which cannot possibly be anything other than 10 speed Campagnolo. I waited, watched the Classifieds like a hawk, missed a few, thought about Chorus, but held out for Record. Eventually Morph sold me a pristine carbon and titanium Campy Record 10 Speed groupset, and at a good price, I should add. That was the biggest score of the project, brakes, crank, derailleurs, bottom bracket, all taken care of in one go. He even threw in a new set of Campy cables and an extra bottom bracket, possibly because I was looking very broke. Much time went by searching for wheels. I wanted Campy, but so many Mavics looked good…….in the end I got a set of Campagnolo Eurus wheels from JMK1 in Johannesburg, again at a fair price, and he couriered it to Cape Town. The Eurus is a good all round wheel that is strong enough for everyday riding but light enough for a race or two. The next level up would have meant carbon wheels, which I’m not quite prepared for, not for everyday use.

 

Now I had most of the big bits, the search started for the “easy” things, which turned out to be the surprisingly “difficult” things. The seat-post, for instance, is a 28 mm diameter, and only Colnago ever made those, only for the C40 and C50. No amount of luck brought one to my doorstep, well, not initially. I looked on E-Bay, but they wanted a kidney in exchange for a seat-post, and I said “hell no”! The Zipp handlebars and stem came from Chain Reaction Cycles bought as sale items. I picked them because of the ergonomic shape. I prefer light aluminium stems and handlebars to carbon, but if ever an original carbon ITM Colnago stem in a short length (another hens tooth) come up for sale, I might consider it. The Campy Centaur chain and Veloce cassette came from CRC as well. I decided on a cassette and chain from lower down the Campy scale because it is substantially cheaper while the extra bit of weight wasn’t that critical to me. Also, I believe they are more durable than the top end ones. Again CRC amazed me with how efficient their deliveries are, it took exactly three days from Ireland to my office desk in Cape Town! Crown Cycles in Cape Town had a special on tyres, so I got the 25 mm Continental GP4000s from them. The Cinelli Cavaliere Crest saddle and handlebar tape came from Woodstock Cycleworks, as did the pedals. About those: I gave up on road pedals years ago and all my bikes now have road and mountain compatible SPD pedals, so I only have to pack one pair of shoes and I can walk on tiled floors. Nils Hansen from Woodstock Cycle Works http://www.woodstockcycleworks.com/  found a pair in his spares bin, serviced them while I waited and charged me next to nothing for them. I suppose he knew that sooner or later I will come and talk to him about a particular frame that is hanging in the rafters of his shop. After almost a year I had everything ready except that hens tooth seat-post and I decided to just get a more common 27,2mm one and make a shim to get it to fit the Colnago frame.

[DJR]

Transforming the frame:

Meanwhile, with the help of some Scottish lucidity elixir, I came to the conclusion that, if I really wanted to do the project justice, I should restore the frame properly. And if I was going to do that, I might as well think about a total re-spray. And if I do that, I might as well think about a new colour scheme, seeing that the old bumble bee look wasn’t the hottest thing on two wheels.
The C40 is a straight tube carbon frame put together with carbon lugs, so the look is that of a classic 1980s steel frame, except that the tubes are of a slightly larger diameter. They were made from about 1994 to 2004. The B-Stay models are from the middle of that era. I found a few similar projects on the internet, of people that dressed their C40s in classic colours and the ones that stood out the most, were several variations of the classic old Guiseppe Saronni bikes from the 1980s. He won the World Championship for Colnago in 1982 and they named a bike after him, painting it a deep rich red and white colour. The red soon enough became known as Saronni red!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Saronni

(See below for the inspiration.)

[DJR]

I took the frame to Jared Mahaffey at the Bicycle Maintenance Company http://www.bicyclerepairs.co.za/  in Salt River, Cape Town, because he did another amazing ground-up restoration for me before. https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/46935-retro-bicycle-thread/page-109?&&do=findComment&comment=1938565  I also looked at a spray-job Jared did for his own custom David Mercer bike. The detail was just amazing. http://mercerbikes.co.za/jareds-modern-classic/ I gave Jared a rough idea of what I wanted, we talked about some details and then I let him do his thing. Roughly, the plan was to use the old Saronni colour scheme as inspiration, but to add modern and unique touches. That Jared certainly delivered. All the decals are painted except the head tube badge, which is a vinyl transfer under the clear coat. The precision is amazing and the paintwork is simply perfect! What it hides, is how much work it took to get the preparation done. Everywhere that aluminium touched carbon, there was some corrosion that needed cleaning and in some areas repair. This is a common problem on these frames at the drop-outs and cable guides. It called for lots of sanding and elbow grease. Oh, I almost forgot, the fork needed some straightening out too. I also heard from a little birdie that Mel (Jareds’ wife) made him work very hard to get the colour exactly right. You can trust someone who rides a Colnago in Art Décor livery to be particular about things like that. Both the deep red as well as the white, have a tiny metallic sparkle that you only really see when the bike is in direct sunlight. The painted decals are perfectly flat and you cannot feel the edges running a finger over them. Every line is perfectly sharp and the design of white and red is nicely balanced. I like that the fork and rear triangle which was originally chromed, is painted in white while the main triangle is red, except for the Colnago decals. It also sports far fewer decals than before, my feeling is that too much writing (sorry, I know this is a long read) detracts from the aesthetics of a bike. It's a bike after all, not a book!  I like the little arrow details where the red and white joins. I like that, at a glance, from a distance, it can easily be mistaken for a bike from two decades earlier. Hey You, I hope I didn’t offend you by re-spraying the frame, but I’m sure you’ll approve of the classic look. I promise not to do it for anything truly classic (steel).

[DJR]

Building:

Once the frame was ready, I suddenly got impatient, like I came around the last corner, could see the finish line and desperately needed to sprint. I delivered all the parts to BMC to do the build, simply because I was so snowed under with work. Also, Kevin Wilkinson (ex-BMC) still had to make me a shim for the too-narrow seat-post. Of course you know what happened while the build was on: Morph read my posts on The Bike Hub and offered me an original Colnago 28 mm seat-post. Thanks Morph, but no thanks for the other beautiful bits of 8 speed Campy C-Record that you dangled under my nose. (I’m not quite ready to start with the next project.) Another amazing coincidence came to light on The Bike Hub, when Cippo and I realized that our “great minds” were indeed “thinking alike”. Independently, we came up with the same idea and while his Colnago Extreme Power frame was with Bogus1 for a Saronni red re-spray, mine was with BMC for the same treatment. https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/164052-my-first-colnago-build/
So, finally, almost a year after I started, all was done and the big-reveal day arrived. If ever I doubted the idea behind the project, which was basically to take a fairly modern frame, that is entirely capable of keeping up with new ones, build it with arguably the best ever groupset, to produce a very ridable bike and to make it look as graceful as an old classic, my doubts instantly evaporated when I first saw the final product.
 

[DJR]

These are the details (truly a Hub-bike):

Frame – Colnago C40 B-Stay, carbon, lugged, model year 2000, size 57cm
Fork – Colnago (Time?), carbon, steel steerer
Headset – Campagnolo Record
Wheelset – Campagnolo Eurus G3
Tyres – Continental Grand Prix 4000, 25 mm
Crankset – Campagnolo Record, Carbon, 53/39, 10 speed
Shifters – Campagnolo Record, 10 speed
Rear Derailleur – Campagnolo Record, carbon/titanium, 10 speed
Front derailleur –Campagnolo Record, carbon/titanium, 10 speed
Cassette – Campagnolo Veloce, 13/29, 10 speed
Chain – Campagnolo Centaur, 10 speed
Brakeset – Campagnolo Record, titanium
Cables – Campagnolo
Stem – Zipp, Service Course, 80 mm, aluminium
Handlebar – Zipp, Service Course, 44 cm, Ergo 70, aluminium
Handlebar tape – Cinelli, black
Seatpost – Colnago, carbon (added after the pictures were taken)
Saddle – Cinelli Cavaliere Crest Nero
Bottle Cages – None, as yet. (Searching for something that won’t spoil the look.)

[DJR]

The ride:

I took it for a first spin over Chapmans Peak and Suikerbossie, thinking that it would be a good testing ground as I know it like the back of my hand.
As you all know, red bikes are faster! And of all the red bikes, Saronni red ones are the fastest. (Imagine my tongue in my cheek please!) Well, that is true if you can supply it with the legs and the lungs to match, which, in my old case, may well be a little tricky.
But let me rather tell you about my first impressions. I know that one tends to be a bit blind when you have just invested so much energy in a bike, but truly, I cannot fault this build.
The frame feels solid and stiff, without feeling harsh and the ride is dead silent. It is light and it climbs well. It feels solid in the corners. The 10 speed Record groupset shifts like a Swiss timepiece in butter. The 13/29 cassette makes it easy to spin up the steeper bits, but you do lose out on the top speed on the downhills. I very much like the ergonomic shape of the Zipp handlebars. The oval shape and the shallow bend make it very comfortable on the hands and wrists. The short stem and shallow handlebars make the riding position a little more upright, which my back appreciated. At the same time it also makes the steering quicker and more direct, but not twitchy. Riding in the drops is comfortable and the shape of the handlebars make it easy to brake and shift without having to move your hands. The Eurus wheels feel stiff and runs true. The 25 mm tyres give a buzz free ride, and I think the carbon frame contributes to that as well. The new Cinelli saddle felt wrong for the first hour, but then I forgot about it, so I think we’ll be able to make peace with each other. If it doesn’t behave, I have a spare Selle Italia to use, but that isn’t nearly as good looking as the Cinelli.

[DJR]

I think that everything I aimed for came together very beautifully indeed. It is a bike that is comfortable enough to ride every day, use it for fun rides, race occasionally and still look at and enjoy where it sits on my study wall.

[DJR]

OK, just one more!

[DJR]

Oh hell, I can't help myself, I'm worse than a new father showing off his baby!

[T-Bob]

That is truely exceptional from idea to execution. One of the best things I've seen in a long time. Congrats!

[kevin Walter]

Truly a beauty DJR, absolutely no expense spared!

 

I have a steed of my own to share:

 

Colnago attain

Roughly 95 model (not 100% sure)

Complete campag veloce groupo

Carbon upgrades all over (Easton bar, seatpost and forks)

Italian matching wheels

Fizik saddle

Medium size (52 cm square geometry, similar to modern medium but I stand to be corrected)

Everything modern Italian except classic steel frame with chrome lugs and hand signature from the man himself (a few minor nicks but 100% origonal). I got this from a guy with too many bikes and enjoyed it for about a year but have now got a bianchi Oltre which I ride.

 

Being a race snake I ride my new bianchi exclusively and am selling the Colnago with a sore heart to gather up some money.

 

Asking R9 800.00

 

Kevin

083 564 2384

Melville jhb

 

[Cippo]

Congrats D! I'm hoping my pics make up for my writing skills. Love the way you describe the journey from start to finish. That is truly an awesome build and you did the frame justice with choice of parts. Happy safe miles, and now the pressure is on to finish mine.

 

Gotta say, I love that saddle.

[Matchstix]

What a transformation!!

[seanp]

Damn that's downright gorgeous. Even go so far as to say bloody sexy with the Campagnolo groupset. Not a Campy fan myself but have to admit it looks gorgeous with that frame. Jared has certainly outdone himself with the paintwork. Time to give him a call me thinks. Wishing you many happy miles on this beauty. Congratulations on a beautiful build.