Colnago build, the finale

[kenyonchris]

Well, here he is...finished! Campy Sirocco wheelset with Vittoria Corsa tires. Full Campy Chorus 53/39 in front, 11/27 cassette. Thompson seatpost, Chris King headset, FSA stem and Specialized bars, which will be changed here shortly....these are too wide for me. Colnago bar tape. Fizik saddle.

I brought him home yesterday but got home too late for anything but a quick spin to get myself used to the new shifting of the Campy vs. my old Shimano. This morning I headed out for a 40-50 mile ride in the unseasonably cool (if you can call 80 degrees cool, and in Texas we do) drizzle. The good? This bike rocks. I stand up to sprint, this bike responds. The 53/39 works for me way better than I expected. I had been riding a compact crank, but I was only out of the big ring once on a really serious hill. It fits me much better front to back, and felt much more stable on those fun downhills. And corners! I felt like Lance. The bad? My head nearly bobbled off over chipseal. I'm blaming the tires for this, but I am afraid I have sacrificed a degree of comfort for performance. Despite my hesitation, I let myself talk myself into handlebars that are too wide. They felt too wide, and the balls of my thumbs and my rotator cuffs felt it. I went by my LBS to look at 38s (I have 40s on there), they didn't have them, so I went to the big city bike shop, where I think they are rude and condescending, but they know their stuff. The guy there looked at me like I was crazy. I stood my ground, and he finally got a tape measure after me and said, "Yeah, you need a 38." Of course no one has them in stock. So hmmm.
The good far outweighs the bad, and I LOVE my sweet new ride. Any you should see the little crowd I gathered at the LBS!!

[Biciclista]

I hope you can get the right handlebars; congrats on the new bike. I love campy!

[malaholic]

Looks great! Sounds like a sweet, responsive ride too. I can't quite tell on my monitor, is it a gray, or a muted green color?

[Tri Girl]

That's a beauty!!! Congrats on the new ride.

[Trekhawk]

Looks fabulous!
Enjoy your new ride.

[kenyonchris]

Looks great! Sounds like a sweet, responsive ride too. I can't quite tell on my monitor, is it a gray, or a muted green color?

Its a soft grey. The accent colors are yellow...and a little green.
Thanks!

[TxDoc]

Well, here he is...finished!

Wow!!!
Now this is one HOT ride! Congrats!!!

The bad? My head nearly bobbled off over chipseal. I'm blaming the tires for this, but I am afraid I have sacrificed a degree of comfort for performance.

Vittoria corsa is not the best tire out there so it could have a little bit to do with it - but really not much. Two things that you can do and will absorb vibration:
1- first things first... change the seatpost. Swap that Thomson for a good full carbon seatpost - and your head will not bobble anymore even if you ride on top of a family of giant armadillos
And I underline full carbon because the alloy head could take away some of the absorption. A monocoque would be the best.
2- if you still want to jump over armadillos... then at a later time you can consider swapping the fork for a full carbon fork. That will definitely say bye-bye to any vibration.

Congrats on the bike - it is great!

[ASammy1]

Again... I'm having bike envy

That is one SSSSWWWWEEEETTTT ride! Does he have a name yet? And I agree, it's definitely a "he."

[mudmucker]

Aaah. Very nice!

I also had a problem finding 38 cm bars but with the dimensions I wanted. I already had 38 cm alloy bars but they have the ergo bump, which I don't like, they are shallow drop which I also don't like and they don't have the full c-curve which I do like. When I looked, most of the 38 cm bars all had shallow drop. I wanted mid-sized with a drop of at least 142 to 145 mm. Either they just weren't out there or they were out of stock. I even went to the Specialized site and they were all out of stock for the alloy mid-sized 38's. I finally settled on just about the only bars I could find and that ended up being Specialized Ruby carbon bars. I did not want to pay that much for bars but I did find the dimensions I wanted. And, actually I notice a difference in reduced road rattle. I also have bar phat tape and with the carbon I'm not feeling much vibration.

I still have the old alloy 38 cm ergo bump shallow drop bars in the cellar if you get desparate and not able to find anything in the interim.

[Pedal Wench]

Gorgeous!!! The build suits the frame!

You could also try changing your tire pressure. I know we've had numerous discussions on this lately, but as light as you are, you could easily go between 90-100psi for a significantly cushier ride. The numbers on the tire are the absolute maximum they can handle without blowing off the rim, NOT the recommended pressure for comfortable riding.

[kenyonchris]

Wow!!!
Now this is one HOT ride! Congrats!!!




Vittoria corsa is not the best tire out there so it could have a little bit to do with it - but really not much. Two things that you can do and will absorb vibration:
1- first things first... change the seatpost. Swap that Thomson for a good full carbon seatpost - and your head will not bobble anymore even if you ride on top of a family of giant armadillos
And I underline full carbon because the alloy head could take away some of the absorption. A monocoque would be the best.
2- if you still want to jump over armadillos... then at a later time you can consider swapping the fork for a full carbon fork. That will definitely say bye-bye to any vibration.

Congrats on the bike - it is great!

Thanks for the good suggestions....and I will keep my eye open for a good full carbon seatpost. I'm not at all married to the tires, they guys at the shop put them on for the yellow bling. Michelins you think?

[TxDoc]

Thanks for the good suggestions....and I will keep my eye open for a good full carbon seatpost. I'm not at all married to the tires, they guys at the shop put them on for the yellow bling. Michelins you think?

Michelins are a bit softer ride, so you may find them more comfortable. I like high pressure tires like Vredestein clinchers, or Vittoria tubulars, but I tend to fit bikes with carbon components so the vibrations pretty much disappear anyway.
Both Vredestein and Michelin have the yellow-lined tires so the bling will stay
I'd say give your Vittorias another try - and shop for a seatpost first. Selcof, Token and ITM have nice carbon seatposts, and the richey is not bad either. The Selcof monocoque is really nice and not too expensive.
For the fork my suggestion would be Easton EC-90 SL or SLX or Reynolds ouzo pro. The SLX comes in 1 1/8 only, so if you need a 1" steerer your choice will be between ec90sl or ouzo pro. Both great forks.
Take a look at ebay, sometimes there's good deals on carbon components - much cheaper than new!
If you want the top shock absorption and handling you can even think about an integrated carbon stem/handlebar and a full carbon seat. Overall I think that carbon components on a steel frame give you a wonderful combination of comfortable ride with extreme rigidity and responsiveness (=speed!!!) - so it's really a great setup.
That Colnago is smoking hot, more pictures please

[kenyonchris]

Michelins are a bit softer ride, so you may find them more comfortable. I like high pressure tires like Vredestein clinchers, or Vittoria tubulars, but I tend to fit bikes with carbon components so the vibrations pretty much disappear anyway.
Both Vredestein and Michelin have the yellow-lined tires so the bling will stay
I'd say give your Vittorias another try - and shop for a seatpost first. Selcof, Token and ITM have nice carbon seatposts, and the richey is not bad either. The Selcof monocoque is really nice and not too expensive.
For the fork my suggestion would be Easton EC-90 SL or SLX or Reynolds ouzo pro. The SLX comes in 1 1/8 only, so if you need a 1" steerer your choice will be between ec90sl or ouzo pro. Both great forks.
Take a look at ebay, sometimes there's good deals on carbon components - much cheaper than new!
If you want the top shock absorption and handling you can even think about an integrated carbon stem/handlebar and a full carbon seat. Overall I think that carbon components on a steel frame give you a wonderful combination of comfortable ride with extreme rigidity and responsiveness (=speed!!!) - so it's really a great setup.
That Colnago is smoking hot, more pictures please

There is a Colnago full carbon seatpost up there now....I'm on it!