Colnago C50 + Record 2004 road test (sort of)
 

I had a quick ride on one of these on 14 Dec. This bike was the full
deal: Colnago C50HP, Star fork, Cinelli Ram CF bar/stem, Record CF
seat post, Record CF crank, front der and rear der body and side
plates, black brakes, etc. Looks very good. OK, the wheels were
Ksyrium SL and not something really fancy. Nice anyway.

I'm comparing it with my own (steel) Scapin "Pro Team" with 2002
Chorus and Mavic Open Pro. Wound-Up carbon forks. Alloy seat post,
stem and bars.

Impressions? Very nice bike. Wouldn't mind one myself. Quick, light,
smooth, quite tight. A bit smoother over little bumps in the road.
Maybe not quite as responsive. Not much difference. Putting carbon
stem, bars and seatpost on my Scapin would probably fix the smoother
bit. Colnago does very sexy paint jobs :-)

It's comforting to discover that changing gears with 2004 Record with
500 Km on the clock feels very much like 2002 Chorus with 18,000 Km on
the clock. Perhaps a bit crisper? I didn't have enough time to tell.
Maybe the 2004 Record hadn't worn in yet :-)

An enjoyable ride.

Regards,
Richard.