societa colnago

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colnago c40 | colnago c40hp | colnago c50hp | colnago dream |
50th anniversary interview with ernesto colnago | colnago teams since 1968
robert millar colnago c40 review | colnago clx | colnago c50 2007 |
colnago arte | colnago eps | ernesto colnago interview 2008

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welcome to colnago.cc ernesto colnago the favoured place on thewashingmachinepost for colnago bicycles.

in response to our (fiercely prejudiced) enthusiasm for the marque, many others have shared their own enthusiasm through e-mail, sending of photos and even talking to us when we have plucked up the nerve to attend cycling functions. colnago.cc, with co-operation from colnago uk, will endeavour to be the most comprehensive source of information on our favourite bicycle that we can manage. we're not called anoraks for nothing:-)

you might also like to take a look at molto colnago, a flickr group featuring a lot of photos of the finest machines on the planet. (but only after you've read everything you need to here:-)

suggestions will be cheerfully entertained, so if you've thought of something, or just want to share, e-mail to societacolnago@thewashingmachinepost.net

photo: ben ingham - courtesy rouleur magazine

colnago.com | colnagouk.com | veltec sports (usa importer) | frfsports.com.au (australian importer)

colnago

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going to the movies

colnago movie

frequent and recent visitors to the official colnago website may have noticed a page entitled 'movies', a page that originally contained images that would have led us to movies about the carbon, the paint shop, testing, etc, as well as others about the colnago ferrari, eps, cx-1 and the milan show. these featured on the page for at least a month bearing the heading under construction, but at last some can actually be watched. sadly, some of what promised to be really interesting, such as the paintshop movie, have disappeared, leaving the shorts on the most recent models, and the milan show.

in a strange departure from the rest of the colnago site, most of which is made in flash, the movies are in apple's quicktime format, and the latest version at that, so if you want to view them you'll need to make sure your version is up to date. is it worth it? well, at the moment, the three bike movies are just still photos with flashy graphics in the background, so i wouldn't bust a gut. the milan show is a guided tour of the colnago stand at said italian bike show: if you were at london or interbike, you've pretty much seen it all, though it's a harmless tread through the 2009 range.

however, i have enquired as to what future goodies may be coming our way, and i'll update if and when i get a reply. i have one or two ideas myself, but if you have any suggestions, e-mail them here (brian@thewashingmachinepost.net) and i'll pass them on. and while we're talking about good things from colnago, i currently have in the first output from the colnago revolution for a raod test over the next few weeks, a colnago cx-1. be interesting to find out if it is indeed the new face of colnago for the future.

colnago

posted on thursday 4th december 2008

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anorak corner

sven nys

in the world of cyclocross, this year as well as last, sven nys reigns supreme - more or less. at the beginning of this year, the man rode for rabobank on a c50 cyclocross bike, kitted out with shimano componentry. however, as his contract with rabobank ceased at the end of the cross season, sven moved to landbouwkrediet tonissteiner for the current cross season, a move that allows him to continue his lengthy association with colnago. in fact, if you peruse the current colnago online catalogue, you will find that they have produced a brand new cross super prestige frame, built with nys' specific sporting prowess in mind.

featuring a monocoque front triangle with a curved tube added at the top tube/seat tube juncture for ease of shouldering during the race, it has yet to see the light of day, because it's not ready yet. (and in the spirit of clarity, the monocoque is built in taiwan). so currently, sven nys is still riding the c50 cross variant, as indeed are the rabobank chaps whose contract with colnago extends to the end of 2008. however, glance at the photos from gavere, scene of nys' super prestige win on sunday 16th november, and a set of shimano sti levers can be seen atop the bars.

why is this remarkable? well, landbouwkrediet - tonissteiner have ridden on campagnolo since the beginning, and their road team still sported ergo levers throughout the past road season. however, being the anorak that i am, i asked landbouwkrediet why nys was different, and it turns out that sven has a personal sponsorship deal with shimano. something that may just have helped persuade the team to switch for 2009, when they will all be on sti levers

just in case you were wondering

photo: cyclingnews

colnago

posted on monday 17th november 2008

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made in italy part two - the final frontier

just as a brief update to the information posted below, it seems that the bottom bracket threading on the new eps is what is causing all the confusion. up until the eps, all the bikes built in taiwan (see below) arrived with english threaded 68mm bottom brackets, while the italian made frames bore italian 70mm bbs. however, in much the same way as many other manufacturers, colnago are now intent on standardising the bottom bracket across the range, and the titanium insert on the eps is the first tube and lug frame to bear the 68mm bb; the others - extreme c, extreme power, and c50 will all follow suit.

colnago uk very kindly checked all the eps frames they currently hold in stock, and all have the english threading. the frame however, is one hundred percent built, assembled and painted in italy.

hopefully all the fuss will die down now, and we can get back to riding whichever colnago we have set our hearts on.

colnago

posted on monday 27th october 2008

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made in italy

eps - made in italy

just a brief mention to point out an obvious situation: obvious to me if not to some others. scurrilous rumours abound, and misinformation is being passed about, that the new colnago eps is built from taiwanese carbon tubing, then assembled in italy.

not so.

currently, the only carbon bikes manufactured in taiwan are the cx-1, the clx and the cross prestige, all three of which feature monocoque front triangles. the cx-1 receives its rear stays and final assembly in italy, while the clx is completely manufactured out east.

the colnago eps, however, is italian through and through: the tubes and lugs are manufactured by ferrari's carbon subsidiary, atr group materiali compositi avanzati. the construction process is similar to that utilised by colnago since the advent of the c40: the (round) tubes are slotted into the carbon lugs before the whole edifice is placed in an autoclave (a ruddy great oven) where bonding/curing takes place. this entire process takes place at colnago's cambiago plant.

so if anyone tells you that the colnago eps is another 'made in taiwan' product, just refer them to me. (somebody already has).

colnago

posted on tuesday 21st october 2008

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colnago project bike

colnago project bike

so far, this project bike project only exists in my head. but it does no harm to express the formative idea in pixels, perhaps in the vain hope that such prodding will bring it nearer to fruition. but while colnago undoubtedly produce some of the finest carbon fibre frames in the known world, this colnago bike will employ the steel master x-light frame. the molteni coloured model so beautifully displayed on the colnago stand at the london cycle show, earls court.

however, this will feature some variations on a theme. in order to colour co-ordinate with the subtle orange main tubes of the master frame, i intend to have a pair of wheels that use chris king hubs - those new coffee brown coloured ones released at interbike in september. in fact, the same colour will inhabit the ck headset, particularly now that they have seen fit to continue the soto voce version down to the one inch size.

of course, having combined italian style with american flair, it needs something to bring it back home, so a brooks saddle will top it off just nicely. i'd quite like to try one of the new chris king bottom brackets, but they utilise the shimano bearing cup system, whereas campagnolo fit the bearings to the cranks; nether the two shall meet. so it may be necessary to go slightly further east in italy and try an fsa chainset, but i'm still debating this one, since i'd really rather have something from vicenza.

other than that, the project is opn ended: it will definitely have campagnolo gears, but they'll have to remain at ten speeds since chris king hubs only provide shimano pattern cassettes, and there seems little likelihood of eleven speed compatibility. i don't mind if you visit these pixels every now and again to see if things havae moved any further forward. the ultimate is to have the bike built sometime in the new year before carrying out a full road test/review, because i've not seen too many (well, any at all actually) tests of the master x-light. think of it as my mission in life.

of course, i have to find the money for it first

colnago

posted on sunday 12th october 2008

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the end of one dream and the start of another

diego, alessandro and i

while colnago's 2009 range has been well publicised, and is available for all to see on the upgraded colnago website, the whole story hasn't really been told. if you have a good look at the headings, or the 2009 catalogue, you'll see the following: eps; cx-1; extreme power; extreme c; c50; clx; master x-light; arte; primavera; flight; flight; ibex mtb, and the two cross bikes. so what is it i'm trying to say? the aluminium colnago dream has disappeared from the range altogether; originally introduced as an all aluminium frame, in latter years it morphed into the dream hx, which signified the replacement of the two individual seat stays with a b-stay carbon fibre rear end.

presumably with the advent of the taiwanese primavera, the complete bike at the foot of the colnago food chain (£999 tiagra/£1299 - 105), followed a bit higher up by the arte (see test report) at £1799, that sees the diminishing end of the aluminium market covered, though there is the aluminium cross world cup at £1249. the clx carbon hits just below the arte's price point as frame only (£1699 - $2,699), then the next step is filled by the new cx-1 carbon monocoque £2100 ($3,499); as a complete carbon bicycle (£2249/105, £2699/ultegra). the c50 starts the carbon tubed/lugged series at £2299 ($4,999), extreme c at £2399, extreme power at £2599 before reaching the range topping eps road frame at £2899 ($6,499).

the all steel, colnago master x-light, one of the highlights of the colnago range, is available as a frame only for £1299 ($2,649) with steel precisa fork (carbon option available). there is also a cross carbon that would appear not to be a part of the uk colnago range (though likely to be available to special order, if you really want the same as sven nys) and the new time trial frame retailing at £2399 ($4,699). there are two models of the cf7 colnago ferrari (similar to the eps) which i believe are available by special order. (at present i have no prices for these). those of you who are colnago dream owners now would seem to have a collector's item

while looking over the entire range on the colnago stand at earls court (october 9-10), including one of the colnago ferraris, it was my great good fortune to meet alessandro colnago, grandson of ernesto colnago, and on his first visit to london. alessandro was accompanied by diego colosio, colnago's international sales person, both of whom were happy to chat about the bikes, and pose for a photo. both gentlemen have been particularly helpful with articles carried on colnago.cc.

with a good dose of luck, the next bike to be tested on colnago.cc will be a cx-1

veltec sports in the usa will be offering the cx-1 in two complete builds: with campag record 11 speed and a pair of zipp 404s for $8,699 and sram red with the same zipps at $7,999. lower down the bank manager frightener level is the clx with campag centaur 2009 at $4899 or with sram rival at $4,499.

colnago

posted on friday 10th october

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colnago eps

colnago eps

colnago have continually progressed over the the last two decades, from the master frame (still produced as the master x -light utilising the tried and tested lugged steel method) through to one of the finest exponents of carbon technology in conjunction with the engineers at ferrari. always one to wait and see, ernesto colnago has never been one to jump on what may appear to be a marketing fad, hence the resistance to fitting any sort of integrated headset to his top frames

that is, until now.

announced just before the summer season came upon us, the monocoque cx-1 became the first colnago to feature a semi-integrated headset, in this case, a proprietary colnago design. this model was rather surprisingly followed by the realisation that milram sprinter, erik zabel, was riding yet another new colnago, also bearing a version of this headset, but with somewhat exaggerated tube sizes in comparison to even last year's extreme power.

so it is with no small degree of pride and joy, that thewashingmachinepost has become the very first in the world (so ar as i know) to road test the colnago eps, a machine that retails at a slightly intimidating £2900 for frame and forks. the demand is high, so this particular eps had only a fortnight's holiday on islay during which it covered close on 700km - enough to have a pretty good idea of how this frame fares in comparison to others.

read the review here...

colnago

posted on friday 26th september

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ernesto colnago interview

regular perusers of these pixels will doubtless be well aware of my predilection for colnago bicycles. i'd love to be able to explain why specifically colnago, but i really don't know, though i'm ever so glad it's the case. and part of that ever so glad is the amount of information, support, and sheer friendliness that comes my way from colnago uk and colnago in cambiago. much of this has to come from the fact that ernesto colnago is still very much at the top of his game and, at the age of 76, still the biggest cog in the colnago machine.

however, ernesto is in italy, and i'm still sitting on a small scottish island off the west coast, so we don't talk much. in fact, we don't talk at all, since ernesto is not a fluent english speaker, and my italian amounts to little more than the words colnago and campagnolo. but an interview with ernesto seemed something that would enhance my understanding of where he's at today, and hopefully yours too. however, the excellent alessandro colnago manages both languages with consummate ease, and readily agreed to in and out translations between my questions and ernesto's replies. and both gentlemen carried this out with commendable speed.

so here's ernesto's interview preceding my eventual review of colnago's latest eps frame within the next week. naturally, it takes pride of place on colnago.cc, but the interview is just as much a part of thewashingmachinepost.

enjoy

read the full interview...

photo copyright ben ingham

colnago

posted on friday 19th september

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o sole mio

i've never met ernesto colnago, but i have the general impression that he is a staid, serious and very astute businessman, not given to suffering fools gladly. however, this year's eurobike dealer outing for dinner shows an entirely different side to the man. filmed by australian colnago distributor, frank fortuna (frfsports), this proves that not only does ernesto like having fun, but he's not that bad a tunesmith either.



colnago

posted on thursday 11th september

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the knobbly bits

ergon colnago ibex

thewashingmachinepost, and by implication, colnago.cc tends not to concern itself with the off-road side of cycle racing, if for no other reason than that there are many others who present that side of the cycling world so much better than could be managed in these pixels. however, when it comes to cambiago, i'm happy to make an exception. sponsored by ergon, manufacturers of bar grips, backpacks and gloves (as well as singletrack magazine), riding colnago ibex mountain bikes from colnago uk, the colnago ergon racing team is active not just on the british racing scene, but in beijing as well as canada, and probably anywhere else their success takes them. team manager is alex mcnicol, looking after riders gareth montgomerie (winner of the 2008 scottish xc championships) and robin seymour

the frame is the off-road equivalent of the monocoque carbon clx, complete with carbon seatpin, mostly fsa components and marzocchi suspension forks with, not unexpectedly, the handlebar grips supplied by ergon. since the team is listed on the british cycling website as partaking of cyclocross, there's a chance they'll move into post space towards the end of this year.

with milram now committed to focus bikes for 2009, it seems we may be struggling for teams to support for next season, though sven nys has moved to landbouwkrediet and will be riding the carbon cross prestige for the coming cross season. and we do love our cyclocross. more news on the colnago ergon team as time passes by.

thanks to peter nisbet of colnago uk and alex mcnicol for assistance with this article.

colnago

posted on thursday 3rd september

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a farewell to history

kwantum colnago

with the announcement that the rabobank team will not be riding colnagos from the 2009 season onwards, nearly 24 years of colnago history has come to an end. the team that is currently sponsored by rabobank, came into being in 1984 as the kwantum team, riding very fetching salmon pink chequered colnagos. by 1987 they had become superconfex, a team that lasted until 1989 before becoming buckler-colnago, the team that the late dave rayner was a mamber of. in 1993 wordperfect software took over title sponsorship until 1995, before switching to the red of wordperfect's new owners, novell software. in 1996, rabobank became the sole sponsor of the team, sponsorship which has continued to this day.

throughout all this time, the various team members have ridden the colnagos du jour which will end as this season also ends. oscar freire will not be on an eps next year, and nor will there be the opportunity to see menchov or gesink on a cx-1. all we have to do now is wait and see who colnago have lined up as a replacement, bearing in mind rumour abounding that milram will move to specialized, and as tinkoff become katusha, it is almost certain that they will not be on colnagos either.

definitely riding colnagos in 2009 will be landboukrediet tonnissteiner and csf navigare.

colnago

posted on wednesday 27th august

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getting cross

2009 cross prestige carbon

probably the finest cyclocross rider of the current ilk, sven nys has spent his last few seasons leaving most in his wake astride a colnago c-50 cyclocross variant. this was very similar to the standard c-50 but with the obvious addition of cantilever bosses, and round tubing because it's apparently a lot more comfortable on the shoulders than the c-50's clover leaf cross section. if you take even a brief look at the seat tube/top tube junction of the 2009 cross prestige frame, you can't help but notice the curved carbon mini-tube designed to increase the comfort for the riders when shouldering the bike and running over the crappy bits.

the other, perhaps less noticeable feature, is that the front triangle is a carbon monocoque with an apparently triangular shaped downtube. adhering to the current trend for massively oversized bottom bracket areas, the cross prestige does not disappoint, and there's no sign of the integrated headset now featured on the road going eps and cx-1 frames. the fork is likely to be similar to last year's carbon offering with cantilever bosses. no word on whether bare carbon is the only colour scheme available.

and as the bike was designed expressly for sven nys, and all those who wish to emulate, it's a good job that on leaving rabobank after last cross season, he's moved to landbouwkrediet; they also ride colnago frames, but with campagnolo groupsets as opposed to rabobank's shimano.

other unconfirmed rumours regarding 2008 colnago teams: milram may be shifting to specialized frames (i bet zabel keeps his eps in the garage) and rabobank, one of colnago's longest adherents, are rumoured to be shifting to giant. tinkoff, who are about to become katusha or katushya, are also unlikely to be on colnago frames for 2009. there may, however, be a big name division one professional team switching to colnagos next year.

you'll be the second to know.

colnago

posted on friday 15th august

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erik's got a lot to answer for

colnago master x-light

there's a lot of info below regarding the new colnago eps ridden by erik zabel during the 2008 tour de france, and while the poor chap never actually won a stage, he wasn't that far off. if you looked closely at the telly during the race, erik must have been quite happy with his eps because it wasn't substituted on any stage, even the mountainous ones. but returning to the world of mere mortals, it's going to be a month or two before we can lay our mitts on a similar bike.

and while i would love to bring even better tidings regarding the bicycle frame in the accompanying picture, i can only advise a similar delivery date. the colour scheme applied to zabel's eps now has its own moniker (prza) and has also been beautifully applied to the chrome of the master x-light. 2009 is undoubtedly the year for any steel colnago aficionado to have a word with the bank manager, because following very quickly on the heels of the molteni scheme shown below, colnago have supplied me with a photo of the zabel coloured x-light.for those attending this year's cycle show in earls court, london, i believe one of these will be on display upon the colnago stand. if i stand there for too long, just give me a nudge.

colnago

posted on wednesday 6th august

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it's an eddy thing

molteni x-lite prmo

much to the delight of the steel is real brigade, of which i am more than happy to consider myself a member, colnago doggedly persist in producing their beautiful, chromed lugged steel, master x-light, almost alone amongst the world's top cycle manufacturers. most of the non-traditional names such as trek, specialized, cervelo et al have nailed their colours very much to the carbon flag, having eschewed, or ignored steel altogether. but, if you have your ear to the ground, you would know that steel is set to make a comeback, even if it is a mite lower key than all that burnt plastic.

having successfully re-decorated the perennial all steel master frame (and after thankfully dispensing with the carbon b-stay) in the colours of 1982 world champion, guiseppe saronni, sales rather outstripped demand, as those of you who may have attempted to order a frame since the beginning of this year will have discovered. and colnago appear happy to offer the new zabel blue (prza) on the x-light. but i was rather delighted to find out today, that the latest colour scheme to find its way onto this work of art, is that of eddy merckx' molteni team.

as can hopefully be seen from the accompanying photograph, this is an absolute doozy, and i have already informed colnago uk that they should get hold of an extra large order book to cope with the demand.it is your destiny

code for this colour scheme is prmo

colnago

posted on friday 1st august

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more eps

colnago eps

the colnago eps seems to have created a greater stir than the arguably more contemporary cx-1, though this may be down to two things: firstly, the fact that erik zabel is riding one, and secondly, that colour scheme. i have had one or two enquiries regarding the latter, and whether it was purely for the benefit of erik, given that the blue is not a hundred miles off that sported by his sponsor, or whether those of us with only just enough leg power to be seen on an eps in the first place, could own a colnago that resembled this.

well, at one time, folks would have had you believe that colnago, as a company, were not the most approachable. i, fortunately, have never found this to be the case, and after asking about the colour scheme, there is good news. prza (guess where the last two letters came from) will be offered as a paint scheme in the 2009 range, though i am unsure whether this is across the entire catalogue, or confined to one or two models. i believe, however, we may see a master x-light to rival that of the currently offered saronni red.

colnago eps

and along with that information, came two photos of the eps frame in its raw state prior to receiving wheels and groupset for mr zabel (it has his name on the top tube). ogle all you want, then contact your nearest colnago dealer and demand that they order you one forthwith (though you may want to have a word with her indoors first).

colnago

posted on wednesday 16 july

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colnago eps

colnago eps

after posting my earlier piece on the colnago eps, i contacted colnago for more details, principally becasue the model ridden by milram's erik zabel hasn't been disguised in any way, and is quite plainly a new bike. it has arrived courtesy of colnago's revolution project for 2009, and along with the cx-1 is the first fruit from the tree. the eps has evolved from the current extreme power model and was designed for the likes of petacchi (sadly no longer on a colnago), freire (riding an extreme c in the tour) and zabel and their rather high power outputs. whether any of the rest of us can manage the same is rather open to doubt.

although outwardly the eps uses the same construction techniques as employed since the days of the c40, the carbon used has changed considerably; both high and ultra high modulus uni-directional carbon with a 3k twill finish (nope, i don't understand that either, but it sounds impressive). by using 3d design and finite element analysis, the lay-up and accuracy of the carbon has been improved dramatically, providing a more comfortable ride and reducing road vibration (i definitely need one of these).

and while we're still in the realm of carbon tubes, colnago's 3prs system of internal reinforcing ribs allows the exterior of the tube to remain round(ish), while the internals are anything but. the top tube varies from 40mm where it joins the head tube, tapering to 35mm at the seat tube; the massively oversized down tube has a constant diameter of 44mm throughout its total length, while varyng the wall thickness by use of the internal reinforcing. colnago's two decades of experience with carbon and epoxy (still manufactured, i believe, by the guys that make carbon for ferrari's formula one team) has ensured that the eps benefits from the very latest in this technology.

colnago eps

having had the blow softened by the advent of the colnago cx-1, it's less of a surprise to see another iteration of the semi-integrated headset on the eps. however, in keeping with what seems to be an ongoing trend, the top race is 1.125" while the crown features 1.25", meaning that the all new fork has a tapered steerer. according to colnago, the c-hs1 headset allows for easier assembly and maintenance without removing the entire headset, though since my chris king headset manages the same just fine thanks, i'm still suspicious of the whole integrated thing. the bottom bracket shell features an easily removable cnc titanium insert.

seat tube diameter is 35mm and uses a 31.6mm carbon seatpost, similar to the existing extreme power. although the seatpost on zabel's eps is slightly more sculpted than the current offering, colnago seems to have stuck with the two bolt cradle adjust which gives so many of us hours of grief trying to make those millimetric adjustments. the new eps specific fork promises greater stability and strength, predominantly, no doubt through the enormous diameter of the fork crown.

colnago will be offering the eps in custom sizes as well as fourteen regular and eight sloping. it should be avialble from a colnago dealer in september of 2008. also noticeable is the paint job - very retro; in fact the same as the current saronni scheme available on the extreme power but in etallic blue. societa colnago wholeheartedly approves of that

price is expected to be around £2900 ($5700) for frame, forks and headset. other good news for 2009 is that the lugged steel master x-lite is still in the catalogue, though the frame + fork price is up a tad at £1300 ($2500).

meanwhile, watch for zabel in the sprints.

many thanks to peter nisbet and alessandro colnago for assistance with this article.

colnago

posted on thursday 10 july

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somebody listened

colnago cx-1

in my various ruminations with people connected to colnago, both in the uk and italy, i have mentioned on more than one occasion that it might be a strategic idea to put sponsored riders on something other than the c50 range (extreme power, extreme c). because while the latter are undoubtedly the finest to come out of cambiago, if colnago are keen to grow the brand to the so-called lesser models, then they have to be seen being ridden by the pros.

we've already seen evidence that the clx has wended its way into the continental pro teams, with landbouwkrediet astride those frames at least during the early part of the season. that they seem to have been ridden quite successfully rather proves my point, and advertises the strength and versatility of the brand.

however, in somewhat of an unprecedented move, the new cx-1 has already appeared at the top of the professional food chain, under the agu shorts of grischa niermann of rabobank. this new trendy colnago appeared at the dauphine libere and it remains to be seen whether the cx-1 will make an appearance at le tour, since niermann will not be riding le grand boucle in 2008. if anyone from colnago is reading, give one to oscar freire and another to laurens ten dam and let's see what it's made of.

photo courtesy cyclingnews.com

colnago

posted on thursday 3 july

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makes your knees go all crinkly

ben ingham's colnago master

although ostensibly photographed to advertise rapha's new touring shorts, the gentleman wearing same is sitting astride a rather dreamy colnago master with art decor paintwork. the same bicycle features in the rapha rides the kemmelberg brochure, one of a series issued by the chaps at perren street to add colour and heritage and desire to their range of excellent products.

having received my copy through the post, i enquired further, and it turns out that this fine example of cambiago workmanship belongs to photographer, ben ingham, the very man who took the the photo of ernesto at the top of this page. all i can add to that is 'the lucky blighter.'

by the way, my heading refers to the colnago, not the touring shorts.

colnago

posted on saturday 7th june

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i'm first in the queue

saronni del tongo

in 1982, giuseppe saronni won the world championship at goodwood, england, ahead of greg lemond. he was riding a red and white colnago master, now resurrected to great effect by ernesto, not only as a lugged steel frame, but also as a colour option on the carbon extreme power. however, for those of us without the climate for chromed steel, or the overdraft for an extreme power, there will soon be another way to celebrate saronni's, and colnago's success. of course, you really do have to have a pre-existing colnago for this to be truly effective, but you wouldn't be reading this otherwise would you? would you?

although a santini storia wool original version has already surfaced, the sizes available rather preclude anyone vaguely similar to a human being. so mick and andy at prendas ciclismo, ever ready to provide for the contemporary cyclist with retro tendencies (and a colnago) are soon to take delivery of del tongo colnago short sleeve and long sleeve jerseys, bib shorts and the seriously necessary casquette. authenticity is guaranteed, since these are manufactured by the makers of the original del tongo team wear, santini.

del tongo long sleeve

the shorts can be had with two pad options: coolmax and twist gel, though there is somewhat of a £20 price difference, the latter being the more expensive option at £69.95 ($137) (coolmax retails at £49.95($98), in case your mental arithmetic is as poor as mine). the short sleeve jersey is available in sizes xs all the way through to 6xl at £49.95($98). however, the icing on the cake, as far as this colnago fanatic is concerned, is the del tongo colnago long sleeve jersey which arrives in predominantly dark blue with yellow side panels, and sells for £55 ($108) and worth every penny (cent). sizing is the same as the short sleeve version. the cap is a one-size-fits-all for only £7.50 ($15).

so, in much the same way as mrs washingmachinepost always seems to need a handbag to go with a new pair of shoes, either you need a colnago to go with some del tongo kit, or vice versa. either way, it's a win win situation.

the jerseys are in stock now, and available to order. cap and shorts will be in by end june.

prendas.co.uk

colnago

posted on tuesday 20th may

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more of this please

colnago with flat bars

i always used to think it was a myth that italy was the country of style, principally because, for many a long year, i would not have recognised style if it had stopped me in the street and offered to buy me an orange juice. however, an infrequent correspondent has just returned from a week in the tuscany region and put paid to my doubts once and for all.

spending time of an evening, as you would do on holiday in italy, sitting about in those little cafes that seem to feature on virtually every street, consuming quantities of ice cream after a hard day in the saddle, my correspondent happened to notice what seemed to be a common feature. several little old gentlemen, to be kind, dressed in suits of similar vintage, wearing matching flat caps were apparently to be seen riding around on steel colnagos with flat bars, as seen in the photo.

now that is the epitome of cool; and it can't have escaped your notice that it's a red colnago too - flat bars, down tube levers and look pedals.

worth emulating at debbie's

posted on monday 19th may

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the times they are a changing

colnago cx-1

time marches on in the bicycle world, and while colnago has a reputation for wait and see rather than adopting new fangled ideas at the first sign of emergence, it seems that ernesto may have shifted his stance more than expected. while the cristallo frameset was certainly due to be replaced for 2009, this replacement, the cx-1 is, according to colnago in its natural position close to the extreme power and extreme-c. with a weight of 1010 grams it's certainly not the lightest carbon monocoque frame, but colnago has never sacrificed strength and reliability for weight.

however, the bombshell has been dropped: many have asked over the years when colnago would adopt an integrated headset, to which ernesto has more or less replied 'never'. well, hell has apparently frozen over, because the cx-1 features an semi-integrated headset - the c-hs/colnago headset system. oh goodie, another variation on the headset. according to colnago this is an all-new concept (?) allowing easier assembly and maintenance without removing the entire assembly. not really sure what that means, but i do intend to find out. apparently oscar freire and graeme brown have both raced the c-hs which provides 'extra stability to the head tube'. the headset system is proprietary to colnago and will not accept a third party substitute, and subsequent to my assertion that this system may migrate to the c50 range, this is apparently not the case (phew!).

the cx-1 was designed by ernesto's son-in-law, vanni, in conjunction with the university of milan's engineering department. the intended market is the younger cyclist, rather than those of us besotted with our c40/c50s; colnago's perception (quite correctly in my opinion) is that the marque is perceived as rather traditional, and there is a definite need to compete with the cervelo/specialised/trek market by showing that colnago is just as cool as anyone else. this has been started with the clx, and now continued with this cx-1. it's a bold step forward for colnago, if not necessarily for bicycle design. however, unless they get some of the guys in milram and rabobank on cx-1s, it's likely that it will be perceived as lower rung than the c50 series, rightly or wrongly.

colnago cx-1

the front triangle features a carbon monocoque with a polygonally profiled top tube, married to an assembled rear triangle, which is similar to that on the clx frameset. the carbon frame, while not necessarily laid-up in italy, will be assembled in cambiago. the fact that it is pictured bearing campagnolo's top of the range wheels and groupset, gives some indication of the level colnago is aiming at.

rumour has it that graeme brown of rabobank has been racing a cx-1 in the 2008 giro d'italia, something i have been endeavouring to confirm photographically

the colnago cx-1 will be available from november 2008. more soon

posted on monday 5th may - updated 13th may

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arte exhibition

eddie morris, laphroaig distillery

with the gracious co-operation of colnago uk, a brand new 2008 colnago arte has been holidaying on islay for the past three weeks. unfortunately for both bicycle and rider, the weather has been less than civil during those three weeks, rendering much of the initial testing rather pointless from certain points of view. however, conversely, it did allow it to prove its metal in other ways. a deliberate shift of spelling, because this is the first aluminium colnago i have had the pleasure of riding, and pleasure turned out to be a highly appropriate word to use.

the arte is second bottom in the colnago complete bicycle food chain, only bettered in price by the all aluminium primavera, and completed at the top end by the clx tested last year. if you don't have the wherewithal to reach for a c50, and you really have to have a colnago, will one at this cost still behave like a proper colnago?

read more...

posted on wednesday 19th march

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a different point of view

rabobank clx

it's interesting the difference an ocean can make. yet another example of two countries divided by the love of the bicycle. while there was much conversation and consternation over colnago's switch to taiwan for the carbon clx, it seems the opinions differ whether you're in america or britainshire. the made in italy badge that adorns colnago's top of the range stuff - c50, extreme c and extreme power, is the sort of snobbish delight that we europeans thrive on, even if it means having to take out a second mortgage to afford. the americans, however, are not of the same mind necessarily, partly no doubt, due to the strong influence of the currencies in use.the clx tested last year, with a shimano ultegra groupset, cost the same as an extreme power frame - and while there is an undoubted, but subtle difference in the ride quality of a monocoque (clx) as against the traditional lugs and tubes (c50 et al), i'm not sure that a few thousand pounds might not settle that in favour of the former. the clx is a fine looking bicycle - it rides like a colnago, the carbon has no idea where it was made, and the overall weight isn't too much greater than the top of the range. i remember stating in my review that i did seriously consider a clx as an upgrade to my ageing c40hp, but at the time, the lack of a frame only option more or less made the choice for me, since i'm not one for a shimano groupset. that has changed for 2008 now that colnago uk offer a frame on which to build the colnago clx of choice.

but in the world of top flight cycling, all the colnago teams are still issued with the c50 variants, something that has great influence over the choices made by you and me. i have no idea how many folks order their colnagos in team colours, but it's the professional issue bikes that have the most cache. if colnago supplied the pro teams with clx frames, maybe they too would reach the parts that other choices don't reach, because we'd all see that the taiwanese built frame has as much speed and potential as the top of the range. always remember that it's the cyclist, not the bike that win's races, no matter what colnago's marketing department would have you believe.

actually, the clx has been seen in pro races. look at the pic of the rabobank rider up top - he's riding a black and white clx (at the tour down under this year - mind you, that bike looks a tad on the small side - see blow), and apparently the landbouwkrediet-tonissteiner team have also been seen on colnago clx frames (colnago have informed me that team nippo will also be on clx bikes this year). so for less money, you can still own a carbon colnago that is apparently worth its salt, and as a frame it's possible to put parts from vicenza or sram as required, rather than the shimano supplied on complete bicycles.

of course, you have to see it from colnago's point of view - if the clx is easily as capable as the top of the range carbon, unless your obsession is with made in italy, why would you feel the need to spend an extra thousand pounds (or a couple of thousand dollars)?

indeed.

thanks to competitivecyclist.com for the heads-up on this.

i received the following explanation of the tiny clx from the australian importer, via colnago uk: the photo of graeme brown on the clx was taken by frank fortuna. graeme broke his other colnago during the bay series criteriums (not the tour down under) and we got the white clx in a hurry, but it was too small. the previous day he rode an argon with the name covered. we couldn't finish the clx in time.

see, there's an explanation for everything.

posted on saturday 23 february

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one gear but oh, so much more

lookmanobrakes

on my visit to the colnago stand at last year's london cycle show, uk importers windwave had a master pista steel frame with track ends, painted in similar manner to the saronni master x-lite, but without the chrome stays. colnago apparently had a pile of these frames, in black, sitting in cambiago. windwave said they could sell a considerable number of these, so colnago painted them in more attractive colours and sales proceeded.

such was the popularity of the frame, that colnago built one of these up, with moustache style bars and a brooks saddle for display at the milan show. however, as far as i can ascertain, there are/were only a relatively limited number of these, effectively increasing their desirability.

but, just to increase this level of desirability even further, lookmanobrakes - a collaborative project initiated by la carrera cycles of toronto bringing together the legendary craftsmanship of colnago with the creative vision of two of new york's famed artists (and avid cyclists) stash and futura (the latter being responsible for the design of lance's nike 10/2 range of clothing. to say that the results are droolsworthy, would be to commit a great understatement.

it's also one of the best looking websites i have seen in many a long while.

lookmanobrakes.com

lookmanobrakes

posted on friday 15 february

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the old ones are the best

extreme power saronni

colnago is one of the few remaining amongst the major players in the bicycle world, continuing to manufacture a steel, lugged frame - undoubtedly a small, niche market within the great big world that is carbon. a few years back they went for the modernisation option and sprung it a new carbon rear triangle, which seemingly impressed few of the steel is real aficionados, and the frame has now reverted to its original form, chrome and all.

however, at some point, someone had the genius idea of offering the master x-lite in saronni's 1984 world championship winning colours. happy to say, this increased sales of this frame by quite some degree, if nothing else proving that some of the more modern colour schemes offered by cambiago, were less to the taste of the buying public than those from over twenty years ago. a sweeping generalisation of course, and more than one person has mentioned that such a colour scheme is ok on skinny steel tubes, but it's not something that would suit today's high tech carbon offerings.

wrong.

currently showing on a colnago website near you, is this extreme power model wearing the very same paint job, except where the master has chrome, the extreme power has carbon. and it's a doozy. the only disappointment is that this colour scheme is only applied to the extreme power models - it's not an option on the regular c50, nor, surprisingly, on the extreme c (no matter what their website states). so most of us will have to admire from afar, unless a bit of pressure will persuade colnago to offer this colour scheme (pr82, if you're interested) on the other two from the 'c' range.

posted on monday 04 february

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suits you sir

colnago measurement

as i think i probably alluded to a few weeks ago, when a colnago is due to head in my direction (and this seems a good time to mention that there's a nice new shiny one due very soon), i am happy to quote the regulation 54cm and comfort and joy is all mine. granted, stock bicycles usually have a shorter stem than i'd like, but i think that's because i am mr average in all but arm length. from a road test/review point of view, this cannot really be considered much of a problem - if the bike were truly mine, i'd simply swap the stem. but it cannot have escaped your attention that colnagos are not cheap, at least not the carbon ones that we all know and love. so if you are about to give either the credit card or the bank manager a fright (or both), wouldn't you want to make sure that your beautiful new colnago was a perfect fit?

up until now, unless you were really good pals with ernesto, it was an off-the-shelf choice for all of us (though maybe i could have a word with windwave), and unless you were hell bent on acquiring a colnago (there's a choice?) there are a number of other top line manufacturers willing to acquiesce to your every custom build centimetre. but cyclefit, of covent garden in the grand metropolis, have stepped in, with the full approval of father and son colnago, to provide a fully custom colnago for those with the desire, need or just the necessary folding stuff. at present, this customisation is limited to the frames employed by those who race colnagos for a living: the c50, extreme c, and extreme power. paint options are not necessarily on offer, since it takes around twelve weeks for the frame to arrive at your front door (well, cyclefit's front door). ask for a different colour and the wait is likely to be a bit more than that.

to quote from cyclefit's website a cyclefit session takes about two hours and is a very personal and considered appraisal of an individual's cycling physiology, technique and alignment. everything about you as an individual is evaluated and perfected.. it's more than likely that most of us with 'off the shelf frames' have emulated flann o'brien's third policeman, and adapted ourselves to the micro adjustments that don't really fit. having an expert check how you cycle, how you sit and how you control a bicycle, could conceivably increase future cycling enjoyment. nagging pains need necessarily apply.

a cyclefit evaluation will currently relieve you of £2850 for any of the three colnago frames mentioned, adding a relatively small percentage to the list price of each. if you're in north america, contact veltec sports for details of how you can have your tailor made colnago.

cyclefit.co.uk

yes, i know this should be on the societa colnago pages - it will make its way there eventually

posted on thursday 24 january

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everything you could ever want

there's no disguising the fact that amongst the languages spoken at thewashingmachinepost, aside from a rudimentary grasp of english, colnago and campagnolo run a very close second and third. while putting all three together is not the easiest of tasks, even the latter two often seem strange bedfellows. the two division one pro teams riding colnago bicycles - milram and rabobank - employ wheels and components from shhh... you know who, and there's something just not right about a colnago frame with japanese components (no offence intended mr shimano). just ask michael hutchinson.

fortunately, last year's newcomer to the pro continental ranks, tinkoff credit systems, not only decided to place their riders on the finest italian carbon, but to enlist the support of the chaps in vicenza for both components and wheels. and a successful first season they had too. perhaps bearing in mind the maxim 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' the only noticeable change for 2008 is a deal more yellow covering the high modulus carbon of the team's c50s. banking on wildcards to see them partake of the season's more salubrious rides, it will be a pleasure to see this bicycle, team sponsor and component triumvirate gain more success this year.

and would you happen to have any spare colnagos from last year please, mr tinkoff?

posted on wednesday 23 january 2008.

photo roberto bettini

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colnago in the movies

ernesto video interview

generally one would have an order of preference for meeting those whom we admire: in person, on film/video or lastly, in print. much of the time words of wisom have to come via the printed word, since, until the current age of youtube, that was the most accessible format. the chances of a personal visit with ernesto colnago, are bestowed only upon the honoured - considering his legend within the world of cycling, this is not difficult to understand. the man would have a heck of a time trying to run a bicycle company if every tom, dick and washingmachinepost could drop by for an espresso and to shoot the breeze.

obviously, some manage to do so, but presentation is all, and steve madden of rodale's video interview on brightcove lacks a certain something (i think it's called editing). the questions are not the most insightful i've ever come across, but having to listen to the interpreter ask the questions in italian before relaying the answers in english does take up over half of this six and a half minute interview. and it seems almost an understatement to mention the word 'quality' in connection with the picture clarity. still, it is ernesto...

view here

saving grace for rodale. however, is this highly positive, unpretentious video review of the c50 - maybe i should conduct washingmachinepost reviews this way. watch this

posted on tuesday 18 december 2007.

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cross purposes

nys c50 cross bike

funny old world isn't it? according to an interview on cyclingnews.com, rabobank's cyclo-cross star, sven nys, claimed that his colnago c50 'cross bike was not all it appeared to be. it is badged as a c50, but nys claimed that it was nearer to that of colnago's highly successful extreme power which is, admittedly, based on the c50 frame.

in a moment of pretending to be an investigative journalist, although really because anything colnago interests me beyond the point of rational reason, i contacted colnago to ask if there were any plans to offer this variation on the regular c50 cross frame to the great unwashed (have you seen those cyclo-crossers?). but according to a man at colnago who knows, the frame that nys is riding in this year's cross season is exactly the same as those currently offered to colnago cyclo cross riders across the world.

according to colnago, the c50 cross tubing is round (as opposed to the regular c50 fluted tubing) triple butted carbon with layers of high modulus carbon to make it strong and light for the rigours of cross racing. perhaps this is why nys thinks he has an extreme power, after riding a standard c50 with the rabobank road team earlier this year. either way, the c50 cross bike is racking up more victories this year with nys as rider, than anything the competition seem to be able to offer. and if you can't quite stretch to the c50 cross bike, colnago have introduced an alloy 6000 series which is listed at £1299 for the 105 equipped and £1699 for an ultegra version. the c50 cross carbon frame retails at £2499.

photo: cyclingnews.com

posted on friday 7 december 2007.

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no words - just look. eicma, milan 2007

colnago single speed

posted on wednesday 21 november 2007.

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telling it like it is

colnago accessories 2008

for my birthday several years ago, my daughter was able to lay her hands on a pinarello embroidered, long-sleeved t-shirt. and a very fine article of apparel it is/was. but it didn't say colnago.

if you've been a colnago aficionado for as long i have, or perhaps even longer, you will doubtless have been overhwelmingly frustrated by the fact that other than wearing a cap from prendas or riding your colnago very slowly past the supermarket on a saturday morning, there's no way to let people know that you own a colnago (that last one would be in capital letters if i used them).

but the world is always changing, and it seems that ernesto has relented (thankfully not on integrated headsets or seatposts) and introduced a complete range of asso di fiori branded accessories, including luggage, caps, a torque wrench(?), socks, bottle cages and that most important of all clothing items - the polo shirt.

colnago uk expect delivery of a selection of the above items within a month or so, though pricing is not set for the uk market yet.

oh, and i'm at the head of the queue because i saw them first.

posted on tuesday 18 september 2007.

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beppe's red and chrome

master x-lite saronni

colnago sponsored the del tongo team from 1982 until 1988 and had the great good fortune to win gold with giuseppe saronni in their first year at goodwood - yes, that goodwood. the stylish beppe saronni, currently directeur sportif for the lampre-fondital team beat greg lemond and sean kelly to the rainbow stripes, and he did so on a comparably stylish red,white and chrome colnago master.

and guess what? colnago have decided to revive this beautiful all steel machine in their 2008 range, so make an orderly queue behind me. no price has surfaced yet, but i think we can reckon on it being a tad dearer than this year's master x-lite, and it should be available with either a carbon fork (dont you dare) or a chromed steel precisa around the end of october this year.

the only real concession to modernity is the appearance of down tube stops for sti/ergopower cables, since nobody uses down-tube levers anymore (do we?).

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...and just to cap it all

colnago cap

if you've ever seen the movie, 'white men can't jump', you may well have been in the same dilemma as myself. in that film, wesley snipes wore a faded orange colnago cycle cap which i don't mind telling you i coveted for many a long year. in the days before the internet, trying to trace a source for such seriously cool cycle wear wasn't easy. in fact so difficult was the task, that i never actually found one anywhere, though i did follow up a few false hopes.

so, many years later, having just ordered my c40, i was rather pleased to acquire a white colnago cap (the last one) in a cycle store in glasgow. that particular cap is still in my possession, though slightly the worse for wear, and the possibility of nabbing a more pristine version has always been at the back of what's left of my mind. imagine the joy for all of us colnago aficionados upon discovering that prendas now have stock of this sought after item for only £7.50.

order placed. colnago

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