societa colnago

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................

societa colnago | colnago c40 | colnago c40hp | colnago c50hp | colnago dream |
colnago teams since 1968 | robert millar c40 review | colnago clx | colnago c50 2007 |
colnago arte 2008 | colnago eps | ernesto colnago interview 2008 |
colnago ace | colnago clx 2.0 | colnago super | colnago c59

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................

colnago cx-zero

colnago cx-zero

i've made no concessions in previous reviews for the fact that it has now become all but redundant to talk about tubing when referring to the current breed of monocoque carbon frames. though still identifiable as the ubiquitous double-diamond frame, colnago's cx-zero presents itself more as a frameset hewn from a single chunk of solid carbon. this is an effect enhanced by the stealth nature of the carbon decor. there is no hiding the large swathes of carbon matting under a cosmetic outer weave, offering a dull black sheen to the happy owner. the stealthiness is completed by the myriad of colnago logos on the frame and fork being picked out in a gloss clearcoat even down to ernesto's signature on the flattened oval yet round top tube.

colnago cx-zero

of course, as i have just inadvertently pointed out, the tubing simile has a long way to go yet before it can be removed from conversation, but the fact that these are plainly not tubes and lugs as in the case of the c59 and new kid on the block, the c60 allows colnago to mold them into whatever shape mechanical demands and aesthetic desires deem necessary. starting at the front, i'd expect nothing less these days than a semi-integrated headset (thankfully not the cam arrangement seen on the c59 disc) fitted inside a bulky, tapered headtube. and we must be grateful that the colnago logo applied to the front is a clear and pristine as ownership of such a machine would promise.

the aforementioned top tube occupies a flattish oval shape at its juncture with the head tube, narrowing as it heads towards the seat-tube and becoming more rounded in the process. home to a traditional aluminium 27.2mm twin bolt seatpost, this latter tube is perfectly round at the top, flaring quite dramatically as it heads towards its meeting with a rather substantially sized bottom bracket shell. this is made all the more sculptural or obese, depending on your point of view, by colnago's first adoption of a press-fit bottom bracket. the latest c60 incorporates threaded inserts to contain the bearings on a more accurately machined surface than can be achieved with carbon molding. according to colnago, the bearings on the cx-zero also press-fit into an aluminium insert, but it seems on this bicycle, it isn't user removable or replaceable.

colnago cx-zero

as with pretty much every carbon monocoque, the downtube verges on the colossal from top to bottom, in this case offering a slightly more rounded edge than some of its taiwanese brethren. however, there is still more than adequate space for a highlighted colnago logo across its underside. rather than round, its cross-section is more triangular, offering slots at the top end for internal cabling. the latter emerges under the bottom bracket area before heading on to a designated brake or derailleur clamp. the seatstays are positively anorexic in comparison to the frame's front end, almost flat at the point where the now redundant brake bridge joins above the rear wheel. the chainstays are of a more substantial heft, both being internally home to derailleur and disc brake cable respectively. the small kick upwards towards the dropouts is an interesting look.

colnago cx-zero

the existence of shimano mechanical disc brakes necessitates the left chainstay having an appropriate bracket molded onto which the caliper is bolted. similarly on the front left of an impressively smooth yet chunky front fork. discs may well be the future, but they're becoming so at the expense of any aesthetic considerations. that i find something of a travesty, given that many of us boring old farts were initially drawn to colnago through the intrinsic beauty of those early steel frames with art decor paint schemes.

colnago cx-zero

this cx-zero was equipped with a shimano ultegra eleven-speed gearset, a number attested to on the deep rimmed colnago artemis alloy wheels. as with those similarly badged on the colnago ac-r, they're really too heavy for any great alacrity, but those on this bike had at least the saving grace of being built on dt swiss 237 hubs. shimano's disc brake rotors are rivetted onto a six fingered spider which threads onto the hub and is held in place by a lockring that seems to hold the same pattern as their cassette lockring. conformity at last. the ultegra sti levers were clamped to a pair of dedacciai alloy bars, itself held in place by a 120mm deda stem.

colnago's original marketing brief for the cx-zero maintained that its heritage lay with those riders of the seventies and eighties, when one model of frameset did for everything: paris-roubaix, liege-bastogne-liege, the tour prologue time-trial and the remaining stages. the 27.2mm seatpost is, however, not the only outward sign of such heritage, for the frame has been designed to accommodate 25mm tyres, in this case a very dark pair of continental grandsports. i did hope to find the time to fit somef 700 x 28c rubber, just to see if the frame would cope, but i ran out of time for reasons that will soon become apparent. review frames rarely arrive with pedals, though this colnago did come with two fitted, colnago badged bottle cages, which was a neat touch. i fitted my own mavic pedals for the period of review.

colnago cx-zero

going for a ride

i have a t-shirt from edinburgh's shand cycles that proudly proclaims across the back reduce carbon - ride steel a sentiment with which i find great favour. however, as blatantly advertised above, the colnago cx-zero is pretty much one hundred percent carbon fibre aside from that alloy bottom bracket insert. yet there is nothing of which the bicycle reminded me more than that of a steel frame, and i mean that as a most favourable compliment. my knowledge of carbon frame technology encompasses only that which i have read or had passed onto me by well meaning colleagues, and along with the majority of writers, i regard the lateral stiffness and vertical compliance cliche with every bit as much contempt as the next chap.

colnago cx-zero

but i cannot for the life of me figure out how colnago can continually churn out frames that profess quite impressive rigidity where rigidity is required, yet are found to be startlingly comfortable when thundering across the principality. the frame size tested is a 50cm which, in colnago's nomenclature, translates their sloping frame to that of a 54cm traditional. despite that, the alloy seatpost displayed only one delineated measurement above the seatclamp. with an effective 54cm top tube length and a 120mm stem, the cockpit position was more than amenable on either the drops or the lever hoods. i cannot deny that another centimetre wouldn't have gone amiss, but in practice it really put me neither up nor down. it's also something that is relatively easily swapped out either at point of purchase or subsequent to getting it home to the bikeshed.

colnago cx-zero

colnago, as previously mentioned, are aiming this bicycle at the one size fits all section of the market; a bicycle that is equal to any task in which direction it's pointed. it's a contention that would be very hard to argue against. this truly is the most fun i've had on a colnago since they sent me the late lamented eps. though the level of stiffness is pretty much what would be expected in such a modern bicycle, the fitting of cable-operated disc brakes has brought its own baggage along with it.

the usual position of siting caliper brakes at the top of the front forks and a similar position at the rear, where the frame is naturally at its least flexible, matches perfectly with the mechanics of braking. colnago cx-zero however, disc calipers are of necessity fitted at the thinner end at the front, and arguably a less pragmatic place at the rear. those increased twisting forces have to be catered for, something first seen on the c59 disc version and quite obviously taken into account on the cx-zero. however, even on lengthy rumble strips created by severely weathered road surface dressing, aided and abetted by those 25c continental tyres, the colnago informed that it was a less than pristine surface, yet translated very little of its discomfort through the saddle.

as i pointed out in my introductory paragraphs, in this case the stock colnago branded saddle was replaced with a carbon-railed san marco aspide, a seat possessed of very little in the way of padding and a rigidity all of its own. bring an alloy seatpost into the equation and the portent for comfort could have been so easily undermined. however, though i cannot deny that this posterior rigidity once or twice had me convinced i'd suffered a rear wheel puncture, in general the comfort from such an effectively immoveable object was quite astounding.

colnago cx-zero

this factor contributed greatly to the ability to fling the colnago any which way you'd want. like pretty much every offering from cambiago i've ever ridden, its agility was endlessly impressive; it climbed well, descended far better than its rider and the cockpit balance allowed for plenty in the way of exhilaration but without any fear factor that indicated i might have pushed just a bit too far beyond my own capabilities.

as you'd expect, shimano's ultegra eleven-speed worked flawlessly, though to my mind just a tad too silently. and despite my frequently mentioned distaste for disc brakes on a road bike, i had great cause to be thankful for their existence on meeting a car heading towards me on the wrong side of the road. why anyone would figure hydraulics to be necessary is quite beyond me. the shimano calipers offered superb modulation and stopping power that you'd never achieve with dual pivots. of course, rare are the occasions when it's necessary to come to a complete and sudden halt which forms the basis of my argumant against fitting discs to a road bike, but with hindsight, it's maybe better to have and not need...

colnago cx-zero

if the review bike had a shortcoming it was definitely those colnago artemis wheels. though well-built and smooth running on a pair of dt swiss 237 hubs, to be quite blunt, they're too heavy, a factor that i made mention of when riding the non-disc versions on the colnago ac-r. i'm taking into account the fact that their solidity may well be partly responsible for the ironing out of less than smooth roads, but there's little doubt that they're detracting from an impressively lively frame. add to that, even though the rims were hardly the deepest on the market, they were always affected by our near gale-force crosswinds. it is something with which i became accustomed over the review period, but a sudden gust could still cause unwarranted surprise.

i well know that i have a habit of ending my colnago reviews by protesting the fact that the bikes have always to return home after a few weeks, a situation that gives cause for ultimate disappointment on my part. however, the cx-zero is truly one of the finest in their catalogue bar none. i have yet to receive a c60 for review (soon, i hope), and though aimed at a different section of the market, i cannot fathom why colnago do not place more of their marketing clout behind this particular model. its price (as reviewed) equates to almost exactly the same as the c60 frameset (£3,500) alone, in contemporary terms making it a highly affordable means of acquiring a superb bicycle. if i didn't already own a c40 and a steel master, i'd currently be brow-beating my bank manager or wearing out my flexible plastic to add to the flotilla in the bikeshed.

joy unbounded.

top of page.

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................

societa colnago | colnago c40 | colnago c40hp | colnago c50hp | colnago dream |
colnago teams since 1968 | robert millar c40 review | colnago clx | colnago c50 2007 |
colnago arte 2008 | colnago eps | ernesto colnago interview 2008 |
colnago ace | colnago clx 2.0 | colnago super | colnago c59

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................