Pictures of Colnagos

[corky]

Good catch, not feelin' it tbh......some awkward bumps/lines n stufff........will watch closely

[Mockenrue]

From Colnago Japan:

[Calnago]

Well... I guess the ugly stick has been passed to Colnago... all these aero offerings are beginning to look pretty much the same. Really don't like what's happening under the top tube at the seat tube junction. And that cable routing for the shift cables... ugh... just like I said about the brakes on the Vias when it was introduced, something gets compromised with routing like that. Unless it's electric, then it doesn't matter how ugly or kinky it gets as long as the current can pass through. At least the rear brake line from the top tube down to the brake isn't too bad as far as a smooth line goes, but it does make for quite an ugly look exiting from the bottom of the top tube then shooting down to the brake. Makes it look like a bad cable job and the housing is too short.

[iwantone]

Haven't posted this bike in a while. A bit of changes.

[JKolmo]

Ohhh, that's really sweet!

[tortor]

Well... I guess the ugly stick has been passed to Colnago... all these aero offerings are beginning to look pretty much the same. Really don't like what's happening under the top tube at the seat tube junction. And that cable routing for the shift cables... ugh... just like I said about the brakes on the Vias when it was introduced, something gets compromised with routing like that. Unless it's electric, then it doesn't matter how ugly or kinky it gets as long as the current can pass through. At least the rear brake line from the top tube down to the brake isn't too bad as far as a smooth line goes, but it does make for quite an ugly look exiting from the bottom of the top tube then shooting down to the brake. Makes it look like a bad cable job and the housing is too short.

Just have a look to tis picture uloadded by Colnago on their facebook page.
I don't know what remains of Colnago's DNA...
Their communication department had no time to remove chinese characters from the pic (see on top tube near headset tube )
If photography and communication is also outsourced to Asia ...

[kgt]

I have to agree will Calnago and I will say that again. It is so dissapointing that Ernesto desided to follow the late trends. I see nothing of Colnago's identity on that frame...

[erik$]

Let's try to keep the old stuff alive then







My contribution this time is from my top 5 split podium of favorite C50 colors. After having a C50 in 50s for a short time I knew I would have to get one in trad geo. Held out for a long time but it was woth it. Allthough a 53 instead of the preferred 54 the measurements seem pretty spot on for what I wanted. I do not see myself getting rid of this one, maybe ever.

Usually I do Campagnolo but for the C50 I feel the Japanese flavour is appropriate. Reusing a bit of equipment at the moment to get it ready for the indoor trainer. In the future there will be room for a new wheelset, and most likely a 7800 crankset for when I don't need to know the numbers. Black tires will also look a lot better on this one, I feel.
When it comes to wheels I'm considering some 9000 hubs on Ryde Sprint rims with silver nips and spokes. Or maybe some lighter, cheaper hubs ...

[Simon BP]

I don't get it. Why is Colnago not allowed to innovate? When they started out, they were about making the best and high-tech items. They were some of the first with a Carbon frame for instance too. But now they are not allowed to produce anything that is not steel and with lugs? Rubbish.. That is like saying that Ferrari should only make front engined cars with manual gearshifters and no electronic drivingaids. Of course they try to keep up and beat their competitors with the latest technology. That is what such firms are all about! Colnago too has always wanted to be a winning team. You don't win with outdated technology.

[kgt]

Sorry but there's nothing innovative on that frame. Just a pathetic remake of a boring, generic aero design. Any manufacturer can make something similar nowadays.

On the contrary there are welcomed innovations on the C60 frame like the new bb construction.

High quality materials, lugs, many-many sizes, spot on geometry, perfect balance of stiffness and comfort, sublime ride quality. That's what Colnago does best and that's what he can continuously evolve IMO. Maybe it's too late for him to come up with something really innovative but he has nothing to prove anyway.

[Calnago]

Let's not confuse true innovation with change for change's sake. I think there's a lot of that going on in the industry lately over the last few years.

[KB]

Simon BP - the problem with Colnago is from his own mouth. A few years ago he wouldn't go with integrated headsets because it was just fashion and not good engineering; same with sloping top tubes. He's obviously given in to fashion and cashed in like a rock star selling out.

I've got a carbon Colnago and have never owned one of his steel bikes.

[nismosr]

after 2 month wait .. this beauty came in last Monday !

[Calnago]

Well, it's not all "fashion". Take the headset for example. When "integrated" headsets started coming into being some 10 or so years ago, Chris King was very vocal about their pitfalls. Integrating the headset race into the actual frame's headtube was just not a good idea for longevity sake. If the race wears, the frame is toast. But it was so much cheaper to produce a bicycle that way. So, today we have virtually all carbon frames with nothing more than a molded in "seat" at either end of the headtube in which a slipfit bearing gets dropped in and hope for the best. Contrast that to the C60 today, which has a high end bearing/cup assembly (where the bearing is pressed into the headset cup at the Acros factory), then the entire cup/bearing assembly gets pressed into precision alloy sleeves which are bonded into the C60's headtube at either end, it has much more in common with the older external headset which were pressed into the headtube. The difference now is that they're sunken into larger tubes so that they look more attractive and in keeping with todays trends. I'm about to create a build thread for a C60 which I will explain and show this in excruciating detail, but it's kind of a set it and forget it life of the frame assembly. How many Chris King headsets did you ever see actually wearing out? Compare that to a Cannondale Evo I worked on for a friend recently who was complaining that his headset was never quite right... had to exert an inordinate amount of preload onto the system to get it to stay seated without play. Well, that bearing is going to have a pretty limited lifespan I would think. Whereas on a high end Colnago, the amount of preload you need on the headset is almost nothing because everything seats perfectly into place and all is aligned. Colnago did a poor job of marketing the differences, so while their headtubes may look "integrated" they are not the same as most frames being produced today. In fact, I still don't think they use the word "integrated" in any description of their headsets. On my C59 the logo on the top of the headtube says "C-HS"... Colnago Headset System. When I ordered it I asked if that could be left off because I thought it was cheezy marketing, and no one knew what it meant, but they said no. In fact, most people said "what took them so long, other manufacturers have been doing this for a while now". Well, they are different and I think Colnago was quite proud of the fact that their "Headset System" was better, but no one really knew why. Still don't.
And don't even get me started on the bottom bracket area and the problems that pressfit bb's have bestowed upon us. Suffice to say that Colnagos implementation of their "Threadfit System" is by far superior to anything that the major manufacturers are giving us these days, and I will go into detail on that in my upcoming C60 build thread as well. It's more expensive to do it this way, there's no question. But it does produce a frame that looked after, is going to last a whole lot longer than a lot of the stuff I see these days.
And the sloping frame thing... well... that's a business decision pure and simple. I think Ernesto has long preferred the classic traditional frame but sloping frames do allow for fewer sizes to fit more people, and that is the trend these days. Ultimately, Colnago will be swallowed up by one of the big guys, and I presume it will be GIANT, as I believe they have a significant equity stake in Colnago already. While the name might live on, the days of frames being put together by hand in his "basement" are going to come to a close at some point. What happens after that remains to be seen... but as things go, the differences are getting harder and harder to fully appreciate, and though I haven't compared their new "aero" offering to anything else in the flesh, it sure looks a lot like a "me too" kind of effort.

[Calnago]

@Nismosr... didn't know you had that on order... when can we expect it built up? Not sure about the painted seatpost however.