Colnago C59 Geometry

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BeeSeeBee
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by BeeSeeBee

I'm trying to help someone size up a C59 based on fit measurements he has. Unfortunately, the geometry information on their site seems to only give some of the picture and Colnago is seemingly on vacation the entire month of August (lucky ducks) so they won't reply for a while. He wants to get the order in soon, so the geometry info I'm looking for if anyone knows it offhand, or has information about it is: Head Tube Angle and Fork Rake primarily, and secondary, Bottom Bracket Drop. Thanks for any help!

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bricky21
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by bricky21

Thats all top secret stuff with Colnago which is part of the mystique :roll: :roll: :roll: The fork offset is 43mm across the entire spectrum at least that was the case when I bought one in 08. The head tube angle goes from slack to steep across the entire line up. My 54 traditional had a 71.5 degree headtube angle if that helps. BB drop I never measured.

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elviento
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by elviento

You need a little bit of faith in selecting Colnago. I would also argue that things like rake, BB drop and headtube length are slight more on the side of bike design than "fit" as we know it. I mean, would anyone pick a next size up/down, if the fork rake is suddenly increased/decreased?

BeeSeeBee wrote:I'm trying to help someone size up a C59 based on fit measurements he has. Unfortunately, the geometry information on their site seems to only give some of the picture and Colnago is seemingly on vacation the entire month of August (lucky ducks) so they won't reply for a while. He wants to get the order in soon, so the geometry info I'm looking for if anyone knows it offhand, or has information about it is: Head Tube Angle and Fork Rake primarily, and secondary, Bottom Bracket Drop. Thanks for any help!
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LionelB
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by LionelB

what size is he looking at ?

On my 2008 C50, size 61 trad, head tube angle is 73.3, BB drop is 70, fork rake is 43.

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BeeSeeBee
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by BeeSeeBee

He's probably looking at a 58. I just found some geometry Competitive Cyclist posted for the C40, so I'll use those as a rough guideline (the 61 seems to match up with your C50, so I doubt they deviated much for the C59. He was mostly interested in getting a rough idea of how it'll be expected to handle. I knew the trail was high, just didn't know how high (and wow it looks to be a large amount!) Thanks for the info guys.

davidrichardson
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by davidrichardson

Colnago are closed so won't be able to put an order in.... May as well wait until next week when they re open....

I had to drop a size when I bought my c59. Best to get a fit.
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Briscoelab
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by Briscoelab

Headtube length is often the most important measurement on a Colnago frame. Typically any three given frame sizes (traditional) have nearly identical reach measurments. Just something for your friend to keep in mind.

FreaK
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by FreaK

the vagaries of Colnago geometry are all starting to come together!

The trail is a really signature characteristic of the Colnago ride. I really can't stand it sometimes. What it does is give you a stable bike with a nice balance and a bar that's really light in your hands, think power assisted steering, though for a 'stable' ride it has very little self centering. For some people that's ace, but it doesn't fit my ideal super well. I'd happily have a Colnago along side a full stable of bikes, as i like the feel of thick walled solidly built carbon, which you don't get much from mono bikes outside the prince or dogma. But that steering bit bugs me. I prefer snappier more agile handling with more aggressive self centering, which is quite the opposite.
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DaveS
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by DaveS

A bike with lots of trail like a Colnago has more of a tendency to self-center and more tendency to stay in a straight line at any reasonable speed. In a hairpin turn the bike wants to go straight unless given constant steering input (push on the right side to turn right). At very slow speeds, bike with lots of trail can be a bit more twitchy.

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