Colnago V2-R 2017
Moderator: robbosmans
- Discoverspeed
- Posts: 527
- Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2010 10:20 am
This "Art Decor" design codename THDK for V2-R (CHDK/ CHDB for the Colnago Concept), is based on the "Arabesque" art form - basically, repetitive rhythmic patterns of scrolling and interlacing natural elements such as foliage and stems. The Arabesque style was found in early Islamic art since the 9th Century and also in European art since the Renaissance period. Therefore there is a strong historical link between this art style and Italy. Having the Arabesque style on an Italian brand like Colnago is therefore not surprising.
Colnago first introduced this Arabesque style into the lugs of their "Arabesque" steel frames produced in the 80's (see photo), which are now very popular among Colnago collectors - I think more so because they were produced in smaller numbers compared to the more popular Master steel model then.
The Arabesque steel frame was recently reintroduced in very limited numbers (story goes that an employee found some unused original arabesque style lugs and the rest, as they say, is history). I guess that probably inspired Ernesto himself to personally design the Arabesque motifs onto the paintwork of the new Concept frame in limited numbers as code CHDK/CHDB and now also on the V2-R as THDK (I don't know if Ernesto himself did this artwork again or will it also be in limited runs).
I think that the infusion of this older art style into the modern bicycle, especially top of the line road racing speedsters is bound to create polarity in views.
I myself am a traditionalist but I appreciate and enjoy technological advancements. So to me, this fusion of old world form with new world function is perfect. The Arabesque form was still popular up to the 60s and 70s (my era), but I can see how younger generations may not appreciate nor even recognise it. I also feel that not many mainstream and newer brands can pull off this fusion of old and new worlds as they lack the heritage to do so. This makes the CHDK/CHDB and THDK all the more special - just my humble opinion.
Colnago first introduced this Arabesque style into the lugs of their "Arabesque" steel frames produced in the 80's (see photo), which are now very popular among Colnago collectors - I think more so because they were produced in smaller numbers compared to the more popular Master steel model then.
The Arabesque steel frame was recently reintroduced in very limited numbers (story goes that an employee found some unused original arabesque style lugs and the rest, as they say, is history). I guess that probably inspired Ernesto himself to personally design the Arabesque motifs onto the paintwork of the new Concept frame in limited numbers as code CHDK/CHDB and now also on the V2-R as THDK (I don't know if Ernesto himself did this artwork again or will it also be in limited runs).
I think that the infusion of this older art style into the modern bicycle, especially top of the line road racing speedsters is bound to create polarity in views.
I myself am a traditionalist but I appreciate and enjoy technological advancements. So to me, this fusion of old world form with new world function is perfect. The Arabesque form was still popular up to the 60s and 70s (my era), but I can see how younger generations may not appreciate nor even recognise it. I also feel that not many mainstream and newer brands can pull off this fusion of old and new worlds as they lack the heritage to do so. This makes the CHDK/CHDB and THDK all the more special - just my humble opinion.
Current Bikes: S-Works Venge 7.3kg
Storck F.3 5.5kg
Colnago Concept Art Deco CHDK 7/6.5kg
Collection: Team Ti Raleigh 753 Vintage Campy
Ex: Storck F0.6 Di2 6kg, Storck F0.7IS Di2 4.8kg, Storck Aero2 7.04kg Storck Organic Light 11.1kg
Storck F.3 5.5kg
Colnago Concept Art Deco CHDK 7/6.5kg
Collection: Team Ti Raleigh 753 Vintage Campy
Ex: Storck F0.6 Di2 6kg, Storck F0.7IS Di2 4.8kg, Storck Aero2 7.04kg Storck Organic Light 11.1kg
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Sure, but the original arabesque lugs are tiny works of art while the arabesque-like motifs on modern carbon Colnagos is just a bad implementation of a cheesy graphic design. Bad in terms of concept, scale, colors, integration with the frame... any classic-modern fusion attemp is failed the way I see it.
- Discoverspeed
- Posts: 527
- Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2010 10:20 am
Sure if that's the way you see it. No right or wrong.
I love the concept and integration of form and function, especially when applied to the Concept, which has a bigger "canvas" in terms of broader tubes. For the V2-R on the other hand, I am unconvinced of the introduction of silver as a third colour in the THDK and the scale with which the motifs have been incorporated into the thinner V2-R tubes. Squeezing cool silver and warm gold with thick Arabesque lines onto thinner tubes is a bit too much.
I love the concept and integration of form and function, especially when applied to the Concept, which has a bigger "canvas" in terms of broader tubes. For the V2-R on the other hand, I am unconvinced of the introduction of silver as a third colour in the THDK and the scale with which the motifs have been incorporated into the thinner V2-R tubes. Squeezing cool silver and warm gold with thick Arabesque lines onto thinner tubes is a bit too much.
Current Bikes: S-Works Venge 7.3kg
Storck F.3 5.5kg
Colnago Concept Art Deco CHDK 7/6.5kg
Collection: Team Ti Raleigh 753 Vintage Campy
Ex: Storck F0.6 Di2 6kg, Storck F0.7IS Di2 4.8kg, Storck Aero2 7.04kg Storck Organic Light 11.1kg
Storck F.3 5.5kg
Colnago Concept Art Deco CHDK 7/6.5kg
Collection: Team Ti Raleigh 753 Vintage Campy
Ex: Storck F0.6 Di2 6kg, Storck F0.7IS Di2 4.8kg, Storck Aero2 7.04kg Storck Organic Light 11.1kg
Discoverspeed wrote:Sure if that's the way you see it. No right or wrong.
That's the way I see it, sure, but I teach in a School of design so... BTW aesthetics is not about "opinions". It is a very specific area of knowledge with rules, history, models, currents, trends, etc etc.
kgt wrote:BTW aesthetics is not about "opinions". It is a very specific area of knowledge with rules, history, models, currents, trends, etc etc.
What is a trend if not a passing opinion? If something is objectively aesthetic it won't be a trend, it'll always look good. But in reality, 5 years down the line everyone's laughing at the douchebag who's the last person to still have that stupid haircut. So could it be that aesthetics is made up of different areas, of both rules and opinions? No, that'd be far too complicated
Anyway, if you don't like Colnago's Art Decor paint schemes, they have normal ones too. So who cares?
- RockRabbit
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2010 4:29 pm
Discoverspeed wrote:The new Art Decor scheme in black gold silver. IMHO, addition of silver seems to overcomplicate things.
Loving the combination personally. Not a Gold person at all, its the addition of the Silver that blew me over!
Its that scheme that has convinced me to give my Extreme Power and invest into a V2-R!
-
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2006 7:03 pm
- Location: Dubai, UAE
wingguy wrote:kgt wrote:BTW aesthetics is not about "opinions". It is a very specific area of knowledge with rules, history, models, currents, trends, etc etc.
What is a trend if not a passing opinion? If something is objectively aesthetic it won't be a trend, it'll always look good. But in reality, 5 years down the line everyone's laughing at the douchebag who's the last person to still have that stupid haircut. So could it be that aesthetics is made up of different areas, of both rules and opinions? No, that'd be far too complicated
Anyway, if you don't like Colnago's Art Decor paint schemes, they have normal ones too. So who cares?
@wingguy - I totally agree. Frontiers of existing knowledge are meant to be pushed and challenged.
@kgt - I respect your credentials in the field of arts and design. I am a former academic myself, being a ex-Professor of Finance and Investment specialising in Econometrics where we try to model socio-economic behavior in the world of Finance and Investment by statistical models, which are theoretical, statistical and mathematical based. One thing that I have learnt is that the stochastic behavior of human beings is such that it is impossible to impose hard rules and formulae onto human behavior. If we have such hard coded predictive rules, we can know for sure what financial products will sell, which investments are sure wins and so on. In all human behavior models our statistical models can only aim to improve the 50-50 batting average of a large scale population. There is still a huge amount of behavior that cannot be predicted with hard rules and formulae. These are personal opinion and "gut feel" based. I would have presumed that the stochastic characteristic of human behavior would also apply to more than just the world of finance and investment. What is nice to me may not be nice to everybody and that's fine. We should move on.
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Dubai Cyclist
- Discoverspeed
- Posts: 527
- Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2010 10:20 am
Sorry folks for the confusion, @Dubai Cyclist is my Tapatalk account. I forgot to change my login. I was based in Dubai and use Tapatalk when I travel.
You can see why I can appreciate the Arabesque style a lot. It is an intricate design found in many exquisite and heritage places in the UAE and is definitely not a random wave pattern. If anything, this design has significance because of the fact that the UAE has launched their first Pro-Tour team on Colnago bikes.
You can see why I can appreciate the Arabesque style a lot. It is an intricate design found in many exquisite and heritage places in the UAE and is definitely not a random wave pattern. If anything, this design has significance because of the fact that the UAE has launched their first Pro-Tour team on Colnago bikes.
Current Bikes: S-Works Venge 7.3kg
Storck F.3 5.5kg
Colnago Concept Art Deco CHDK 7/6.5kg
Collection: Team Ti Raleigh 753 Vintage Campy
Ex: Storck F0.6 Di2 6kg, Storck F0.7IS Di2 4.8kg, Storck Aero2 7.04kg Storck Organic Light 11.1kg
Storck F.3 5.5kg
Colnago Concept Art Deco CHDK 7/6.5kg
Collection: Team Ti Raleigh 753 Vintage Campy
Ex: Storck F0.6 Di2 6kg, Storck F0.7IS Di2 4.8kg, Storck Aero2 7.04kg Storck Organic Light 11.1kg
We don't need to make it look complicated. Colnago's 'arabesque' paintjob would fail in any product design competition. It's simple as that.
Last edited by kgt on Thu Jun 29, 2017 4:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
kgt wrote:We don't need to make it look complicated. Colnago's 'arabesque' paintjob would fail in any product design competition. It's simple as that.
And do product design competitions always accurately reflect on what people like and buy in real life?
Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓ Broad Selection ✓ Worldwide Delivery ✓
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