The standard ISO test for bicycles requires the frame to survive a single impact of a 50 lbs. This may seem excessive, but the benefits are evident in Colnago's equally excessive testing protocols.
Colnago c40 weight serial number#
For example, each individual piece of every C60 receives a unique serial number that's hand-logged in a quality control book after being inspected at every step of the manufacturing process. Price: $15,999.95 (complete), $5899.Ernesto Colnago's own nascent cycling aspirations ended with a broken femur suffered during a crash, so the myopic focus on the safety is one of the most important pieces of the Colnago puzzle. But if you are in the market, be sure you know exactly which size is going to be the perfect fit. Thanks to all the sizes available, few ever need to get custom geometry. That the name on the downtube reads Colnago simply puts the bike in a league all its own. That the C59 remains one of the few truly Italian-made frames left is worthy enough of celebration. Not only is the C59 a modern, performance oriented bike, but each frame represents a piece of frame-building technique and history unlike any other on the planet. Yes, the price makes it completely unrealistic for most people, but for those fortunate souls who are seeking out a bike in this range, going with anything else just wouldn’t make any sense.
The Colnago C59 of team Europcar at the 2013 Tour de France.įew bikes possess the characteristics that make them comfortable and just downright fun to ride without reducing their capacity for performance. Even when we weren’t up for a big day in the saddle, the C59 could always create a group of gawkers when it was parked at the coffee shop.
Subtleties in ride comfort start adding up as the miles stretch on, helping us keep a little extra kick in the legs after a big day in the saddle. Unsurprisingly, long rides are a treat on the C59. Being able to make 11 gear changes (in either direction) with just one momentary push on the respective shifters is not just remarkable, it’s also the only drivetrain capable of such a feat. Typically it takes a little time to get the feel for a bike’s geometry and handling traits, but the C59’s longish, 99.5cm wheelbase and geometry that have been tuned over the past 50 years provided a feel of familiarity.Īesthetic and charging complaints notwithstanding (e.g., the battery box can but shouldn’t be removed, the charger input location is difficult to access and the charger cord is too short), the Campy EPS drivetrain delivered superb ergos, craftsmanship and performance. The stout, lugged head tube, aided by a solid feeling 1 1/8 to 1 1/4 tapered fork, gave us immediate confidence on descents. Overall stiffness and most noticeably front-end stiffness are also first-rate.
The superior damping, which we attribute mainly to the thick lugs, makes a noticeable difference over rough roads compared to thinner-walled frames. At 15 pounds, it’s not going to win the lightweight battles against many of the high-end monocoque frames on the market, but the difference in weight helps the C59 in many ways, with ride quality being chief among them. The best way to explain the overall ride quality is, the rougher the terrain, the better. With such high expectations going into the first ride, we were almost nervous of being let down. With so much prestige and history encapsulating the brand, we built up incredibly high hopes for the C59 could it possibly live up to our lofty expectations? Now, their latest premier frame, the C59 (representing Ernesto’s 59th year of frame-building), is crafted alongside their other lugged-carbon frames and the Master steel frame in the shop directly underneath Ernesto Colnago’s home in Cambiago, Italy.
Colnago c40 weight full#
A full seven years before the C40, Colnago utilized their relationship with Ferrari, one that they still maintain, and jointly developed a carbon concept bike complete with tri-spoke composite wheels. As frame materials began shifting to carbon, Colnago wasn’t just following the technology, they helped pioneer it with the C40, their first production carbon frame that hit the market in 1994. The company’s ace of clubs logo has long been ingrained in the racing culture, with victories ranging from Paris-Roubaix to stages of the Tour de France. Finding a company more respected and steeped in tradition than Colnago is next to impossible within the bike industry.