Colnago – Timeless Road Bikes and Tough Gravel Bikes from Italy

The history of Colnago is marked by courageous decisions, a lucky hand and revolutionary developments. At the age of 13 and pretending to be older, Ernesto Colnago started working as a welder at the Gloria bicycle factory in Milan. In 1954, shortly after opening his own workshop Colnago randomly met Fiorenzi Magni, a professional cyclist who complained of leg pain. Colnago immediately realized that the cranks were incorrectly mounted and was able to fix Magni's problem with a small repair. In gratitude, he was then allowed to accompany him and his team as a mechanic to the Giro d'Italia, which Magni finished as overall winner in the pink jersey. 

In the following years, Colnago went from mechanic to designer, discovered the talent in Gianni Motta, who would go on to be third at the Tour and win the Giro, and decided early to help him with advice and with the right road bike. In 1967 he meets the great Eddy Merckx in a fateful encounter. He was looking for a reliable racing bike for the classic Milan-Sanremo. Merckx wins the race with his first Colnago and subsequently buys all the bikes from the Italian company. The relationship reached its peak in 1972: Colnago invested more than 200 hours in the development and construction of a track bike with a special steel frame, handmade chain and a weight of just 5.75 kg. With this biking miracle Eddy conjured up a record for eternity on the oval and set a new hour record in Mexico with 49.431 km, which was to last 28 years and then only be surpassed by 10 meters. 

The result of decades of experience in welding, bicycle construction and professional cycling led to the creation of the revolutionary Colnago Master with the incomparable star-shaped tubes (1983) and only six years later to the first commercially available full carbon bike: the C35. The name celebrates the company's 35th anniversary and marks the beginning of a unique series of road racing successes. In 1995, the C40 became the first carbon bike to win 4 of the following 5 Paris-Roubaix editions. On the occasion of its 60th anniversary, the C60 is presented, which in 2018 sets a technological exclamation mark with the revised C64, which at the same time reflects the tradition and future of the bicycle. 

Ernesto has been entering his factory every morning for over 60 years, paying attention to every detail, collecting ideas and suggestions for new road bikes and components. The majority of the frames are still handmade in Cambiago, Italy. Where the young Ernesto opened his small shop in Via Garibaldi 10 in 1954. 

Each of Colnago's unique road bikes reflects the Colnago DNA:

• Aceness – Colnago is the ace of cycling, striving only for perfection and inspired by the mindset of champions to reach new heights of performance.
• Mastery – Led by a true master and visionary, Ernesto Colnago, the company shapes the future as a pioneer and creates reliable high-end bikes with wisdom and craft skills.
• Italianity – The Italian passion, style, quality and fine details of one of the world's most appealing cultures inspire Colnago.
• Pride – Colnago is proud of its own history, its own victories and triumphs and the beauty of its own building skills.
• Seduction – Colnago strives to awaken emotions through stunning bikes.
• Exclusivity – Colnago creates legendary and beautiful bikes that inspire leadership of a sophisticated and exclusive lifestyle.
• Heritage – Colnago is committed to honoring its own heritage and lives to immortalize the "Colnago legend".

Tradition meets innovation! The C68 Road is a Colnago icon, featuring a frameset created by the Japanese designer Motoki Yoshio, who is based in Milan. The road bikes are characterized by their high-quality carbon frames with integrated carbon handlebars and their unique paintwork. Each C68 bike is a unique collector's item for bike aficionados with taste. Featuring Pirelli P Zero Race tires on its wheels it will make you fly over the tarmac. The bike is designed to optimize the position on the Selle Italia SLR Flow carbon saddle – your neck and back will thank you.

The Colnago V3Rs DISC monocoque carbon frameset is a dream of lightness and aerodynamics that has come true. Colnago bikes with this frame allow top performance on windy flat terrain and long climbs, on the most demanding Gran Fondos and on long stage rides. This was impressively demonstrated when Tadej Pogacar won the Tour de France with a V3Rs in 2020. The company has used a new carbon fiber for even less weight and even better stiffness – with success: the Colnago road bike is designed for victory.

Fast and confident even on gravel roads – the G3-X is Colnago's answer to the question for the perfect gravel bike. Thanks to its optimized frameset geometry, it runs smoothly at high speeds even when you leave the tarmac. The bottom bracket shell is fitted with an anti-skid guard and the protective cover on the right-hand chainstay is replaceable. The high-quality bike offers the option of attaching up to four bottle cages to the carbon frame. So, get ready for long, exhausting rides on unpaved roads!

With the Arabesque frame, you are acquiring a piece of road cycling history: it is more than 30 years ago that the first bikes with this innovative steel frame were designed and built at Colnago. After the discovery of Arabesque lugs used at the time at Colnago's headquarters, the company decided to reinvent an iconic classic. Careful improvements, which have made the innovations of the last three decades possible, meet traditional construction and the outstanding riding characteristics of steel.

The Master X-Light frames are among the best steel frames that have ever come onto the market. Besides the special steel alloy produced especially for Colnago, this is also due to the Italian company's high-quality welding and construction techniques. The specially drawn steel tube offers a ride quality that is still unrivaled today. It was the Master for which Ernest Colnago changed the shape of the steel tubes from round to honeycomb – a ground-breaking innovation that made the model a winner in cycling in the following years after its launch.

If you are going to buy one of the exclusive Colnago road bikes, you should take a second look in our shop: Perhaps you still need accessories or new cycling apparel? If you order these things directly with your bike, you won't have to search for them in other shops. Plus, we send you everything in one package, so you only have to be at home once. You save on postage and protect the environment by minimizing packaging waste. You'll probably have better things to do in future than looking for accessories in bike shops, because your new bike wants to be ridden!