Ernesto Colnago recently invited 20 international

C60
Ernesto Colnago recently invited 20 international journalists to Tuscany to be the first to see the
new Colnago C60. The theme of the gathering was “History Continues” as the C60 is 100% Made
In Italy, as all C-series Colnagos have been before. The C60 frame reaches another milestone in the
60-year history of Colnago. It is a design which is the paramount of both performance and unsurpassed reliability. The C60 represents the perfect link between modern technology and tradition.
“When we introduced carbon with the C40 to the international racing circuit 20 years ago, everybody thought we were fools. We were no fools - we were the first. And five victories at Roubaix
within six years proved us to be right.” With these words Ernesto Colnago opened the first ever
international press launch for Colnago at Viareggio. “Today I am honored to present you the C60,
the latest frame that combines our tradition with lugged frames combined with the latest technology. This construction allows us to pursue our strategy of building an everlasting frame.” As the still
produced Master steel frame, the C60 is a frame 100% Made in Italy.
The international journalists had during the presentation the possibility of exploring the difficulties
of building a frame by themselves since they had to hand-build five frames by the single pieces
shown to them. On the next day the two-time Giro winner Paolo Salvodelli lead the visitors on a ride
through the backstreets of Tuscany. Paolo, known for his abilities of flying down any descent as no
other, was instrumental in the development of Colnago’s C59 disc brake model. In the afternoon
all invitees had the possibility to hand paint their own C60 down tube at the Colnago paint-shop in
nearby Pisa. Instructed by the artists that hand-paint all Colnago Italian frames, some journalists
discovered the true complexity and artistry that goes into each frame.
On the final day of the gathering, journalists were able to personally follow the step-by-step hand
production of an unfinished C60 frame at Colnago’s headquarters in Cambiago, Italy. The creation
of Colnago’s new masterpiece was captured by Ashley Gruber and Jered Gruber, two of the top
documentary filmmakers in the sport of cycling today.
The ultimate goal is to improve the bicycle: to make it more efficient, with less rider
fatigue and no sacrifice in strength or reliability. The design must be striking. From
a marketing standpoint, the frame’s characteristics and technical advantages must
stand out and not be completely hidden inside the frame. Star-shaped tubes are a
proven design element and have become a signature design element for Colnago
frames. It is from this proven design, with the goal of increased frame efficiency
without significant sacrifice in comfort or strength, with which the Colnago C60 was
born.
In the C60 various cross sections of tubes have increased volume, thinner walls
and drastic tube profiles. No attention to detail was spared. The rear dropouts
have been completely redesigned for reduced weight and increased lateral stiffness.
Even the water bottle mounts were redesigned to reduce weight while maximizing
strength.