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From the very first bicycles to bear the Colnago logo in 1954, to classics such as the Master and modern landmarks like the C50 and EPS, Colnago has been deeply committed to advancing the racing bicycle.
Our commitment comes from a deep love for the excitement and energy of racing, a love that goes back to the racing career of the young Ernesto Colnago. A competitive youngster, Colnago realised his talents really lay in building frames and supporting riders as a master mechanic. The story of Colnago bicycles and the story of Colnago’s connections with racing are therefore deeply interwoven.
Colnago has always innovated the design and construction of our bicycles to give our riders a competitive edge. Early in Ernesto Colnago’s career he realised that a shorter, more upright frame design would be more responsive, but bicycles of the time were designed for comfort on poor road surfaces. As roads improved he was able to introduce modern racing bicycle geometry.
Bicycles for special purposes present the greatest challenges and Colnago has always risen to those challenges. When Eddy Merckx needed the lightest, fastest possible bicycle for his historic attempt on the hour record, Colnago built a masterpiece that was so far ahead of its time its titanium stem had to be welded in the USA because nobody in Europe could do the work.
When advanced carbon fiber composite materials became available, Colnago was the first bicycle manufacturer to take full advantage of the possibilities they offered. Working with Ferrari Engineering and the Politecnico di Milano we developed the Concept and the C35, the precursors of today’s carbon fiber bicycles including our own EPS and CX-1.
But Ernesto Colnago is never satisfied. To him, the bicycle is a work of art, but it's a magnificent, unfinished masterpiece. "There is still a lot to do," he says. "There’s so much to improve on. I have every confidence that we can: you can feel it. You just have to want to!"