Wednesday, March 12, 2014

2014 Colnago C60 Pays Homage To Colnago's Roots

The latest iteration of the Colnago C60 has been called a combination of history and technology, equal parts memoir and textbook.



Available with or without disc brakes, a new bottom bracket press-fit standard, oversized tubes and new alloy dropouts. Colnago says the frame is significantly stiffer, and the C60 Disc is 140g lighter than the C59 Disc.






From Colnago.com: "The ultimate goal is to improve the bicycle: to make it more efficient, with less rider fatigue and no sacrifice in strength or reliability. In the C60 various cross sections of tubes have increased volume, thinner walls and drastic tube profiles. The rear dropouts have been completely redesigned for reduced weight and increased lateral stiffness." The new design is intended to bring Colnago's premium frame up to technological par with other top frames available today.


The key to the claimed increase in the C60's stiffness is an all-new bottom bracket junction, with Colnago's brand new press-fit standard, ThreadFit82.5. Colnago says they looked at the currently available standards and decided none met their requirements, so they developed a new one. The key is the wider shell and removable threaded sleeves which can easily be replaced.

There isn't a single round tube on the entire frame. They are using star-shaped tubes and lugs in homage to the famous Master steel frame which helped the company make its name.

"Star-shaped tubes are a proven design element and have become a signature design element for Colnago frames" says Colnago. It adds that full-length star shape "allows for better control of wall thickness and lamination of the entire length of the tube."

Building a C60 is simultaneiously quite simple and quite complicated. Construction is a simple process of gluing shaped tubes to identically shaped lugs; but the details of each of these components has a dramatic impact on ride quality.

The most obvious change is the new downtube, the largest individual tube ever produced by Colnago. it tapers dramatically, widest at the BB and narrowest at the head tube, and utilizes the Master shape from tip to tail.

The seat tube sees a similar size enhancement, jumping from 31mm in diameter to 55mm. The tube is now asymmetrical, with most of the increase in size occurring on the non-drive side, as the tube spreads out to fill the most of the width of new, wider bottom bracket shell. The increased seat tube diameter means the C60 will use a 31.5mm seatpost.

Colnago offers the C60 in nine sloping top-tube sizes, five traditional (level top tube) sizes, plus custom. Each size also comes in two drivetrain options: one dedicated to electronic groups, and another that accomodates electronic or mechanical with a convertible housing-stop system.


It will be available in 12 color options, and the rim-brake version is available now. A disc version with a standard QR9 fork is also available now.

Finish Line Bikes
8850 Stockdale Hwy.
Bakersfield, CA 93311
(661) 883-6268
info@finishlinebikes.com
www.finishlinebikes.com

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