The Colnago C68 is every cyclist's dream bike — find out how it's made and what makes this Italian legend so special

It's a common old trope that all modern road bikes are made in the same factories in China, rolling off the production line in great numbers and looking eerily similar... however, in typical Italian fashion, there is a marque that claims to do things a bit differently. If history is anything to go by, the folks at the legendary Italian bike brand Colnago have got an ace up their sleeve. 

Oh yes, we've been given full access to the Colnago headquarters! It's a place steeped in history, and yet proving year after year that it’s more than capable of creating lust-worthy modern bikes, as well as bikes capable of keeping the world’s best road cyclists at the front of the field.

So, how do they do it? What goes into the making of a bike that manages to set itself apart from the competition, and what’s next for one of the most famous cycling brands in the world? We went to find out... 

"A past shaped by legends"

When you think of Colnago, you might think of Pogacar’s bright yellow V3RS - which could possibly be the last-ever rim brake bike to win the Tour de France.

You might also think of Eddy Mercx’s famous hour-record-setting bike that weighed just 5.75kg...

...or you might think of the C40, the first carbon fibre bike to win a Grand Tour and Paris-Roubaix (it also got a 1-2-3 finish on the cobbles too!)

...or perhaps you think of the V4RS, that has won just about everything under the sun with UAE Team Emirates.

However, personally, I think about the C68. It's a bike that just seems to be a bit special compared to a lot of today's mass-produced bikes.

If you ask 100 random road cyclists what their dream bike is, then I can almost guarantee that a good few will respond with the answer 'a Colnago C68'... but why? It certainly doesn’t claim to be the fastest bike in the world, nor the lightest, so why does everyone want one?

Designing an icon

To find out how you go about designing a bike like the C68, we spoke with Colnago R&D Project Leader Filippo Galli.

Galli told us the design is made up of three phases, the first of which always involves hand drawing sketches.

This isn't always the case in 21st-century bike design. Galli explains: "Only by hand drawing can you see the bicycle as a whole, you can see the proportions, you can see what the whole of the bicycle looks like. Otherwise, if you start modelling in very precise software you just focus on the details and you miss the whole picture."

Galli went on to explain that in the further steps of design, the performance is of course a main focus. Colnago uses CAE (Computer-aided engineering) software and then 3D printed prototypes, allowing for aerodynamics to be analysed early in the design process.

"A successful bike of course depends on the final user, for example, talking about pure performance [or a] race orientated user, a successful bike means aerodynamics, means stiffness, means lightness and performance to make the rider faster," adds Galli. 

"Talking about the C-series which is dedicated not to pure performance or racing, what matters is the quality of the ride. For example, by using the technology of bonding and lugs [we] can explore different technologies in one single bicycle to make the final quality of the ride top level.

"As a bicycle designer and as a mechanical engineer I work on models that are pure performance orientated [V-series] and on the other end work on more traditional models [C-series] which allows exploring without the pressure of the 0.5 grams of weight."

Realizzato A Mano in Italia

Where better to start than where each C68 begins its life, in Cambiago, just outside Milan in Italy.

The full C-series range (C68 road, C68 All-road and C68 gravel) is made here. Well, other than the bits that are made just down the road…

The C68 starts off as sheets of carbon fibre at Colnago’s factory in Veneto. These are then painstakingly turned into tubes by winding and laying the carbon fibre into moulds.

As with all carbon fibre, this has to be cured in a rather menacing-looking autoclave, which puts the carbon under extreme heat and pressure to drive out any air and get that perfect finish.

One thing that sets the C-series bikes apart from others is that, unlike most modern carbon bikes including the V4RS, the C series has a traditional lugged construction.

You might think that this is because Colnago has been left behind and is stuck in the past, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

In fact, Colnago is just as pioneering today as it has been over the last 70 years. Did you know that it was Colnago who first introduced disc brakes to the road scene with the C59 back in 2012?

To get an idea of just how capable that bike was, check out Road Bike Party 2.

> The Colnago C59 Disc - the beginning of the end for rim brakes

In the present day, Colnago has embraced innovative technology. Whilst the two-part adhesives wouldn’t be out of place holding a spaceship together, I think it’s the 3D-printed titanium lugs that look straight out of the future.

Whether you choose carbon or titanium lugs on your C-series bike, everything turns up in Cambiago ready for assembly. 

There are actually far fewer machines here than you might expect. Colnago hand-make a great deal of each, which is particularly impressive given that the tolerances can’t exceed 0.15mm.

The carbon tubes are cut to size, and then the building can commence. Each frame is made up of six parts (down from eight on the C64) and to help out the skilled workers they use these jigs which ensure that each bike is the perfect size.

A trip to the oven sets the adhesive before each joint is painstakingly wrapped to ensure maximum strength.

The blue tape compresses as it's heated to apply pressure as the joint cures. It's then back to the oven, before the Colnago workers can set about smoothing each joint to get that famously high-quality finish.

The result of all that bonding is a frame that weighs just 925 grams, or 10 grams more for the titanium-lugged version. From here, the frames will head off to Tuscany to be painted before returning for their final assembly.

Look at this! It's been designed on the Colnago online configurator. If you’re bored and have five minutes, then you can design yours for free using the link below:

> Colnago customizer

The majority of frames are then assembled into complete bikes under the same roof in Cambiago. You've never seen someone route internal brake hoses so quickly! Other rows of frames await being boxed up after being sold as framesets.

The result is a complete bike with a weight that’s bang on the money for a Tour de France bike. When we reviewed the C68 earlier in the year, we had only praise for its stunning looks, build quality and ride characteristics.

Review: Colnago C68

In fact, Stu said that “for a bike of this style the handling isn't as quick or twitchy as you'd expect, and by backing things off a touch Colnago has created a bike that can be ridden fast through the bends without it being a handful.”

Stu concluded: “The C68 is a stunning bike to ride, both in terms of how it behaves and the ride feel. There is an impressive level of refinement in the ride quality, even on poor UK roads.”

High praise indeed!

The 'Magia'

Before jumping on a plane back home there was one more stop off, the office of Nicola Rosin, CEO of Colnago. Who better to tell us why owning a Colnago is quite so desirable?

What makes riding or owning a Colnago special?

"In Italy, we say the magia, the magic, so it's not always necessarily something tangible". "When you ride a Colnago you ride a brand with great legacy, great heritage, you are riding a bicycle with great style and a lot of history."

"We're a group of people that think 24/7 about only drop bars." "So I think our specialisation is very very interesting and makes us a unique brand."

If you could choose any past or present bike from the Colnago range, which would it be?

"The C35, it was really an iconic bike, it was the first carbon bike produced in the world so that was a big milestone for us."

"But now I like to talk about the modern bikes and this dual approach that we have in the market, because in some ways we are C, so an Italian carbon frame produced in Italy, on the other side we are V. Two bikes that are very iconic [and] important, and I think the beauty of Colnago is that it's able to interpret and give answers to two different and very distinctive personas."

Where do you see Colnago going next?

> Colnago introduces C68 Gravel bike

"Well, first of all, we are ready to exploit all of our potential in the drop bar categories.

"A very important priority is road, we are just now showing our strength on gravel but let's say we [wish to be] present in all the drop bar categories, I see track, I see triathlon, this is where we are going to focus."

> Take a look at the limited edition Motoki Yoshio Colnago C68

"Next, is to continue doing what we are doing right now! So we are true to our consumers. Our mission is to become the most desirable brand in cycling, to be very exclusive, special, high-end, this is [what's] next and [also] in some ways our values that we try to achieve right now."

Colnago, then, is a brand that isn’t afraid of going its own way. Whilst others fight over the title of lightest, most aero etc, Colnago is quietly innovating the bikes that people just want, whether you’re Tadej Pogacar or an amateur like me who just loves bikes.