Next year will see the return of the historic Italian bicycle brand Colnago to the professional peloton, and this week we’ve seen a first glimpse of the bikes it’ll be supplying to the new UAE Abu Dhabi team, which yesterday received the 18th and final spot in the World Tour.
Colnago shared a photo of a rack of C60 frames painted in a red and black paint job, all ready to be assembled for the team to train on this winter. We assume the team will also have the new Concept aero bike to use for stages and races that favour the aero advantage.
Colnago C60 team UAE Abu Dhabi pic.twitter.com/IUhS2qI0Pq
— Colnago (@Colnagoworld) December 20, 2016
Colnago announced it was backing the former Italian team Lampre, which had been taking over by Chinese company TJ Sport Consultation, a few months ago, but yesterday it was confirmed the team, under the UAE Abu Dhabi name, has been awarded the 18th and final UCI WorldTour licence for 2017.
The team, which includes Brit Ben Swift in its lineup, has a two-year licence and means the team has successfully met the UCI’s sporting, financial, administrative and ethical criteria.
Colnago signed a four-year deal with the company that bought out Lampre. It’s a decision based on wanting to represent Italy as a “nation that still wants to be a competitor in the world of cycling thanks to its skills, expertise and experience – virtues that rise above any technological development,” says the company.
Earlier this week we also got the first glimpse of Vincenzo Nibali’s new Merida Scultura race bike as well, and yesterday Tom Boonen shared a pic of his new Specialized Venge ViAS Disc road bike he’s currently training on this winter. Expect to see a lot more 2017 pro bikes being unveiled in the coming weeks, and stay tuned to road.cc to see the latest.
16 thoughts on “Colnago unveils new C60 race bikes for UAE Abu Dhabi WorldTour team”
The C60 and the Concept…..
The C60 and the Concept….. Possibly the 2 best looking bikes on the tour next season?
DeeJayJay wrote:
.. is the Oltre XR4 not being used by any teams?
represent Italy as a “nation
represent Italy as a “nation that still wants to be a competitor in the world of cycling thanks to its skills, expertise and experience – virtues that rise above any technological development,”
strange as they are made in Taiwan
Freddy56 wrote:
Please check the facts before posting. The C60, like the C59 before it, is built via tube-and-lug construction and is assembled at Colnago’s factory in Cambiago, Italy.
Freddy56 wrote:
The Master, Arabesque, C59 and C60’s are all made in Italy including being painted by hand
kev-s wrote:
But Freddy read his response on a website forum without any research, so it must be true.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP8jUogUvr0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgpwDqRuru8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdOWRbk5x-Q
Not sure what they “unveiled”
Not sure what they “unveiled” there. Those are standard colour scheme framesets with a couple of extra decals on them, it hardly seems like they have done anything special.
Do they do a decent TT bike yet? I recall pro riders, both male and female, bitching about their TT bikes.
atlaz wrote:
Not quite the std colour scheme, the non team ones have a matt black paint job with the decals in gloss black but agree they could of done a special team colour scheme
http://www.colnago.com/en/c60/
atlaz wrote:
This article should read “Next year will see the return of the historic Italian bicycle brand Colnago to the World Tour professional peloton”. Gazprom-Rusvelo, Crelan Vastgoedservice and Team Novo Nordisk have been on Colnagos for some years at Pro Continental level, not to mention Wiggle High5 in the women’s World Tour.
Yes, it’s called the K-Zero. Do you have a source or link to those comments? If you’re referring to Pierre Rolland it wasn’t the bike he was bitching about, it was the company. Wind tunnel time wasn’t part of the sponsorship arrangement with Europcar and the team wouldn’t stump up for it, so Rolland started shooting his mouth off saying that Bernardeau should change bike sponsor.
That frame is such a
That frame is such a beautiful piece of design and craftsmanship. I could stare at the black and black/white versions all day. Maybe for my 40th…
good to see another team
good to see another team using campag
Never really understood the
Never really understood the reverance bestowed on the likes of Colnago and Bianchi on this website. To me they look no better or worse than many other brands. I do think that the classic Bianchi celeste colour is minging though.
bauchlebastart wrote:
Posted by someone who has never actually riden one.
I do like the look of them.
I do like the look of them.
I’ve never ridden one.
I don’t understand why one would choose to make a high-end carbon frame using a tube to lug construction technique. Surely the way to maximise the benefits of carbon fibre as a material is to use a one / two piece moulded method?
Gasman Jim wrote:
It allows them to make the bikes in 20 different sizes (10 sloping, plus 5 traditional and 5 high). It also allows them to make custom builds, though given the aformentioned manifold geometries available I’m guessing that you have to be both quite fastidious and quite flush to go that route (or your first name happens to be Louis). And lastly, in a world where every other WorldTour bike is moulded (and the 6.8kg weigh-limit is easy enough to hit), it looks distinctive, and distinguished.
^Exactly this – lugs offer
^Exactly this – lugs offer more flexibility in terms of sizing and design. With 20 sizes available versus three or four for much of the competition, you have more options with Colnago if you want a better fit and don’t necessarily want to go custom. Each tube can be cut appropriately according to size thus preserving the geometry from the smallest frame to the largest, as opposed to something like a Cervelo (for example) where the chainstay length is the same for all sizes.
Other high end Italian builders such as Legend and Sarto (among others) use similar tube to tube construction, but instead of using lugs the joints are hand wrapped giving the frames a ‘moulded’ appearance.
I’ve owned all the lugged carbon Colnagos from the C40 up to and including the C59 and I believe the exceptional ride quality for which they’re renowned is due largely to this construction method.